Big Trouble in Little China
Promotional poster
Directed by	John Carpenter
Produced by	Larry J. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Franco
Written by	Adaptation: W. D. Richter Screenplay: Gary Goldman David Z. W D Richter (born in New Britain, Connecticut, December 7, 1945) is a Screenwriter and has occasionally directed and Gary Goldman is an American screenwriter His film credits include Big Trouble in Little China ( 1986) Total Recall ( Weinstein
Starring	Kurt Russell Kim Cattrall Dennis Dun James Hong Victor Wong
Music by	John Carpenter Alan Howarth
Cinematography	Dean Cundey
Editing by	Steve Mirkovich Mark Warner Edward A. Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17 1951 is an Emmy Award - and Golden Globe -nominated American Actor. Kim Victoria Cattrall ( rhyming with shall; born 21 August 1956) is an English born actress who grew up in Canada and now lives Dennis Dun (born April 19 1952 is a Chinese American actor from Stockton California, currently residing in Los Angeles For the co-founder of the online ratings site see Hot or Not. Victor Wong ( July 30, 1927 &ndash September 12, 2001) ( Chinese: 黃[[wikt 自|自]] 強; Pinyin: John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, CBE, PC, (born 11 June 1944 is a British politician and was a Member of Parliament Dean Raymond Cundey, ASC (born 12 March 1946) is an American Cinematographer. Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician and businessman from the U Warschilka
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	July 2, 1986
Running time	99 minutes
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$25,000,000 (est. Events 310 - Pope Miltiades is elected 626 - In fear of assassination Li Shimin ambushes and kills his rival Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been )
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Big Trouble in Little China (also known as John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China) is a 1986 American comedy/action film, directed by John Carpenter and stars Kurt Russell as truck driver Jack Burton who helps his friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue Wang's green-eyed girlfriend (Suzee Pai) from bandits from San Francisco's Chinatown. Events April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries United States cinema has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17 1951 is an Emmy Award - and Golden Globe -nominated American Actor. Dennis Dun (born April 19 1952 is a Chinese American actor from Stockton California, currently residing in Los Angeles San Francisco 's Chinatown is the oldest Chinatown in North America. They go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face an ancient sorcerer named Lo Pan (James Hong). Lo-Pan is a Fictional character portrayed by actor James Hong in the 1986 Comedy / Action film Big Trouble in Little China For the co-founder of the online ratings site see Hot or Not.

Although originally envisioned as a Western set in the 1880s, screenwriter W. D. Richter was hired to rewrite the script extensively and modernize everything. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. W D Richter (born in New Britain, Connecticut, December 7, 1945) is a Screenwriter and has occasionally directed and

Big Trouble in Little China was a commercial failure, grossing $11. 1 million in North America and well below its estimated $25 million budget. It received critically mixed reviews which left Carpenter disillusioned with Hollywood and influencing his decision to become an independent filmmaker yet again. The film has since gone on to become a cult film due in large part to its success on home video. A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans.

Plot

When truck driver Jack Burton (Russell) and his friend Wang Chi (Dun) go to the airport to meet friends arriving on a flight from China, bandits from Chinatown kidnap Wang's green-eyed girlfriend (Pai). To rescue her, Burton and Wang go into the mysterious underworld beneath Chinatown, where they face a number of dangerous challenges and battle kung-fu masters and a 2,000-year-old man – an ancient sorcerer named Lo Pan (Hong). Lo-Pan is a Fictional character portrayed by actor James Hong in the 1986 Comedy / Action film Big Trouble in Little China Centuries ago, Lo Pan was put under a curse, and the only way that he can permanently break the curse and regain his human form is by marrying a woman with green eyes (Miao Yin) and sacrificing her. Lo Pan is served by a ruthless street gang, the "Wing Kong", and by the "Three Storms" – three mystical henchmen named Thunder, Lightning and Rain. The word henchman (Germanic irregular plural hench men) referred originally to one who attended on a horse that is a Horse groom. Jack and Wang are aided in their quest by lawyer Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall), a tour bus-driving sorcerer named Egg Shen (Victor Wong), Wang's friend Eddie Lee (Donald Li), and a helpful street gang, the Chang Sing. Kim Victoria Cattrall ( rhyming with shall; born 21 August 1956) is an English born actress who grew up in Canada and now lives Victor Wong ( July 30, 1927 &ndash September 12, 2001) ( Chinese: 黃[[wikt 自|自]] 強; Pinyin:

