Twin Dragons – 88 Films

Directed by: Ringo Lam & Tsui Hark
Written by: Barry Wong, Tsui Hark, Cheung Tung Jo, Yik Wong
Starring:  Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Teddy Robin Kwan, James Wong, Sylvia Chang
Year: 1992
Country:  Hong Kong
Running time:  104 / 89 mins
BBFC Classification: 12

Sandwiched between his action juggernauts Operation Condor and Police Story 3, Twin Dragons is perhaps a lesser-known Jackie Chan vehicle but it’s no slouch, dare say underrated, mixing his trademark knack for comedy and stunt filled action with aplomb.

Jackie Chan plays twin brothers who are separated at birth by violent stunt filled chaos (what else would it be in a 90s Hong Kong action flick!) caused by an injured hood trying to make his escape from the hospital. In the lengthy flashback that opens the film set in the 60s, we see the brothers live very different lives: one in a happy family growing up to be a famous music conductor in the US, the other living it rough with his alcohol loving mother (albeit he gets just as much love from her as the brother with the respected classy parents!) in Hong Kong. Through much narrative complication and comedy hi-jinks, the two are eventually reunited in the present day (well Hong Kong circa 1992!) neither knowing the other existed. And through even more convoluted shenanigans the two end up switching places, the pianist brother having to take on dodgy deals for the crime gang out for his brother while the hood brother has to fake being a world-renowned pianist about to perform a concert to a sold-out crowd. This leads to much confusion for the supporting cast, comedy hijinks as the brothers try to convince everyone they’re the other brother (!), culminating in the standard but very satisfying 20-minute action blowout.

Basically, Chan’s Double Impact but with more comedy, Twin Dragons is some rip snorting fun from the days when Chan and his crew threw everything at the screen: a wild combination of exhausting visual comedy and stunt filled action. Made as a fund-raising project for the Hong Kong Director’s Guild at the time, this was more of a for hire job for Chan and the film is packed to the gills with famous Hong Kong producers, directors, and actors all popping up in various cameos. While credited to Hong Kong action titans Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam (Lam apparently handling the action, while Hark handled the comedy: they also both turn up in a brief scene towards the end!) the film reportedly had multiple directors all pitching in to direct various scenes. While this may sound like a hod-podge approach the film is surprisingly coherent. It’s incredibly silly but also very funny, Chan getting to play very different characters: one who can fight and one who can’t. This in turn also leads to much creativity in the action scenes when the Chan who can’t fight has to find a way of battling multiple goons.

The comedy may be a bit too silly for some but it had this reviewer giggling away and love or hate him Chan is great here: it’s especially fun seeing him as the slightly wayward, womanizing, gangster brother – smoking and rocking a little ponytail and earing! There’s also good support from Maggie Cheung and Nina Li Chi as the poor put upon women the twins are involved with and continually confuse. While the twin based mixed up comedy takes centre stage there is still a surfeit of awesomely staged action and fight scenes. An early fight in a nightclub and a particularly dangerous looking prison truck/car chase are highlights but it’s the last 20 minutes where the action soars. Set in a car testing facility it features some impressive fight action and painful looking stunts as the 2 Chans creatively try to fight off a swarm of bad guy goons. As good as anything Chan has done in his more famous films, Twin Dragons (despite what the naysayers would have you believe!) is packed with amazing 90s Hong Kong golden era action.

While it may forever be in the shadow of more popular Chan fair from the golden era (Project A 1 & 2, Police Story 1 – 3, Dragons Forever, Miracles et al!), Twin Dragons is still some great old school Hong Kong action: least to this reviewer who has worn out his old dusty VHS copy and welcomes this shiny new Blu Ray version from 88 Films with a big grin on his face. Featuring both cuts of the film (the longer original Hong Kong cut and the shorter, re-scored Miramax US cut) make sure you go with the Hong Kong cut when deciding which version to watch for a first time viewing.

Funny, silly, and featuring stellar action Twin Dragons deserves much more love as it’s an absolute hoot.

