As an adult, I've started to wonder if John Carpenter was using Chinese cultural stereotypes of the time to emphasize just how outdated and silly those stereotypes were. I would like to know how Carter Wong felt about those cultural stereotypes while making the movie, and if his thoughts have changed in the 30+ years since.
I got one, In the video game Mortal Kombat the creators said they “ borrowed “two characters from this movie and incorporated into the game. That being Shang tsung(1st MK)and Raiden (every MK)How does it feel that your portrayal has been so impactful on video games and its culture?
Lucky! If I had him right in front of me, I think I'd want to ask him how weird it is to be surfing around the internet and to come across his character as a meme everywhere. Clearly he's not the most common meme out there, but (at least in my circles) he certainly comes up on occasion. Either as a still, or as an animated exploding produce stand.
I wouldn’t know the first thing to ask. But it would be cool to thank him and let him know that growing up watching this movie was literally magic. I remember pretending to fly around doing kung fu with lightning powers in my imagination as a kid ⚡️. This brought back fond memories.
I have loved this movie for years, but hearing you two translate the Chinese ( whether it's the scenery or the words ) in the movie makes it so much more interesting.
The first draft of the script took place in the 1870's during The Tong Wars, when there actually were gangfights and brothels in SF Chinatown. Jack was a cowboy who lost his horse instead of his truck. They decided to set it in the present day because they felt that all the supernatural stuff ON TOP OF being in the Old West would be too far from reality. They wanted to start with the "normal" world being more familiar. But then that reinforces these old stereotypes. But, the reason this movie is a comedy is that it is MAKING FUN of older more racist Hollywood movies that Bruce Lee was talking about, where the white hero saves the hapless foreigners. The poster is supposed to make you *think* it's that kind of movie so that it's a *surprise* when it turns out that he's NOT the hero and that Wang is.
All this is true. It's also true that Chinatown SF was not a stranger to periods of violence, too. Look up the Golden Dragon Massacre of 1977. I'm certainly not suggesting that Chinatown is as dangerous as portrayed in this movie or in the media of the time, only that gang violence was a real thing in very recent memory when this movie came out.
Yeah, the chinese characters were already fighting a villian and Kurt Russell's character was along for the ride, but i feel like he represents the audience as an excuse to explain the world and magic that takes place therein
@@bocuster There was also a drive-by on tong leaders In Chinatown in the 90s. I was actually cellmates with the driver for a time while we were fighting our cases in 850.
Jack opens the movie, wins the money, kills the bad guy, gets his girl and then closes out the movie, wang kills more guys but what else makes him the main guy?
@@phanties "In the DVD commentary, John Carpenter jokingly says that Kurt Russell's character Jack Burton is the hero of the movie, but other than killing Lo Pan, and saving Wang when he shoots the guard, he is more of a sidekick throughout the movie." He even knocks himself out for a good portion of the fight.
@@phanties Jack is the main character, but he's actually the sidekick who THINKS and BEHAVES as if he's the hero, when he's not. Wang is the actual hero of the story. If the story was following from Wang perspective, it'd be easier to notice, but it's not. That's the joke though. We're following Jack, the ignorant American who, despite having no idea what's going on, thinks he's here to save the day, and behaves as such. This was intentionally done by John Carpenter...
I don't think Old Lo Pan's voice was modified. James Hong can really sound like this in real life. Jessie really needs to read the Bio of James Hong, he has starred in more films than any other Hollywood actor in history! He has pretty much been in every movie that cast Asians. He really should get a lifetime achievement award from the Oscars. I'm gonna be pissed if he is not recognized except as an "In Memory" segment after he dies. James Hong is 92 years old and still going strong, making films and TV.
He's going to be in that upcoming film with Michelle Yeoh called Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, which looks amazing. It's also got the actor who is famous for playing Data in the Goonies, and Short Round in Temple of Doom. If you haven't seen a trailer for that film, you should check it out, it looks insane.
John carpenter meant for Wang to be the hero and Jack to be the sidekick. The studio just wouldn't let him market the movie that way back then. They wanted Kurt Russell marketed as the hero. He added the opening scene in response to that.
It’s like Rick Blaine is the main character in Casablanca but is periphery to the larger scale events that are happening around the smaller story of one slightly sleazy club owner. You might expect a Victor Lazlo to be the hero based on a description of the characters but it’s film noir and we are more interested in the reluctant anti-hero perspective in this kind of film
My understanding is that this was just a subversion meant to be funny to the audience, because they are MEANT to go in thinking Kurt Russel is the hero, but *ha-ha he’s the dopey stereotypical sidekick!* Wang was never supposed to be “marketed” at all, but the studio felt that audiences wouldn’t get the joke and insisted upon the inclusion of the opening scene to bolster Jack and reinforce audience expectations
The studios did a terrible job promoting this movie and I don’t think they really understood it. But once it came out on VHS and started showing on tv it became a cult classic and gained a lot of fans. I love how incompetent and clueless Jack is most respects. He’s a great comedy side kick for Wang Chi.
@@HyenaPaintI believe the first scene is ...poorly organized. It seems like a court scene, with a court reporter typing away in the background and questions being asked....but then the lawyer says something like "if I'm going to represent you..." which suggests that Egg Shen is a potential client of this lawyer, so it makes no sense to have a court reporter typing their conversation, or for the lawyer to be grilling Egg Shen as if Egg were a hostile witness. This only took me about 30 years to notice. 😊
Big Trouble In Little China is definitely meant to poke fun at old hollywood tropes, that's why Kurl Russell's character is constantly the butt of jokes, as a clueless Westerner caught up in an ancient power struggle he doesn't understand and fumbles his way through, barely surviving. In much to same way, John Carpenter's "Escape from New York" and "Escape from LA" (especially) are meant to be "bad films" ("so bad they're good"), full of cheesy one liners, gruff characters who don't say much, etc. Indiana Jones was meant as a homage to the old serials from the 1930s silent film era. John Carpenter is an Auteur, and if you think something is crassly stereotypical or cheesy, it's because he put it there deliberately on purpose. He has made so many cult movies, it's hard to remember them all: Halloween, Christine, Assault on Precinct 13, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, They Live, Prince of Darkness, and on and on. "They Live" is a perfect example of a campy movie with a deliberate subtext: It lets those in the West feel like what it feels if a much stronger power gains a huge sphere of influence over your politics, culture, and elite establishment, and the intense feelings of alienation that would result. You can't communicate to an American why someone in say, Rwanda, might all of a sudden be upset if all of the big business and politicians in the country were educated outside and beholden to foreign money, but if you watch the movie, you'll get a taste -- wrapped up in a cheesy dialogue and a main actor who was a wrestler. BTW, one thing I notice is that Chinese commenting on Wetsern movies often seem to focus on stuff like "they used a small eyes/slanty eyes actor. Why not someone better looking with double fold, it must be to make fun of Chinese", but in the West people don't go crazy when a director uses a "non traditionally beautiful" actor or model. Often, it is done for effect to make the character unique. Many James Bond films include "ugly" male actors, the villains are always chosen to look that way, be they Caucasian or Asian. From Dr No, to Metal Mouth, to the last bond films (Casino Royale's villain, No Time To Die's Villain). In the fashion and marketing world especially, people are chosen because they don't look like everyone else, but have a striking look.
Well, in American cinema for a long time leading men and ladies were expected to be stunningly attractive, but then there was always room for second tier “character actors” who just have a unique (even sometimes scary) look
Yeah there have been a few recent controversies involving a number of fashion and product marketing campaigns...I guess it's just the 'glass heart syndrome' or inferiority complex/victim mindset in general.
Ok, here's the thing, in American cinema, acting is more important than looks. Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Clarke Gable were all very attractive men, but they were also incredible actors too. It doesn't matter how attractive you are, if you can't deliver a line to save your life, nobody is going watch your films. There are plenty of actors/actresses who will never go beyond B-movies (or even pornography) because they simply can't act. And being pretty doesn't help.
