Brothers Together, Dragons Forever
"Project A" HKL biography
Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao - one of the best loved screen teams in movies. Their chemistry together in front of the camera is no less evident than their bond in real life. The adventures this band of brothers enjoys make for some of the highest points of Hong Kong Cinema.
Beijing Opera Blues
The trio first came together as students of Chinese Opera Master Yu Jim-yuen. The boys being less than academic students, Jackie, Sammo and Yuen's families had turned to Master Yuen to teach theirs sons a respectable trade and to instill in them some of his feared discipline. Beijing Opera training is hard, and requires its students to develop singing, dancing, acrobatic, and fighting skills. Master Yuen was a hard taskmaster, and the flock under his charge lived in fear of his beatings should the misbehave or even fall short of his standards. When Jackie, then Chan Kong-sang, began his 10 year contracted period of training under Yuen, he found that when his Master Had his back turned, a senior student would take charge. One such "elder brother" was Hung Kam-bo, nicknamed "Sam-Mo" ("Three Hairs" in Cantonese) because he resembled a popular cartoon character of the time. Sammo was required to be hars on young Chan and co. If the Master thought Sammo wasn't hard enough on his juniors, it was Hung he'd take it out on. Not too long after Chan joined the academy, a tearful young boy named Ha enrolled. Before the day was out, he'd discovered he had an uncanny talent for performing somersaults. Like his co-students, Ha assumed a stage name out of respect for his Master. Ha was Yuen Biao, Chan Yuen Lo, and Hung was Yuen Lung. In time all three would become members of Jim-yuen's elite performing troupe "The Seven Little Fortunes", as would the like of Yuen Wah and Corey Yuen Kwai - now also major players in HK action cinema.
Enter the Film Biz
As per their contracts, the Master received his pupils' earnings for their performances on stage or as child actors in motion picture films. By the time their contracts had expired, the well-trained performers were well equipped to seek their own fortunes in the budding local film industry. The older Hung was the first of the three to break out on his own, quickly gaining a reputation as a fight coordinator. Chan would soon follow him into the movie business, earning respect for his willingness to perform daring stunts. On occassions they would work on the same projects. Both Jackie and Biao worked on "Fist of Fury". In Bruce Lee's most famous film "Enter the Dragon", Sammo can be seen at the start fighting with Lee, Jackie gets killed by Lee in the cave-set action scene, and Biao is visible in the tournament-field scenes. When Hung reached action director status, he happily employed his two younger brothers. "Hand of Death", a period kung-fu film shot in Taiwan, directed by a young John Woo, saw Hung choreograph and play a villainous role. Chan plays a supportive hero character, and performed as a stunt double, and once again the youngest of the trio, Yuen Biao is visible as a stunt player.
Not long after "Hand of Death", Chan signed an actor's contract with Lo Wei, and Sammo continued to work as a choraographer and stunt coordinator, often employing Biao as part of his stunt team. In the small world of kung fu filmmaking Chan and Biao’s paths did cross on occassions however. In Lo's "Shaolin Wooden Men" for example, Chan is the leading actor, whilst baby-faced Biao makes the most out of a minor villainous role.
Young Masters
Once free from his Lo Wei contract, a bona fide star, Jackie signed a deal with Golden Harvest Studios. His first picture for Harvest was
"Young Master" (1980). As both the film's star and director Chan saw fit to cast his "younger brother" Biao in a pivotal role. "Young Master" sees Chan play a young martial artist out to find a fellow student who's left their kung fu school and fallen in with a bunch of criminals. In the course of this search, Chan is mistaken for his friend by the local police, so in turn has both the lawbreakers and law enforces to deal with! Playing the part of the arrogant police chief is Yuen Biao, who impresses with his employment of a wooden bench in his fight with Chan. With 1983's "Winners and Sinners" Sammo Hung starred and directed his first entry in what was to become the lucrative "Lucky Stars" series. While these films were afforded a more lighthearted tone than much of Hung's works - often being likened to the British "Carry On" films for their juvenile humour and ensemble casts - Hung never neglected to inject them with his typically high-impact fights and stunts. In the film Jackie provides an extended guest appearance as a no-nonsense cop, giving some audiences (who might not watch his old-style kung fu films) their first taste of his now trademark action stunt-style. In one totally superfluous, but nonetheless gratifying scene, Jackie's character gets into a brief but energetic scrap with another off-duty cop who thinks Chan has whistled at his girlfriend. Who provides the impressive kicks and flips to counter Chan's hyped-up kickboxing? None other than Yuen Biao.
