Big Trouble was made by John Carpenter to purposefully look and feel like a martial arts B-movie, but the effects were done by some of the biggest names in the business at the time. I love the fact that the filmmakers went this direction. The film has great chemistry and atmosphere.
I agree. The movie was made with the intent of not wasting money on "perfect" effects but instead leaving it to the story and the pacing and the acting to make the movie great, which it did in my opinion. Today we see tons of movies with high effects budgets and no effort put into story or character development and they're just not very good at all, but the splash effect of the special effects gets attention. I'd rather watch Big Trouble in Little China than almost any big budget movie put out today.
The effects are excellent. I think her commentary is a classic example of someone not being used to physical effects as a distinct art form from CGI. I used to see physical effects the same way until I was shown a broader variety of movies that use them and learned a bit about that aspect of stage craft. Only a few bits in this movie involve CGI with the creatures (as opposed to blatant stuff like the Mortal Kombat light spirits battle thing) -- *(EDIT: It would appear I'm mistaken and the movie is all physical sfx and old-school film editing only, wow! See replies below. /EDIT)* -- and if someone is simply used to modern CGI then it makes sense to feel like the old physical effects are extra campy or jarring, compared to how audiences would have experienced them back in the day.
@@ItsAsparageese There was no CGI used in this film. It predates using computer graphics in any tangible way unless they were going for a funky 8 bit Commodore game look like in "The Last Starfighter" or "Tron." This was all practical, but I do get your larger point.
This movie has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. It was a box office flop when first released, but has gained quite the cult following over the years.
It broke the mold at a time breaking the mold was not a thing you did... if it had come out the last decade or so it would have made a ton. A movie well ahead of its time in many ways.
We have a phrase that describes your confusion over "B-movie" vs. "low budget", we refer to it as _tongue-in-cheek._ Meaning you're just supposed to appreciate that the director wanted to make a quirky movie. It's supposed to be what it is, with what they decided to work with, and you like it or you don't.
The origin of the B-movie was as the second billed film of a double feature. Both films would be made by the same studio, but would have nothing to do with one another. One might be a romance, and the next, a western. A mystery, and a horror movie. Typically, the bulk of the production money went to the A-movie. The quality of feature #2 tended to be a bit lacking. In the intervening decades, double features have ceased to be a thing. But the appellation, B-movie, has continued to indicate a film of lesser general quality.
John Carpenter grew up loving Western films. He never got to make one, but this the closest he got. It's a modern fantasy with Western movie plot elements. That's why Kurt is doing an impression of John Wayne, sometimes more obviously.
The beauty of BTiLC is that it's a movie about serious Chinese dudes doing serious Chinese shit, but the American comic relief doesn't understand anything that is happening and thinks he's the hero.
Exactly! The story is told from the point of view of the clueless side-kick. Jack Burton is the protagonist of the *film*. But *Wang* is the hero of the story. 😀
But Jack is the hero. Everyone keeps saying he's the sidekick but where's the proof? Jack killed Lopan. Jack was the reason Thunder killed himself. Jack went undercover at the White Tiger. And Jack shot a bunch of guys. Besides taking out Rain what did Wang do? What makes him the hero?
I love how absurd and over the top this movie is. It really is so extreme and campy that you have to love it. Most 80s action movies kept trying to out do each other, this one went nuclear, made a joke of all the action cliches, but they were all in on the joke. It's crazy, it's ridiculous, and I love every second of it.
Yeah, it's satire. It also pokes fun at movies that try to include an Americanized version of Chinese culture by showing both authentic Chinese culture and Americanized Chinese culture.
He's knocked unconscious or out of commission for almost all the big action pieces. He's basically a damsel in distress with a cocksure attitude and a big mouth.
Regarding the pinky nail it was a sign of nobility because only an idle person could grow a long fingernail. Chinese imperial wives and concubines wore nail armors to protect the long nails.
I was ironically watching this movie yesterday. Forgot how much i love it. Its funny realizing the main protagonist Kurt is basically the sidekick to wang.
Lo Pan played by James Hong is definitely the most iconic character in the movie, he's now 94 years young and still going strong has earned a star ⭐ at the Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Those slit glasses are an 80's thing, interestingly however slit glasses like that can actually work like real perscription glasses, the slit if thin enough and at the right distance from the eyes acts like a lens focusing the light and making blurry vision crisper the same can be done with a small hole or series of holes in a piece of paper. The thing I love most about BTILC is the fact it just keeps going, there isnt really any break in the story it just keeps running along at a fair clip with only a couple of minor rest periods but even those feel urgent, and given the story only really happens over a day or two it works real well. Its also a good look at Chinese mysticism which isnt all that done in movies. Also there is always time to flirt.
Even the exposition dumps are done at such a rapid pace that they just increase the humor of the situation. It's also great that the viewer is basically seeing all this through Jack's eyes....the viewer doesn't really fully know what's going on because JACK doesn't ever really fully know what's going on.
This movie is interesting because your main character is technically the sidekick. Wang was the traditional hero of this story, but we focus instead on Jack.
The "Dance Routine" was a "form." In many martial arts styles, combinations of moves will be put together i forms, or patterns, or katas. The idea is to develop muscle memory for the moves, while also giving the student a foundation to study and expand their knowledge.
Jack Burton is the Sidekick, its a movie from the Sidekicks view, Log nails used to be a sign that you had people to do things for you, you cant eat properly with nails that long so you had to be fed, it was a status symbol way way back.. i can afford people to do everything for me so
This is very much a cult classic…a very unusual movie 🙂 This came out the year I graduated high school and I saw it on the big screen…it was a fun film.
Not literally, although it has a lot in common with it. John Tobias (who wrote the Mortal Kombat story) was inspired more by Chinese films like Zu Warriors and A Chinese Ghost Story. Enter The Dragon also heavily inspired the story of Mortal Kombat.
The cheesy special effects (and dialogue, and plot) were intentional (this is John Carpenter, the same director of The Thing)....he WANTED it to look like a B-movie (that's why it could be so fun...it wasn't serious at all).