Yeah, the joke of the movie is that the real main character is the sidekick as opposed to the traditional hero. I think it also may have been a commentary on Asian actors not being able to get main character roles at the time (something which is finally changing as the idea of a "default" hero being white is hopefully now changing in casting directors' minds so that a wider variety of actors could get the roles). Anyways, I love this movie.
This whole endeavor was a conscious deconstruction of the "white savior" and "yellow peril" tropes. The old school, classic (racist), pulp adventure stories would have a white hero save hapless foreigners from an at-best poorly researched and at worst straight up offensive exotified threat. This movie is all about turning all that on it's head. He looks like the unflappable, invincible hero on the poster and it turns out he's the comic relief. The foreigners have been doing just fine by themselves for centuries dealing with their supernatural threats, and the random white dudebro truck driver barely manages to be more help than trouble. He's not the hero that can do anything, or even a lot of things, but he's the sidekick with the ONE TRICK that comes in clutch...
@@chrisleebowers Exactly. It's a criticism of the way Americans portray themselves in moves way back when, and also of the way surely many Americans see themselves. The movie is told from Jack's perspective, and from his perspective he's the hero. He's too stupid to realize he's actually the sidekick. The main cultural commentary in this movie is white people making fun of themselves. Bruce Lee calling out Hollywood for only portraying Asians as stereotypes is spot on, but notice there's a bunch of very normal Asian-Americans in the movie. Eddie and the guards at the import company speak perfect American English. This may seem unremarkable in 2022 but was almost unheard of in 1986. As far as the setting, Chinatown on the surface is pretty normal but underneath it's a campy Hong Kong martial arts movie. It seems clear to me that the movie is not suggesting that there are real sorcerers living under Chinatown! It plays straight but it's a silly comedy from start to finish.
@@bocuster In contex of the greater world during the 80s Americans were making films for Americans. You don't think other countries portrays Americans as loud morons? The Battle at Lake Changjin, Wolf Warrior both anti American propaganda films made by the Chinese. The issue people have in America is an Inferiority Superiority Complex... Basically Americans are amazing at prostration and pretend the world actually cares. How many people in China just waiting for Americans to cast a Chinese person as the lead role? Top 10 2021 Chinese box office films only two were made by American companies that are owned by China. It's not about the world, it's about America and attempt on equity. 55,000 employed actors in America about 600 films are made a year, 200 of those are actual studio releases. Figures released this year 9% of asians have speaking roles in hollywood films during 2021. There are about 340 million people in America, 19 million identify as asian. Again there are only 55,000 actors, 900 of those work in hollywood... out of that only 177 actually win awards. The statical average that a white person being in an America films is pretty high. The statistical average for 1 out of 340 million to become a Hollywood actor is insane. Sliverlining... 34% in projected growth (2020-2030) in acting jobs. All I'm trying too say is we pretend our time (present) is special. The film industry (1895) in comparison to human history is still in its infancy. Worlds first novel was created a thousand years ago in Japan and it has taken a 1,000 years for someone to write about a boy wizard living under the stairs. Point is there is always time.
"He was in another movie where he likes to drive and hit women" haha I've never heard Death Proof described that way but I love it, and Kurt Russell is an national treasure!
I got more in the first 4 minutes of this video than I do with most other 'reaction' videos. It's nice having someone fluent in a particular language used in a film to help explain.
The lightning guy inspired Rayden from Mortal Kombat. This was most probably the first movie that had real Kung fu stars like Carter Wong, from HK, who plays Thunder. Great video!
I was just about to make this same comment about Lightning directly inspiring Rayden, but I thought, "Someone else has probably already done that." Thank you, Cesar!
Movie is full of legends, and it's cool to see the guys who played Thunder and all do interviews years later and talk about it. And James Hong is just a masterpiece, It's great to see him in anything.
I LOVE Lee! He's so laid back and just NOTHING fazes this guy. I'd love to hang out with him. Seems really cool. His ability to break down the Cantonese and compare with Mandarin is also useful because he speaks very clear and doesn't mumble.
It's very interesting to know the translations and hearing their perspective on what's being said versus what it actually means. Her interpretation of the various acting methods was quite funny at times.
they are real Chinese weapons in martial arts but... a little bit exaggerated. i think many of those were invented around a time when the government banned the use of swords and any other weapon that could cut. cant remember which dinasty was
It's fun to look back on this through a modern lens, but it wasnt as obvious back then that Wang was the real hero. The studios didn't want that or they didn't think the American audience wanted it. Carpenter was brilliant for how subversive this movie really is. I think it pays a great tribute to Eastern culture and cinema when every other movie and show at the time were still using Asians as a punchline.
Besides James Hong and Victor Wong as the evil and good wizards, Al Leong and Gerald Okamura were nonspeaking members of the evil gang. These four men play "the Chinese guy" in absolutely everything. Al was Ghengis Khan in Bill and Ted and a henchman for every 80's villain.
Oh btw, this movie was actually a life saver for many asian actors in hollywood that time. It was a movie made specially for them in a way. The actors, mainly James Hong was very happy about it.
I'd also point out I never got a Fu Manchu vibe off Lo Pan. Popular imagery for Fu Manchu has him with a far less ornate look. I think they were trying to evoke the image of a jiangshi (vulgarly known as a Chinese hopping vampire in America) with Lo Pan. At least that's what always popped into my head when i saw him.
Kurt Russell is one of John Carpenter's favourite actors, using him in a number of his films, Escape for New York, The Thing, Elvis, etc. Kim Cattrall was also quite famous at that time having been acting since the mid 70's.
He was also Walt Disney's last words, quite literally, the last thing Walt Disney said before passing away was "Kurt Russell" and nobody knows why and it's still a mystery to this day, since he wasn't delusional nor in a state of delirium, but of course the most logic thing to think is that he wanted him for a proyect or movie he had in mind and he wanted to say a few more things before he passed but unfortunately that's as far as he got…
@@FreddieHg37 Nope, that's a rumour, the truth is Walt Disney wrote his name (among a few other things) down on a piece of paper shortly before being hospitalized and that's' all.
0:27 Victor Wong filmed this prologue right after he attended the wake for his son Lyon who had be assaulted and killed in Sacramento by a high school football player who shouted anti Asian and homophobic slurs at Lyon before running up behind Lyon and punching him in the head resulting in a fatal intracranial hemorrhage. The prosecutor told the Wong family that the killer was a minor and that the circumstances didn't justify trying him as an adult, so he would only be sentenced to 6 months for manslaughter. When the family suggested that the killing was a hate crime warranting a heavier sentence because of the killer's bigoted insults that preceded his physical attack on Lyon, the prosecutor said that it couldn't be a hate crime because it was minority on minority violence. The family went to a local news station's advocacy reporter with their story, and the reporter said that this was an injustice that should be exposed. The station was going to do a featured report on the case, but then the Challenger Shuttle explosion happened, and the report was cancelled because the news media had to focus on the huge national tragedy. Victor's health declined, and he suffered his first stroke soon after.
Interesting! I never heard of this before. It's a tragic precursor of all the anti-Asian hate/violence that has now become a daily occurrence. Everything Mr. Wong went through still holds true - - The U.S. courts, legal systems, and mainstream media all ignore anti-Asian violence, refuse to label the crimes "hate-crimes", give the criminals light penalties, and try to sweep all evidence and memory of it under the carpet.
@@1Asian_Badass Yes, except the media is trying to frame it as white people who are doing it. 9 times out 10, it isnt. Regardless, NO ONE should be doing it. White, brown or purple.
