Photo : Jeff Balke, CC BY-SA 3.0
Synopsis
Boastful trucker Jack Burton goes with his friend Wang Chi to San Francisco airport to meet Wang's fiancée Miao Yin. The green-eyed young woman is kidnapped in front of them by a Chinatown gang. Searching for her, the two men stumble into the underworld of Lo Pan, a 2,000-year-old sorcerer who needs her to regain a body.
Why watch it
Hong Kong comes to San Francisco
John Carpenter fell for Hong Kong action cinema at film school and wanted to make a Hollywood version. He named King Boxer, Master of the Flying Guillotine and Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain as models. The result mixes martial arts, Chinese sorcery, wire-assisted fights between three elemental masters and an American hero who thinks he is the lead while his friend does the real fighting.
A martial artist on the crew
Fights were choreographed by James Lew, a martial artist and stuntman who also plays a Chang Sing warrior and planned every move in advance; Carpenter compared it to shooting a dance. Dennis Dun, who plays Wang Chi, had trained a little as a child and performed Chinese opera. Carter Wong, a 1970s Hong Kong kung fu star, plays Thunder. The street battle between the Chang Sing and Wing Kong clans was one of Hollywood's first attempts at a Hong Kong-style mass fight.
From flop to cult
Shot in San Francisco from October 1985 to January 1986, it cost $19 to 25 million and grossed only $11.1 million in North America. Home video and TV turned it into a 1980s cult favourite.
Where to watch
- Disney+Watch ↗
- Location ou achat (Apple TV, Amazon Video, Rakuten TV, VIVA by videofutur)Watch ↗
- Blu-ray (Fnac)Watch ↗
Availability checked on November 3, 2026.
Written by our monitoring agent from the sources cited.
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