Another analysis controversial tricks and injuries in films Jackie Chan from Igor Shurkhovetsky and Mikhail Drug (MD Pol).
"Project A". 1983. The first truly stunt film with Jackie's participation, where he is also a co-director, co-writer and one of the action directors. Enough power to realize his ambitions, right? I won't go into detail (at least not in this post) other tricks from this film, I will analyze only the largest, in my opinion, trick.
Fall from Town Hall
You should immediately decide on the height of the fall. Personally, I found this - "12-15...20 (!)"...No more than 11-12. And this is clearly visible. The height is quite big, of course (so that my words are not distorted by ill-wishers later), but it is inferior to what is indicated in most "sources" of the RuNet. So. The hero Jackie holds on to the arrow , everything is very dramatic, his hands slip, and he flies down... Next comes editing, and this is understandable, a better angle for shooting and all that, no complaints. And I want to say right away, pay attention to all the “before-after” details. jump, this is very important (screen 1). Next, the Dragon breaks through the tents, and pay attention to the people. Despite the editing and change of perspective, the crowd has clearly changed, this is noticeable in many details (screen 2), which suggests that this is already the case. another take of the jump. Again a montage (screen 3), and judging by the situation, again the same original take in which Jackie flies (top view) But then, after the montage (screen 4) there is a clear take of another fall, people on different people). places, the person flies and lands differently, after the fall it is clear that it is Jackie. But look closely, you can also see that he is not flying straight (like the previous take), but somehow from the side, it feels like he’s flying from some kind of platform, or some other trick. And the height of the fall (I’m not talking about gravity, I think it’s clear that it has decreased due to the angle of incidence, pure physics) at the same time is noticeably reduced, by 5 meters, that is, no longer 12.
Let's move on to the credits.
There is a moment where Jackie is hanging from a rope, but it doesn't mean anything. Then an allegedly unsuccessful take follows, the falling one flies, lands again “in his own way”, the situation is different, and after the “rough” editing, Jackie is already in his place, they say he was the one who got hit like that (screenshots 5, 6). They lift him up, take him away... It seems that there are enough arguments that all 3 falls are different.
But here's what I don't understand. Why, then, didn’t they film the full fall so that Jackie’s face was visible? What got in the way? In the book "I Am Jackie Chan", Jackie tells how he hung on this clock for a week, everything was decided, how Hungg swore at him because of this, and then he writes that he jumped off. In his documentaries, Chan also says that he fell. There are two complete falls, but a complete fall with signs of Jackie, alas... For example, I don’t see any visible reasons that could have prevented the “complete” shooting, and this is not even a quibble or a reproach. Also, Jackie mentions that the first one to “jump” was the Sack of Rice (amen), the second Sack, and then himself, but there is no word that he was the first to try the trick Danny Chow, Mars also jumped, and perhaps even someone else, but the film’s PR company could well have been built (or maybe it was built) around this stunt. Okay, it would have been an auto-moto trick, a skate, roller skating (where Jackie was often duplicated due to lack of professional skills), but the trick seemed to be in his style. Maybe an injury? Well, that’s a different story, but again, Jackie performed the second take of the fall himself, so it’s logical to assume that at that time he was still healthy and unharmed? Quite. Well, what then? Screen 7 (complete take from the film). I won’t assume anything, but I think everything is obvious, although the quality is not so great. I have already written everything about the take from the credits, very voluminously and intelligibly. And if that double had been for Jackie, then after the fall, the first thing he would have done was cover his face with his hand, which is what he does.
Other points
In principle, after falling from the town hall, the rest of the film’s stunts can no longer be examined; there is hardly one that surpasses that one in scale, complexity and danger of injury. But since it comes to that, I think I’ll finish my thought.
Dubbing of actors is quite normal and many people know it. Therefore, in some “small” moments, it is quite reasonable to use the services of a stuntman in order to save time and reduce the risk of injury. Therefore, the use of a double in these scenes (screenshots 1,2,3,4) does not raise any questions. I think Jackie could easily fall into barrels, spin around in that clock thing, etc. The moment with the bicycle was already discussed recently (screen 5). I won't add anything. In principle, Jackie could easily perform this trick. Next, the final scene of the fight with the pirate Lo and the subsequent explosion (screen 6). Jackie was often doubled in complex acrobatic elements, and it seems that in this case all three of them had a double, even the very acrobatic Biao (it’s not very visible, but I think those with bluray images won’t have any problems).
But the next 2 points already raise some questions (screen 7,8). Both are Jackie Chan-style tricks. And in both he was dubbed by Mars (who also doubled Jackie in all the above-mentioned moments, except for that acrobatic scene, probably), and at the same time managed to play his role, took part in staging the action, and also dubbed (or even played) someone one of the pirates. In the sag on the dial, after moving the camera away, it is clear that there is nothing under the awnings (“arrival”). Whether there was a cable (although most likely there was) is also not immediately clear. But the trick is spectacular, of course, but hardly more complicated than the same “full” fall through the awnings. In the scene of jumping from the flagpole, there was also probably some kind of insurance, which of course does not completely eliminate the risk, but still significantly reduces it (holders of “licenses” also benefit). Why didn't Jackie do them himself? He certainly has the skills for such tricks. In the former (1971-76), he is one of the best stuntmen in Hong Kong, according to him. In the present (1983) - an action actor specializing in staging and performing stunts. So these scenes were probably within his capabilities, and they couldn’t be called “small”. But in fact, in the film they are performed by Mars.
As usual - opinions, amendments, real arguments and everything in the same spirit.
Igor Shurkhovetsky and Mikhail Other
Especially for FFI
Thanks to the admins for cutting out a lot of personal stuff; it has no use on the site. But I still don’t understand how the phrase “In memory of the Bag of Rice...(RIP)” could have interfered, because this is a tribute to the memory of the bag as a pioneer in the jump, albeit with some irony.
“Project A” is the only one of the five films that did not examine the injuries sustained, so I will say a few words. If you rely on official sources (books, documentaries), then in most cases only one injury is indicated - damage to the lower back. So where did this nonsense come from - “...he suffered a spinal injury, a sprained neck, injured his throat. His nose and fingers were broken again.” - I don't know. Here are also incomprehensible theories that have not found any confirmation - “having fallen from an eight-meter height with his chest onto a metal beam, he then hit his head on the ground with a bang. The result was five broken ribs, a second fracture of the nose and a severe neck injury with rupture of ligaments and loss of ability to turn your head for three months." And finally - “...he spent almost a month in a hospital bed, and then spent a year on painkillers due to breathing problems...”.
And in the same official documentary “Jackie Chan. My Life”, under the guise of a traumatic fall, it was the fall from the credits that was presented (and it seems that the second “traumatic pearl” fits the description of this fall). But there is no confirmation that it was made by Jackie himself, and there are more than enough strange oddities.
Admins. Please add these tags - Mars, Danny Chow, stunt double.
Igor Shurkhovetsky, labels are added to the site to make navigation easier. When a word occurs frequently. a single mention does not require a tag.
barsug, Mars is mentioned in the text as many as 3 times. If you are speaking in general, then in the same analysis of “Operation Condor” all the names of the understudies were indicated, although their labels do not actually lead anywhere. But basically I understood.
And put Mars in italics, the name is still there.