88 Films will release Twin Dragons on Deluxe Collector’s Edition Blu Ray 18^th September 2023.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• Limited Edition Rigid Slipcase with New Artwork by Sean Longmore – not available at the time of review.
• Double-sided foldout poster with New Artwork and Original Poster Art – not available at the time of review.
• 80 Page Perfect Bound Book with new writing on the film by Paul Bramhall and Thorsten Boose – not available at the time of review.
• 4x Artcards
• High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 2.39:1 Aspect Ratio – the film looks fantastic, the sharp widescreen photography giving the film a slick look. It unfortunately means one can see the joins in many of the scenes featuring 2 Jackie Chans but on the whole the film looks great and probably the best it ever has.
• Original Hong Kong Theatrical Cut (104 mins approx) – this is the version to watch, not the cut down unnecessarily re-scored Miramax version. Though certainly good to include to compare and see how the Hong Kong version was fine just as it was.
• Cantonese Mono with English Subtitles
• Alternate Cantonese Mono Mix with English Subtitles

• Cantonese Stereo – Home Video Mix with English Subtitles

• English Dub Mono
• Newly Translated English Subtitles
• Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Audio Commentary with Hong Kong Cinema Experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto
- excellent commentary from two who really appreciate the film and good to see them giving it props even if it’s not remembered as one of Chan’s greats. DeSanto in particular has a lot of love for the film and points out how well shot it is and how hard edged the action is. He’s right, as the action is superb (and superbly framed and shot) and, as mentioned, as good as anything Chan has done in his more renowned films. He also points out well how the action is different to the films Chan directs himself which gives Twin Dragons its own personality and allows Chan to do something a little different. Djeng is a wealth of knowledge on the Hong Kong movie scene with many interesting anecdotes about the industry and can spot and name pretty much every director, producer, actor and stuntman cameo in the film which is fun. A great and informative commentary that refreshingly has a lot of love for the film.
• Dimension Films Version (5.1 English)(Optional SDH)(89 Mins) – Slightly re-cut and re-scored version of the film when it was picked up by Miramax for US release off the back of Chan’s rising star over there with the success of the likes of Rumble in the Bronx, First Strike and Rush Hour. Still a decent version but the original soundtrack and additional scenes found in the original Hong Kong make for a far superior film.
• Interview with Actors Tung Wei and James Ha
 – Short but sweet interview with Wei and Ha, that mainly focuses on Ha’s involvement with the film. Tung Wei is a renowned action director in Hong Kong with many credits to his name and helped orchestrate the action that opens Twin Dragons. He also confirms the film was set up as a fundraising project. James Ha talks much more at length with many anecdotes about the making of the film, how complex the action was, and that he doubled Jackie Chan in several stunt scenes, which he is very proud of – and rightly so.
• Japanese Version Exclusive Scene – short scene that extends the sequence set in the hotel room that’s sees the two brothers talk a bit longer before Nina Li Chi arrives. Most notable for the effects looking especially wonky here (perhaps why cut on other versions?) as one Jackie puts his arm around the other Jackie.
• Taiwanese Deleted Scenes – a collection of short scenes including the above Japanese scene, a bit more dialogue in the prison truck scene before the chase/rescue erupts, and slightly extended scenes from the wedding at the end of the film. Most notable is a short scene at the end of the epic action showdown where the two Jackie’s seem relieved the fighting is over and hug/shake hands – the effects much better here than in the Japanese scene.
• Archive EPK Q&A – short interview, that appears to be taken from the Miramax US cut release that sees Jackie sitting in front of a Twin Dragons poster and seemingly asked questions over the phone. It’s a bit awkward and dated (and perhaps part of a longer segment) but Jackie does his best and it’s an interesting bit of this-how-they-us-to-do-promotion back in the day oddity.
• Archive Jackie Chan Interview – a longer interview with a much younger Jackie discussing his career, movies, ambitions and how (at the time for filming) he was seen across the world. A little stilted and dated but still an interesting piece seeing a younger Jackie talking candidly about himself.
• Archive Behind the Scenes Footage – some cool behind the scenes footage presented as a kind of collection of B-Roll without music or narration. Mainly involves the cast getting ready to and then shooting the wedding scene that closes the film. Shame there wasn’t some BTS footage from the various action scenes but it’s is still interesting to see the likes of Chan, Maggie Cheung, Nina Li Chi and director Tsui Hark at work behind the scenes: all the way back in 1991!
• Hong Kong Trailer
  International Trailer
  Japanese Trailer
  Japanese TV Spot – cool selection of old school trailers highlighting the films ample action. The UK VHS trailer in particular takes me back – “…orchestrated martial arts mayhem!”
• English Opening / Closing Credits – slightly alternative credits for the English language releases, the film known as Twin Dragons compared the Hong Kong title of The Twin Dragons.