Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we're not back by dawn...call the President"-Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China
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Presents...
Stranger Sinema
Come one, come all to a midway of the most bizarre in pictures! Journey into the unknown through the deepest depths of celluloid film! Bear witness to some of the most unique and peculiar stories and characters! Dive into a rabbit hole and leave behind your mundane world for a glimpse into the upside-down world...of Stranger Sinema!
Welcome back, Young and Young-at-Heart explorers, to Stranger Sinema! The show on Something Niche where we take a deep dive into the strange world of cult cinema, discovering the most madcap, bizarre, or just strangely obscure parts of the film world!
Today, we will be covering the last of our three holiday-themed posts for the month of February by celebrating the Lunar New Year with one of our all-time favorites. A film that dared to combine 80s action movie machismo with Chinese Folklore, and in the process, create one of the most unique cinematic experiences ever created. A film that truly deserves to be called Stranger Sinema. That film is a little 80s cult classic known as Big Trouble in Little China.
Indeed, Big Trouble in Little China is a film that comes from a rather peculiar place in popular culture, being directed by John Carpenter, a man who has been briefly touched upon multiple times on this blog in the past. While he may be best known for his work in the horror genre, most notably being one of the minds behind the Halloween franchise, Mr. Carpenter is actually a jack of all trades when it comes to filmmaking, having directed multiple cult classics in other genres as well, ranging from science fiction to action to dramedy. And Big Trouble in Little China stands out as arguably his most peculiar work, taking the classic tropes of Chinese martial arts media and bringing them the San Francisco neighborhood of Little China.
This film is an experience that truly could have only existed in the 80s, combining a little bit of everything in order to create a true crowd pleaser that deserves its cult following. Throughout the movie's 99-minute runtime, we are treated to a smorgasbord of flashy action sequences, sophisticated-for-the-time special effects, and quotable lines throughout this sea of weirdness that's sure to put a smile on anyone's face. If you're in the right mood, that is!
Plus, like a lot of the content we have discussed on Something Niche so far, it's a movie that has truly come a long way. Initially flopping at the box office, Big Trouble in Little China has since gone on to achieve a dedicated fan following over the years. Most notably, it's unique blend of Chinese folk fantasy with urban protagonists has also paved the way for several major cultural touchstones of multiple genres, being referenced everywhere from video games to cartoons.
So, strap on your best martial arts garb and don't forget your fortune cookie (sorry, that's the only joke like this, I swear), because we're in for some Big Trouble in Little China!
A Lovely Stroll Through the Old Neighborhood
Big Trouble in Little China opens in the office of a lawyer, where Chinatown tour bus driver Egg Shen (Victor Wong) is explaining the recent exploits of a mysterious brave hero who has just saved Chinatown from a strange supernatural threat. Almost immediately after this, we then flash forward to meet this so-called hero. His name is Jack Burton (played charismatically by the legendary Kurt Russell), and he is a wise-cracking smartass who works as a truck driver in the San Francisco Bay Area. He's also a less-than-ideal hero whose heart is bigger than his brain.
After spending a night of debauchery at an outdoor market, Jack meets up with his Chinese-American friend Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) and beats him at a game of reflexes. In an act of good sportsmanship, Jack accompanies Wang Chi to the airport in order to meet up with Wang's fiancé Miao Yin (Suzee Pai). However, things go south once members of a street gang dubbed The Lords of Death arrive, causing havoc and kidnapping Miao Yin.
Jack and Wang manage to track the gang members to Chinatown, only to get involved in a street fight between two rival warrior societies. Things go then go from crazy to insane when a mysterious man named David Lo Pan (played with perfect menace by James Hong) invades the fight with his three bodyguards with elemental powers, dubbed the Three Storms. Although Jack and Wang are able to escape the insanity, Jack's truck-affectionately nicknamed "Pork Chop"-winds up stolen.
Now that they both have something they need to get back, Jack and Wang regroup at Wang's restaurant, where they meet up with a group of new allies who agree to help the duo rescue Miao Yin and Pork Chop. These include Gracie Law (Kim Cattrall), a lawyer who Jack becomes smitten with, her reporter friend Margo Litzenberger (Kate Burton), and Wang's friend and successful businessman Eddie Lee (Donald Li). After managing to track Miao Yin to a local brothel, however, the group gets cornered by the Three Storms, who make off with her.
Now, Miao Yin is in the clutches of Lo Pan, who is in reality an ancient Chinese sorcerer who was cursed with incorporeality by the ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang. Lo Pan plans on sacrificing Miao Yin in order to break his curse and walk the earth once again. Jack, Wang and company must now travel underground Chinatown in order to track down Lo Pan and stop his evil plans before it's too late.