It kinda does look like a B movie even though it definitely has a pretty good budget for 19-25 million dollars (in the 80s). Unfortunately it didn't make that much when it came out and had mixed reviews. But, it did gain a cult following and many love it today. Oh, and glad your nose surgery went well 👍
1:52 Victor Wong (Egg Shen) had to travel to Hollywood to film this prologue right after attending the wake for his son Lyon who had been assaulted and killed in Sacramento by a high school football player who shouted h0m0ph0bic and anti-Asi@n slurs at Lyon before running up behind him and punching him in the head. The prosecutor told the Wong family that, because the killer was a minor, he was only going to get 6 months for manslaughter. The family took the story to a Bay Area news station's advocacy reporter, and he agreed that this was an injustice that should be exposed. The station was going to do a feature report about Lyon's case, but then the Challenger shuttle explosion happened, and the Lyon's story was dropped as all news coverage had to focus on the national tragedy.
This is a tongue in cheek action comedy not meant to be taken to seriously. Not a B-Movie. It was a modestly budgeted film for its time and effects are pretty much on par with other films of that era. Remember, this was released in 1986. Terminator 2 wouldnt be released until '91 and Jurassic Park in '93. It wasn't a high watermark for effects but they were very respectable for its time.
Indeed. I think the effects are on par with Richard Edlund's other standout of that era "Ghostbusters". It dialogues a lot with "Raiders of the Last Ark", "Poltergeist" and "Fright Night" effects. Edlund had a very singular style that may alienate people who are ingesting contemporary blockbuster VFX.
I can't believe you are reviewing this movie. My brother and I loved this movie. We watched it over and over again and could basically recite it word for word.
This wasn't a B movie, but it was intended to have a certain amount of camp. I mean, Kurt Russel was doing a John Wayne impression! No, it was a very stylized movie, and really a perfect 80s movie!
A cult classic. This was one of the introductions of Chinese mythos into Popular Americana. A film that was simply fun through and through. Kim Cattrall locked in her roll as a heart throb to a generation after Porkys. Meanwhile, second stringer stunt men like Carter Wong and Al Leong would become underground icons which would influence creators all the way to the legacy of the directors of John Wick.
@@rastiga9196 Bruce broke the wall on martial arts. I don't recall he and chuck spitting lightning. But then Lightning can't strike Chuck Norris, because lightning gets Chuck Norrised. :)
09:12. "Atomized" is actually a word that predates the atomic age. It indicates any substance that has been reduced to invisibly fine particles. You may have seen, or even be in possession of, perfume bottles with a sprayer operated by squeezing a small rubber bulb? That bulb-driven sprayer is known as an "atomizer." Such devices have been around since well before the turn of the 19th century 17:55 The 3 Storms are performing honorific rituals at the wedding and nupital ceremony of their master, the ancient undead wizard David Lo-Pan. Thunder displays physical prowess. Wind displays skill. Lightning displays spiritual power. Each display constitutes a gift to their master. The long fingernails were an affectation of the elite of ancient China. The longer the nails, the more powerful their owner was presumed to be.
The big merit of this movie, in my opinion, is that it mixes good martial arts from real Chinese actors, even Carter Wong, who was a great Hong Kong film star from the 70s, with western style story telling. It was an action comedy, but, as other comments say it was intentionally made as a B Hong Kong style movie. They even make fun of the white guy 😸, something that never happened in US movies involving oriental people. Great video
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. :) It's so creative, and yet so off the wall, that it's just a delight. There had never been any movie like this, before, and there's been few that even tried to come close to it, in the years since. It has so many great lines. "Son of a bitch must pay!" It had a B-movie budget, because for Hollywood studios it was just too strange, and didn't fit neatly into any category a studio executive could comprehend. However, the strength of John Carpenter's reputation, and the fact that Kurt Russel signed on for it, meant it did get green-lit -- barely. The writing, and the fact that the actors could freely ham it up for the laughs, plus the fairly good fight choreography and just the sheer madness, makes this film work. In some ways, it helped set the stage for the sort of urban, "wainscot fantasy" that has become quite popular since. That said, it's definitely not for people who want a straightforward action flick, with all the familiar tropes. :)
Definitely not actually a B movie. John Carpenter did Halloween, They Live, and many more excellent films. I'm not sure the guy has made a bad movie. He's also an auteur, he writes and directs and often scores the music for his own films. Robert Rodriguez takes strongly after Carpenter.
the slit shades worn by the gangster in the airport are inspired by those made by eskimos. by reducing the sun glare off of the snow during the long artic days.
You asked why he had such long fingernails and as I understand it the reason is an old Chinese tradition dating back to The Zhou dynasty, around 600 BC "If you sport soft, slender hands with half inch long, well-groomed fingernails it is taken as an indicator that you don’t work with your hands, that you are above the social station of a common laborer, that you live the sort of life that allows the luxury to possess such a pampered set of paws."
The whole pinky thing is for a various few reasons, but mainly a status symbol. If you had a long pinky nail, it meant you were educated, wealthy, and of a higher social status than most. Sort of a super long-standing fashion/status symbol.
Also given the hindrance it would give to working, its a sign you have servants to do the work for you. Personally it makes my skin crawl given do something wrong and you've got some painful little pinkies with a torn cuticle.
This movie is so quotable. I even find myself today saying things like "This p!sses me off to no end!" "If we're not back before dawn...call the President..." (wink). "Have you paid your dues? Yes sir the cheques in the mail..."
Regarding the fingernails. This is coming from a white Aussie remembering a conversation 20 years ago with a woman from Hong Kong (RIP Hong Kong). If your little finger (pinky) is longer than the knuckle joint on the finger next to it then you are lucky, good fortune will come to you. If it is shorter then you need to compensate and grow the fingernail so that it extends past that knuckle joint.
I've loved this movie since I was a kid, it's one of my favorite John Carpenter films. I'm so glad you reacted to it, I don't think I've seen any other reactor do this movie.
As various commenters have noted, John Carpenter is deliberately making a movie that echoes the styles and traditions of B movies, which is why he doesn't want the special effects to look better than they do. But "B movie" originally meant a movie designed to be the second half of a double feature, and in this sense there were no such things as B movies anymore in the eighties, and hadn't been for decades. If a movie of this period is described as a B movie, it means that it is made in the tradition of earlier B movies, either to save money or as a deliberate artistic decision.