Brothers Together
Jackie's next film after "Winners and Sinners" was "Project A". Once again Chan was directing as well as starring, and he wisely brought Sammo and Biao along for the ride, in what is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining HK films ever. Perhaps in a reference to the actors' pasts, their characters in the film start off with different agendas and no small degree of rivalry, but circumstances throw them together to fight side by side against a common enemy. Rather than restrain his co-stars, director Chan let his brothers complement his comedic fighthing style: Sammo with his no-nonsense brawling, and Biao with his flashy kicking and acrobatic movement. In interviews Chan was quick to credit Sammo for not only aiding him in front of the camera, but behind it as well. When the time came for him to perform Project A's most impressive and daring stunt - the fall from the clock tower - Chan says it was Sammo who finally gave him the will to do it. The following year the trio headed off to sunny Barcelona for the energetic "Wheels on Meals". Playing Chinese immigrants, Biao and Jackie run a fastfood business, but thoughts of hotdogs and French fries are swiftly cast aside when they come to the aide of private detective Hung (also the film's director) and a Spanish heiress (Lola Forner). Scenes of Jackie and Biao sparring show that years of studying together under the same master gave them the kind of accuracy, timing and sensitivity to each other's teachniques that most action actors and stunt people can only dream about. The film's dinamic ending, which takes place inside a Spanish castle, saw Hung generously giving his co-stars great opportunities to show off their respective skills. Biao goes one on one with American Tae Kwan Do champ Keith Vitali, dodging his kicks with a dazzling display of somersaults and flips, which makes full use of his surrounding chairs, tables and other props. Jackie goes toe to toe with world kickboxing champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, for a fight where Hung brings out a level of intensity from Chan previously unseen by audiences. Not one to hide his light under the bushel, Sammo too got to show off, proving that weight needn't impede a Chinese Opera performer’s dexterity when handling ancient weapons. Finally the three unite to take on the film’s main villain, standing side by side, swords raised and crossed like a Chinese version of the Three Musketeers. "One for All, and All for one" indeed.
Lucky Stars
Chan's growing success as an Asian box office draw was in no way impaired by his appearances with Hung and Biao. On the contrary, if he needed to spend close to a year working on a film in which he alone starred, having another film (in which he merely acted, rather than directed, starred and choreographed), released between his "sole" projects helped maintain his profile. In "My Lucky Stars" much of the running time is handed over to Sammo and the comedy team he assembled for "Winners and Sinners". When it's time for action though, the comics are there only to provide brief moments to relieve the audience's tension from watching Jackie, Sammo and Biao burst into serious action. In the sequel "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" Sammo may once again seem the star, but Jackie and Biao nonetheless get their chances to shine. One of the film's set pieces sees the pair, plus HK heart-throb Andy Lau, take on a gang of thungs in a bottling plant. Here Biao performs what must be one of the most impressive acrobatic kicking combination ever captured on celluloid. Away from their "three brothers" projects, each star may have been battling for box office supremacy with their own solo vehicles, but fans loved to see them fighting alongside, rather than against, each other.
Dragons Forever
The mid-Eighties saw the separate careers of Jackie, Sammo and Biao go from strength to strength. While Biao finally began to establish himself as a bankable star of modern day action films such as "Above the Law", Sammo continued to excel as an actor, producer and director, in both commercial and more serious fare. Jackie continued to star and direct in his own movies, "Armour of God" and his sequel to "Project A" earning him more box office clout and critical notice. Fans however hungered to see the three together and in 1987 "Dragons Forever" was born. Considered one of the all time great modern day HK action films, "Dragons Forever" once again sees the trio a disparate bunch who band together to fight common enemy. Jackie plays a slick lawyer, Biao a neurotic cat-burglar, and Sammo a small time crook, who's the neighbour of the woman prosecuting Jackie’s client - a drugs gang leader played by fellow "Little Fortune" Yuen Wah. The film works on several levels. On a comedic level, the trio engages in "Three Stooges" style slapstick routines. On a dramatic level director Hung gave Chan a slicker more sophisticated image than he's played to in the past, and Biao a quirkier, more eccentric role than audiences were used to. From an action perspective the film is flawless. Though Jackie's trademark sunts may not be as evident as in his self-directed work, the fight scenes show Chan and Biao ance again at the top of their form. Biao mesmerizes with his agile acrobatics as he avoids the attacks of hordes of heavies, before engaging in a painful bout of fisticuffs with kickboxer Billy Chow. Jackie then has a rematch with his "Wheels on Meals" opponent, Benny Urquidez, which incredibly tops their previous encounter. Fans felt the three had never worked so well together.
