Heart of Dragon

Heart of Dragon
Film poster
Traditional	龍的心
Simplified	龙的心
Mandarin	Lóng Dé Xīn
Cantonese	Lung4 Dik1 Sam1
Directed by	Sammo Hung Fruit Chan
Produced by	Chua Lam Wu Ma Leonard Ho
Written by	Barry Wong
Starring	Jackie Chan Sammo Hung Emily Chu Mang Hoi Lam Ching-ying James Tien Yuen Wah
Music by	Lam Man-yee
Cinematography	Arthur Wong
Editing by	Peter Cheung Joseph Chiang Wong Ping Ding Yue Ng Kwok-wa
Distributed by	Golden Harvest Bo Ho Film Company Ltd
Release dates	16 October 1985 (1985-10-16)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Cantonese

Heart of Dragon (Chinese: 龍的心, released in the United Kingdom as Heart of the Dragon) is a 1985 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Sammo Hung, who also starred in the lead role. The film co-stars Jackie Chan, Emily Chu and Mang Hoi. It also features Yuen Biao is the action director for this film.

It is also known by the titles as The First Mission and Powerman III.

Background

The film is unusual in that although featuring Sammo Hung and Lam Ching-ying, two actors famed for their kung fu abilities, neither actually perform any martial arts. Golden Harvest had wanted Hung to perform fight scenes in the film, but he refused, rationalising "My character was mentally retarded, mentally disabled, so how can you ask me to fall down and suddenly become well again? And fight? They knew my fighting skills and wanted me to be part of the action but I thought that would have completely destroyed the tone of the film, the principles behind the film."^[1]

The action is left to Chan and his fellow CID officers, Mang Hoi, Yuen Wah, Chan Lung and Corey Yuen. Despite the relative lack of action scenes, the film was nominated for the Best Action Choreography award at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1986. It was beaten by Chan's Police Story.

The bad guys are led by James Tien and include Dick Wei, Chung Fat, Phillip Ko and Kao Sau-leung. The film also features a small role for Wu Ma as a restaurant owner, and like My Lucky Stars, Sammo Hung's real life brother makes a cameo appearance as a Policeman (who walks into Inspector Wong's office without knocking).

Cast and roles

• Jackie Chan – Ted / Tat Fung (doubled by Yuen Biao)
• Sammo Hung – Danny / Dodo Fung
• Emily Chu – Jenny
• Mang Hoi – Ian
• Lam Ching-ying – SWAT Team Commander
• Peter Chan – SWAT Team Member
• Chin Kar-lok – SWAT Team Member
• Yuen Wah – SWAT Team Member
• Corey Yuen – SWAT Team Member
• Melvin Wong – Inspector Wong
• Dennis Chan – Waiter
• Anthony Chan – Private Teacher
• Chung Fat – Moose / Cho Yee Fat / Fa
• James Tien – Mr. Kim
• Dick Wei – Kim's Man
• Phillip Ko – Kim's Man
• Shan Tai – Kim's Man
• Kao Sau-leung – Kim's Man
• Kong Chow – Kim's Man
• Billy Ching – Kim's Man
• Tai San – Kim's Man
• Wu Ma – Cafe Owner
• Soh Hang-suen – Cafe Owner's wife
• Lam Ying-fat – Edmond Pang Kwok Hwa
• Lee Ka-ho – Heung Chi Ming
• Tze Man-ha – Mrs. Chee / Grandma
• Tai Bo – Kenny
• Lee Hoi-san – Thug at restaurant
• Fung Hak-on – Thug at restaurant
• Chiu Chi-ling – Thug at restaurant

Versions

As this was intended as a dramatic film, showing a different side of Hung's acting abilities, it contains comparatively few action scenes. Two additional fight scenes were filmed, but these were cut from both the domestic Hong Kong print and the international print of the film. Due to the demands of certain markets, these scenes were included in some prints of the film, notably the Japanese release. They are included as additional features on the US, UK and Australian DVD releases of the film.

Box Office

This film grossed HK $20.3 million at the Hong Kong box office.^[2] Although a commercial success, it was considerably low compared to the other Jackie Chan action blockbusters of the 80's.

Awards and nominations

• 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Won: Best Original Film Song - for the song "Sui Hoh Seung Yi" (誰可相依) ("Who Could Be Dependent"). (Lam Man-yee - music, Poon Yuen-leung - lyrics, Julie Su Rui - performer)
  • Nominated: Best Action Choreography
  • Nominated: Best Director (Sammo Hung)
  • Nominated: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
  • Nominated: Best Original Film Score (Lam Man-yee)

Home Media

VHS

VCD

DVD

Blu-ray

References

External links

• Heart of Dragon at the Internet Movie Database
• Heart of Dragon at allmovie