Armour of God ( ) is a 1986 Hong Kong action adventure comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, and written by Chan, John Sheppard and Eric Tsang (who also co-directed). It co-stars Alan Tam, Lola Forner, and Rosamund Kwan.

The film combines Chan's martial arts, comedy and stunts with an Indiana Jones-style adventure film theme. It is deemed a cult classic. Chan came the closest he had ever been to death in this film during a relatively routine stunt; he leaped onto a tree from a ledge, but the branch he grabbed snapped, sending Chan plummeting and cracking his skull.

The film was the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong at the time,

  • Alan Tam as Alan, a former member of The Losers who has moved on to a successful solo career
  • Lola Forner as May Bannon, the daughter of a powerful European Count
  • Rosamund Kwan as Lorelei, Alan's girlfriend and a former member of the Losers who is a prominent fashion designer
  • Božidar Smiljanić as Count Bannon, May's father
  • Ken Boyle as Grand Wizard, the leader of the evil religious cult
  • John Ladalski as Lama
  • Robert O'Brien as the African witch doctor
  • Boris Gregoric as Jackie's representative at the auction
  • Mars (extra) (uncredited)
  • Kenny Bee
  • Carina Lau
  • Anthony Chan

Cameo :

  • Marcia Chisholm
  • Linda Denley
  • Stephanie Evans
  • Alicia Shonte
  • Vivian Wickliffe

Production

Armour of God was filmed on location in parts of what was then Yugoslavia: Zagreb (Dolac Central Market), Upper town, Trnje (near the then-unfinished building of Croatian Radio Television), Croatia, narrow corridors and the main gate of Motovun castle and Predjama Castle near Postojna, Slovenia. Filming was also undertaken in Graz, Austria, France, Spain and Morocco. During filming of the opening sequence, one scene called for Jackie Chan to jump from a wall to a tree branch. The first take went as planned, but Chan insisted on re-shooting the scene. On his second attempt, the branch broke, and he fell 5 metres to the ground below. His head hit a rock, cracking his skull and forcing a piece of bone up into his brain. Chan was flown to the hospital and was in surgery eight hours later. As a result, he now has a permanent hole in his head filled with a plastic plug and slight hearing loss in his right ear. Footage of the accident is shown during the film's ending credits.

While shooting the hot-air balloon jump, Chan skydived out of a plane and landed on top of the balloon instead of jumping off a cliff as is seen in the film. For the shot of him jumping off the cliff, the crew rigged him up to a wire as he had no experience of BASE jumping. The film was released in Hong Kong on 21 January 1987.

Reception

Box office

In Hong Kong, the film grossed 35,469,408 (). It was the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong at the time. In Japan, the film grossed In Taiwan, it grossed (US$472,188). In South Korea, it was the top-grossing foreign film of 1987, with 208,462 ticket sales, equivalent to an estimated ().

In Hungary, the film sold 464,200 tickets at the box office in 1988, equivalent to an estimated () in gross revenue. In France, it sold 88,231 tickets in 1988, equivalent to an estimated with an approval rating of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes based on ten reviews.

In 2014, Time Out polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. Armour of God was listed at 81st place on this list.

Versions

In Asia, some versions of the film had Alan Tam's song "Lorelei" playing during the end credits, whereas others had Jackie Chan singing "Flight of the Dragon (aka High upon High)". Tam and Chan recorded both songs in Cantonese and English and their English versions were featured in the export English dubs.

In the United States, Armour of God did not receive a theatrical release. The film's sequel, Armour of God II: Operation Condor (1991), was released under the simplified title Operation Condor. Armour of God was subsequently released direct-to-video by Miramax Films, but the title was changed to Operation Condor 2: The Armor of the Gods; at the time of its release it served as a prequel, despite being the first film. A new musical score was created for this release, and a new English dub (with the participation of Chan).

Nine minutes of cuts were made to the Miramax version, including:

  • The concert scene of Jackie's band The Losers.
  • Jackie's dream sequence.
  • The scene in which May, disguised as a prostitute, encounters a monk who wants to sleep with her.
  • An extended version of the slapstick sequence in which Alan hides in May's room. The scene also includes a brainwashed Lorelei attempting to seduce Jackie.

These same cuts were evident in the Spanish Region 2 release; however, DVD releases in Hong Kong, Australia and the rest of Europe are uncut.

Awards and nominations

  • 1988 Hong Kong Film Awards
  • Nomination: Best Action Choreography (Jackie Chan Stunt Team, Lau Kar-wing, Danny Yuen)

See also

  • Jackie Chan filmography
  • List of Hong Kong films
  • Khiladi 420 (2000), an Indian action film in which Akshay Kumar performs a similar hot-air balloon stunt

References

Bibliography