Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Director:

John Carpenter

Writers:

Gary Goldman (written by) &
David Z. Weinstein (written by) ...

Release Date:

2 July 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

Adventure doesn't come any bigger!

Plot:

An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown.

Plot Keywords:

Gagged And Bound | Race Against Time | Brothel | Magician | Name Of Country In Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kurt Russell	...	Jack Burton
Kim Cattrall	...	Gracie Law
Dennis Dun	...	Wang Chi
James Hong	...	David Lo Pan
Victor Wong	...	Egg Shen
Kate Burton	...	Margo
Donald Li	...	Eddie Lee
Carter Wong	...	Thunder
Peter Kwong	...	Rain
James Pax	...	Lightning
Suzee Pai	...	Miao Yin
Chao Li Chi	...	Uncle Chu
Jeff Imada	...	Needles
Rummel Mor	...	Joe Lucky
Craig Ng	...	One Ear

Also Known As:

John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

UK:PG (1986) (cut) | Ireland:15 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1986) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12 (w) | Germany:16 (special edition) | Singapore:PG | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Spain:13

Filming Locations:

Fire Station 23 - 225 E. 5th St., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Kurt Russell suffered a bad case of the flu during shooting so the sweat on this body is real, caused by the fever.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Lo Pan's supernaturally tall form is revealed to be nothing more than a pair of high platform shoes when he falls.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pinstripe lawyer: Okay. But if I'm gonna be your attorney, then there are a few things I need to make clear. Like... you really believe in magic?
Egg Shen: You mean Chinese black magic?
Pinstripe lawyer: Yes, I suppose.
Egg Shen: Oh, absolutely.
Pinstripe lawyer: And, uh, things like spooks and demons and goblins?
Egg Shen: Oh, sure. And sorcery.
Pinstripe lawyer: And I suppose you expect me to believe in sorcery as well?
Egg Shen: Of course!
Pinstripe lawyer: Why?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

Soundtrack:

Big Trouble in Little China

A Tongue-In-Cheek '80s 'Classic'

This is one of the wildest stories ever: a cartoon come to life and a mixture of an old-time serial with modern special-effects with bold colors all the way through.

This movie is pure tongue-in-cheek. One just has to take nothing seriously in here and just go along on the wild ride. From the nonsense mystical Chinese sorcery that is taken so reverently, to the American hero "Jack Burton" (Kurt Russell) who displays the fearless macho man, to combatants flying through the air (this was 15 years before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was filmed), to one exotic character and situation after another - it's all absurd fun.

Russell plays his role to the hilt, playing his favorite kind of role when he was younger: brash, bold and an ignoramus who fears absolutely nothing. His lines are deliberately corny and one can bet he had a lot of fun making this movie. He even gets in a few good comedic lines. His partner, Dennis Dunn, is a likable guy with a devilish grin on his face and Kim Cattrell plays the more modern damsel-in-distress role to the hilt, too.

They could have lightened this up a bit on the action - it gets to be too much at times - but the movie is just slightly over an hour-and-half. It still wore me out the first few times I saw it.

All in all: ludicrous fun, a kind of Indiana Jones in Chinatown adventure flick.