After "Dragons Forever" the three had a separation of sorts. Reports of tension on the film's set had emerged, but as is the tradition of HK reporting, they were blown out of proportion. Sammo, Jackie and Biao remained more than friends, but decided to pursue their own individual projects. If evidence is needed that no bad blood existed between Jackie and his little brother Biao, we can see that in Jackie's 1989 film "Miracles" Biao offers a modest, walk on appearance. Three years later Jackie would return the favour (though if you blink, you'll miss him) for Biao's directorial debut "A Kid from Tibet".
Since "Dragons Forever" Jackie, Sammo and Biao have collaborated on several occassions, but the new "three bander" fans so eagerly anticipate has yet to materialize. In 1995 Hung and Yuen starred in Sammo's cop/action film "Don't Give a Damn", whilst Sammo also served as action director for Jackie's car racing film "Thunderbolt", lensing the film's frenetic fight scenes. The following year Sammo directed Jackie's 1997 Chinese New Year offering, "Mr Nice Guy" in Australia. In 2000 it was Biao who choreographed Jackie for the Hollywood hit "Shangai Noon", creating the impressive weapon fights of the film's ending. More recently, Sammo and Biao both appeared int he hi-tech futuristic HK film "The Avenging Fist", released in 2001. The same year Sammo began work as action director for Jackie's most expensive HK film, "Highbinders". With the years having gone by, and despite their careers having taken them in different directions and to new heights, it's still clear that the bonds between these childhood friends remain strong. Fans of this dynamite trio of HK action look back fondly on their impressive work together, but live in hope that they'll soon reunite on screen to create their unique magic just one more time...
Beijing Opera Blues
The trio first came together as students of Chinese Opera Master Yu Jim-yuen. The boys being less than academic students, Jackie, Sammo and Yuen's families had turned to Master Yuen to teach theirs sons a respectable trade and to instill in them some of his feared discipline. Beijing Opera training is hard, and requires its students to develop singing, dancing, acrobatic, and fighting skills. Master Yuen was a hard taskmaster, and the flock under his charge lived in fear of his beatings should the misbehave or even fall short of his standards. When Jackie, then Chan Kong-sang, began his 10 year contracted period of training under Yuen, he found that when his Master Had his back turned, a senior student would take charge. One such "elder brother" was Hung Kam-bo, nicknamed "Sam-Mo" ("Three Hairs" in Cantonese) because he resembled a popular cartoon character of the time. Sammo was required to be hars on young Chan and co. If the Master thought Sammo wasn't hard enough on his juniors, it was Hung he'd take it out on. Not too long after Chan joined the academy, a tearful young boy named Ha enrolled. Before the day was out, he'd discovered he had an uncanny talent for performing somersaults. Like his co-students, Ha assumed a stage name out of respect for his Master. Ha was Yuen Biao, Chan Yuen Lo, and Hung was Yuen Lung. In time all three would become members of Jim-yuen's elite performing troupe "The Seven Little Fortunes", as would the like of Yuen Wah and Corey Yuen Kwai - now also major players in HK action cinema. Enter the Film Biz
As per their contracts, the Master received his pupils' earnings for their performances on stage or as child actors in motion picture films. By the time their contracts had expired, the well-trained performers were well equipped to seek their own fortunes in the budding local film industry. The older Hung was the first of the three to break out on his own, quickly gaining a reputation as a fight coordinator. Chan would soon follow him into the movie business, earning respect for his willingness to perform daring stunts. On occassions they would work on the same projects. Both Jackie and Biao worked on "Fist of Fury". In Bruce Lee's most famous film "Enter the Dragon", Sammo can be seen at the start fighting with Lee, Jackie gets killed by Lee in the cave-set action scene, and Biao is visible in the tournament-field scenes. When Hung reached action director status, he happily employed his two younger brothers. "Hand of Death", a period kung-fu film shot in Taiwan, directed by a young John Woo, saw Hung choreograph and play a villainous role. Chan plays a supportive hero character, and performed as a stunt double, and once again the youngest of the trio, Yuen Biao is visible as a stunt player.
