Police Story (1985 film)

Police Story
Hong Kong theatrical poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese警察故事
Simplified Chinese警察故事
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJǐngchá Gùshì
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingGing2 Caat3 Gu3 Si6
Directed byJackie Chan
Written byJackie Chan
Edward Tang
Produced byLeonard Ho
StarringJackie Chan
Brigitte Lin
Maggie Cheung
CinematographyCheung Yiu Cho
Edited byPeter Cheung
Music byMichael Lai
Tang Siu Lam
Production
company
Distributed byGolden Harvest
Release date
  • 14 December 1985 (1985-12-14)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryHong Kong
LanguagesCantonese
English
Box officeUS$18.7 million (est.)

Police Story (Chinese: 警察故事; pinyin: Jǐngchá Gùshì; Jyutping: Ging2 caat3 gu3 si6) is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang.[1][2][3] It is the first film in the Police Story franchise. It features Chan as Hong Kong police detective "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui, alongside Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung. In the film, Ka-Kui helps arrest a drug lord, but must clear his own name after being accused of murder.

Chan began work on the film after a disappointing experience working with James Glickenhaus on The Protector (1985), which was intended to be his entry into the American film market. Police Story contains many large-scale action sequences with elaborate, dangerous stunts performed by Chan and his stunt team, including car chases, Chan hanging off a speeding bus, parkour-like acrobatics, and a shopping mall fight with shattering glass panes, leading up to Chan sliding down a pole with exploding electric lights as he falls to the ground. Much of the film was created surrounding the action sequences, which Chan and the filmmakers developed via linear progression.

Police Story was a box-office success in Asia and Europe, grossing an estimated US$18,724,000 (equivalent to $53,000,000 in 2023). It won the Best Film award at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards. According to Chan's autobiography, he considers Police Story his best action film. Since its release, Police Story has been frequently listed as one of the greatest action films of all time. It is also considered one of the best martial arts movies of all time.[4] [5] In 2016, Police Story was voted the fifth best action movie of all time in Time Out's poll of film critics, directors, actors and stunt performers.[6] Chan's final action sequence in the mall is considered one of the greatest stunts in the history of action cinema.[7] A 4K restoration of the film had a limited theatrical release in North America on 1 February 2019. A sequel, Police Story 2, was released 1988.[8]

  1. ^ Buscombe, Edward (2003). Cinema Today. Phaidon Press. p. 435. ISBN 9780714840819. As the kung fu craze waned, Chan moved into other genres with such films as Police Story (Jingcha Gushi, Jackie Chan, 1984), a crime film in which Chan performed some astonishing stunts on a double-decker bus.
  2. ^ "Police Story (1985)". www.allmovie.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Police Story (Ging chaat goo si) (Police Force)". www.rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
  4. ^ "The Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time, Ranked". 11 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  5. ^ "32 Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time". Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference rogerebert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Han, Karen (27 December 2018). "Jackie Chan's Police Story movies remain among the best action films of all time". Polygon. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2018.