There’s comics that came out relatively recently that continue the story, like immediately after. There’s also gonna be a movie sequel with Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Knives Out got blocked, but luckily after I started watching. "My House. My rules. My coffee." That was Jamie Lee Curtis From Halloween, True Lies, Freaky Friday, Trading Places, etc. The family only knew Marta's mother was illegal because Meg told them. Harlon thought she killed him. She said she did and didn't get sick. He loved her for her friendship and wanted to make sure she would get the inheritance, so he set up the suicide. If he knew he was safe, he wouldn't have done it.
These campy "prop effects" films were an 80's staple, and the look is hugely intentional. Gremlins, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Critters, Goonies etc...
When I was a teen I watched this movie over and over again on a Betamax video cassette. I love it!!! It’s the best kind of cheesy movie, simply awesome!!! Stay awesome, Duaffy!
There was no sequel because the studio refused to promote this movie so it bombed hard at the box office. But it found new life in home video and being show on American movie channels. This was one of my favorite childhood movies. And very popular with first time reaction UA-camrs.
This movie is an absolute Cult classic that has gone on to inspire countless other science fiction and fantasy projects. The lightening guy was the direct inspiration for Mortal Combat's Lord Raiden. That's just one example.
Such a classic movie. And you're right, it's very much a B movie, or at least made with the same idea of not taking itself seriously. There's an awesome reference to this movie in the mid-2000s spy comedy series Chuck (which I would LOVE to see someone do a reaction video for): James Hong, who plays Lo Pan, has a guest appearance on (the fourth episode, I think) of Chuck, playing the villainous head of a Chinese Triad cell. His character's name? Ben Lo Pan...Because he had previously BEEN Lo Pan (he also played a character named Lo Pan in the 2001 film The Chronicle, but the reference is mostly to this movie). A big part of the joke of the movie is that Jack THINKS he's the hero when he's really the goofy sidekick. The Three Storms, especially Lightning, influenced the design of Raiden in the original Mortal Kombat game, while Shang Tsung in the same game was inspired by Lo Pan. Director John Carpenter is better known for his work in horror, especially the original Halloween, (which helped put Jamie Lee Curtis on the map as THE Scream Queen) and The Thing.
I used to also find physical effects to look clunky, because too I grew up in a post-good-CGI world lol. But once you learn a bit about the incredible stagecraft that goes into building and painting the creature designs and things like that, it becomes a lot more impressive. The effects in this movie are excellent quality -- they're just not in the same medium that we're generationally acclimated to, so they automatically look old-timey and campy or cheap if we don't develop the taste.
I love this movie, but it has to hit someone the right way to resonate. It helps a lot if you like action and, especially, martial arts movies. And then it's just so funny. The more you watch it, the more you'll realize almost every scene is funny. The dialogue has so many hidden funny gems that they never stop coming.
The long finger is actually just a metal nail, covering the real one. It was an ancient sign of social status, rich people that haven't the need to physically work got their pinky nails long to show off that.
If you would like to see where John Carpenter got started, watch Dark Star. This film started life as Carpenter's final student project for film school. Later on he was granted a meager budget for improvements to bring it up from 45 minutes to a more theatrical length of 83 minutes, to suit the expectations of movie-going audiences. It was released in theaters in 1975, and quickly became a cult classic. (You'll love the Alien. Of this I feel quite sure.)
If you haven't done so already, you should check out the 1984 movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. It has a cheesy sci-fi feel to it in the same way that Big Trouble in Little China has a cheesy Hong Kong action feel to it. It's worth noting that neither movie did well enough at the box office to get a sequel, but at least one Hollywood writer wrote a spec script for a combined sequel that included characters from both movies.
I think the long nail is a symbol of wealth. Someone that has a life of leisure and would never ‘break a nail’. Long hair can also be a similar symbol.
This movie, being very very popular now and considered a classic 80s movie was a flop at the box office and the critics were harsh about it and that make John Carpenter semi-retire from making movies because he was tired of stupid people critiquing his movie visions. However, later on when this made a HUGE comeback on home video, Carpenter laughed at the critics and gave them a "fuck you" to them since the home audience liked it so much. It became so popular that the people have been asking for a sequel for decades. Even Dwayne Johnson has been trying to make a sequel to this movie for some years now.
Kurt Russell actually said most of his movies were flops. He's just been around so long people just assume he's always been a success. If you haven't heard the commentary for this movie, check it out it has Russell and Carpenter on it and it's just two longtime friends hanging out having a good time. (With your knowledge on the subject, you probably already have.) As far as a sequel goes, we asked the same with Ghostbusters and we see how that turned out. Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
@@robertmolton6761 Actually if you are referring to Ghostbusters Afterlife, that was pretty good. The remake based on feminism was shit. Not a sequel. Although GB2 in 89 wasn't the best either.
@@thereturningshadowOf course I'm referring to that 2016 disaster, forget feminism that was just a shit show all around. Actually, I haven't seen Afterlife yet, but from the trailer it looks descent. As far as GB2 goes isn't that just a remake of the first hitting all the same beats (for the most part) except this time we have pink slime and a lot of it. Think about it. 🤔
Critics were harsh with The Thing too, and the same shit happened... home audiences loved it and it became a massive success on video. Seems like a recurring theme with Carpenter movies.
@@jeremyfrost2636 Yeah. Back in the 80s too many people relied on critics to tell them what to watch. Which is funny considering ticket prices then were 1/10th what they are now. These days with the internet, critics have very little influence and word of mouth is much bigger as well as news media on popularity. Back then less people watched the 5pm news because they were either just getting off work or they were having family dinner at the dinner table, not in front of the tv. Kids, and some parents, were not awake for the 11pm news so they didn't get word of popularity of a movie. Thus they relied more on critics. Critics tanked so many good movies back then, in theaters, that made millions on home video. You are right about Carpenter movies though. Halloween, Escape From NY, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, etc. All great movies with home video audiences and all panned by the critics when in the theaters. I think Carpenter's comeback movie after Little China was Escape From LA, which it was more Russell's idea to make as he co -wrote and produced it. I think it did ok because they did NOT take themselves too seriously with that one and pretty mush remade the first movie just to give the audience a sequel.