Along the way. the group gets involved in a long list of supernatural shenanigans and high-flying martial arts action; all involving some of the greatest fixtures of Chinese folklore.
Could've Been the Princess, You Be a King
While Carpenter takes a lot of credit for Big Trouble in Little China, much of the film is primarily the brainchild of its screenwriters. The original version of the film was conceived by a pair of then-newbies named Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein, who originally had a very different vision for the film. In their first draft of the screenplay, the film was originally a Western set in the 1890s with some fantastical element, an idea that sounds like it could've been a cult classic in its own right!
The film would start to morph into its (metaphorical) final form when a third screenwriter joined the crew. That was one W.D. Richter, who had just previously directed fellow 80s cult classic (and potential future topic for Stranger Sinema) The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. When asked about why he decided to update the film to contemporary times, Mr. Richter would simply explain "It struck me that it might be more vibrant if it were a contemporary movie. That was my pitch."
John Carpenter came on board to direct the film as part of a long-standing desire to create a martial arts film. He agreed with much of Richter's sentiments and was ultimately the one who encouraged Goldman and Weinstein to change the film into what it is today. "There was an innocence to these movies and a joyousness that I loved." Carpenter explained about his love for martial arts cinema during a 2016 interview. "I wanted to bring all of that to Big Trouble."
Carpenter was also the one who would bring a lot of the movie's so-called protagonist's quirks to life. Although Jack Burton was marketed as the film's main hero, and can easily be considered as such, Carpenter had a different vision as to who Jack Burton was. He has planned to depict him as an inverse of the hyper-confident Caucasian leads with ethnic sidekicks, with Jack becoming something of a bumbling idiot who has to rely on the more competent Wang Chi in order to get himself out of sticky situations.
"It's about this idiot, who stumbles into a world he doesn't understand, staggers through it and does absolutely nothing, thinks he's done everything and staggers away into the night..."Carpenter would explain about Jack's true role in the story. And this can be seen throughout multiple points in the final version of the film, such as when he accidentally knocks himself out during a climactic fight sequence.
Year of the Tiger
Once the screenplay for this quirky gem was finished, casting would be one of the first things to be taken into consideration. For the lead role of Jack Burton, production studio 20th Century Fox (now operating under The Walt Disney Company as 20th Century Studios) had plans to cast either Clint Eastwood or Jack Nicholson in the role. However, both of the actors turned down the role. John Carpenter had wanted to cast Kurt Russell in the role from the beginning of production, having collaborated with him on other projects, including fellow cult classics Escape from New York and The Thing. Fox was extremely reluctant to cast Russell, and Russell himself had objections due to starring in a string of flops at the time. But Carpenter ultimately got his wish, saying that he just really wanted to work with Russell again.
When Russell ultimately agreed to star in the film, he had to turn down the lead role in Highlander (another potential future topic of Stranger Sinema). Like much of the rest of the cast, he had to undergo training for a few months before production had officially begun. During this time, he built muscle mass by lifting weights and running. Notably, when filming actually began, Russell ended up catching a nasty case of the flu, but managed to soldier on through it. This could be seen on film during the scene where the heroes try to rescue Mio Yin from the brothel. The sweat that appeared on Russell's body during the scene was genuine and was caused by his sickness.
For the casting of the Asian characters, care was taken into consideration. The previous year, the film Year of the Dragon released to great controversy for its depiction of Chinese-Americans. Wanting to avoid similar controversy with his film, Carpenter and his producers met with several Chinese-American community leaders in order to assuage concerns about the film's writing. They also hired a casting director who represented many Chinese and Asian-American actors.
For one Asian character in particular, Carpenter actually had very big plans for casting. His number one choice for the role was none-other than the legendary martial arts movie icon Jackie Chan, having been inspired to cast him after seeing him in the crossover hit Police Story. Producer Lawrence Gordon, however, vetoed the idea, feeling that Chan's English wasn't good enough at the time after watching a few of his other movies. Dennis Dun was ultimately drawn to the film because he was a fan of writer W.D. Richter's aforementioned Buckaroo Banzai. Dun notably had little difficulty performing the film's martial arts sequences, having dabbled in a little bit of martial arts as a child, as well has having done some Chinese opera work. He also took great interest and pride in his role, reflecting "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."
Kim Cattrall was cast as Gracie Law, against the wishes of the producers, who wanted to have an unidentified "rock star" cast in the role. At the time, Cattrall was also starring on stage, performing in a production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. She would leave the set at around 4:30 PM every day in order to prepare for her stage work. "My film career subsidized my theater career", she reflected. "If I only did theater, I would have had to waitress, and I didn't want to waitress." She was also required to wear green contacts that had a tendency to irritate her eyes.
