Big Trouble in Little China

1986 · action · adventure · comedy · fantasy · horror · John Carpenter · 20th Century Fox Film Corporation · TAFT Entertainment Pictures · Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Big Trouble in Little China From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Big Trouble in Little China Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan Directed by John Carpenter Written by Gary Goldman David Z. Weinstein Adaptation by W. D. Richter Produced by Larry J. Franco Starring Kurt Russell Kim Cattrall Dennis Dun James Hong Cinematography Dean Cundey Edited by Steve Mirkovich Mark Warner Edward A. Warschilka Music by John Carpenter Alan Howarth Production company 20th Century Fox [1] Distributed by 20th Century Fox [1] Release date July 2, 1986 Running time 99 minutes [1] Country United States [1] Language English Budget $19–25 million [2] [3] Box office $11.1 million Big Trouble in Little China (also in known as John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China ) is a 1986 American fantasy martial arts action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter and starring Kurt Russell , Kim Cattrall , Dennis Dun and James Hong . The film tells the story of truck driver Jack Burton (Russell), who helps his friend Wang Chi (Dun) rescue Wang's green-eyed fiancée from bandits in San Francisco's Chinatown . They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named David Lo Pan (Hong), who requires a woman with green eyes to marry him in order to be released from a centuries-old curse. [4] Although the original screenplay by first-time screenwriters Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein was envisioned as a Western set in the 1880s, screenwriter W. D. Richter was hired to rewrite the script extensively and modernize it. The studio hired Carpenter to direct the film and rushed Big Trouble in Little China into production so that it would be released before a similarly themed Eddie Murphy film, The Golden Child , which was slated to come out around the same time. The project fulfilled Carpenter's long-standing desire to make a martial arts film. The film was a commercial failure, grossing $11.1 million in North America, below its estimated $19 to $25 million budget. It received generally positive reviews, but left Carpenter disillusioned with Hollywood and influenced his decision to return to independent filmmaking. It gained a steady audience on home video and has become a cult classic . Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Screenplay 3.2 Casting 3.3 Principal photography 3.4 Visual effects 4 Music 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 5.2 Critical response 6 Home media 7 Other media 7.1 Sequel 7.2 Video game 7.3 Comic book series 7.4 Vinyl figures 7.5 Board game 7.6 Card game 8 Influence 9 See also 10 References 11 External links Plot Truck driver Jack Burton wins a bet with his friend Wang Chi. To make sure he follows through on payment, Jack accompanies him to the airport to pick up Wang's Chinese fiancée Miao Yin, where a Chinese-American street gang, the Lords of Death, tries to kidnap another Chinese girl. She is being met by her friend Gracie Law. After Jack intervenes, they take Miao Yin instead. Jack and Wang track the Lords of Death to Chinatown , where they find a funeral procession that erupts into a battle between the Chang Sing and Wing Kong, two ancient Chinese warrior societies. When "The Three Storms" – Thunder, Rain, and Lightning, warriors with weather-themed powers – appear, slaughtering the Chang Sing, Jack attempts to gun his big-rig through the crowd, but runs over David Lo Pan, a man directing the Three Storms. Horrified, Jack exits his truck, but finds Lo Pan unhurt and glowing with magic. Wang hurriedly guides Jack through the alleys; the two escape, but Jack's truck is stolen. Wang takes Jack to his restaurant, where they meet with Gracie, her journalist friend Margo, Wang's friend Eddie Lee, and magician Egg Shen, a local authority on mysticism and Lo Pan. They explain to Jack (who only wants his truck back) the ancient knowledge and sorcery the Chinese brought with them to America. The group devises a plan to infiltrate a brothel, where they believe Miao Yin is held. They break in, but are interrupted by the Storms who kidnap Miao Yin, and take her to Lo Pan. Jack and Wang track down the front business used by Lo Pan and impersonate telephone repairmen to gain access, but are quickly subdued by Rain. After being tied up and beaten by Thunder, the two meet Lo Pan – however, he now appears as a crippled old man. Wang tells Jack that Lo Pan needs a green-eyed girl to break an ancient curse, and he intends to sacrifice Miao Yin. Centuries ago, Lo Pan was defeated in battle by Emperor Qin Shi Huang . He cursed Lo Pan with incorporeality ; although Lo Pan can be temporarily granted a decrepit body by supplication to the gods, he can permanently break the curse by marrying a woman with green eyes and sacrificing her. Jack and Wang's friends attempt to save them, and are also captured. After getting the drop on Thunder, Jack, Wang, and Eddie escape and free women kept in cells. An orangutan -like Wild-Man recaptures Gracie before she escapes. Lo Pan not