I always hoped you'd watch this eventually! I'm really happy so much of the language was authentic, but I don't think anyone expected the strange creatures or characters to be connected to anything in Chinese mythology or history. It was assumed they made it all up. Glad you enjoyed Lightning. Mortal Kombat based Raiden on him. It's too bad Wang wasn't on the posters, but he was considered to be the hero. Russel was the most famous actor, so they put him on the posters, but he was really the audience character, lost and confused through everything, and it was a great reversal of most movies, so that he ended up being the comedic sidekick. It was a great twist that makes this movie a classic.
I've seen this movie literally hundreds of times, and each time I catch something new. This time it was really fascinating to see it through your eyes, especially the little bits of Chinese writing/posters/mythology that someone from the West wouldn't catch. My wife speaks and reads Russian fluently, and it's always a blast when she sees little things in movies/tv shows that only someone with her background would notice. Like the two of you watching this, it helps me see it in a whole new light. :) Thank you both for posting this, and giving me new insight into a movie that I have loved for decades.
Some of the cast were action performers and choreographers from Hong Kong and a lot of them joined the production specifically because they were assured it would be "done right".
Hey Jesse, I'm a Mandarin learner from the USA, and I just wanted to say you're my favorite channel for Mandarin content, I love your goofy demeanor and passion for learning languages. Hope your channel blows up soon! Your content is great
4:40 This is Jeff Imada, who was a stuntman and side performer in countless movies in the 80s and 90s, and still works today. I still remember him stealing candy while robbing Nakatomi Tower in Die Hard. As children, my sister and I called him “Star Mongol,” which was probably insensitive, but the way he wore his hair and mustache looked to us like Genghis Khan-era warriors and he was a star because he was in every movie.
Jack is the confident,brave funny guy who can't fight but always has your back and Wang is the badass who can fight and shows jack his culture. They both are a team and compliment eachother.
And yet he’s not dissuaded or humiliated by that. His friend (and his friend’s girlfriend) is in trouble. What does a REAL man do? (Even though he’s the only character in the entire movie who doesn’t know martial arts)? He helps. It’s not about him. It’s about helping others.
Ordinarily I'm not a fan of "reaction" videos, but this was an exception. Very well done and thanks for pulling back the veil on the Chinese side of the movie.
This was so cool! I grew up in the 80's and got to see Big Trouble in Little China when it came out in theaters. It's been one of my favorite movies forever, but seeing it through your eyes, and the added explanations has added so much more meaning to it now. Thank you so much for doing this! I loved it!
Wow, I don't know how you two watched a whole movie sitting like that, but you were so observant! I love noticing the little word play jokes, the things happening in the background, picking up on the old movie tropes that this film is homaging/parodying. I definitely want to see more of you guys doing this with some beloved classics.
This was a great video! I love all the input from both of you during the movie. It's nice to see you confirm when they did something right, and when they did it wrong. Cant wait for your next reaction ❤
At 20:25 I wondered if you would pick up that Wang is actually the lead of the movie and Jack is the sidekick but doesn't realize it. This was deliberate as it lampooned the typical western hero architype.
As someone who has seen this movie dozens of times, I truly appreciated seeing the translations, and nuances pointed out that I hadn't been able to appreciate before. Thanks!
I enjoy watching the actors actually draw in Chi energy while filming. Makes the hair on my arms stand up as I start automatically start drawing in Chi as well
You'll also notice that Kurt Russell's character messes up constantly and does very little that is actually productive during the movie. Almost everything except his reflexes at the end are accidents. It was kind of a commentary on American action movies of the 80's. I was a little kid when it came out and it was my first introduction to anything so it holds a special place in my heart. I think its telling that Wang, Egg Shen, and Lo Pan are the characters in it that I think of most. I love it when I come across James Hong in anything because I smile and think of Lo Pan and then look at how he's playing the character I'm currently watching. He also gets a lot of points for appearing in the mock music video for Lo Pan style, a satire of Gangnam Style.
The term, "Bring you down to Chinatown" doesn't actually have any meaning, good or bad. It's an American phrase people use to say only because it kind of rhymes in loose way and isn't a reflection on China in any way. It's just something some people would say more as a point of humor than anything and never held any kind of negative connotation. That said, there's nothing "racist" about any of this.
I love Big Trouble in Little China. In the UK Mr Vampire and Zu Warriors were both aired on TV (I think Channel 4). I'd recorded both to videotape and watched them many times so when I saw Big Trouble in Little China it was clear it was a real "love letter" to those Hong Kong Fantasy movies.
That was a really fascinating reaction/review. I've seen this movie dozens of times over the last 30 years and now I got to see it from a whole different perspective. - thanks!
I’ve seen this film dozens of times, but you guys brought a new perspective----on authenticity, and I’m glad to discover that they actually were speaking proper Cantonese. Some U.S. movies, like “Die Hard,” feature foreign characters speaking gibberish (or in that case, bad German) instead of an authentic foreign language. Indeed, this film features many movie tropes and stereotypes concerning Chinese culture, but the overall sensibilities were more affectionate than exploitation. For example, unlike many movies that feature a white protagonist in an environment with non-whites, Jack Burton was not the hero-----Wang and Egg were the actual heroes, and Jack mostly screwed up until he finally killed Lo Pan, after a second try. So it’s not the usual condescending “white savior” theme. The stereotypes should fade in the West over time. Considering that China didn’t start opening up to the West until the early ‘70s and didn’t begin to modernize its economy until the late ‘70s, I think we’ve come a long way since the darker days of racist Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu stereotypes.
Just to respond to one thing the reason why Kurt Russel was on the poster and not wong was a clever ploy by John Carpenter to fool the audience into believing Kurt Russel was the main hero while in reality he is Wongs sidekick who is the hero of the movie.
John Carpenter said this move was inspired by Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain. There's no sequel planned, but they have been talking about a reboot with The Rock.
God, I hope they dont. The last thing we need is a reboot of this classic. Plus, I like the rock, but he is no Jack Burton. Not even close. And, they would make Wang a black female.
John Carpenter always referred to Wang as the main protagonist of the movie. But the movie is framed through Jack's lens. Meaning he sees himself as the hero even though that's not necessarily the case. This was fun, always nice to see how citizens from other countries feel about western movies. This one especially because it's one of my favorites.
You are so very correct that this movie is a cult classic. I have loved this movie since it first came out, but I knew there was so much nuance that I was missing because of the chinese language that I did not speak or understand. So, thank you very much for sharing and helping us to understand more.
Fantastic! i'm incredibly impressed how authentic the dialouge is, and i wouldn't know that without you. kudos. i'm enjoying this movie from a different perspective.
Egg foo yong is not a joke . It is a Chinese American dish. It’s like omelette. Anyway, I love your movie reactions and your informative commentaries . Hope you guys do more of these reactions.
Loved the reaction. It's said about this movie that it's about a side kick (Jack Burton) who thinks he's the hero, when really it's Wang Chi who does all the best stuff and is the real hero.
Very interesting perspective! I find that there's a major lack of perspective on UA-cam from Chinese viewpoints on pop culture, movies, etc. Really entertaining to watch. Hope you two have a great 2022!
Honestly loved this. Thanks for sharing your opinions on this movie that is one of my favorites. It was really fun for me to hear some behind the scenes translations for words and concepts that meant nothing to me growing up. Thanks again!
This was a family favorite of ours growing up, my dad had forgotten all his chinese though so couldn't translate those parts for us, really fun to finally know. Appreciate it!
It was wonderful to get this take from a Chinese angle. I appreciate the details that you picked up. I wonder if there would be more appreciation for the film on a second viewing with more context, but it was good to see you have some fun on a first time through it!
The scary-looking guy you were wondering about with the hatchet is Al Leong. He's been in tons of movies, such as the original Die Hard. Also, he played Chinggis Khaan in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
20:27 yes, Jack is the secondary character of the story. This is one of the few movies out there where the audience's "main character" is the stories secondary character. I always thought it was kind of cool.
I'm so glad this video popped up on my recommendeds. This is one of my favorite movies and you guys reaction and translations added so much! I'm definitely subbing. Thank you!