Body, Mind, and Spirit
Once the cast was assembled, production for Big Trouble in Little China was fast-tracked by 20th Century Fox. They did this in order to beat a similar film that was in production at the time to the box office. That film was Paramount Pictures' The Golden Child, which was to star Eddie Murphy, who was considered a huge box office draw at the time. "If Big Trouble were released at the same time as Golden Child, we would be killed at the box office because audiences love Eddie Murphy." John Carpenter explained. These sentiments would prove ironic, but more on that later.
Apart from the film's stacked cast, Carpenter also brought on a large production posse of well-respected individuals within the industry. The film's visual effects were supervised by Richard Edlund, whose work we previously saw here on Stranger Sinema in Fright Night! He also worked on Ghostbusters! There's even one creature in the film that'll look slightly familiar to those who saw that movie! The film's sets were designed by John J Lloyd, who would have to create much of the sets for the underground scenes meticulously by hand. This was done in order to accommodate the film's complicated martial arts sequences and special effects. Cinematography was handled by the prolific Dean Cundey, who has worked on multiple legendary films, including with Carpenter previously on Halloween. Carpenter himself composed the film's score, like he usually would for most of his films, with his music on the film mixing oriental and contemporary elements seamlessly.
In addition to the sets built for the film, a lot of filming was also done in the real-life Chinatown of San Francisco. These scenes included a scene of Egg Shen driving his tour bus near the famous Chinatown Dragon Gate, located on Bush Street and Grant Avenue. Several real-life businesses that have since been closed also made cameos, such as Far East Flea Market and the Four Seas Restaurant. Continuing the movie's Ghostbusters connections, a scene set in Egg Shen's bus garage was filmed in Fire House 23 in Los Angeles, which is where interior shots for the Ghostbusters' firehouse were filmed. The rest of filming took place on soundstages at 20th Century Fox's production studio in Los Angeles.
While production of the film proved to be fun for some members of the cast and crew, a few others expressed had some minor horror stories to share. Notably, while shooting a special effects scene, one of the squib devices that was implanted on a wall went off earlier than planned. This caused director Carpenter to lose his cool for a brief moment, which, according to Kurt Russell, was one of the very few times Carpenter ever lost his cool on set.
Cinematographer Cundey also had to deal with a challenge. For filming a scene where several characters are depicted swimming through a pipe filled with water, Cundey had to get creative with how he got the cameras to work. "I knew we couldn't get the camera in the pipe, maintain the minimum 5' focus plane required for anamorphic allow the character to swim by, and pan." he explained in an interview. Thus, he had to use a snorkel lens, which was inserted through a hole that was cut into the pipe. He had previously filmed a commercial where he used similar techniques.
Lo Pan's actor James Hong also had to deal with a strange challenge on set. During the ornate wedding scene towards the film's conclusion, he had to perform his own stunts on a small escalator due to time constraints. "The whole set with the mouth, coming down the steps of the escalator, it was very dangerous." Hong explained in an interview. "All of the sudden, John said "We don't have time, we've got to do it right away." I said "Can't you get a stunt man? Get George Chung! He's my stunt man!" He said "No, no, you just got to step in." So, with that long robe, I tried to put it over the lifts, and when I stepped on just the part before you go down the real escalator, I said "Oh my God! This is going to be my last scene!" It looked like I was fierce, but I was trembling. That's the way it was; everything had to be real."
Lastly, the film's aforementioned opening scene wasn't in the original version of the script. Originally, the film just began with the scene of Jack driving into San Francisco with his truck. The new scene had to be added in after 20th Century Fox requested it, wanting to have a film that established Jack Burton's heroism, regardless of his true role in the film.
Big Trouble at the Box Office
By the time production wrapped on Big Trouble in Little China, much of the cast and crew were enthusiastic about it release. An early test screening for the film went extremely well, which boosted the morale of everybody involved. So much so, that Kurt Russell even believed that the film would go on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year.
Director John Carpenter even got involved in the film's marketing push. Being a part-time musician, he got together with fellow filmmakers Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle (the latter of whom is also notable for being the original Michael Myers) to form a music trio known as The Coup De Villes. They recorded a title song for the movie, which even received its own music video that earned a little airplay on MTV.
The film was released on July 2nd, 1986, just in time for the Independence Day weekend. Sadly, much of the cast and crew's enthusiasm for the film did not translate into box office gold. The film was a massive commercial flop, only making back $11 Million on a budget that sat between $19-25 Million. Much like our previous subject Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, much of the film's failure was blamed on the film's lack of marketing, something that star Kurt Russel agree with in spite of his initial enthusiasm with the project.