Main cast

Production history

Screenplay

The first version of the screenplay was written by first-time screenwriters Gary Goldman and David Weinstein. Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17 1951 is an Emmy Award - and Golden Globe -nominated American Actor. Kim Victoria Cattrall ( rhyming with shall; born 21 August 1956) is an English born actress who grew up in Canada and now lives Dennis Dun (born April 19 1952 is a Chinese American actor from Stockton California, currently residing in Los Angeles For the co-founder of the online ratings site see Hot or Not. Victor Wong ( July 30, 1927 &ndash September 12, 2001) ( Chinese: 黃[[wikt 自|自]] 強; Pinyin: Katherine Burton (born September 10 1957) is a Daytime Emmy Award -winning British actress. James Pax is best known as an actor He has acted in Hollywood, Hong Kong and Japan. They had written a Western originally set in the 1880s with Jack Burton being a cowboy who rides into town. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. Producer Paul Monash bought their script and had them do at least one rewrite, but still didn’t like the results. He remembers, “The problems came largely from the fact it was set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, which affected everything – style, dialogue, action”. ^[1] Goldman and Weinstein left the project because they did not want to change the setting to a contemporary one as per Monash’s wishes and felt that they had done their best.

Along with his co-producer Keith Barish, Monash brought in screenwriter W. D. Richter, a veteran script doctor (and director of cult film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai) to extensively rewrite the script as he felt that the Wild West and fantasy elements didn’t work together. W D Richter (born in New Britain, Connecticut, December 7, 1945) is a Screenwriter and has occasionally directed and A script doctor is a skilled Screenwriter called in to assist a Film project by rewriting parts of the Screenplay to improve dialogue pacing and other The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension! (often shortened to Buckaroo Banzai) is an American Science fiction film The screenwriter modernized everything. Almost everything in the original script was discarded except for Lo Pan’s story. ^[2] Richter realized that “what it needed wasn’t a rewrite but a complete overhaul. It was a dreadful screenplay. This happens often when scripts are bought and there’s no intention that the original writers will stay on”. ^[1] Richter used Rosemary's Baby as his template, presenting “the foreground story in a familiar context – rather than San Francisco at the turn-of-the-century, which distances the audience immediately – and just have one simple remove, the world underground, you have a much better chance of making direct contact with the audience”. Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror / thriller Film written and directed by Roman Polanski. ^[1]

Carpenter made his own additions to Richter’s rewrites which included strengthening the Gracie Law role and linking her to Chinatown, removing a few action sequences due to budgetary restrictions and eliminating material deemed offensive to Chinese Americans. The characters in the film reminded Carpenter “of the characters in Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday. Bringing Up Baby is a 1938 Screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks and starring Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. His Girl Friday is a Screwball comedy, a Remake of the 1931 film The Front Page, itself an adaptation by Charles These are very 1930s, Howard Hawks people”. Howard Winchester Hawks ( May 30, 1896 &ndash December 26, 1977) was an American Film director, producer and ^[2] The rapid-fire delivery of dialogue, especially between Jack Burton and Gracie Law, is an example of what the director is referring to. Carpenter was disappointed that Richter did not get a proper screenwriting credit on the movie because of a ruling by the Writers Guild of America, west that gave it to Goldman and Weinstein based on the WGA screenwriting credit system which protects original writers. Template talkInfobox Union for usage --> Writers Guild of America West ( WGAW) is a labor union representing In the United States, Screenwriting credit for motion pictures and television programs under its jurisdiction is determined by either the Writers Guild of