Whoa, I have watched this film many times. They level of insight you two have brought to this movie has given me a new appreciation for it. I need you guys to commentate ALL my movies based on Chinese culture.
Super-fun movie! John Carpenter may have been poking fun at the Hollywood stereotypes Bruce Lee spoke about because many of his movies, They Live (1988) in particular, drip with a subversive disdain for mendacious authority. Big Trouble in Little China might be viewed as a reaction to Gremlins (1984), which opens in an antique store in Chinatown. Meet the Parents is a comedy in which DeNiro plays up his typecasting as a tough guy. "I will bring you down to Chinatown" is not something Americans say. It's just that it rhymes and it sounds kinda tough and maybe resonates with the classic 1974 Roman Polanski film Chinatown. Chinatown was not made out to be a place to fear in the 80's or the 90's, at least not where I grew up in California. And Kurt Russell started acting as a teenager in the 1960's and soon landed a ten year contract with Disney that left him typecast for a decade. But he continued acting anyway and amassed a long list of fan favorite films including Used Cars (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Overboard (1987), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Escape from L.A. (1996), 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) among others.
In Big Trouble In Little China, some of the actors are from Hong Kong so they speak fluent Cantonese. James Hong (Lo Pan), Dennis Dun (Wang Chi), and the late Victor Wong (Egg Shen) are all American Born Chinese (ABC). It is true that the film is told through the eyes of Kurt Russell’s characters and he is the side character, Russell was the only big name in the film so all major marketing featured him prominently. The marketing reminds me of Lethal Weapon 4, which featured Jet Li as the main villain. Yet, in the U.S., he was nowhere in any of the promotions compared to Europe, especially France, where I vacationed at the time, promoted Li equally with the rest of the cast. All U.S. promotions after the successful release of LW4, only then was Li included because he was the biggest draw to a closing chapter in the franchise.
So much gratitude for the effort & information you two have given for One of my FAVORITE movie's Growing up! Thank you that was Wonderful to hear /read the Translations of the dialogue, As well as the descriptions of the Names of objects and people! I'm going to forward this to friends & Relatives who also love the movie & Would find this interesting and Hilarious... Good job and much love From Philadelphia 👍
It's not mentioned in the movie, but Grace Law's backstory is that her parents were missionaries in China, and she was actually born there. So she is, technically, also a green-eyed woman from China.
I think the "bring you down to Chinatown" line from DeNiro was mainly a rhyming joke and possibly a play on the name of the Jack Nicholson movie "Chinatown" and had nothing at all to actually do with Chinatown or general misconceptions.
I love watching these videos where you analyze language and Chinese cultural items placed in Western Pop Culture. I always learn something new from you! This historical stuff is my favorite. Two thumbs up as always! 👍🏽👍🏽
Yes you are absolutely right that Wang is the main character. Only reason the posters are so focused on Jack is because the studios demanded it as they didn't believe that the movie would sell that well if it showed Asian lead character.
Stumbled into this channel and im glad i did x3. Thanks for the app recomendation btw, having a lot of fun using it to learn words and phrases for everyday use and trying to get my pronunciation right :). Dont know if i'll ever speak mandarin fluently but im sure going to try and learn as much as i can. Love from a Portuguese fan
Jack is a parody of the American action hero. He has the self confidence and bluster of a man who is in control. However he screws up constantly, Wang has to save him an everybody else.
You guys should do more movie reactions, So much detail and you guys really take it in. Id say these are the best reactions on UA-cam. This and your crouching tiger one are super high quality. Much love, hope to see more
This is one of my most favorite movies ever! Thank you so much for watching it and giving us some language insights. I've always wondered what certain things said. I can't wait to tell my dad about this (it's a fav of his too). Also, the Tong Wars was a real thing that happend in San Fransico Chinatown... and I think parts of New York possibly, too. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars
I saw this when it first came out in the 80s, I was a teenager, I loved it. it's just one of the many things that got me so interested in the mysterious ancient Chinese and Asian cultures and myths. This was meant to be a tongue in cheek comedy, yet it had so many awesome respectful tips of the hat to Asian culture IMO. I have watched this movie many times. I am quite sure I watch it more than once a year still, though I don't keep track lol. I did not think I could like this movie more, but your watch and review made me love it even more. thank you for this! (I also did not know ANY Mandarin most of my life, but started learning a few years ago. OMG that also made not only listening to you two speak it, but catching all the Mandarin used in the film as well, fantastic! thank you for your hard work! I am so glad I came across your channel Jessie. beautiful lady. and your friend is super quick witted and very knowledgeable, he was an awesome asset to this video.
One of the leading red fighters (small guy with long hair, long Fu Manchu style beard), is Al Leong, one of the most famous stuntman and martial arts actors in Hollywood. He appeared in a LOT of movies and TV shows during the 1980s and early 90s. He also played Uli, the candy stealing gangster, in Die Hard.
Guys!! I scheduled an interview with Thunder (Carter Wong)!! Do you have any questions for him? Please let me know ASAP!
As an adult, I've started to wonder if John Carpenter was using Chinese cultural stereotypes of the time to emphasize just how outdated and silly those stereotypes were.
I would like to know how Carter Wong felt about those cultural stereotypes while making the movie, and if his thoughts have changed in the 30+ years since.
I got one, In the video game Mortal Kombat the creators said they “ borrowed “two characters from this movie and incorporated into the game. That being Shang tsung(1st MK)and Raiden
(every MK)How does it feel that your portrayal has been so impactful on video games and its culture?
Lucky! If I had him right in front of me, I think I'd want to ask him how weird it is to be surfing around the internet and to come across his character as a meme everywhere. Clearly he's not the most common meme out there, but (at least in my circles) he certainly comes up on occasion. Either as a still, or as an animated exploding produce stand.
What's his favourite memory from the days of filming this movie?
I wouldn’t know the first thing to ask. But it would be cool to thank him and let him know that growing up watching this movie was literally magic. I remember pretending to fly around doing kung fu with lightning powers in my imagination as a kid ⚡️.
This brought back fond memories.
I've waited over 30 years for someone to translate parts of the Chinese characters to English, thank you!
Ikr 👍❤️
Same
Learning that Lo Pan told Wang that Jack is a moron during the wheelchair scene is officially the highlight of my month.
This has been my fav movie since I was in 2nd grade and I couldn’t agree more. Best reaction vid ever
Was interesting.
I have loved this movie for years, but hearing you two translate the Chinese ( whether it's the scenery or the words ) in the movie makes it so much more interesting.
You can say that again.
The first draft of the script took place in the 1870's during The Tong Wars, when there actually were gangfights and brothels in SF Chinatown. Jack was a cowboy who lost his horse instead of his truck. They decided to set it in the present day because they felt that all the supernatural stuff ON TOP OF being in the Old West would be too far from reality. They wanted to start with the "normal" world being more familiar. But then that reinforces these old stereotypes.
But, the reason this movie is a comedy is that it is MAKING FUN of older more racist Hollywood movies that Bruce Lee was talking about, where the white hero saves the hapless foreigners. The poster is supposed to make you *think* it's that kind of movie so that it's a *surprise* when it turns out that he's NOT the hero and that Wang is.
All this is true. It's also true that Chinatown SF was not a stranger to periods of violence, too. Look up the Golden Dragon Massacre of 1977. I'm certainly not suggesting that Chinatown is as dangerous as portrayed in this movie or in the media of the time, only that gang violence was a real thing in very recent memory when this movie came out.
Yeah, the chinese characters were already fighting a villian and Kurt Russell's character was along for the ride, but i feel like he represents the audience as an excuse to explain the world and magic that takes place therein
He kills the main bad guy at the end
@@HomeboyUnholy To his own surprise!
@@bocuster There was also a drive-by on tong leaders In Chinatown in the 90s. I was actually cellmates with the driver for a time while we were fighting our cases in 850.
