h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've only seen Jackie in his American releases--actually last summer's "Shanghai Noon" was the first time I ever watched him. I take it if you are going to watch a Jackie Chan movie, then do not start with "Rush Hour" or "Rumble in the Bronx"? They seemed enjoyable enough.

Don't get me wrong, the US releases are good too - the only real differences are to the film budgets, and the fact that the stunts are (slightly) watered-down. What I was trying to do with that list (which, by the way, was compiled from responses to the Peer Review thread for this article) was to say to people, "start with his earlier work (not too early, though - anything from about '79 onwards is watchable) and work your way to the present day". You gotta remember, Jackie's over 40 now - by his own admission and unsurprisingly enough, his range of movement has been impaired by the wear and tear of 25 years of stuntwork. If you watch 'Shanghai Noon', and immediately watch something like 'Police Story', the difference in speed and choreography is very noticeable. And that's why I recommended the earlier stuff.

NQAH (expunging)

That's what I assumed would be the reason to watch his earlier movies--a stronger physical presence. I could almost hear Chan fans cringing when I wrote that I thought Shanghai Noon was enjoyable. Real fans would consider earlier movies, with the focus on Jackie, the better ones. I think many Americans come to his movies now because the Hollywood productions offer more than fighting. Not that it's a bad thing, but we're used to all-star casts, a comedic story line, bigger production budgets, etc. etc. Which is what his recent movies offer. I get a kick (bad pun!) out of the outtakes during the closing credits.

Just happened to catch this article on the rebound - interesting! I've been a Jackie Chan fan for years, but never knew much about him.

Is 'Drunken Master' known by the name 'Legend of Drunken Master' in America? I've seen Legend and thought it was probably one of the best movies I've seen of his.