Carpenter isn't exactly well known for doing "mainstream A-grade" movies, they're mostly B-classic cult movies that many of us love! Pretty sure they had a thought of doing a sequel, but was sadly a box office failure, but it did get a cult-following and is considered being one of Carpenter's best movies and it is! No sequel, but there's been talks about a remake with Dwayne The Rock Johnson, which I hope NEVER HAPPENS! Other John Carpenter-Kurt Russell movies you have to see is The Thing (which I believe you have already seen?) and Escape from New York! There's also the sequel Escape from L.A., which is basically the same movie as the 1st one but with bad early 90's cgi....
Yeah, definitely felt there should have been more, either with story or choreography or creatures or whatever. But John Carpenter's an unusual cat. The range of movies he did during his heyday are pretty diverse, ranging from this movie to _Prince of Darkness_ to _Starman._ And he doesn't come across as a director that would have overspent on budget, given his economic approach with the first _Halloween._ Maybe it's a case of if he'd had the chance to do a few more films in this universe or genre before he got disillusioned with the Hollywood production model, he could have really hit it out of the park. What I wonder is, was _The Golden Child_ another studio's attempt to horn in on the projected success of this film, or vice versa? Which one was shopped around the studios and green-lit first?
Great movie. You should watch The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy a movie with same ideas and came out the same time as this movie. he three storms in this movies inspired the Raiden Character in the Mortal Kombat game also David lo pan is Shang Tsung You should understand from this movie why Kurt Russial was chosen to be Star Lord dad in the Mcu :)
Big Trouble in Little China didn't follow the "Movie Formula" that a lot of productions fall back to. It has its own charm and a strong following of fans that love it.
I think they were hoping it was going to be successful. But sadly they didn't know how to market it. If it was released in the mid 90's the movie would have been huge.
Hey, Duaffy. Much of the comedy in this movie comes from Jack Burton being such a buffoon. He's this over-the-top macho John Wayne caricature whose cluelessness is only exceeded by his overconfidence, and he doesn't know that he's just Wang's sidekick. All that tough guy talk, that "Just remember what old Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake..." All that is so silly, and most people don't pick up on it during a first viewing.
This started off being made as a B Movie. The script was a revamped version of the unmade sequel to "the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Acoss the 8th Dimension" (Yes, that's the title of an actual movie, another cult classic B movie). Back in 1986 the other studios were making some big budget Fantasy/Action/Comedy/Horror movies for their summer releases, but Fox had nothing of the sort to compete, Except for Big Trouble in Little China. So the Studio Execs upped the budget in the middle of shooting, and had the script altered so it would play in the A list theaters. And the summer of 1986 Big Trouble in Little China got to compete aginst the other fantasy/action/horror/comedies. It went up against Ghostbusters, the Golden Child, Labyrinth, Highlander, and Howard the Duck. (Yeah, that all of that was released in one summer) Ghostbusters came out on top and Big Trouble in Little China ended scraping up the bottom of the barrel, making less money than Howard the Duck. It ended up making the rounds at the grindhouses where most of us ended up seeing it back then. So you were right, it started off as a B movie, the studio tried to elevate it to A list stautus, but it ended up playing the B maovie theaters anyway. Good eye. BTW, thanks for the great reaction.
They were unarmed! Clint Eastwood: Well they should have armed themselves then... If you haven't watched Unforgiven, you definitely should. One of the classic Eastwood old west movies. Also with Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman.
Honestly one of the coolest movies ever, it was sopos to be quirky and odd like it was :D Great movie definite should see for all and kurt russel is just to funny :D
Big Trouble was made by John Carpenter to purposefully look and feel like a martial arts B-movie, but the effects were done by some of the biggest names in the business at the time. I love the fact that the filmmakers went this direction. The film has great chemistry and atmosphere.
I agree. The movie was made with the intent of not wasting money on "perfect" effects but instead leaving it to the story and the pacing and the acting to make the movie great, which it did in my opinion. Today we see tons of movies with high effects budgets and no effort put into story or character development and they're just not very good at all, but the splash effect of the special effects gets attention. I'd rather watch Big Trouble in Little China than almost any big budget movie put out today.
@@thatpatrickguy3446 A-men.
@@thatpatrickguy3446 spot on!
The effects are excellent. I think her commentary is a classic example of someone not being used to physical effects as a distinct art form from CGI. I used to see physical effects the same way until I was shown a broader variety of movies that use them and learned a bit about that aspect of stage craft. Only a few bits in this movie involve CGI with the creatures (as opposed to blatant stuff like the Mortal Kombat light spirits battle thing) -- *(EDIT: It would appear I'm mistaken and the movie is all physical sfx and old-school film editing only, wow! See replies below. /EDIT)* -- and if someone is simply used to modern CGI then it makes sense to feel like the old physical effects are extra campy or jarring, compared to how audiences would have experienced them back in the day.
@@ItsAsparageese There was no CGI used in this film. It predates using computer graphics in any tangible way unless they were going for a funky 8 bit Commodore game look like in "The Last Starfighter" or "Tron." This was all practical, but I do get your larger point.
This movie has been a favorite of mine for quite some time. It was a box office flop when first released, but has gained quite the cult following over the years.
No horseshit?
It broke the mold at a time breaking the mold was not a thing you did... if it had come out the last decade or so it would have made a ton. A movie well ahead of its time in many ways.
@@TheRagingwerepanda No horseshit TheRagingwerepanda *Chang Sing salute*
i have lost count of how many times i have watched this movie, must be around 20 times now
@@TheRagingwerepanda No Horseshit Jack.
We have a phrase that describes your confusion over "B-movie" vs. "low budget", we refer to it as _tongue-in-cheek._ Meaning you're just supposed to appreciate that the director wanted to make a quirky movie. It's supposed to be what it is, with what they decided to work with, and you like it or you don't.
The origin of the B-movie was as the second billed film of a double feature. Both films would be made by the same studio, but would have nothing to do with one another. One might be a romance, and the next, a western. A mystery, and a horror movie. Typically, the bulk of the production money went to the A-movie. The quality of feature #2 tended to be a bit lacking.