Yep, Wang is the main hero, Jack is the side kick but you are seeing it from Jack's perspective.
Jack opens the movie, wins the money, kills the bad guy, gets his girl and then closes out the movie, wang kills more guys but what else makes him the main guy?
@@phanties "In the DVD commentary, John Carpenter jokingly says that Kurt Russell's character Jack Burton is the hero of the movie, but other than killing Lo Pan, and saving Wang when he shoots the guard, he is more of a sidekick throughout the movie." He even knocks himself out for a good portion of the fight.
I guess main character and main hero are differ t
@@phanties Jack is the main character, but he's actually the sidekick who THINKS and BEHAVES as if he's the hero, when he's not. Wang is the actual hero of the story. If the story was following from Wang perspective, it'd be easier to notice, but it's not. That's the joke though. We're following Jack, the ignorant American who, despite having no idea what's going on, thinks he's here to save the day, and behaves as such. This was intentionally done by John Carpenter...
The entire plot basically revolves around him and his girlfriend. They drive the plot, not Jack.
Jack is just kinda there throughout the movie.
I don't think Old Lo Pan's voice was modified. James Hong can really sound like this in real life. Jessie really needs to read the Bio of James Hong, he has starred in more films than any other Hollywood actor in history! He has pretty much been in every movie that cast Asians. He really should get a lifetime achievement award from the Oscars. I'm gonna be pissed if he is not recognized except as an "In Memory" segment after he dies. James Hong is 92 years old and still going strong, making films and TV.
Seriously, James Hong is the King of Hollywood. My name is James, and I'm proud to have the same name as such an amazing man.
James Hong is an American treasure.
When they commented on his funny voice, my first thought was Po's dad from Kung Fu Panda (also James Hong).
Got to meet him at a con. Lovely gentleman. MASSIVE list of credits.
He's going to be in that upcoming film with Michelle Yeoh called Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, which looks amazing. It's also got the actor who is famous for playing Data in the Goonies, and Short Round in Temple of Doom. If you haven't seen a trailer for that film, you should check it out, it looks insane.
John carpenter meant for Wang to be the hero and Jack to be the sidekick. The studio just wouldn't let him market the movie that way back then. They wanted Kurt Russell marketed as the hero. He added the opening scene in response to that.
It’s like Rick Blaine is the main character in Casablanca but is periphery to the larger scale events that are happening around the smaller story of one slightly sleazy club owner. You might expect a Victor Lazlo to be the hero based on a description of the characters but it’s film noir and we are more interested in the reluctant anti-hero perspective in this kind of film
My understanding is that this was just a subversion meant to be funny to the audience, because they are MEANT to go in thinking Kurt Russel is the hero, but *ha-ha he’s the dopey stereotypical sidekick!* Wang was never supposed to be “marketed” at all, but the studio felt that audiences wouldn’t get the joke and insisted upon the inclusion of the opening scene to bolster Jack and reinforce audience expectations
What is the point of the first scene? The court scene? We never go back to it! Why is he in court?
The studios did a terrible job promoting this movie and I don’t think they really understood it. But once it came out on VHS and started showing on tv it became a cult classic and gained a lot of fans.
I love how incompetent and clueless Jack is most respects. He’s a great comedy side kick for Wang Chi.
@@HyenaPaintI believe the first scene is ...poorly organized. It seems like a court scene, with a court reporter typing away in the background and questions being asked....but then the lawyer says something like "if I'm going to represent you..." which suggests that Egg Shen is a potential client of this lawyer, so it makes no sense to have a court reporter typing their conversation, or for the lawyer to be grilling Egg Shen as if Egg were a hostile witness. This only took me about 30 years to notice. 😊
Big Trouble In Little China is definitely meant to poke fun at old hollywood tropes, that's why Kurl Russell's character is constantly the butt of jokes, as a clueless Westerner caught up in an ancient power struggle he doesn't understand and fumbles his way through, barely surviving.
In much to same way, John Carpenter's "Escape from New York" and "Escape from LA" (especially) are meant to be "bad films" ("so bad they're good"), full of cheesy one liners, gruff characters who don't say much, etc.
Indiana Jones was meant as a homage to the old serials from the 1930s silent film era.
John Carpenter is an Auteur, and if you think something is crassly stereotypical or cheesy, it's because he put it there deliberately on purpose. He has made so many cult movies, it's hard to remember them all: Halloween, Christine, Assault on Precinct 13, Big Trouble in Little China, The Thing, They Live, Prince of Darkness, and on and on.
"They Live" is a perfect example of a campy movie with a deliberate subtext: It lets those in the West feel like what it feels if a much stronger power gains a huge sphere of influence over your politics, culture, and elite establishment, and the intense feelings of alienation that would result. You can't communicate to an American why someone in say, Rwanda, might all of a sudden be upset if all of the big business and politicians in the country were educated outside and beholden to foreign money, but if you watch the movie, you'll get a taste -- wrapped up in a cheesy dialogue and a main actor who was a wrestler.
BTW, one thing I notice is that Chinese commenting on Wetsern movies often seem to focus on stuff like "they used a small eyes/slanty eyes actor. Why not someone better looking with double fold, it must be to make fun of Chinese", but in the West people don't go crazy when a director uses a "non traditionally beautiful" actor or model. Often, it is done for effect to make the character unique. Many James Bond films include "ugly" male actors, the villains are always chosen to look that way, be they Caucasian or Asian. From Dr No, to Metal Mouth, to the last bond films (Casino Royale's villain, No Time To Die's Villain). In the fashion and marketing world especially, people are chosen because they don't look like everyone else, but have a striking look.
Well, in American cinema for a long time leading men and ladies were expected to be stunningly attractive, but then there was always room for second tier “character actors” who just have a unique (even sometimes scary) look
Yeah there have been a few recent controversies involving a number of fashion and product marketing campaigns...I guess it's just the 'glass heart syndrome' or inferiority complex/victim mindset in general.
Ok, here's the thing, in American cinema, acting is more important than looks. Robert Redford, Brad Pitt, Clarke Gable were all very attractive men, but they were also incredible actors too. It doesn't matter how attractive you are, if you can't deliver a line to save your life, nobody is going watch your films. There are plenty of actors/actresses who will never go beyond B-movies (or even pornography) because they simply can't act. And being pretty doesn't help.
a man of culture!
Yeah, the joke of the movie is that the real main character is the sidekick as opposed to the traditional hero. I think it also may have been a commentary on Asian actors not being able to get main character roles at the time (something which is finally changing as the idea of a "default" hero being white is hopefully now changing in casting directors' minds so that a wider variety of actors could get the roles).
Anyways, I love this movie.
This whole endeavor was a conscious deconstruction of the "white savior" and "yellow peril" tropes. The old school, classic (racist), pulp adventure stories would have a white hero save hapless foreigners from an at-best poorly researched and at worst straight up offensive exotified threat.
This movie is all about turning all that on it's head. He looks like the unflappable, invincible hero on the poster and it turns out he's the comic relief. The foreigners have been doing just fine by themselves for centuries dealing with their supernatural threats, and the random white dudebro truck driver barely manages to be more help than trouble. He's not the hero that can do anything, or even a lot of things, but he's the sidekick with the ONE TRICK that comes in clutch...
@@chrisleebowers this ^
@@chrisleebowers Exactly. It's a criticism of the way Americans portray themselves in moves way back when, and also of the way surely many Americans see themselves. The movie is told from Jack's perspective, and from his perspective he's the hero. He's too stupid to realize he's actually the sidekick. The main cultural commentary in this movie is white people making fun of themselves.
Bruce Lee calling out Hollywood for only portraying Asians as stereotypes is spot on, but notice there's a bunch of very normal Asian-Americans in the movie. Eddie and the guards at the import company speak perfect American English. This may seem unremarkable in 2022 but was almost unheard of in 1986.