Not long after "Hand of Death", Chan signed an actor's contract with Lo Wei, and Sammo continued to work as a choraographer and stunt coordinator, often employing Biao as part of his stunt team. In the small world of kung fu filmmaking Chan and Biao’s paths did cross on occassions however. In Lo's "Shaolin Wooden Men" for example, Chan is the leading actor, whilst baby-faced Biao makes the most out of a minor villainous role.
Young Masters
Once free from his Lo Wei contract, a bona fide star, Jackie signed a deal with Golden Harvest Studios. His first picture for Harvest was
"Young Master" (1980). As both the film's star and director Chan saw fit to cast his "younger brother" Biao in a pivotal role. "Young Master" sees Chan play a young martial artist out to find a fellow student who's left their kung fu school and fallen in with a bunch of criminals. In the course of this search, Chan is mistaken for his friend by the local police, so in turn has both the lawbreakers and law enforces to deal with! Playing the part of the arrogant police chief is Yuen Biao, who impresses with his employment of a wooden bench in his fight with Chan. With 1983's "Winners and Sinners" Sammo Hung starred and directed his first entry in what was to become the lucrative "Lucky Stars" series. While these films were afforded a more lighthearted tone than much of Hung's works - often being likened to the British "Carry On" films for their juvenile humour and ensemble casts - Hung never neglected to inject them with his typically high-impact fights and stunts. In the film Jackie provides an extended guest appearance as a no-nonsense cop, giving some audiences (who might not watch his old-style kung fu films) their first taste of his now trademark action stunt-style. In one totally superfluous, but nonetheless gratifying scene, Jackie's character gets into a brief but energetic scrap with another off-duty cop who thinks Chan has whistled at his girlfriend. Who provides the impressive kicks and flips to counter Chan's hyped-up kickboxing? None other than Yuen Biao. Brothers Together
Jackie's next film after "Winners and Sinners" was "Project A". Once again Chan was directing as well as starring, and he wisely brought Sammo and Biao along for the ride, in what is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining HK films ever. Perhaps in a reference to the actors' pasts, their characters in the film start off with different agendas and no small degree of rivalry, but circumstances throw them together to fight side by side against a common enemy. Rather than restrain his co-stars, director Chan let his brothers complement his comedic fighthing style: Sammo with his no-nonsense brawling, and Biao with his flashy kicking and acrobatic movement. In interviews Chan was quick to credit Sammo for not only aiding him in front of the camera, but behind it as well. When the time came for him to perform Project A's most impressive and daring stunt - the fall from the clock tower - Chan says it was Sammo who finally gave him the will to do it. The following year the trio headed off to sunny Barcelona for the energetic "Wheels on Meals". Playing Chinese immigrants, Biao and Jackie run a fastfood business, but thoughts of hotdogs and French fries are swiftly cast aside when they come to the aide of private detective Hung (also the film's director) and a Spanish heiress (Lola Forner). Scenes of Jackie and Biao sparring show that years of studying together under the same master gave them the kind of accuracy, timing and sensitivity to each other's teachniques that most action actors and stunt people can only dream about. The film's dinamic ending, which takes place inside a Spanish castle, saw Hung generously giving his co-stars great opportunities to show off their respective skills. Biao goes one on one with American Tae Kwan Do champ Keith Vitali, dodging his kicks with a dazzling display of somersaults and flips, which makes full use of his surrounding chairs, tables and other props. Jackie goes toe to toe with world kickboxing champion Benny "The Jet" Urquidez, for a fight where Hung brings out a level of intensity from Chan previously unseen by audiences. Not one to hide his light under the bushel, Sammo too got to show off, proving that weight needn't impede a Chinese Opera performer’s dexterity when handling ancient weapons. Finally the three unite to take on the film’s main villain, standing side by side, swords raised and crossed like a Chinese version of the Three Musketeers. "One for All, and All for one" indeed.