In the intervening decades, double features have ceased to be a thing. But the appellation, B-movie, has continued to indicate a film of lesser general quality.
John Carpenter grew up loving Western films. He never got to make one, but this the closest he got. It's a modern fantasy with Western movie plot elements. That's why Kurt is doing an impression of John Wayne, sometimes more obviously.
The beauty of BTiLC is that it's a movie about serious Chinese dudes doing serious Chinese shit, but the American comic relief doesn't understand anything that is happening and thinks he's the hero.
Exactly!
The story is told from the point of view of the clueless side-kick.
Jack Burton is the protagonist of the *film*.
But *Wang* is the hero of the story. 😀
And most of the serious chinese dudes are chinese american on top of it.
Lol, I'm Chinese so I have officially added "serious Chinese dudes doing serious Chinese shit" to my daily vocabulary. 😄
@@thomashiggins9320 where in the film is it implied that this is told from Jack's point of view and not reality?
But Jack is the hero. Everyone keeps saying he's the sidekick but where's the proof? Jack killed Lopan. Jack was the reason Thunder killed himself. Jack went undercover at the White Tiger. And Jack shot a bunch of guys. Besides taking out Rain what did Wang do? What makes him the hero?
I love how absurd and over the top this movie is. It really is so extreme and campy that you have to love it. Most 80s action movies kept trying to out do each other, this one went nuclear, made a joke of all the action cliches, but they were all in on the joke. It's crazy, it's ridiculous, and I love every second of it.
Yeah, it's satire. It also pokes fun at movies that try to include an Americanized version of Chinese culture by showing both authentic Chinese culture and Americanized Chinese culture.
Criminally underrated movie. It was awesome! Basically Jack is the main character but he's really the sidekick. :)
Which makes him the best main character ever.
He's knocked unconscious or out of commission for almost all the big action pieces. He's basically a damsel in distress with a cocksure attitude and a big mouth.
You get it. 👍
Regarding the pinky nail it was a sign of nobility because only an idle person could grow a long fingernail. Chinese imperial wives and concubines wore nail armors to protect the long nails.
I was ironically watching this movie yesterday. Forgot how much i love it. Its funny realizing the main protagonist Kurt is basically the sidekick to wang.
Lo Pan played by James Hong is definitely the most iconic character in the movie, he's now 94 years young and still going strong has earned a star ⭐ at the Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Those slit glasses are an 80's thing, interestingly however slit glasses like that can actually work like real perscription glasses, the slit if thin enough and at the right distance from the eyes acts like a lens focusing the light and making blurry vision crisper the same can be done with a small hole or series of holes in a piece of paper.
The thing I love most about BTILC is the fact it just keeps going, there isnt really any break in the story it just keeps running along at a fair clip with only a couple of minor rest periods but even those feel urgent, and given the story only really happens over a day or two it works real well. Its also a good look at Chinese mysticism which isnt all that done in movies.
Also there is always time to flirt.
Even the exposition dumps are done at such a rapid pace that they just increase the humor of the situation. It's also great that the viewer is basically seeing all this through Jack's eyes....the viewer doesn't really fully know what's going on because JACK doesn't ever really fully know what's going on.
This movie is interesting because your main character is technically the sidekick. Wang was the traditional hero of this story, but we focus instead on Jack.
I love this movie. It's one of my top 15 favorite movies. It never gets old. "It's all in the reflexes."
John Carpenter really shook the pillars of Heaven with this one!
Try watching "Joe vs the volcano" for st. Valentine's day
The "Dance Routine" was a "form." In many martial arts styles, combinations of moves will be put together i forms, or patterns, or katas. The idea is to develop muscle memory for the moves, while also giving the student a foundation to study and expand their knowledge.
And in this case it's also a ritual, so it's both
Not sure if you realized this or not, but the main actor (Kurt Russell) plays Starlord's father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. :)
Jack Burton is the Sidekick, its a movie from the Sidekicks view, Log nails used to be a sign that you had people to do things for you, you cant eat properly with nails that long so you had to be fed, it was a status symbol way way back.. i can afford people to do everything for me so
It's all in the reflexes
This is very much a cult classic…a very unusual movie 🙂 This came out the year I graduated high school and I saw it on the big screen…it was a fun film.
This is one of those movies I'm always up for watching.
This movie was literally the inspiration for Mortal Kombat.
Not literally, although it has a lot in common with it. John Tobias (who wrote the Mortal Kombat story) was inspired more by Chinese films like Zu Warriors and A Chinese Ghost Story. Enter The Dragon also heavily inspired the story of Mortal Kombat.
The cheesy special effects (and dialogue, and plot) were intentional (this is John Carpenter, the same director of The Thing)....he WANTED it to look like a B-movie (that's why it could be so fun...it wasn't serious at all).
One of the best films ever.
It kinda does look like a B movie even though it definitely has a pretty good budget for 19-25 million dollars (in the 80s). Unfortunately it didn't make that much when it came out and had mixed reviews. But, it did gain a cult following and many love it today. Oh, and glad your nose surgery went well 👍
1:52 Victor Wong (Egg Shen) had to travel to Hollywood to film this prologue right after attending the wake for his son Lyon who had been assaulted and killed in Sacramento by a high school football player who shouted h0m0ph0bic and anti-Asi@n slurs at Lyon before running up behind him and punching him in the head. The prosecutor told the Wong family that, because the killer was a minor, he was only going to get 6 months for manslaughter. The family took the story to a Bay Area news station's advocacy reporter, and he agreed that this was an injustice that should be exposed. The station was going to do a feature report about Lyon's case, but then the Challenger shuttle explosion happened, and the Lyon's story was dropped as all news coverage had to focus on the national tragedy.
WTF? I didn't know that.
This is a tongue in cheek action comedy not meant to be taken to seriously. Not a B-Movie. It was a modestly budgeted film for its time and effects are pretty much on par with other films of that era. Remember, this was released in 1986. Terminator 2 wouldnt be released until '91 and Jurassic Park in '93. It wasn't a high watermark for effects but they were very respectable for its time.
Indeed. I think the effects are on par with Richard Edlund's other standout of that era "Ghostbusters". It dialogues a lot with "Raiders of the Last Ark", "Poltergeist" and "Fright Night" effects. Edlund had a very singular style that may alienate people who are ingesting contemporary blockbuster VFX.