As far as the setting, Chinatown on the surface is pretty normal but underneath it's a campy Hong Kong martial arts movie. It seems clear to me that the movie is not suggesting that there are real sorcerers living under Chinatown! It plays straight but it's a silly comedy from start to finish.
Mhmm. That's why Kurt is doing a John Wayne impression. Kinda john carpenters way of making fun of him.
@@bocuster In contex of the greater world during the 80s Americans were making films for Americans.
You don't think other countries portrays Americans as loud morons? The Battle at Lake Changjin, Wolf Warrior both anti American propaganda films made by the Chinese.
The issue people have in America is an Inferiority Superiority Complex... Basically Americans are amazing at prostration and pretend the world actually cares.
How many people in China just waiting for Americans to cast a Chinese person as the lead role? Top 10 2021 Chinese box office films only two were made by American companies that are owned by China.
It's not about the world, it's about America and attempt on equity.
55,000 employed actors in America about 600 films are made a year, 200 of those are actual studio releases.
Figures released this year 9% of asians have speaking roles in hollywood films during 2021. There are about 340 million people in America, 19 million identify as asian. Again there are only 55,000 actors, 900 of those work in hollywood... out of that only 177 actually win awards.
The statical average that a white person being in an America films is pretty high.
The statistical average for 1 out of 340 million to become a Hollywood actor is insane.
Sliverlining... 34% in projected growth (2020-2030) in acting jobs.
All I'm trying too say is we pretend our time (present) is special. The film industry (1895) in comparison to human history is still in its infancy. Worlds first novel was created a thousand years ago in Japan and it has taken a 1,000 years for someone to write about a boy wizard living under the stairs. Point is there is always time.
The slit glasses are ('I think) based on inuit eye protection against snow blindness and they were kind of a fashion accessory in the 80s.
"He was in another movie where he likes to drive and hit women" haha I've never heard Death Proof described that way but I love it, and Kurt Russell is an national treasure!
Soul resurrection knife... my mind is BLOWN. I've seen this movie a hundred times. this was excellent. THANK YOU
I’m actually impressed how much this movie apparently got right. It’s been a favorite of mine for 30+ years.
I got more in the first 4 minutes of this video than I do with most other 'reaction' videos. It's nice having someone fluent in a particular language used in a film to help explain.
The lightning guy inspired Rayden from Mortal Kombat. This was most probably the first movie that had real Kung fu stars like Carter Wong, from HK, who plays Thunder. Great video!
And Lo Pan inspired Shang Tsung. Down to the "getting young again" thing.
@@Nergalsama01 Huh......You know, I never noticed that before.
I was just about to make this same comment about Lightning directly inspiring Rayden, but I thought, "Someone else has probably already done that."
Thank you, Cesar!
Bloodsport, Big Trouble, Bruce Lee (Liu Kang), and even Terminator (Kano) were all major inspirations for Mortal Kombat.
Movie is full of legends, and it's cool to see the guys who played Thunder and all do interviews years later and talk about it. And James Hong is just a masterpiece, It's great to see him in anything.
I LOVE Lee! He's so laid back and just NOTHING fazes this guy. I'd love to hang out with him. Seems really cool. His ability to break down the Cantonese and compare with Mandarin is also useful because he speaks very clear and doesn't mumble.
Not to mention the sick DOOM and Gang Starr collection.😎
It's very interesting to know the translations and hearing their perspective on what's being said versus what it actually means. Her interpretation of the various acting methods was quite funny at times.
7:04 "Two back scratchers" killed me! 🤣 Ever since I first saw this film, long ago, we called those 'the back-scratchers of death!'
they are real Chinese weapons in martial arts but... a little bit exaggerated. i think many of those were invented around a time when the government banned the use of swords and any other weapon that could cut. cant remember which dinasty was
It's fun to look back on this through a modern lens, but it wasnt as obvious back then that Wang was the real hero. The studios didn't want that or they didn't think the American audience wanted it. Carpenter was brilliant for how subversive this movie really is. I think it pays a great tribute to Eastern culture and cinema when every other movie and show at the time were still using Asians as a punchline.
Besides James Hong and Victor Wong as the evil and good wizards, Al Leong and Gerald Okamura were nonspeaking members of the evil gang. These four men play "the Chinese guy" in absolutely everything. Al was Ghengis Khan in Bill and Ted and a henchman for every 80's villain.
al leong should get the same love as danny trejo today
I'd say famously, Al is one of Hans Gruber's heisters.
@@goldenhide steeling the candy bar was an adlib that got his character more screen time
Oh btw, this movie was actually a life saver for many asian actors in hollywood that time. It was a movie made specially for them in a way. The actors, mainly James Hong was very happy about it.
This is great :) Format, casual talk in between, subtitles with characters and translation. Really helpful, and interesting.
Yeah, the format of the video was cool. Not sure what else they could review in this way by I'd definitely watch.
I'd also point out I never got a Fu Manchu vibe off Lo Pan. Popular imagery for Fu Manchu has him with a far less ornate look. I think they were trying to evoke the image of a jiangshi (vulgarly known as a Chinese hopping vampire in America) with Lo Pan. At least that's what always popped into my head when i saw him.
yes that is what i thought too!!
Kurt Russell is one of John Carpenter's favourite actors, using him in a number of his films, Escape for New York, The Thing, Elvis, etc. Kim Cattrall was also quite famous at that time having been acting since the mid 70's.
He was also Walt Disney's last words, quite literally, the last thing Walt Disney said before passing away was "Kurt Russell" and nobody knows why and it's still a mystery to this day, since he wasn't delusional nor in a state of delirium, but of course the most logic thing to think is that he wanted him for a proyect or movie he had in mind and he wanted to say a few more things before he passed but unfortunately that's as far as he got…
Yeah, John wanted him to be in They Live too, but I guess Kurt was to busy.
@@FreddieHg37 Nope, that's a rumour, the truth is Walt Disney wrote his name (among a few other things) down on a piece of paper shortly before being hospitalized and that's' all.
0:27 Victor Wong filmed this prologue right after he attended the wake for his son Lyon who had be assaulted and killed in Sacramento by a high school football player who shouted anti Asian and homophobic slurs at Lyon before running up behind Lyon and punching him in the head resulting in a fatal intracranial hemorrhage. The prosecutor told the Wong family that the killer was a minor and that the circumstances didn't justify trying him as an adult, so he would only be sentenced to 6 months for manslaughter. When the family suggested that the killing was a hate crime warranting a heavier sentence because of the killer's bigoted insults that preceded his physical attack on Lyon, the prosecutor said that it couldn't be a hate crime because it was minority on minority violence. The family went to a local news station's advocacy reporter with their story, and the reporter said that this was an injustice that should be exposed. The station was going to do a featured report on the case, but then the Challenger Shuttle explosion happened, and the report was cancelled because the news media had to focus on the huge national tragedy. Victor's health declined, and he suffered his first stroke soon after.
I never knew that, that's awful :(
So sad
Interesting! I never heard of this before. It's a tragic precursor of all the anti-Asian hate/violence that has now become a daily occurrence. Everything Mr. Wong went through still holds true - - The U.S. courts, legal systems, and mainstream media all ignore anti-Asian violence, refuse to label the crimes "hate-crimes", give the criminals light penalties, and try to sweep all evidence and memory of it under the carpet.
@@1Asian_Badass Yes, except the media is trying to frame it as white people who are doing it. 9 times out 10, it isnt. Regardless, NO ONE should be doing it. White, brown or purple.
Sorrow 😔
I always hoped you'd watch this eventually! I'm really happy so much of the language was authentic, but I don't think anyone expected the strange creatures or characters to be connected to anything in Chinese mythology or history. It was assumed they made it all up. Glad you enjoyed Lightning. Mortal Kombat based Raiden on him. It's too bad Wang wasn't on the posters, but he was considered to be the hero. Russel was the most famous actor, so they put him on the posters, but he was really the audience character, lost and confused through everything, and it was a great reversal of most movies, so that he ended up being the comedic sidekick. It was a great twist that makes this movie a classic.
