Crime Story (; also known as New Police Story; released in the Philippines as Police Dragon) is a 1993 Hong Kong action film
The film is set and was filmed in Hong Kong and Taiwan in 42 days from 9 July to 20 August 1992. The climactic scene, in which a building is decimated by explosions, was filmed in the deserted Kowloon Walled City, which was scheduled for demolition shortly thereafter.
Jet Li was originally considered to play the role of Inspector Eddie Chan, before he turned down the role to do Tai Chi Master instead. The role of Inspector Eddie Chan went to Jackie Chan.
Release
Crime Story was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 24 June 1993. In the Philippines, the film was released as Police Dragon by Moviestars Production on 19 January 1994.
In Japan, the film was premiered as a reboot of the Police Story series under the title 新ポリス・ストーリー (lit. New Police Story), and it was promoted with the Theme Song of the original 1985 film.
After the success of Rumble In The Bronx, Miramax wanted to release Crime Story next in theaters, until Jackie Chan advised against it, so Miramax released Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) instead.
The version was released on video and DVD on 18 July 2000 in the United States by Miramax was dubbed in English, although unlike most releases, it contained the original musical score. Chan's character had the name "Eddie" replaced with "Jackie" in the dub. There were four cuts made from the Miramax version:
- The pre-credits sequence with the kidnappers was removed.
- A scene where Wong is dumped overboard.
- The last scene, where Wong Yat-fei's wife tells him to thank Inspector Chan.
- The last scene again where Chan burns Wong's wallet.
The Dragon Dynasty (DD) version has the original Cantonese track and also restored the cuts made in the Miramax version. It was released in 2007 and is about 107 minutes long. It also contains other deleted scenes not seen in either of the previous versions.
Dragon Dynasty released a DVD in the United States on 7 August 2007. On 15 January 2013, Shout! Factory released a DVD and Blu-ray as part of a double feature along with The Protector.
Box office
In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$27,439,331 () at the box office. (US$941,994). In Japan, it grossed () at the box office. In South Korea, it grossed . In the United States, the film grossed $194,720.
Crime Story was the ninth highest grossing films in Hong Kong box office in 1993.
Reception
The film holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews; the average rating is 6.6/10. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "as fast and furious as action pictures get" while praising Chan's dramatic performance. Derek Elley of Variety said that it is stylish and fresh, but Chan "still needs more time with his drama coach". Bill Gibron of Popmatters called it "one of [Chan's] most serious and solidly suspenseful" films. Gibron says the film makes up for its lack of signature acrobatics with "one amazing setpiece after another" during the climax.
Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun included it in 10th place at his year-end list of the best films. At the 1993 Golden Horse Awards, the film won Best Actor (Jackie Chan). At the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards, it won Best Film Editing (Peter Cheung) and was nominated for Best Action Choreography (Jackie Chan), Best Actor (Jackie Chan), Best Director (Kirk Wong), Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actor (Kent Cheng).
See also
- Jackie Chan filmography
- List of Hong Kong films of 1993
- List of Hong Kong films