Casting

Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, Victor Wong as Egg Shen and Kim Cattrall as Gracie Law. Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17 1951 is an Emmy Award - and Golden Globe -nominated American Actor. Victor Wong ( July 30, 1927 &ndash September 12, 2001) ( Chinese: 黃[[wikt 自|自]] 強; Pinyin: Kim Victoria Cattrall ( rhyming with shall; born 21 August 1956) is an English born actress who grew up in Canada and now lives

Barish and Monash first offered the project to Carpenter in July 1985. He had read the Goldman/Weinstein script and deemed it “outrageously unreadable though it had many interesting elements”. ^[3] To compete with rival production The Golden Child’s casting of box office draw Eddie Murphy, Carpenter wanted a big star of his own and both Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were busy. The Golden Child is a 1986 American mystical Comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy (born April 3 1961 is an Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe - Screen Actors Guild Award -winning American Clinton "Clint" Eastwood Jr (born May 31 1930 is a four-time Academy Award winning American Actor and Filmmaker. John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson (born April 22 1937) is an American Actor, internationally renowned for his often dark-themed portrayals ^[3] The studio wanted to cast Kurt Russell because they felt that he was an up-and-coming star. Initially, Russell wasn’t that interested in the screenplay and the character of Jack Burton because he felt that there were “a number of different ways to approach Jack, but I didn’t know if there was a way that would be interesting enough for this movie”. ^[4] After talking to Carpenter and reading the script a couple more times, he got a handle on the character and liked the notion of having “never played a hero who has so many faults. Jack is and isn’t the hero. He falls on his ass as much as he comes through. This guy is a real blowhard. He’s a lot of hot air, very self-assured, a screw-up”. ^[4] Furthermore, the actor felt that "at heart he thinks he's Indiana Jones but the circumstances are always too much for him". Dr (also Col Henry Walton Jones Jr, better known as Indiana Jones or Indy after his pet dog is a fictional Adventurer, Soldier ^[5] Russell felt that the film would be a hard one to market. "This is a difficult picture to sell because it's hard to explain. It's a mixture of the real history of Chinatown in San Francisco blended with Chinese legend and lore. It's bizarre stuff. There are only a handful of non-Asian actors in the cast". ^[5]

John Carpenter had seen Dennis Dun in Year of the Dragon and liked his work in that film. Year of the Dragon is a 1985 film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Mickey Rourke, Ariane Koizumi and John Lone. He met the actor twice before casting him in the role of Wang Chi only a few days before principal photography. ^[6] The martial arts sequences weren’t hard for Dun who had “dabbled” in training as a kid and done Chinese opera as an adult. ^[6] He was drawn to the portrayal of Asian characters in the movie as he said, “I’m seeing Chinese actors getting to do stuff that American movies usually don’t let them do. I’ve never seen this type of role for an Asian in an American film”. ^[1]

The studio pressured Carpenter to cast a rock star in the role of Gracie Law, Jack Burton's love interest and constant source of aggravation. For Carpenter there was no question, he wanted Kim Cattrall. The studio was not keen on the idea because at the time Cattrall was primarily known for raunchy comedies like Porky's and Police Academy. Porky's is a Comedy film about the escapades of teenagers at the fictional Angel Beach high school in Florida in 1954. Police Academy is a 1984 Comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, and starring Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall and She was drawn to the movie because of the way her character was portrayed. “I’m not screaming for help the whole time. I think the humor comes out of the situations and my relationship with Jack Burton. I’m the brains and he’s the brawn”. ^[1]

Principal photography

Problems began to arise when Carpenter learned that the next Eddie Murphy vehicle, The Golden Child, featured a similar theme and was going to be released around the same time as Big Trouble in Little China. (As it happened, Carpenter was asked by Paramount Pictures to direct The Golden Child). Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and Distribution company, based in Hollywood California. He remarked in an interview, “How many adventure pictures dealing with Chinese mysticism have been released by the major studios in the past 20 years? For two of them to come along at the exact same time is more than mere coincidence”. ^[3] To beat the rival production at being released in theaters, Big Trouble went into production in October 1985 so that it could open in July 1986, five months before The Golden Child’s Christmas release.

