Crime Story, also known as New Police Story or Police Dragon, is a 1993 Hong Kong action film directed by Kirk Wong, and starring Jackie Chan, Kent Cheng, Law Kar-ying and Puishan Au-yeung. The film was released in Hong Kong on 24 June 1993. Unlike most Jackie Chan films, which feature a combination of action and comedy, Crime Story is mostly a serious film. The film is based on actual events surrounding of the 1990 kidnapping of a Chinese businessman Teddy Wang.
Plot
Inspector Eddie Chan of the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau, who suffers from emotional stress after shooting several men in self-defense, is assigned to track down the kidnapped businessman Wong Yat-fei. The search takes him from Hong Kong to Taiwan, causing him to cross paths with some powerful mobsters. What complicates matters is that one of the kidnappers is operating within the police force, determined to stop Chan from succeeding. The relentlessly driven Chan finds himself fighting his personal demons at the same time he battles the seemingly unending wave of crime in the city.
According to the book I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, written by Jackie Chan, Chan's legs were crushed after getting caught between two cars while filming the opening action scene. 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 destruction at that time. Jet Li was originally considered to play the role of Inspector Eddie Chan. Eventually, Jackie Chan was interested in the role of Inspector Eddie Chan, and he got it.
Reception
Crime Story received positive reviews, which cited the sharp change in tone from Jackie Chan's previous films and his performance in a dramatic role. The film currently holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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 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, Wong Yat-fei's wife tells him to thank Inspector Chan.
The last scene again where Chan burns Wong's wallet.
The Dragon Dynasty 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.
Home media
DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on 18 July 2000, it was distributed by Dimension Films. On 24 March 2003, DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in the United Kingdom in Region 2. DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on 7 August 2007, it was distributed by Dragon Dynasty. On 15 January 2013, DVD and Blu-ray was released by Shout! Factory as part of a double feature along with The Protector.
