Police Story & Police Story 2
I MET Jackie Chan once. It was a brief enough meeting with the undisputed king of martial arts madness, but a meeting all the same.
He was in Dublin for the press launch of a film that would eventually appear under the name of The Tuxedo. It may not have been the most impressive offering in the man’s mighty action movie CV, but the buzz around the Four Seasons hotel that morning as the assembled hacks waited for the star to grace us with his presence was serious.
We’re talking grown men refusing to go to the toilet for fear of missing the great man’s appearance here. Yes, that bad.
When Jackie did finally glide into the room to press the media flesh and answer the usual inane questions you get at every celebrity junket, his arrival was greeted with the kind of clamour and crush you’d expect at a backstage rock concert meet and greet.
Everyone wanted a piece of the diminutive Asian superstar and Jackie obliged, charming his way around and giving the perfect impression of the charismatic movie star as he went.
I can’t remember exactly what I said to him, something about his stunt work and his impressions of Ireland I think, but that hardly matters when you’re talking about a proper cinema icon like Jackie Chan, does it?
The reason I mention this particular celebrity encounter – bar trying to impress you with the company I occasionally have the good fortune to briefly keep, of course – is because Eureka DVD have just released a box set of two of Chan’s finest films Police Story and Police Story 2, both of which feature a dizzying blend of hardcore cop drama, martial arts magic and bewildering stunt work.
A limited edition of just 3,000 copies in a beautiful hard-cased box, these are the films by which the great man’s cinematic legacy should be judged.
Released in 1985 and 1988 respectively, these two minor classics are timely reminders of why the man is revered as a true action movie hero.
Both films were a massive shot in the arm for the Hong Kong film industry and both established Jackie as the leading light of martial arts that he continues to be today.
In Police Story, Chan’s own favourite film in terms of pure, raw action, he plays Chan Ka-Kui a "super cop" who chases down a dangerous crime overlord via a series of increasingly insane action set-pieces that left most of the stunt team hospitalised and which will still leave you gasping at the sheer audacity of it all even today.
By the time Police Story 2 rolled around three years later, Chan’s character has been reduced to the role of traffic cop, but he's quickly re-instated to the big leagues when a deadly gang of terrorists start blowing up buildings.
Again, the stunt work is stunning and the action is relentless.
Released in beautiful new 4K restoration prints and packed with insightful extras, this is pure heaven for Chan fans and action movie obsessives alike. Get yourself a copy today.
