Crime Story

重案組 (1993)

Timing: 1:47 (107 min)

6.8/10
202

All about film

Video 2

Photo 31

Actors and characters

Release date

1993-06-24

Country

Hong Kong

Production

Orange Sky Golden Harvest, Paragon Films Ltd., Golden Harvest Productions

Genre

Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama

Budget

$0

Revenue

$194 720

Website

Director

Kirk Wong Chi-Keung

Actors

Jackie Chan, Kent Cheng Jak-Si, Christine Ng, Law Kar-Ying, Susanna Au-Yeung Pui-San, Poon Ling-Ling, Ken Lo, Pan Lingling, Blackie Ko Shou-Liang, Wan Fat
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Cheung Chi-Sing, Tin-Nam Chun

Producer

Leonard Ho, Chua Lam, Leonard Ho

Operator

Arthur Wong Ngok-Tai

Composer

James Wong

Artist

Eddy Wong Ga-Lang, Joel Chong Kwok-Wing

Audition

Editing

Peter Cheung
All team (90)

• The role of Eddie Chan was originally intended for Jet Li. During pre-production of the film, his agent Jim Choy was shot by people from the triads, so Jet Li refused the leading role in a film about organized crime, fearing to attract unwanted attention to himself.
• During the filming of the movie, Kirk Wong and Jackie Chan could not get along. Chan believed that Wong envisioned the main character as too gloomy and unwavering. He feared that such an attitude would negatively affect his image as a carefree hero. Eventually, with the support of the producers, Chan took over most of the filming. Kirk Wong was later fired. Despite this, Kirk Wong is still credited as the sole director in the credits.
• Initially, the script featured Eddie Chan experiencing serious psychological problems, which strongly affected his work performance. However, the protagonist's internal conflicts were softened at the request of Jackie Chan himself. This idea was later used in the film "New Police Story" (2004).
• During the filming of the chase scene, Jackie Chan was caught while jumping between two cars and broke both legs.
• In some countries, the film was released under the incorrect title "Police Story 4".
• In the version of the film released by "Disney/Dimension Films", the protagonist's name was changed from "Eddie Chan" to "Jackie Chan".
• Following the successful release of "Rumble in the Bronx" (1995) in the United States, Dimension Films wanted to release "Criminal Story" in American theaters. Jackie Chan opposed this, so "Police Story 3: Supercop" (1992) was released instead. Nevertheless, "Criminal Story" was shown in US cinemas just a year later, despite Jackie Chan's protests.
• Since the film is based on real events, the original version includes additional information on screen. For example, during Wong Yiu-fai's kidnapping, text appears explaining what happened afterward in real life (such as information about a police officer who sustained serious injuries). Furthermore, in the original version, a text appears during a freeze-frame in the final scene explaining what ultimately happened to everyone involved in the case; an apology is also offered on behalf of the filmmakers, who were forced to "simplify" the story, accompanied by statistics on the number of kidnapping victims – the subject of the film. All of this was cut in the Dimension version.
• Jackie Chan did not dub his character in the American version of the film. An actor imitating Chan's voice, who also dubbed him in the American version of "Project A" (1983) and in several excerpts from "Who Am I?" (2000), performed the dubbing.
• The following scenes were removed from the Dimension Films version: A conversation between the kidnappers, which takes place immediately after the opening credits and before the first scene, was cut. In one of the final scenes, Wong Yiu-fai's wife asks the driver to stop the car and then runs to Chan to personally thank him. Immediately after she returns, Chan takes Yiu-fai's wallet, containing his identification, burns it, and throws it into the river. Also, a scene where Yiu-fai and his wife are sitting in a car, preparing to leave Hong Kong forever, before Chan takes the envelope (having already burned the wallet) and walks away, was cut from the widescreen American version.
• A "dubbed" version of the film was released in Singapore, for which three additional scenes were filmed with Jackie Chan and Singaporean television actress Ling Ling Pan. The most complete version of the film can be found on the DVD released by Mega Star. Unlike the Chinese versions and the Dimension version, this disc features the original soundtrack in Cantonese.
• One of the key episodes of the film was shot in Kowloon, a densely populated district of Hong Kong that was demolished in 1993 under an agreement between the British and Chinese governments. The impending demolition of the area allowed the filmmakers to shoot several spectacular scenes with explosions of the former residential buildings of the walled city.
• In real life, the kidnapped businessman was never found, but the film opted for a happier ending.