Lucky Stars
Chan's growing success as an Asian box office draw was in no way impaired by his appearances with Hung and Biao. On the contrary, if he needed to spend close to a year working on a film in which he alone starred, having another film (in which he merely acted, rather than directed, starred and choreographed), released between his "sole" projects helped maintain his profile. In "My Lucky Stars" much of the running time is handed over to Sammo and the comedy team he assembled for "Winners and Sinners". When it's time for action though, the comics are there only to provide brief moments to relieve the audience's tension from watching Jackie, Sammo and Biao burst into serious action. In the sequel "Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars" Sammo may once again seem the star, but Jackie and Biao nonetheless get their chances to shine. One of the film's set pieces sees the pair, plus HK heart-throb Andy Lau, take on a gang of thungs in a bottling plant. Here Biao performs what must be one of the most impressive acrobatic kicking combination ever captured on celluloid. Away from their "three brothers" projects, each star may have been battling for box office supremacy with their own solo vehicles, but fans loved to see them fighting alongside, rather than against, each other.
Dragons Forever
The mid-Eighties saw the separate careers of Jackie, Sammo and Biao go from strength to strength. While Biao finally began to establish himself as a bankable star of modern day action films such as "Above the Law", Sammo continued to excel as an actor, producer and director, in both commercial and more serious fare. Jackie continued to star and direct in his own movies, "Armour of God" and his sequel to "Project A" earning him more box office clout and critical notice. Fans however hungered to see the three together and in 1987 "Dragons Forever" was born. Considered one of the all time great modern day HK action films, "Dragons Forever" once again sees the trio a disparate bunch who band together to fight common enemy. Jackie plays a slick lawyer, Biao a neurotic cat-burglar, and Sammo a small time crook, who's the neighbour of the woman prosecuting Jackie’s client - a drugs gang leader played by fellow "Little Fortune" Yuen Wah. The film works on several levels. On a comedic level, the trio engages in "Three Stooges" style slapstick routines. On a dramatic level director Hung gave Chan a slicker more sophisticated image than he's played to in the past, and Biao a quirkier, more eccentric role than audiences were used to. From an action perspective the film is flawless. Though Jackie's trademark sunts may not be as evident as in his self-directed work, the fight scenes show Chan and Biao ance again at the top of their form. Biao mesmerizes with his agile acrobatics as he avoids the attacks of hordes of heavies, before engaging in a painful bout of fisticuffs with kickboxer Billy Chow. Jackie then has a rematch with his "Wheels on Meals" opponent, Benny Urquidez, which incredibly tops their previous encounter. Fans felt the three had never worked so well together.
After "Dragons Forever" the three had a separation of sorts. Reports of tension on the film's set had emerged, but as is the tradition of HK reporting, they were blown out of proportion. Sammo, Jackie and Biao remained more than friends, but decided to pursue their own individual projects. If evidence is needed that no bad blood existed between Jackie and his little brother Biao, we can see that in Jackie's 1989 film "Miracles" Biao offers a modest, walk on appearance. Three years later Jackie would return the favour (though if you blink, you'll miss him) for Biao's directorial debut "A Kid from Tibet".
Since "Dragons Forever" Jackie, Sammo and Biao have collaborated on several occassions, but the new "three bander" fans so eagerly anticipate has yet to materialize. In 1995 Hung and Yuen starred in Sammo's cop/action film "Don't Give a Damn", whilst Sammo also served as action director for Jackie's car racing film "Thunderbolt", lensing the film's frenetic fight scenes. The following year Sammo directed Jackie's 1997 Chinese New Year offering, "Mr Nice Guy" in Australia. In 2000 it was Biao who choreographed Jackie for the Hollywood hit "Shangai Noon", creating the impressive weapon fights of the film's ending. More recently, Sammo and Biao both appeared int he hi-tech futuristic HK film "The Avenging Fist", released in 2001. The same year Sammo began work as action director for Jackie's most expensive HK film, "Highbinders". With the years having gone by, and despite their careers having taken them in different directions and to new heights, it's still clear that the bonds between these childhood friends remain strong. Fans of this dynamite trio of HK action look back fondly on their impressive work together, but live in hope that they'll soon reunite on screen to create their unique magic just one more time...
"I'd love if the audience remembered me.
Everything about my movies, my characters.
Don't forget me.
I'm happy that you guys don't forget me.
I love you."
(Sammo Hung)
Everything about my movies, my characters.
Don't forget me.
I'm happy that you guys don't forget me.
I love you."
(Sammo Hung)
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