From left to right their names are Rain, Thunder, & Lightning. The 3 Storms.
I can't believe you are reviewing this movie. My brother and I loved this movie. We watched it over and over again and could basically recite it word for word.
The original story was supposed to be a western set in San francisco in 1884. Kurt was going to be an express rider and his horse was named pork chop.
This wasn't a B movie, but it was intended to have a certain amount of camp. I mean, Kurt Russel was doing a John Wayne impression! No, it was a very stylized movie, and really a perfect 80s movie!
A cult classic. This was one of the introductions of Chinese mythos into Popular Americana. A film that was simply fun through and through. Kim Cattrall locked in her roll as a heart throb to a generation after Porkys. Meanwhile, second stringer stunt men like Carter Wong and Al Leong would become underground icons which would influence creators all the way to the legacy of the directors of John Wick.
No, Bruce Lee did that.
@@rastiga9196 Bruce broke the wall on martial arts. I don't recall he and chuck spitting lightning. But then Lightning can't strike Chuck Norris, because lightning gets Chuck Norrised. :)
@@kroberts8866 lol
09:12. "Atomized" is actually a word that predates the atomic age. It indicates any substance that has been reduced to invisibly fine particles. You may have seen, or even be in possession of, perfume bottles with a sprayer operated by squeezing a small rubber bulb? That bulb-driven sprayer is known as an "atomizer." Such devices have been around since well before the turn of the 19th century
17:55 The 3 Storms are performing honorific rituals at the wedding and nupital ceremony of their master, the ancient undead wizard David Lo-Pan. Thunder displays physical prowess. Wind displays skill. Lightning displays spiritual power. Each display constitutes a gift to their master.
The long fingernails were an affectation of the elite of ancient China. The longer the nails, the more powerful their owner was presumed to be.
The big merit of this movie, in my opinion, is that it mixes good martial arts from real Chinese actors, even Carter Wong, who was a great Hong Kong film star from the 70s, with western style story telling. It was an action comedy, but, as other comments say it was intentionally made as a B Hong Kong style movie. They even make fun of the white guy 😸, something that never happened in US movies involving oriental people. Great video
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. :)
It's so creative, and yet so off the wall, that it's just a delight.
There had never been any movie like this, before, and there's been few that even tried to come close to it, in the years since.
It has so many great lines.
"Son of a bitch must pay!"
It had a B-movie budget, because for Hollywood studios it was just too strange, and didn't fit neatly into any category a studio executive could comprehend.
However, the strength of John Carpenter's reputation, and the fact that Kurt Russel signed on for it, meant it did get green-lit -- barely.
The writing, and the fact that the actors could freely ham it up for the laughs, plus the fairly good fight choreography and just the sheer madness, makes this film work.
In some ways, it helped set the stage for the sort of urban, "wainscot fantasy" that has become quite popular since.
That said, it's definitely not for people who want a straightforward action flick, with all the familiar tropes. :)
Definitely not actually a B movie. John Carpenter did Halloween, They Live, and many more excellent films. I'm not sure the guy has made a bad movie. He's also an auteur, he writes and directs and often scores the music for his own films. Robert Rodriguez takes strongly after Carpenter.
"Bad" may be an overstatement, but his work in the mid-90s and beyond didn't really compare to his previous work.
the slit shades worn by the gangster in the airport are inspired by those made by eskimos. by reducing the sun glare off of the snow during the long artic days.
You asked why he had such long fingernails and as I understand it the reason is an old Chinese tradition dating back to The Zhou dynasty, around 600 BC "If you sport soft, slender hands with half inch long, well-groomed fingernails it is taken as an indicator that you don’t work with your hands, that you are above the social station of a common laborer, that you live the sort of life that allows the luxury to possess such a pampered set of paws."
Escape From New York (1981) is my favourite film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell, though Big Trouble is a close second. 🙂
An often overlooked kind of silly action movie. BTW, a little note. Belches works in english but more commonly used is 'burps'.
The whole pinky thing is for a various few reasons, but mainly a status symbol. If you had a long pinky nail, it meant you were educated, wealthy, and of a higher social status than most. Sort of a super long-standing fashion/status symbol.
Also given the hindrance it would give to working, its a sign you have servants to do the work for you. Personally it makes my skin crawl given do something wrong and you've got some painful little pinkies with a torn cuticle.
This movie is so quotable. I even find myself today saying things like "This p!sses me off to no end!" "If we're not back before dawn...call the President..." (wink). "Have you paid your dues? Yes sir the cheques in the mail..."
22:00 Kim Cattrall's disappointed 'wtf' look at Kurt when he misses, always kills me. :)
Regarding the fingernails. This is coming from a white Aussie remembering a conversation 20 years ago with a woman from Hong Kong (RIP Hong Kong). If your little finger (pinky) is longer than the knuckle joint on the finger next to it then you are lucky, good fortune will come to you. If it is shorter then you need to compensate and grow the fingernail so that it extends past that knuckle joint.
Also long fingernails indicates that you are not doing any hard labor.
I've loved this movie since I was a kid, it's one of my favorite John Carpenter films. I'm so glad you reacted to it, I don't think I've seen any other reactor do this movie.
I suggest checking out TBR Schmitt's and Shan Watches Movies reaction channels. They loved this film.
I LOVE this movie! I couldn't click this fast enough. Thanks for having such good taste in movies!
Its a HUGE cult classic. No one Ive ever met didnt love it.
As various commenters have noted, John Carpenter is deliberately making a movie that echoes the styles and traditions of B movies, which is why he doesn't want the special effects to look better than they do. But "B movie" originally meant a movie designed to be the second half of a double feature, and in this sense there were no such things as B movies anymore in the eighties, and hadn't been for decades. If a movie of this period is described as a B movie, it means that it is made in the tradition of earlier B movies, either to save money or as a deliberate artistic decision.
There’s comics that came out relatively recently that continue the story, like immediately after. There’s also gonna be a movie sequel with Dwayne The Rock Johnson
Nope, it's a another crappy reboot.
