Heart of the Dragon
"Heart of the Dragon" HKL Interview:
The first question is, who came up with the concept of Heart of the Dragon?
I thought of the concept myself and the scriptwriter. Actually, it started out as another script. I filmed for one day but I still thought the script wasn't good, it just wasn't right for me. After the first day, we had a meeting and I said "This film isn't right for me." And they were like, "Now what?". I said "If you really want me to be involved then I have to think of another story". Then very quickly, in two weeks in fact, I thought up the story. Then after three more weeks or so, it was written. The story was written very quickly. Actually, the first "Heart of the Dragon" script only starred Jackie Chan. I wasn't in it. I was only the director. Then when I developed the story, I added myself in and I became one of the characters. That's how "Heart of the Dragon" was born.
I thought of the concept myself and the scriptwriter. Actually, it started out as another script. I filmed for one day but I still thought the script wasn't good, it just wasn't right for me. After the first day, we had a meeting and I said "This film isn't right for me." And they were like, "Now what?". I said "If you really want me to be involved then I have to think of another story". Then very quickly, in two weeks in fact, I thought up the story. Then after three more weeks or so, it was written. The story was written very quickly. Actually, the first "Heart of the Dragon" script only starred Jackie Chan. I wasn't in it. I was only the director. Then when I developed the story, I added myself in and I became one of the characters. That's how "Heart of the Dragon" was born. How did you create the role of Jackie Chan’s mentally ill younger brother?
I already had a good idea of how to play this role. It’s not just a matter of turning up and acting. From the scriptwriting stage, to develop this acharacter in each scene, when the script was being written, I was getting into the role, so when the time came to film, I could totally grasp the character.
I already had a good idea of how to play this role. It’s not just a matter of turning up and acting. From the scriptwriting stage, to develop this acharacter in each scene, when the script was being written, I was getting into the role, so when the time came to film, I could totally grasp the character.
Golden Harvest wanted you to fight in this film but you turned them down in the end. Is that true?
I guess I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to fight in all the scenes. All along, working in this business, I’ve always wanted to do something new, to take on different types of roles. My character was mentally retarded, mentally disabled, so how can you ask me to fall down and suddenly become well again? And fight? They knew my fighting skills and wanted me to be part of the action but I thought that would have completely destroyed the tone of the film, the principles behind the film. In addition, I wanted to challange myself as an actor.
I guess I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want to fight in all the scenes. All along, working in this business, I’ve always wanted to do something new, to take on different types of roles. My character was mentally retarded, mentally disabled, so how can you ask me to fall down and suddenly become well again? And fight? They knew my fighting skills and wanted me to be part of the action but I thought that would have completely destroyed the tone of the film, the principles behind the film. In addition, I wanted to challange myself as an actor.
How did you create the role of Jackie Chan’s?
Actually it’s not too different from the sort of characters he normally plays. The only difference was that we had Jackie Chan as a normal policeman. In this film he’s very serious throughout, and you actually see him as a character who is very normal, just an ordinary guy. He’s a cop, he has a disabled brother and he has to make many sacrifices and he has his own dreams and own ambitions. I wanted him to play a character that was just a regular guy as opposed to the type he normally plays, the cute kind of guy. I didn’t want it to be too over the top. So the film came off and Jackie Chan was very good in it. There were many scenes with just me too. If we had made his character too cutesy, it would have jarred with the sentiment of the film. So that’s why it was a more subdued character.
Actually it’s not too different from the sort of characters he normally plays. The only difference was that we had Jackie Chan as a normal policeman. In this film he’s very serious throughout, and you actually see him as a character who is very normal, just an ordinary guy. He’s a cop, he has a disabled brother and he has to make many sacrifices and he has his own dreams and own ambitions. I wanted him to play a character that was just a regular guy as opposed to the type he normally plays, the cute kind of guy. I didn’t want it to be too over the top. So the film came off and Jackie Chan was very good in it. There were many scenes with just me too. If we had made his character too cutesy, it would have jarred with the sentiment of the film. So that’s why it was a more subdued character. Yuen Biao was the action director of this film but he didn’t act in it. How did he come to be the action director?
I actually designed the overall fight choreography and set it up and he was there to assist me in the designing and planning and getting everything set up. He also instructed the actors in their fight sequences, that’s what members of the Sammo Hung Stuntmen’s Association do. He is a member of the association. So although he didn’t act in the film, he was still part of the team – he was one of the fight choraographers. I wanted to give the audience a sense of realism and a sense of the fact that violence occurs in our society and that it’s something very cruel. The way I showed that violence wasn’t just for viewing pleasure, it’s actually a message to tell people to stop the violence. This film.. That was part of the message of the film.
Why were two fight scenes deleted from the international version of the film?
No, it’s the other way around. In the international version we added two fight sequences. In the HK version, two fight scenes were edited out. This is because the internatinal audience prefers to see more action sequences. I didn’t want to fight and I didn’t fight in it so in the HK version, the two action sequences were edited out but they were put back in for the overseas market.
Dick Wei plays a baddie in this film and he fights with Jackie Chan. Can you talk a bit about what Dick Wei is like and his role in this film?
Dick Wei worked in many of my films. He’s in many of my films. At that time he was considered a member of Sammo Hung Stuntmen’s Association. He’s in most of my films and we work well together.
The last scene of the film was set on a building site and there was a fight scene there. Was the landlord upset that you’d made such a mess at the site?
I don’t know if he was unhappy or not because we filmed in the hotel.
And where was the site?
It was the Regal Riverside Hotel in Shatin. It was being built then. It was in the middle of construction at th
e time of filming. A scene we did there was the final one, which was a big explosion. An explosion ont he 8th floor and people fell to the ground. We started setting up for that explosion at midnight and at 6 a.m. we started filming. We spent 6 hours setting up before filming. But it was too early… The explosion woke everyone up in a panic and people called the police and the fire department! So the fire brigade and the police came, and we told them, „Sorry, we’re just filming! There’s nothing wrong.”. And it was fine. The only issue we had was one person being hospitalised. When he fell out of the building, he broke a rib so we sent him to hospital. The theme song of the film had a deep impact on the public. Can you talk a bit about who sang it and who wrote it and why a song like that was written?
For this film we asked Su Rui, a singer from Taiwan, to sing the theme song. We showed the songwriters the film and they wrote the song and Su Rui sang it really well. Actually, Su Rui has sung theme songs for quite a few of my films.
The lighting and background at the end of the film is very different from other films. How did you and Arthur Wong come up with this effect?
Some places shine like a bright light, while other places are dark and sad. So within a space, while we are talking about this, we’re very excited but there are places where people are very sad. I wanted to show the many different things happening in that particular time to impact on the audience’s emotional response to the film. So it’s really sad but then you feel very happy seeing me play with the children. The happiest scene is seeing Jackie Chan holding my hand on the road. In other words it was… They have a future of untold possibilities. Two brothers walking along hand in hand. In other words, the love between siblings is priceless. I think all in all, I was very satisfied with it and I was quite happy I had the guts to go for a film like that. Maybe the overseas audience liked it more because of the extra fight sequences. After we filmed this, there was an overseas film called „Rainman”, maybe they copied us, who knows? Their film was pure drama though, and it was a touching film.