"I kept waiting to see ads and things like that just didn't happen." Russell reflected. "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."
Much of the film's lack of marketing came down to having to share a studio with the much more hotly-anticipated Aliens. 20th Century Fox would spend much more money on marketing for the anticipated sequel, which would later blow Big Trouble out of the water at the box office. The film would also be overshadowed by other blockbusters like Top Gun and Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
Critical reception for the film was also all over the place at the time. Legendary critic Roger Ebert, for instance, gave the film a rather mixed review, praising the first half of the film as "visually spectacular", but ultimately going on to call the film repetitive and "straight out of the era of Charlie Chaplain and Fu Manchu, with no apologies and all the usual stereotypes. Conversely, Ron Base of The Toronto Star praised the film, particularly Russell's performance. "He does a great John Wayne imitation. But he's not just mimicking these heroes," he described, "he is using them to give his own character a broad, satiric edge."
The film's initial failure scared Carpenter off from Hollywood filmmaking for many years, exclusively returning to focusing on independent fare for several years afterwards until he made Memoirs of an Invisible Man for Universal Pictures in 1993, which was a critical and commercial bomb as well. He would also go on record saying "I'm too old for this bullshit." when reading some of Big Trouble's first negative reviews.
A Chance at Reincarnation
However, despite coming and going upon its release, Big Trouble and Little China's legend was far from over. Once the film hit home video and cable TV, much of the general public would come around to the film and see what they were missing. And the film's cult popularity has continued to grow ever since.
Two of the film's most notable admires were a couple of men named Ed Boon and John Tobias. For those of you who don't know who they are, perhaps you are familiar with Mortal Kombat, as they are the co-creators of that iconic-yet controversial-fighting game franchise. The duo were outspoken fans of the movie and took inspiration from it while building the game's world. They most notably took influence from David Lo Pan when designing original antagonist Shang Tsung, and from the Three Storms when designing supporting protagonist Raiden. The movie was also a huge influence on Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok.
The series would also be re-visited in multiple different forms of media in the coming years. Several comic book sequels for the film were produced during the 2010s, including two separate series by Boom Studios. A Crossover comic book with another one of Carpenter's films, the aforementioned Escape from New York, was also published in 2016. A tabletop game was even released in 2018. Plans for a legacy sequel with involvement from Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson were also put into action during the 2010s, but the project never materialized and has remained in limbo since Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019.
Even today, as the film celebrates its 40th anniversary, Big Trouble in Little China is a film that remains a beloved fixture of cult cinema. And it's not hard to see why! The film is truly unique in every sense of the word, bringing the many great martial arts movies of the past to contemporary American setting, while also not forgetting to have fun while doing do. It features some of the most sophisticated special effects and stunt work of the 80s, and utilizes them to their full advantage in order to create some of the wackiest fight scenes in cinematic history.
It's characters are also truly memorable in every sense of the word. Lo Pan in particular stands out as a perfect villain thanks to his eerie and unnatural presence and James Hong's menacing performance. Whenever he's on screen, you know from right off the bat that he is not a guy who you want to mess with! And it would only make sense that he be an influence on one of the most important pop cultural movements of all time in Mortal Kombat. All of the heroic characters also bounce off of each other nicely, with Jack Burton in particular bringing a lot of heart and personality to the film. He may be far from an ideal hero and messes up more times than he probably should, but we still love him. And it helps that he also gets some of the movie's best lines!
It's also a movie that isn't afraid to get a little bit silly and weird, much like a lot of movies of the era were. And it has a lot of memorable moments because of it! These moments include a small set of quirky creature designs and several strange effects that look straight out of a cartoon, such as a man inflating and exploding! The camera work is perfectly exaggerated with well-executed close-ups, pans, and rapid edits that keep the movie's sense of energy high...thankfully without getting too overstimulating! The set pieces also provide some of the most perfect backdrops for the movie's extravagant fight sequences.
But overall, Big Trouble in Little China is a movie that's not afraid to stand out from the crowd. It takes some of the best aesthetics of both the East and the West in order to create a strange, surreal viewing experience. One that doesn't have a single dull moment in it! Big Trouble in Little China is ultimately a movie that isn't afraid to have a distinct personality, and it's a much more fun movie because of it! And it's a special kind of movie that truly could have only existed in the 80s!
Freakish Fun Facts
And now that the battle has subsided, it's officially time for Freakish Fun Facts! That part of the show that everybody seems to look forward to! It's the part where we here at Something Niche take a look at a few extra behind-the-scenes facts at our movie in question for the article.