@@dan_hitchman007 They confirmed The Rock won’t be playing Jack and that it’ll be a follow up to the original
@@jonmercano1138 If it's Disney and without John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, then I'm still worried this will be junk.
YES!!!!!! Classic 80s film!!!!! You won't regret this one I assure you!
Knives Out got blocked, but luckily after I started watching. "My House. My rules. My coffee." That was Jamie Lee Curtis From Halloween, True Lies, Freaky Friday, Trading Places, etc. The family only knew Marta's mother was illegal because Meg told them. Harlon thought she killed him. She said she did and didn't get sick. He loved her for her friendship and wanted to make sure she would get the inheritance, so he set up the suicide. If he knew he was safe, he wouldn't have done it.
These campy "prop effects" films were an 80's staple, and the look is hugely intentional. Gremlins, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Critters, Goonies etc...
When I was a teen I watched this movie over and over again on a Betamax video cassette. I love it!!! It’s the best kind of cheesy movie, simply awesome!!! Stay awesome, Duaffy!
There was no sequel because the studio refused to promote this movie so it bombed hard at the box office. But it found new life in home video and being show on American movie channels. This was one of my favorite childhood movies. And very popular with first time reaction UA-camrs.
This movie is an absolute Cult classic that has gone on to inspire countless other science fiction and fantasy projects. The lightening guy was the direct inspiration for Mortal Combat's Lord Raiden. That's just one example.
Such a classic movie. And you're right, it's very much a B movie, or at least made with the same idea of not taking itself seriously.
There's an awesome reference to this movie in the mid-2000s spy comedy series Chuck (which I would LOVE to see someone do a reaction video for):
James Hong, who plays Lo Pan, has a guest appearance on (the fourth episode, I think) of Chuck, playing the villainous head of a Chinese Triad cell. His character's name? Ben Lo Pan...Because he had previously BEEN Lo Pan (he also played a character named Lo Pan in the 2001 film The Chronicle, but the reference is mostly to this movie).
A big part of the joke of the movie is that Jack THINKS he's the hero when he's really the goofy sidekick.
The Three Storms, especially Lightning, influenced the design of Raiden in the original Mortal Kombat game, while Shang Tsung in the same game was inspired by Lo Pan.
Director John Carpenter is better known for his work in horror, especially the original Halloween, (which helped put Jamie Lee Curtis on the map as THE Scream Queen) and The Thing.
Sliding a tractor without a trailer is actually really easy. The trick is not to do it.
Love this movie.
Great choice!
In my all time top 10
I'm really enjoying your videos, keep them coming!!!
One of the best comedic sci-fi fantasy action films ever made. Entertainment at it's best.
I used to also find physical effects to look clunky, because too I grew up in a post-good-CGI world lol. But once you learn a bit about the incredible stagecraft that goes into building and painting the creature designs and things like that, it becomes a lot more impressive. The effects in this movie are excellent quality -- they're just not in the same medium that we're generationally acclimated to, so they automatically look old-timey and campy or cheap if we don't develop the taste.
I love this movie, but it has to hit someone the right way to resonate. It helps a lot if you like action and, especially, martial arts movies. And then it's just so funny. The more you watch it, the more you'll realize almost every scene is funny. The dialogue has so many hidden funny gems that they never stop coming.
Big Trouble In Little China's budget was roughly $25 million in 1986.
The long finger is actually just a metal nail, covering the real one. It was an ancient sign of social status, rich people that haven't the need to physically work got their pinky nails long to show off that.
If you would like to see where John Carpenter got started, watch Dark Star. This film started life as Carpenter's final student project for film school. Later on he was granted a meager budget for improvements to bring it up from 45 minutes to a more theatrical length of 83 minutes, to suit the expectations of movie-going audiences. It was released in theaters in 1975, and quickly became a cult classic.
(You'll love the Alien. Of this I feel quite sure.)
If you haven't done so already, you should check out the 1984 movie The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. It has a cheesy sci-fi feel to it in the same way that Big Trouble in Little China has a cheesy Hong Kong action feel to it. It's worth noting that neither movie did well enough at the box office to get a sequel, but at least one Hollywood writer wrote a spec script for a combined sequel that included characters from both movies.
FANTASTIC MOVIE!!! 💘💪💗😎
THE GRESTEST LOVE STORY EVER Told! :P LOL
Enjoy! It's all in the reflexes. . .
I think the long nail is a symbol of wealth. Someone that has a life of leisure and would never ‘break a nail’. Long hair can also be a similar symbol.
She is so pretty, funny, sweet, I really want to meet someone like her one day, to get married and have by my side for the rest of my life.
Kurt Russell was in a movie called Soldier that takes place in the Blade Runner universe.
"You shall come out no more!"
"WHAT! Huh? What'll come out no more?!"
I love how they drink an hallucinogen to be able to see and manipulate the magick!
Gives buzzzzz. Ohhh good!
A sequel was written and its a very funny comicbook series!
This movie, being very very popular now and considered a classic 80s movie was a flop at the box office and the critics were harsh about it and that make John Carpenter semi-retire from making movies because he was tired of stupid people critiquing his movie visions. However, later on when this made a HUGE comeback on home video, Carpenter laughed at the critics and gave them a "fuck you" to them since the home audience liked it so much.
It became so popular that the people have been asking for a sequel for decades. Even Dwayne Johnson has been trying to make a sequel to this movie for some years now.
Kurt Russell actually said most of his movies were flops. He's just been around so long people just assume he's always been a success. If you haven't heard the commentary for this movie, check it out it has Russell and Carpenter on it and it's just two longtime friends hanging out having a good time. (With your knowledge on the subject, you probably already have.) As far as a sequel goes, we asked the same with Ghostbusters and we see how that turned out. Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
@@robertmolton6761 Actually if you are referring to Ghostbusters Afterlife, that was pretty good. The remake based on feminism was shit. Not a sequel. Although GB2 in 89 wasn't the best either.
@@thereturningshadowOf course I'm referring to that 2016 disaster, forget feminism that was just a shit show all around. Actually, I haven't seen Afterlife yet, but from the trailer it looks descent. As far as GB2 goes isn't that just a remake of the first hitting all the same beats (for the most part) except this time we have pink slime and a lot of it. Think about it. 🤔
Critics were harsh with The Thing too, and the same shit happened... home audiences loved it and it became a massive success on video. Seems like a recurring theme with Carpenter movies.
