88 Films has finally done it. After a few delays, the boxset martial arts fans have been waiting for is finally here: The Project A Collection. Not only have they released them on Blu-ray, but the 4K is also available. These two films are incredibly important to the genre and cemented Jackie Chan as a mega-star. He directed, starred, co-wrote, and did his own fighting and stunt work.
The first film successfully balanced action and comedy, which, until then, hadn’t really been done the way he did it. Along with Fortune Star’s participation, 88 Films delivers the best possible presentation of these classics currently available. Sure, Miramax released them in English-dubbed versions on DVD in the early 2000s, but those editions failed to capture why these films are so magical.
In Project A, corruption and smuggling runs rampant in the 19th century, with pirates roaming the seas of Hong Kong. Sergeant Ma Yu-Lung (Jackie Chan) of the Water Police and Inspector Hong (Yuen Biao) of the Land Police reluctantly team up to expose the corruption and bring down the pirates once and for all. The only way to do that is to get on the inside, and they do so with the help of career thief Cheuk Yat-Fei (Sammo Hung).
What can be said about the brilliance of this film? Jackie Chan and his stunt team risked their lives to bring audiences a one-of-a-kind experience. Chan gets the opportunity to show off his love for performers like Buster Keaton with his insane stunts, exaggerated reactions, and ability to bring his charm to the screen.
The clock tower fall he performed is brutal, with two different takes being used, and both hurt just watching it. The fast-paced fight scenes, the bicycle chase, and the handcuffed sequence are just classics and can never be topped. The 4K transfer has a bit of grain and a hint of background blur in a couple of scenes, but overall, it looks crisp and colorful.
In Project A Part II, “Three Rings,” Chun (David Lam) has quickly risen to the top and is highly regarded as one of the most powerful people in law enforcement. Much of this is because he stages his busts so they’re high profile. His superiors know he’s up to something, but Chun has the criminal world at his beck and call and can never catch him in any wrongdoings.
The heads of Hong Kong law enforcement enlist the aid of Sergeant Ma (Jackie Chan), who has to wade his way through the police force to find help who isn’t on the take. They may be a small rag-tag group, but they’re willing to uphold the law and put the kibosh to corruption within the force.
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Four years after the original, Chan returns to try and best the previous film and comes pretty damn close. I’d actually say they were pretty equal. This one lacked Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, but he enlisted his Police Story co-stars Maggie Cheung and Bill Tung. The fight scenes are again furious and, at times, hysterically funny.The finale is pretty outstanding and includes another homage to Buster Keaton, taking one of his stunts a few steps further.
I think the 4K transfer for the sequel may look better than the first. That’s not to say there was anything wrong with either of them, but the background blur I noticed in the first was non-existent.
Each film is a two-disc set containing the 4K as well as the standard Blu-ray. There are brand-new 4K transfers from the original negatives on all versions of the movies. Project A has the original Hong Kong cut (106min) and an extended Taiwanese cut (115min), and Project A Part II has the original Hong Kong cut (107min) and an export cut (98min). That alone is worth the price, but then you throw in audio commentaries, interviews, still galleries, trailers, intros, Jackie Chan Stunt Team documentary, and more.
The packaging is gorgeous. It includes a glossy case that houses the films, a 100-page booklet, two two-sided mini-posters, reversible sleeves, and six double-sided collectible art cards.
Having searched high and low for over three decades to collect Chan’s films in the best quality possible, this feels like the end of an era to me. This set, as well as the ones before and the ones after, has given fans so much to love. These editions beautifully preserve two action classics while celebrating the legacy of Jackie Chan, one of cinema’s most innovative and brilliant talents.
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