That was very interesting. I appreciated your perspective and translations
Being a huge fan, I appreciate your translations 🙏
I've seen this movie literally hundreds of times, and each time I catch something new. This time it was really fascinating to see it through your eyes, especially the little bits of Chinese writing/posters/mythology that someone from the West wouldn't catch. My wife speaks and reads Russian fluently, and it's always a blast when she sees little things in movies/tv shows that only someone with her background would notice. Like the two of you watching this, it helps me see it in a whole new light. :)
Thank you both for posting this, and giving me new insight into a movie that I have loved for decades.
Very interesting, I had no idea they used so much authentic Chinese language and background touches.
Some of the cast were action performers and choreographers from Hong Kong and a lot of them joined the production specifically because they were assured it would be "done right".
Hey Jesse, I'm a Mandarin learner from the USA, and I just wanted to say you're my favorite channel for Mandarin content, I love your goofy demeanor and passion for learning languages. Hope your channel blows up soon! Your content is great
Did you just call J-Dawg goofy? Don't make me come to your place and shoot lightning bolts at the ceiling.
4:40 This is Jeff Imada, who was a stuntman and side performer in countless movies in the 80s and 90s, and still works today. I still remember him stealing candy while robbing Nakatomi Tower in Die Hard. As children, my sister and I called him “Star Mongol,” which was probably insensitive, but the way he wore his hair and mustache looked to us like Genghis Khan-era warriors and he was a star because he was in every movie.
He was also the torturer in the first Lethal Weapon
Jack is the confident,brave funny guy who can't fight but always has your back and Wang is the badass who can fight and shows jack his culture. They both are a team and compliment eachother.
Wang is actually the Hero. Jack is the comic relief who thinks he’s the hero.
And yet he’s not dissuaded or humiliated by that. His friend (and his friend’s girlfriend) is in trouble. What does a REAL man do? (Even though he’s the only character in the entire movie who doesn’t know martial arts)? He helps. It’s not about him. It’s about helping others.
I don't see a reason why he can't be both.
Is Drax not a hero, even though he is comic relief as well?
I love how Lee's Cantonese influence on Jessie grows w each video I watch
Ordinarily I'm not a fan of "reaction" videos, but this was an exception. Very well done and thanks for pulling back the veil on the Chinese side of the movie.
This was so cool! I grew up in the 80's and got to see Big Trouble in Little China when it came out in theaters. It's been one of my favorite movies forever, but seeing it through your eyes, and the added explanations has added so much more meaning to it now. Thank you so much for doing this! I loved it!
I’ve seen this movie many times but value the perspective & translations you provided to help me understand more of the movie. Thanks
Wow, I don't know how you two watched a whole movie sitting like that, but you were so observant! I love noticing the little word play jokes, the things happening in the background, picking up on the old movie tropes that this film is homaging/parodying. I definitely want to see more of you guys doing this with some beloved classics.
Lee seems to be very knowledgable about many things from different cultures. Also super chill
This was a great video! I love all the input from both of you during the movie. It's nice to see you confirm when they did something right, and when they did it wrong. Cant wait for your next reaction ❤
At 20:25 I wondered if you would pick up that Wang is actually the lead of the movie and Jack is the sidekick but doesn't realize it. This was deliberate as it lampooned the typical western hero architype.
As someone who has seen this movie dozens of times, I truly appreciated seeing the translations, and nuances pointed out that I hadn't been able to appreciate before. Thanks!
I enjoy watching the actors actually draw in Chi energy while filming.
Makes the hair on my arms stand up as I start automatically start drawing in Chi as well
You'll also notice that Kurt Russell's character messes up constantly and does very little that is actually productive during the movie. Almost everything except his reflexes at the end are accidents. It was kind of a commentary on American action movies of the 80's.
I was a little kid when it came out and it was my first introduction to anything so it holds a special place in my heart. I think its telling that Wang, Egg Shen, and Lo Pan are the characters in it that I think of most. I love it when I come across James Hong in anything because I smile and think of Lo Pan and then look at how he's playing the character I'm currently watching. He also gets a lot of points for appearing in the mock music video for Lo Pan style, a satire of Gangnam Style.
This is literally the most insightful and detailed commentary I have ever seen on a reaction. You guys attention to detail is great.
The term, "Bring you down to Chinatown" doesn't actually have any meaning, good or bad. It's an American phrase people use to say only because it kind of rhymes in loose way and isn't a reflection on China in any way. It's just something some people would say more as a point of humor than anything and never held any kind of negative connotation. That said, there's nothing "racist" about any of this.
Like easy peasy Japanesey
10:16 the "mattress" is the cushion from the chair he is thrown through there is a matching one across the shot with a matching cushion.
I love Big Trouble in Little China. In the UK Mr Vampire and Zu Warriors were both aired on TV (I think Channel 4). I'd recorded both to videotape and watched them many times so when I saw Big Trouble in Little China it was clear it was a real "love letter" to those Hong Kong Fantasy movies.
That was a really fascinating reaction/review. I've seen this movie dozens of times over the last 30 years and now I got to see it from a whole different perspective. - thanks!
I’ve seen this film dozens of times, but you guys brought a new perspective----on authenticity, and I’m glad to discover that they actually were speaking proper Cantonese. Some U.S. movies, like “Die Hard,” feature foreign characters speaking gibberish (or in that case, bad German) instead of an authentic foreign language. Indeed, this film features many movie tropes and stereotypes concerning Chinese culture, but the overall sensibilities were more affectionate than exploitation. For example, unlike many movies that feature a white protagonist in an environment with non-whites, Jack Burton was not the hero-----Wang and Egg were the actual heroes, and Jack mostly screwed up until he finally killed Lo Pan, after a second try. So it’s not the usual condescending “white savior” theme. The stereotypes should fade in the West over time. Considering that China didn’t start opening up to the West until the early ‘70s and didn’t begin to modernize its economy until the late ‘70s, I think we’ve come a long way since the darker days of racist Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu stereotypes.
Just to respond to one thing the reason why Kurt Russel was on the poster and not wong was a clever ploy by John Carpenter to fool the audience into believing Kurt Russel was the main hero while in reality he is Wongs sidekick who is the hero of the movie.
Egg foo yong i think is the name of a famous chinese dish 雞蛋芙蓉 it is somewhat popular in western cantonese takeaways it just means an egg omelette
Yes, but from their reaction, I'm starting to think there's a little more to that name than we realize.
This reaction will appease my Emperor indeed!
John Carpenter said this move was inspired by Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain. There's no sequel planned, but they have been talking about a reboot with The Rock.
God, I hope they dont. The last thing we need is a reboot of this classic. Plus, I like the rock, but he is no Jack Burton. Not even close. And, they would make Wang a black female.
I think it would have been better if they made Old Man Jack. The Rock looks good for comedy but seems too aggressive for Jack Burton.
John Carpenter always referred to Wang as the main protagonist of the movie. But the movie is framed through Jack's lens. Meaning he sees himself as the hero even though that's not necessarily the case. This was fun, always nice to see how citizens from other countries feel about western movies. This one especially because it's one of my favorites.
You are so very correct that this movie is a cult classic.
I have loved this movie since it first came out, but I knew there was so much nuance that I was missing because of the chinese language that I did not speak or understand.
So, thank you very much for sharing and helping us to understand more.
Fantastic! i'm incredibly impressed how authentic the dialouge is, and i wouldn't know that without you. kudos. i'm enjoying this movie from a different perspective.
Egg foo yong is not a joke . It is a Chinese American dish. It’s like omelette.
Anyway, I love your movie reactions and your informative commentaries .
Hope you guys do more of these reactions.
