Jackie Chan: My Stunts
1998
Directors: Jackie Chan, Xavier Chan
Documentary
This film offers a look inside the mind of Jackie Chan and how the hell he comes up with the crazy action featured in his movies. It's a pretty interesting ride even if you are not a big fan of his work. In particular, I liked the segment where Jackie choreographs a fight and demonstrates how he broke from some of the traditional techniques. While most of the stuff Jackie reveals isn't all that mind-blowing, there are a lot of neat little tricks that he shows, like padded shoes and the much vaulted "magic dust" which makes the hits look more powerful in his movies -- it turns out to be just baby powder. There is also a good amount of action clips featured in the movie, from both snippets of Chan films, and sequences created specifically for this documentary, some featuring Hung Yan-Yan and Brad Allan.
Overall, I enjoyed this film a bit more than Jackie Chan: My Story. Chan reigns in his self-congratulations in this movie, and the announcer is a lot less obnoxious this time around. Jackie Chan: My Stunts is worth a look if you're a Jackie Chan fan, or just interested in Hong Kong (or action) film-making in general.
RATING: 7.5
Note: like My Story, there is an English and Chinese version of this movie. However, unlike My Story, there really isn't much difference between them. Jackie is a little more chatty in the Chinese version (and replaces the announcer for one section of the film where he dissects a stunt sequence) and there is a bit (three minutes) more footage. Of course, the completists among you will want to get the Chinese version, but the English version is basically the same and will do in a pinch.
A review of the DVD for this movie can be found here
This DVD is available for purchase at www.hkflix.com
