I’ve been a bit disappointed by the lack of Hong Kong films being shown at the New Beverly recently, but I got ecstatic when Cinefamily announced their “Season’s Beatings” film series this month featuring 13 different Hong Kong movies. I decided to go to the Jackie Chan double feature on the 26th featuring Rumble in the Bronx and City Hunter. I’d never been to the Cinefamily’s Silent Movie Theatre before and I thought that this would definitely be a fun time. The version of Rumble in the Bronx that was playing wasn’t specified. Even the programmers weren’t sure if it was the US cut or the Hong Kong version. We were all going to find out together.
It was nice to finally drive to LA and not run into traffic. The first movie started at 9:30 PM and driving on the freeways with little traffic at 8 PM felt like a breeze. Also, it was nice that we didn’t have to go too far from the theater to find parking. There was a cool poster gallery in the lobby full of rare foreign Jackie Chan posters. Inside the auditorium, they had random trailers/fight scenes from Jackie Chan movies playing silently while Wu Tang Clan was booming in the background.
Another nice aspect of the Cinefamily was that the first five or so rows in the theater are sofas. One of the programmers (he might’ve been the owner, I didn’t get to ask) had introduced the films and noted that they were going to screen the US version for Rumble in the Bronx. They showed a clip from Pedicab Driver, a trailer for Chimes at Midnight, and an ad for the Lost and Found film Club (all digital).
Rumble in the Bronx started and I very quickly realized that we weren’t watching the US cut or the HK version. It was an uncut version, but it was English-dubbed and not by Jackie Chan. It seems that before New Line Cinema got their hands on the rights for Rumble, a dub was already made by Golden Harvest. It was uncut and it had the same music as the HK version, but it was dubbed using the same group of people who usually dub Jackie’s movies theatrically. And it sounded pretty horrible, but it was neat to see anyway.
Rumble in the Bronx started and I very quickly realized that we weren’t watching the US cut or the HK version. It was an uncut version, but it was English-dubbed and not by Jackie Chan. It seems that before New Line Cinema got their hands on the rights for Rumble, a dub was already made by Golden Harvest. It was uncut and it had the same music as the HK version, but it was dubbed using the same group of people who usually dub Jackie’s movies theatrically. And it sounded pretty horrible, but it was neat to see anyway.
The Golden Harvest logo appeared which was the first clue that it wasn’t the New Line Cinema version. The scene in which Uncle Bill and his wife sing a traditional Chinese song during their wedding was in Cantonese with English subtitles. The theme song that plays during the end credits was also the original theme song sung by Jackie Chan in Cantonese. Other than that, there’s not one bit of Cantonese dialogue in the whole thing. The entire movie was dubbed into English by different voice actors. Also, instead of Keung, Jackie’s character is named Ken. Apparently Keung is too hard of a name for Americans to pronounce.
Also, I must say, the print for Rumble looked amazing. It was clearly a extremely well preserved print. The colors looked great and there was very little wear-and-tear throughout the entire film. You could probably just telecine the print and release it on DVD without any additional remastering done. There were even a few times where I was actively searching for some dirt. For future releases of the film on DVD or Blu-ray, this print should be used, especially since it’s uncut.
It was really exciting to watch Rumble in the Bronx. With the original music playing, it made the movie feel a lot darker, but the English dub made it very hard to take seriously. It was very clear that the African-American actors were dubbed by white guys (sometimes trying to sound black) which provided some unintentional laughs. Also, the scene in which a blood-soaked Ken scares Nancy after the bottle scene, the music cue made it seem as if he was a zombie. The intentional gags also got some laughs (especially when Danny throws Ken a wrench to hit the “FBI agent”). The action scenes were still exciting, but the dub just made the movie even more stupid and cheesy than it already was. It was hard to take seriously and it even made the movie seem kinda crappy, but I still had a lot of fun watching it even if sometimes for the wrong reasons.
There was a short intermission in between the films. The host had introduced the next film and made sure to point out that their print of Rumble was not the US version that he thought it was going to be.
