The Man From Hong Kong 直搗黃龍

1975 · KonCategoryIII

The Man from Hong Kong ( Chinese : 直搗黃龍 ), originally released in the US as The Dragon Flies , is a 1975 action film written directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in his directorial debut and starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby , with Hugh Keays-Byrne , Roger Ward , Rosalind Speirs , Rebecca Gilling , Sammo Hung , Grant Page and Frank Thring in supporting roles. The first film to be made as an international coproduction between Australia and Hong Kong, it serves as a satire of the James Bond and Dirty Harry franchises, combined with tropes of the concurrent chopsocky craze. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Its plot follows Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Wang) of the RHKPF 's Special Branch , who travels to Sydney to perform an extradition, only to find himself locked in battle with Jack Wilton (Lazenby), the city's most powerful crime lord. Having gained experience as an editor of film trailers and director of television documentaries , Trenchard-Smith established a connection with Golden Harvest producers Raymond Chow and Andre Morgan while making two TV specials, The World of Kung Fu (1973) and Kung Fu Killers (1974). Originally conceived as a Bruce Lee vehicle, the film was reconfigured as Wang's English-language debut following Lee's death; much of the remaining cast and crew had previously worked on Trenchard-Smith's documentary films and on Sandy Harbutt 's outlaw biker film Stone (1974). Its budget was jointly funded by Golden Harvest, Greater Union and the Australian Film Development Commission . [ 6 ] The Man from Hong Kong features multiple large-scale action scenes with elaborate, dangerous stunts . It includes a fight scene between Hung and Ward atop Uluru/Ayers Rock as the film's opening setpiece, several car chases devised by Stone' s Peter Armstrong, hang-gliding sequences performed over Hong Kong and Sydney Harbour by Page — who would achieve further recognition as the stunt coordinator for Mad Max (1979) — and a climactic battle between Wang and Lazenby in which the latter is briefly set on fire, which caused injury to the actor's hand. [ 6 ] The film's theme song , " Sky High " by Jigsaw , became a one-hit wonder during the latter half of 1975. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Although the film was released in a wide array of markets and turned a profit, The Man from Hong Kong was not the blockbuster Trenchard-Smith and the film's producers had hoped it would be upon its initial release; in Australia, its box office performance was limited as a result of its R rating . [ 6 ] Later restored by the Australian National Film and Sound Archive , [ 9 ] it has since garnered a cult following as one of the key films of the Ozploitation cycle and Trenchard-Smith's career, [ 5 ] and was prominently featured in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008). [ 10 ] Plot edit While working undercover at Ayers Rock , Inspector Bob Taylor of the Australian Federal Narcotics Bureau confronts Win Chan, a Chinese drug courier, and his partner; Chan gives chase, leading to a fight on top of the site during which Taylor eventually bests him, while his partner is killed when his car crashes and explodes after being pursued by a police helicopter. Due to Chan's refusal to cooperate and inability to speak English, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force assigns one of its Special Branch 's finest officers, Inspector Fang Sing Leng — who is not only a polyglot but also a deadly master of kung fu and sharpshooting — to assist Taylor and his partner, Sergeant Morrie Grosse, in extraditing him. Prior to leaving for Sydney, Fang's exercises at the RHKPF's training school at Wong Chuk Hang are interrupted by the unexpected arrival of journalist Caroline Thorne via a hang-glider , which she flew while conducting research for an article. Although the kite is confiscated, Fang and Caroline flirt and share a tryst , after which Fang agrees to return the glider and rendezvous with her while he is in Sydney . After meeting Taylor and Grosse, Fang — to Taylor's amusement and Grosse's outrage — brutally interrogates Chan. He learns that Chan works for Jack Wilton, an import/export businessman whose varied portfolio, including the operation of a martial arts school, is merely a smokescreen for his criminal activities; his wide array of legitimate and illegitimate interests effectively make him Sydney's most powerful man and near-impossible to arrest. Just before his trial, Chan is shot dead, prompting Fang to chase the sniper, John Grantley, through the streets of Paddington and into a Chinese restaurant . Their ensuing fight results in Grantley's death; Fang discovers that he was a martial arts instructor in Wilton's employ. Despite Taylor and Grosse's warnings, Fang insists on confronting Wilton; a meeting with Willard, his chief secretary, proves fruitless. During his morning exercise, he recalls his promise to meet with Caroline after seeing a pigeon in-flight, which reminds him of her hang-gliding; she takes him as her guest to a party