@@jeremyfrost2636 Yeah. Back in the 80s too many people relied on critics to tell them what to watch. Which is funny considering ticket prices then were 1/10th what they are now. These days with the internet, critics have very little influence and word of mouth is much bigger as well as news media on popularity. Back then less people watched the 5pm news because they were either just getting off work or they were having family dinner at the dinner table, not in front of the tv. Kids, and some parents, were not awake for the 11pm news so they didn't get word of popularity of a movie. Thus they relied more on critics. Critics tanked so many good movies back then, in theaters, that made millions on home video.
You are right about Carpenter movies though. Halloween, Escape From NY, The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, etc. All great movies with home video audiences and all panned by the critics when in the theaters. I think Carpenter's comeback movie after Little China was Escape From LA, which it was more Russell's idea to make as he co -wrote and produced it. I think it did ok because they did NOT take themselves too seriously with that one and pretty mush remade the first movie just to give the audience a sequel.
there was a slight reunion of some of the cast from this movie.
Carpenter isn't exactly well known for doing "mainstream A-grade" movies, they're mostly B-classic cult movies that many of us love! Pretty sure they had a thought of doing a sequel, but was sadly a box office failure, but it did get a cult-following and is considered being one of Carpenter's best movies and it is! No sequel, but there's been talks about a remake with Dwayne The Rock Johnson, which I hope NEVER HAPPENS! Other John Carpenter-Kurt Russell movies you have to see is The Thing (which I believe you have already seen?) and Escape from New York! There's also the sequel Escape from L.A., which is basically the same movie as the 1st one but with bad early 90's cgi....
Yeah, definitely felt there should have been more, either with story or choreography or creatures or whatever. But John Carpenter's an unusual cat. The range of movies he did during his heyday are pretty diverse, ranging from this movie to _Prince of Darkness_ to _Starman._ And he doesn't come across as a director that would have overspent on budget, given his economic approach with the first _Halloween._ Maybe it's a case of if he'd had the chance to do a few more films in this universe or genre before he got disillusioned with the Hollywood production model, he could have really hit it out of the park.
What I wonder is, was _The Golden Child_ another studio's attempt to horn in on the projected success of this film, or vice versa? Which one was shopped around the studios and green-lit first?
The Golden Child was offered to JC but he did BTILC instead. Oddly enough, they both have James Hong and Victor Wong in them.
Great movie. You should watch The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy a movie with same ideas and came out the same time as this movie. he three storms in this movies inspired the Raiden Character in the Mortal Kombat game also David lo pan is Shang Tsung You should understand from this movie why Kurt Russial was chosen to be Star Lord dad in the Mcu :)
There is no “2nd part” but Dwayne, The Rock, Johnson has talked about making a reboot movie.
Big Trouble in Little China didn't follow the "Movie Formula" that a lot of productions fall back to. It has its own charm and a strong following of fans that love it.
There are comics that pick up where the teaser ending leaves off.
Heroes and sidekicks..
Circumventing your expectations 🙂
12:30.....'Well it's not really comedy." hahahahaa Duaffy, You're the best.
I think they were hoping it was going to be successful. But sadly they didn't know how to market it. If it was released in the mid 90's the movie would have been huge.
Agreed. This is what the Mortal Kombat movie should have been like.
This is one of my favorite movies all time. It's my go to Halloween costume.
There's a drinking game where you watch the movie and every time Jack asks a question you have to take a drink lol
Hey, Duaffy. Much of the comedy in this movie comes from Jack Burton being such a buffoon. He's this over-the-top macho John Wayne caricature whose cluelessness is only exceeded by his overconfidence, and he doesn't know that he's just Wang's sidekick. All that tough guy talk, that "Just remember what old Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake..." All that is so silly, and most people don't pick up on it during a first viewing.
3:45 Hi, I'm an Eskimo from Alaska, USA. We have similar types, called 'eskimo sunglasses'. It minimizes glare from the sun during the daytime.
A lot of the visuals in this movie inspired the Mortal Kombat games
This started off being made as a B Movie. The script was a revamped version of the unmade sequel to "the Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Acoss the 8th Dimension" (Yes, that's the title of an actual movie, another cult classic B movie). Back in 1986 the other studios were making some big budget Fantasy/Action/Comedy/Horror movies for their summer releases, but Fox had nothing of the sort to compete, Except for Big Trouble in Little China. So the Studio Execs upped the budget in the middle of shooting, and had the script altered so it would play in the A list theaters. And the summer of 1986 Big Trouble in Little China got to compete aginst the other fantasy/action/horror/comedies. It went up against Ghostbusters, the Golden Child, Labyrinth, Highlander, and Howard the Duck.
(Yeah, that all of that was released in one summer)
Ghostbusters came out on top and Big Trouble in Little China ended scraping up the bottom of the barrel, making less money than Howard the Duck. It ended up making the rounds at the grindhouses where most of us ended up seeing it back then.
So you were right, it started off as a B movie, the studio tried to elevate it to A list stautus, but it ended up playing the B maovie theaters anyway.
Good eye.
BTW, thanks for the great reaction.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrel 1988 - Comedy Gold
"What the hell"... greatest catchphrase ever.. lol
Ooh, delightful! I really did not see this one coming!
They were unarmed!
Clint Eastwood: Well they should have armed themselves then...
If you haven't watched Unforgiven, you definitely should. One of the classic Eastwood old west movies. Also with Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman.
this movie basically consists of a hell of a lot WTF's ... which is making it into a comedy
Honestly one of the coolest movies ever, it was sopos to be quirky and odd like it was :D Great movie definite should see for all and kurt russel is just to funny :D
very cute... We don't expect you to be perfect the vast majority of us can't even speak your language ... great respect to you..👍🏻
Finally one of my favourite reactors + one of my favourite films!
the creature that kidnapped gracie is a chinese bigfoot. Called a yeren.
still trying to figure out how a beholder is immune to gunfire, but can be killed with a sword...
I'm guessing it's because their swords are imbued with special properties during the forging process, while modern day bullets are not.