Production designer John Lloyd designed the elaborate underground sets and re-created Chinatown with three-story buildings, roads, streetlights, sewers and so on. This was necessary for the staging of complicated special effects and kung fu fight sequences that would have been very hard to do on location. ^[1] This forced the filmmaker to shoot the film in 15 weeks with a $25 million budget. For the film’s many fight scenes Carpenter “worked with my martial arts choreographer, James Lew, who literally planned out every move in advance. I used every cheap gag – trampolines, wires, reverse movements and upside down sets. It was much like photographing a dance”. ^[3]

References to Chinese mysticism

Some of the Chinese mythology in the film is based on actual history. Lo Pan is a famous legend in Chinese history. He was a “shadow emperor”^[3] appointed by the first sovereign emperor Chan Che Wong. Lo Pan was put on the throne as an impersonator because Wong was afraid of being assassinated. However, Lo Pan tried to take over and was cursed by Wong to exist without flesh for 2,000 years until he could marry a girl with green eyes. ^[3]

Egg Shen defines "difficulty at the beginning" which is a hexagram from the Book of Changes or I Ching. This is a list of I Ching hexagrams 1-32. Hexagrams 33-64 can be found at the List of I Ching hexagrams 33-64. The I Ching ( Wade-Giles) or “Yì Jīng” ( Pinyin) also called “Classic of Changes” or “Book of Changes” is one of the oldest of the Lo Pan is the name of the compass used for geomancy or feng shui. Feng shui ( ˈfəŋˌʃueɪ fehng-shway in English is an ancient Chinese system of Aesthetics believed to utilize the Laws of both heaven (astronomy and earth (geography It literally means everything bowl – the device that reveals the secrets of the universe.

There are several allusions - and even earthly representations - of several elements from Diyu, the Chinese depiction of Hell. Diyu ( literally "earth prison" is the realm of the dead or " Hell " in Chinese mythology. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering

Soundtrack

Big Trouble in Little China (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack by John Carpenter Alan Howarth
Released	November 21, 1996
Recorded	1986
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	71:35
Label	Supercollector
Producer	John Carpenter
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link

Carpenter wanted to avoid the usual clichés as he found that “other scores for American movies about Chinese characters are basically rinky tink, chop suey music. John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American Film director, Screenwriter, producer, film score Alan Thomas Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport, CBE, PC, (born 11 June 1944 is a British politician and was a Member of Parliament Events 164 BC - Judas Maccabaeus, son of Mattathias of the Hasmonean family restores the Temple in Jerusalem. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. I didn’t want that for Big Trouble”. ^[3] Carpenter instead opted for his trademark synthesizer score mixed with rock ‘n’ roll music.

A soundtrack album, produced by Carpenter, was released in 1986 on Demon Records and featured nine tracks for a total of just over 43 minutes. It was re-released on CD in 1992. In 1996, an expanded and remastered edition was released by Supercollector. It included two versions of Carpenter and his band, the Coupe DeVilles' "Big Trouble in Little China" theme song, three tracks from Howarth's previously unreleased score for Backstabbed, and a track from Escape from New York, entitled, "Atlanta Bank Robbery. Escape from New York is a 1981 science fiction / Action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. "

Track listing

1. Coup de Villes — "Big Trouble in Little China" 3:13
2. "Pork Chop Express" 3:40
3. "The Alley" 2:00
4. "Here Come the Storms" 2:20
5. "Lo Pan's Domain" 4:30
6. "Escape from Wing Kong" 8:00
7. "Into the Spirit Path" 7:07
8. "The Great Arcade" 10:00
9. "The Final Escape" 4:47
10. Coup de Villes — "Big Trouble in Little China" -Reprise- (3:08)

Backstabbed

1. "Opening" (3:35)
2. "Alexandra" (5:57)
3. "Blue Planet Interlude/Final Stab" (5:41)

Escape from New York

1. "Atlanta Bank Robbery" (3:31)

Both soundtrack albums are currently out-of-print.

