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Heart of Dragon
Jackie plays a Hong Kong cop named Ted who is the caretaker of his retarded brother Danny (or "Dodo", as the neighborhood kids call him), played by Sammo Hung. Danny is stuck in childhood, simple, innocent, and easily preyed upon. Ted has done his best but has reached a point where he has tired of forsaking his own dreams of being a sailor, a job that would mean leaving Danny on his own or under the care of others for weeks at a time.
Danny seems to meet nothing but humiliation and abuse in the real adult world. His tutor pokes fun at him and berates him. When he goes to look for a job to show he can stand on his own, one restaurant owner sees it a chance to put Danny in various degrading positions like acting like a dog. The action comes into play when Danny accidentally stumbles upon some jewels a gang was hiding from the police. Danny is taken hostage and Ted risks his career by setting up the trade and taking on the gangsters at a construction site.
Heart of a Dragon has always existed as an anomaly in the careers of Jackie and Sammo. The dramatic sappiness that carries the bulk of the film sours most action fans, yet the fifteen minute fight finale is regarded as top notch work by both Sammo (who directed) and Jackie. And, everyone agrees it is a jarring contrast between the weepy-eyed scenes of poor Sammo being picked on and the fight finale where Jackie takes on the likes of Philip Ko and Dick Wei and other cronies in some really brutal ways.
As an unabashed martial film geek, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen the best of Jackie and Sammo's work. I've completely lost count of my viewings of Drunkenmaster 2, Warriors Two, Prodigal Son, Police Story, Dragons Forever and such. However, I can safely say I've seen Heart of Dragon only twice, including reviewing this DVD. Now, that is not to say I don't have the fight finale on tape and haven't watched it a dozen times, but as for the movie, it's never been very high on my list of Sammo/Jackie team-ups.
It is not a terrible film. It is just that it doesn't really work as a believable drama, and, as an action film, the action is almost entirely saved for the end. Still, part of me kind of relishes in the incongruity of its two aspects. It is the kind of odd genre blending that HK has no shame in trying. Imagine Rain Man starring Jet Li or I am Sam with a mid-80's Stallone and you get the idea. Sammo does a good job playing this man-child, but as a fan of his action work, he's not so good that you wouldn't rather see him kicking butt.
The DVD: Fox
Picture: Anamorphic Widescreen. This is a very good print. While there are still some inherent flaws of its budget and age, the print is very clean and shows nice sharpness, color, and good contrast depth. There is the occasional scene that is a tad too soft or grainy, but those familiar with HK film and their often shoddy print transfers will be very pleased with the presentation done here.
Sound: Cantonese or English audio tracks, either 5.1 Dolby Digtital Surround or DTS with optional English subtitles. While the audio does have some weakness in terms of its age, overall the 5.1 and DTS mixes do a fair job of wrapping the dialogue, music, and fx noise in a clean, crisp presentation. The subtitles are dubtitles, so it isn't a true translation but is far better than the poor-English HK subs of old.
Extras: Chapter Selections— Original and new trailers, plus trailers for other Fox/Fortune Star releases.— Bonus Fight Scenes. Shown as a montage with new music over them, these two fight scenes that were on the Japanese release of the film last about three minutes total..
Conclusion: While not everyones cup of tea whe it comes to Jakie and Sammmo films, Fox offers a nice cost effective release with good image quality. Therefore, it is worth a look if you are a fan or potential fan.
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