Omg this was one of my favorites growing up and watched over and over while ordering pizza 🕺🏻
Always been one of my favorites.
Loved the reaction. It's said about this movie that it's about a side kick (Jack Burton) who thinks he's the hero, when really it's Wang Chi who does all the best stuff and is the real hero.
Very interesting perspective! I find that there's a major lack of perspective on UA-cam from Chinese viewpoints on pop culture, movies, etc. Really entertaining to watch. Hope you two have a great 2022!
Honestly loved this. Thanks for sharing your opinions on this movie that is one of my favorites. It was really fun for me to hear some behind the scenes translations for words and concepts that meant nothing to me growing up. Thanks again!
This was a family favorite of ours growing up, my dad had forgotten all his chinese though so couldn't translate those parts for us, really fun to finally know. Appreciate it!
It was wonderful to get this take from a Chinese angle. I appreciate the details that you picked up. I wonder if there would be more appreciation for the film on a second viewing with more context, but it was good to see you have some fun on a first time through it!
The scary-looking guy you were wondering about with the hatchet is Al Leong. He's been in tons of movies, such as the original Die Hard. Also, he played Chinggis Khaan in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
20:27 yes, Jack is the secondary character of the story. This is one of the few movies out there where the audience's "main character" is the stories secondary character. I always thought it was kind of cool.
This was great, thanks! Adds a lot of perspective to one of my all-time favorites!
That Gang Starr EP though! Love your channel, Jessie. You and Lee are adorable, and I love your style!
Thank you for taking what had to be a lot of time to type out the subtitles for us. Very kind!
I'm so glad this video popped up on my recommendeds. This is one of my favorite movies and you guys reaction and translations added so much! I'm definitely subbing. Thank you!
This is the best reaction I've seen all year!
Whoa, I have watched this film many times. They level of insight you two have brought to this movie has given me a new appreciation for it. I need you guys to commentate ALL my movies based on Chinese culture.
Super-fun movie! John Carpenter may have been poking fun at the Hollywood stereotypes Bruce Lee spoke about because many of his movies, They Live (1988) in particular, drip with a subversive disdain for mendacious authority. Big Trouble in Little China might be viewed as a reaction to Gremlins (1984), which opens in an antique store in Chinatown. Meet the Parents is a comedy in which DeNiro plays up his typecasting as a tough guy. "I will bring you down to Chinatown" is not something Americans say. It's just that it rhymes and it sounds kinda tough and maybe resonates with the classic 1974 Roman Polanski film Chinatown. Chinatown was not made out to be a place to fear in the 80's or the 90's, at least not where I grew up in California. And Kurt Russell started acting as a teenager in the 1960's and soon landed a ten year contract with Disney that left him typecast for a decade. But he continued acting anyway and amassed a long list of fan favorite films including Used Cars (1980), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Overboard (1987), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Escape from L.A. (1996), 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) among others.
I loved this reaction! And I learned so much about a movie I’ve probably seen 100 times. Nice work!
I love James Hong, super nice guy!
One of my favorite movies of all time. So quotable! "We really shook the pillars of heaven."
In Big Trouble In Little China, some of the actors are from Hong Kong so they speak fluent Cantonese. James Hong (Lo Pan), Dennis Dun (Wang Chi), and the late Victor Wong (Egg Shen) are all American Born Chinese (ABC). It is true that the film is told through the eyes of Kurt Russell’s characters and he is the side character, Russell was the only big name in the film so all major marketing featured him prominently. The marketing reminds me of Lethal Weapon 4, which featured Jet Li as the main villain. Yet, in the U.S., he was nowhere in any of the promotions compared to Europe, especially France, where I vacationed at the time, promoted Li equally with the rest of the cast. All U.S. promotions after the successful release of LW4, only then was Li included because he was the biggest draw to a closing chapter in the franchise.
You're spotting everything...signs, lazy stuntmen, hidden stunt mats. It's pretty impressive.
So much gratitude for the effort & information you two have given for
One of my FAVORITE movie's
Growing up! Thank you that was
Wonderful to hear /read the
Translations of the dialogue,
As well as the descriptions of the
Names of objects and people!
I'm going to forward this to friends &
Relatives who also love the movie &
Would find this interesting and
Hilarious... Good job and much love
From Philadelphia 👍
It's not mentioned in the movie, but Grace Law's backstory is that her parents were missionaries in China, and she was actually born there. So she is, technically, also a green-eyed woman from China.
Law is a common Chinese last name, so it's entirely possible she's half or quarter Chinese as well by blood as well as by nation.
I think the "bring you down to Chinatown" line from DeNiro was mainly a rhyming joke and possibly a play on the name of the Jack Nicholson movie "Chinatown" and had nothing at all to actually do with Chinatown or general misconceptions.
Love the Gang Starr record in the background.
I love watching these videos where you analyze language and Chinese cultural items placed in Western Pop Culture. I always learn something new from you! This historical stuff is my favorite. Two thumbs up as always! 👍🏽👍🏽
She also picked out a couple things I missed after several times of watching the movie.
Yes you are absolutely right that Wang is the main character. Only reason the posters are so focused on Jack is because the studios demanded it as they didn't believe that the movie would sell that well if it showed Asian lead character.
Stumbled into this channel and im glad i did x3. Thanks for the app recomendation btw, having a lot of fun using it to learn words and phrases for everyday use and trying to get my pronunciation right :). Dont know if i'll ever speak mandarin fluently but im sure going to try and learn as much as i can. Love from a Portuguese fan
Jack is a parody of the American action hero. He has the self confidence and bluster of a man who is in control. However he screws up constantly, Wang has to save him an everybody else.
Always enjoy getting a Chinese perspective of movies like this.
Enjoyed your analysis! Very useful having Chinese culture insight! thank you!
You guys should do more movie reactions, So much detail and you guys really take it in. Id say these are the best reactions on UA-cam. This and your crouching tiger one are super high quality. Much love, hope to see more
This is one of my most favorite movies ever! Thank you so much for watching it and giving us some language insights. I've always wondered what certain things said. I can't wait to tell my dad about this (it's a fav of his too).
Also, the Tong Wars was a real thing that happend in San Fransico Chinatown... and I think parts of New York possibly, too. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_Wars
This is great to learn so much about Chinese culture and the translations from your commentary, great work!
ive been watching this movie since 86. thanx for clearing up a few things for me
I saw this when it first came out in the 80s, I was a teenager, I loved it. it's just one of the many things that got me so interested in the mysterious ancient Chinese and Asian cultures and myths. This was meant to be a tongue in cheek comedy, yet it had so many awesome respectful tips of the hat to Asian culture IMO. I have watched this movie many times. I am quite sure I watch it more than once a year still, though I don't keep track lol. I did not think I could like this movie more, but your watch and review made me love it even more. thank you for this! (I also did not know ANY Mandarin most of my life, but started learning a few years ago. OMG that also made not only listening to you two speak it, but catching all the Mandarin used in the film as well, fantastic! thank you for your hard work! I am so glad I came across your channel Jessie. beautiful lady. and your friend is super quick witted and very knowledgeable, he was an awesome asset to this video.
One of the leading red fighters (small guy with long hair, long Fu Manchu style beard), is Al Leong, one of the most famous stuntman and martial arts actors in Hollywood. He appeared in a LOT of movies and TV shows during the 1980s and early 90s. He also played Uli, the candy stealing gangster, in Die Hard.
Thanks for the interesting perspectives. I watched this movie today for the first time myself and watched this video afterwards and enjoyed it.
Thanks so much! Big Trouble is one of my favorites movies ever and I always wanted to know what they say in chinese! :D
3:03 it depends. If you put wet paper all over it or submerge it in water you can cut it without breaking.
I remember the scene of the guy with weapons that spin in the hands. That was the only memory I have as I watched long long time ago
This is so great!!! Thank you for giving me more insight to a favorite movie from my childhood