The Man From Hong Kong (1975)

the man from hong kong

I dont even know if i'm in the right page but my whole family watched The Man from Hong Kong when it first came out on Beta. My father especially has loved this movie and has been looking for it ever since.I hope that by wrighting this someone can let me know where in the world I can purchase this movie on vhs. I would appreciate any help on this matter. The movie is like a piece of history in our family and we would dearly love to find this film.
yours sincerely
Aggie Geraghty December 18, 2003

Under-rated Aussie Actioner

Originally entitled 'The Dragon Flies,' this movie showed the world that Australia could cut it with the best of them in terms of action films. As far as I can see, it is only panned nowadays because of its age and style. Well, it was a while ago and it is curious co-production between Australia and Hong Kong - so Aussie accents and questionable dubbing are bound to attract some derision. Even so, it covered all the bases with its combination of James Bond-ish action, brilliantly arranged car chase and over-the-top kung-fu.

Set mainly in Sydney, but with early scenes shot in Hong Kong, it centres on the story of a Hong Kong police inspector who travels to Australia to assist local police in their search for a huge Southern Hemisphere drug cartel. One-time James Bond star and real-life martial arts expert George Lazenby ironically plays our charismatic narcotics kingpin, Wilton. Oriental star Jimmy Wang Yu plays our Hong Kong police inspector. The all-star cast includes Rebecca Gilling, Roger Ward, Frank Thring and Ros Spiers. Of course, they are only faces that will be familiar to Australasians or learned fans of Australian cinema.
As otherwise noted, Sammo Hung pops up at the beginning, long before he starred in the 1999 U.S. TV series Martial Law. He is memorably chased up Ayers Rock by Roger Ward.
Great kudos go to Noel Quinlan for the funky seventies soundtrack that perfectly compliments the action throughout.

As a fan of car chase, I feel special mention is to be made of the dramatic car chase finale. It showed that Australians could choreograph a car chase that was second to no other country.
But look at what they had to work with. The star was undoubtedly the venerable Valiant Charger. It was quite allegorical, the way the two-door Aussie icon was pitted against its foreign-inspired rivals. After blowing off a motorbike, the Charger goes after, and wipes out, a Vauxhall-inspired LC Holden Torana. Finally, the all-Australian Muscle car takes on the American-sourced Aussie Ford Falcon to devastating effect. The soundtrack even captures the ubiquitous throb of the Chrysler Hemi engine. This was the best car chase ever filmed in Australia without a doubt. It was a great end to a great 70's film. December 4, 2003

available now in Australia on DVD

This movie was recently released in (2.35:1 widescreen) DVD by Screensound Australia, the business name of the National Screen & Sound Archives of Australia. I personally have a copy of this one and it's great. Special features include:
* Director's commentary by Brian Trenchard Smith, together with actor Hugh Keays Byrne and stunt director Grant Page (who doubled for Jimmy Wang Yu in several scenes and also starred as the guy who he fights in the Chinese restuarant)
* Picture gallery, including behind-the-scenes footage (including of the car chase)
* Original Australian news items about the stars and opening night (these are very kitch)
* Original Australian theatrical trailer
* Detailed colour bonus booklet
This has rightly been recognised as a classic of Australian cinema, mainly because it was the first collaboration with an Asian film company (Golden Harvest). It was an attempt by Golden Harvest to move forward in the direction of 'Enter the Dragon' after Bruce Lee's death, and it seems that they still had a contract with George Lazenby (who was originally to appear in 'Game of Death' -- see the extras to the Hong Kong Legends Platinum Edition of Game of Death, released last year in the UK).
The DVD is in PAL format. This means that US buyers will only be able to play it on their laptops etc if they do not have a converter or a dual-format television. It is encoded as Region 4, which shouldn't be as much of a problem, requiring only a multi-region hack or 'dezoning'.

Best of luck finding this one on the web ... the australian government sites are probably the best place to start. November 17, 2002

Typical chop-socky stuff

Also known as THE DRAGON FLIES,this standard chop-socky actioner is a Hong Kong/ Australia co-production, and features former 007 George Lazenby (the one movie wonder) as the main bad guy.
The plot, or what there is of it, centers around an innocent man who is wanted by Australian police for murder, armed robbery and drug trafficking, and sets out to nail the drug kingpin who framed him for it. Star Jimmy Wang Yu is no Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan. The movie has no shortage of stunts but they are unimaginatively filmed (maybe it was because of a limited budget or incompetant directing/ editing). This is particularly disappointing as they are performed by Grant Page, the man who would later mastermind the stunts for the MAD MAX trilogy, the film co-stars Hugh Keays-Byrne and Roger Ward who were in MAD MAX 1. THE MAN FROM HONG KONG also contains one of the most boring car chases ever filmed.
Another problem with this movie is while viewing it, it's obvious that the Asian actors voices have been dubbed, while the Aussies aren't, although the result is unintentionally amusing, and the acting is pretty bad.

And finally, I'll finish of with a snippet of awful dialogue from the movie especially amusing because of how the Australian government have been treating immigrants lately:

Aussie cop: There's no need to be rude, man. There's no torture, no thunbscrews. This is Australia, we're not allowed to get into that sort of thing, mate".

Wang Yu: He's a Chinese. I'm a Chinese. Don't worry.

Well, if a belated sequel to this movie pops up in the future, we should worry. And keep your eyes peeled for a cameo by Samo Hung. October 11, 2002

This is unusal

As far as these films go, this one has pretty standard action. But The Man From Hong Kong is an oddity among the kung fu films of the 1970s. It is directed by an Australian director, and it takes place mostly in Australia with a predominately Australian cast. The exception is star Jimmy Wang Yu, who says his lines in English but is obviously dubbed.

This particular version of the film has both Chinese and English subtitles. Unfortunately, the English subtuitles are an the bottom of the screen, below the Chinese subtitles (the dubbing is also Chinese - perhaps one is Mandarin and one Cantonese). But since this is not widescreen, the English subtitles often go off the screen making it difficult to read!

I bought this video because of George Lazenby, who moves very well for a man his size. An almost unreocgnizable Sammo Hung also makes an appearance as a bad guy. It is odd to note that many actors who became famous playing a specific hero, end up playing the villain in just about every other film.

Because of the problem with the subtitles, I would recommend this film only for purists and completists - until an English version becomes available. 20th Century Fox released this film domestically in theaters, but who knows if they still have the rights, or if they would consider a video release. September 4, 2000

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