Here are some of the hidden treasures found within Big Trouble in Little China's metaphorical secret chamber!
- We already established that parts of the movie would influence some of the characters and worldbuilding of Mortal Kombat. Well, the connections to the franchise don't end there! The late Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who played Shang Tsung in the franchise's now cult-classic film adaptation, has a small role in the film as one of the members of the Wing Kong gang that starts a street fight in Chinatown.
- Another notable character in the film is Needles, a member of the Lords of Death gang played by Jeff Imada. Imada has gone on to become a well-respected stunt coordinator and has worked with John Carpenter on multiple other occasions!
- The late Peter Kwong, who played Rain of the Three Storms, always wanted to have long hair. The film gave him a long-haired wig as a way to fulfill that desire, even though he has gone on record noting "I had to sit in three hours of makeup everyday just to get in and out of the $3,000 wig."
- Egg Shen's tour bus was a 1936 White touring car. And that particular vehicle has since been used by Yellowstone National Park to give tours of Old Faithful Geyser. They have even affectionately given it the nickname of "Hollywood".
- Janet Jackson reused some of the constructed sets made for the movie in the music video for her song "When I Think of You", which was released the same year as the movie. Michael Jackson also visited the sets several times during production.
- In 2014, Kurt Russell attended a Halloween party hosted by actress Kat Hudson. Comedian Zach Braff also attended, dressed as Jack Burton, and the two took a picture together.
- One of the hardest things to film during the production was a floating head creature that had many eyeballs. Several puppeteers had to operate its many different facial expressions with cables, and special matting system was built just for this project in order to film it.
- Kurt Russel had to re-use one of his old film costumes during one scene. When Jack is trying to infiltrate the brothel, Kurt Russel re-used his costume from the comedy film Used Cars!
A Film of Good Fortune
So, in the end, Big Trouble in Little China is truly a film that needs to be seen in order to be believed. It's a movie that combines a lot of the best genres in order to create what Cinematographer Cundey has described as a "combination suspense/action/comedy/kung-fu/ghost-story" that almost defies explanation. And it uses all of these elements in a way that only a creative madman like John Carpenter created.
The film has some of the sharpest-and most imaginative-action sequences ever put to film, at least as far as the 80s goes, and provides a true-blue adrenaline rush from start to finish. It combines Eastern mysticism with Western action movie tropes in order to provide some of the best of both worlds, and even turns a few of them on their head in order to take audiences by surprise. And this movie truly has a lot of surprises, be they in the form of quotable lines or scenes that will leave you looking at the screen like it had two heads!
It also does so while not forgetting about its characters, crafting memorable heroes and villains alike. Every character in the movie gets their moment to shine, regardless of which side of the moral compass they stand. And some of them have even gone on to influence some of popular culture's most iconic characters and franchises.
But above all, Big Trouble in Little China is just a film that's pure fun. It's the kind of movie you watch to boost your mood if your down in the dumps and is sure to put a smile on your face. Be that one of awe caused by the film's dazzling effects and action sequences or one of pure amusement as a result of the film's surprisingly sharp wit. It may come off as a little strange at times, but that's a part of the movie's charm!
All of these elements have helped Big Trouble in Little China to establish a true cult following over the decades, with much of the mainstream audience accepting it into their hearts despite its initial shortcomings. And a film this unique is one that truly deserves to have the legacy it has.
Many cast members of the film still embrace it as a big part of their careers, often continuing to appear at conventions to meet up with fans. "I've been to autograph conventions," James Hong reflected in a 2016 interview, "and this film-let's just say it this way: The production stills have sold more than all the other ones [of Hong's Career] combined, including Blade Runner, Seinfeld, and Balls of Fury, all those other ones." And it's heartwarming to see this unique little gem continue to get the love it truly deserves to this day. With all of its Asian storytelling qualities, I'd even go as far as to call it the best live-action anime film not based on an anime! It arguably even deserves a modern video game adaptation!
But, those are just my own personal thoughts. What about yours? Have you ever seen Big Trouble in Little China? Do you find it to be deserving of its cult classic status, or is it just a little too weird for you? Are you interested in checking it out after hearing my thoughts on it? Would you have liked to see a sequel? Share your thoughts in the comments section! And don't be afraid to share this video on social media with your family and friends! And if I'm not back by dawn...call the president!
Dedicated to Peter Kwong and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa
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Truitt, B. (2014, May 7). Jack Burton finds “big trouble” again in new comic. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/05/07/big-trouble-in-little-china-comic-book-first-look/8710893/
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