Also, I must say, the print for Rumble looked amazing. It was clearly a extremely well preserved print. The colors looked great and there was very little wear-and-tear throughout the entire film. You could probably just telecine the print and release it on DVD without any additional remastering done. There were even a few times where I was actively searching for some dirt. For future releases of the film on DVD or Blu-ray, this print should be used, especially since it’s uncut.
It was really exciting to watch Rumble in the Bronx. With the original music playing, it made the movie feel a lot darker, but the English dub made it very hard to take seriously. It was very clear that the African-American actors were dubbed by white guys (sometimes trying to sound black) which provided some unintentional laughs. Also, the scene in which a blood-soaked Ken scares Nancy after the bottle scene, the music cue made it seem as if he was a zombie. The intentional gags also got some laughs (especially when Danny throws Ken a wrench to hit the “FBI agent”). The action scenes were still exciting, but the dub just made the movie even more stupid and cheesy than it already was. It was hard to take seriously and it even made the movie seem kinda crappy, but I still had a lot of fun watching it even if sometimes for the wrong reasons.
There was a short intermission in between the films. The host had introduced the next film and made sure to point out that their print of Rumble was not the US version that he thought it was going to be.
The lights dimmed, the film started, and I had a giant grin on my face for the next two hours. If you don’t know this already, I’m one of those people who loves City Hunter. I think it’s hilarious. It’s one of the first Jackie Chan movies that I ever saw and I laughed the whole way through. It’s just so much fun to see him playing such a self-centered jerk. The soundtrack compliments the movie perfectly. I don’t really know what to say about this movie. It’s just so stupid, it’s amazing.
The print for City Hunter was in Cantonese w/ Chinese and English subtitles and the colors looked pretty good. Occasionally the subtitles are a bit hard to see because the movie’s so bright. There were a few seconds of the movie that were missing likely due to print damage and not because someone cut it out deliberately. Because if someone was cutting this movie deliberately, they would’ve cut out the "Gala Gala Happy" musical number which was shown fully uncut in all its glory.
Unfortunately, the energy of the audience didn’t match the energy of the film. The opening, the Street Fighter scene, and some of the other gags got reactions, but the audience in general seemed very tranquil (maybe because it was 1 AM). I feel that if I had been watching it with the New Beverly audience, I’d be having the time of my life. I still had an amazing time seeing it on the big screen, but the New Beverly audience has a vibe and energy to them that makes almost any movie tens times more enjoyable to watch.
I had a lot of fun going to the Cinefamily for these screenings, but as far as prices and audience reactions go, I think I prefer the New Beverly. But I really shouldn’t be complaining. It was still amazing seeing both movies on the big screen and I still had a great time going to the Cinefamily for the first time.
Posters from MoviePoster and Wikipedia
*There were many more posters in the lobby for the poster gallery, but I'm not much of a photographer and a lot of the pictures were obscured by the flash on the camera. There were seven other posters on display in the lobby including a Japanese poster for Dragons Forever.
The print for City Hunter was in Cantonese w/ Chinese and English subtitles and the colors looked pretty good. Occasionally the subtitles are a bit hard to see because the movie’s so bright. There were a few seconds of the movie that were missing likely due to print damage and not because someone cut it out deliberately. Because if someone was cutting this movie deliberately, they would’ve cut out the "Gala Gala Happy" musical number which was shown fully uncut in all its glory.
Unfortunately, the energy of the audience didn’t match the energy of the film. The opening, the Street Fighter scene, and some of the other gags got reactions, but the audience in general seemed very tranquil (maybe because it was 1 AM). I feel that if I had been watching it with the New Beverly audience, I’d be having the time of my life. I still had an amazing time seeing it on the big screen, but the New Beverly audience has a vibe and energy to them that makes almost any movie tens times more enjoyable to watch.
I had a lot of fun going to the Cinefamily for these screenings, but as far as prices and audience reactions go, I think I prefer the New Beverly. But I really shouldn’t be complaining. It was still amazing seeing both movies on the big screen and I still had a great time going to the Cinefamily for the first time.
Posters from MoviePoster and Wikipedia
*There were many more posters in the lobby for the poster gallery, but I'm not much of a photographer and a lot of the pictures were obscured by the flash on the camera. There were seven other posters on display in the lobby including a Japanese poster for Dragons Forever.