Reception

Opening in 1,053 theaters on July 4, 1986, Big Trouble in Little China grossed $2. Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) 7 million in its opening weekend and went on to gross $11. 1 million in North America, well below its estimated budget of $25 million, as of July 12, 2007. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[7]

The film received critically mixed reviews when it was first released but has since enjoyed a reappraisal. It currently has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies. Ron Base, in his review for the Toronto Star, praised Russell's performance. The Toronto Star is Canada 's highest-circulation newspaper though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario. "He does a great John Wayne imitation. John Wayne ( May 26, 1907 &ndash June 11, 1979) was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award -winning American But he's not just mimicking these heroes, he is using them to give his own character a broad, satiric edge". ^[8] Walter Goodman in the New York Times wrote, "In kidding the flavorsome proceedings even as he gets the juice out of them, the director, John Carpenter, is conspicuously with it". ^[9] Harlan Ellison praised the film, writing that it had "some of the funniest lines spoken by any actor this year to produce a cheerfully blathering live-action cartoon that will give you release from the real pressures of your basically dreary lives". Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific American Writer of Short stories, Novellas, Teleplays ^[10] However, in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert wrote, "special effects don't mean much unless we care about the characters who are surrounded by them, and in this movie the characters often seem to exist only to fill up the foregrounds", and felt that it was "straight out of the era of Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu, with no apologies and all of the usual stereotypes". The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily Newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. Roger Joseph Ebert (iːbɝt born June 18, 1942) is an American film critic and Screenwriter. Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American Detective created by Earl Derr Biggers, who acknowledged that he was inspired by the career of Dr Fu Manchu is a Fictional character first featured in a series of novels by English author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century ^[11] Paul Attanasio, in the Washington Post, criticized the screenwriters for being "much better at introducing a character than they are at developing one". Paul Attanasio (born on November 14, 1959 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American Screenwriter and producer The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D ^[12] David Ansen wrote, in his review for Newsweek, "though it is action packed, spectacularly edited and often quite funny, one can't help feeling that Carpenter is squeezing the last drops out of a fatigued genre". David Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977 Newsweek is an American weekly Newsmagazine published in New York City. ^[13] In his review for The Times, David Robinson felt that Carpenter was, "overwhelmed by his own special effects, without a strong enough script to guide him". ^[14]

After the commercial and critical failure of the film, Carpenter became very disillusioned with Hollywood and became an independent filmmaker. ^[15] He said in an interview, “The experience [of Big Trouble] was the reason I stopped making movies for the Hollywood studios. I won’t work for them again. I think Big Trouble is a wonderful film, and I’m very proud of it. But the reception it received, and the reasons for that reception, were too much for me to deal with. I’m too old for that sort of bullshit”. Since its initial release it has developed a cult following and is now well received by critics. ^[16]

Video game

The movie was made into a game published by Electric Dreams Software and produced by Software Studios (Mev Dinc, Focus). Electric Dreams Software was a Video game publisher established in 1985 by ex-managing director of Quicksilva, Rob Cousens. Electric Dreams Software was a Video game publisher established in 1985 by ex-managing director of Quicksilva, Rob Cousens. It was available for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal Home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit Home computers produced by Amstrad Plc during the 1980s and early 1990s ^[17] Your Sinclair awarded it a total score of 8 of 10. Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated was a British Computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers Crash gave it 7/10 and Sinclair User 2/10^[18]

In World of Warcraft you can collect a trinket called the 'Six Demon Bag' containing ". Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum Home computer. Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of Home computers most specifically World of Warcraft (commonly acronymed as WoW) is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG . . wind, fire, all that kind of thing!".

The Fighter Rayden from the Mortal Kombat series was heavily influenced by one of the villains in this movie, Lightning. Raiden is a Fictional character in the Mortal Kombat Fighting game series

References

External links

• Big Trouble in Little China at the Internet Movie Database
• Big Trouble in Little China at Allmovie
• Big Trouble in Little China at Rotten Tomatoes
• Big Trouble in Little China at John Carpenter's official website
• The Wing Kong Exchange
• Erasing Clouds retrospective article