John Carpenter said this about Jack Burton. “Jack is a character who doesn't know he's a sidekick. He thinks he's the hero of the story but he's not. He's a sidekick.” Jul 6, 2016
He's an American equivalent of a comedy Chinese sidekick, with all the cultural stereotypes turned up to eleven as they often were. So he's *really* 'American' - loud mouthed, ignorant, swaggering confidence, drives a huge truck, etc.
On the green eyes issue...the original idea is that the girl has to be Chinese, with green eyes. One idea that didn't make it into the movie is that Grace Law was actually born in China to American missionary parents. So from one perspective, she is Chinese with green eyes.
See I always had a theory that she was half Chinese, or adopted by Chinese, due to not only the using her within the lore, living in Chinatown, her activism in saving Chinese immigrants from being trafficked, and her last name.
The dialogue's speed is also a reference to old Howard Hawks movies. Carpenter commented that one of the big reasons he picked Kim Catrall is that she could really rip the dialogue.
I think that’s one of the reasons I love it so much. The dialogue kinda reminds me of films like Philadelphia Story or It Happened One Night. It’s so slapstick & silly. Just a wonderfully fun movie.
17:13 George: "Wow, Chewie really let himself go!" 🤣🤣🤣🤣 George, My man - that was WELL PLAYED. And you DEADPANNED it to boot! That was MST3K worthy right there! 👍
I’m not joking and I will die on this hill but this is one of the best films ever made…loved it from the day I saw it when it came out…Jack Burton is one of my fave lead characters of all time
@@galadballcrusher8182 he said that referring to their relationship. Wang is like Batman and jack is like robin. That is their relationship. If you aren’t talking relationship and talk movie terms, jack is obviously the lead. More screen time. Movie book ends on him. Wang isn’t even on the movie poster.
Kim Cattrall. Still my #1 80s crush. That being said, this movie has been one of my favorites since I was a kid in the 80s. Jack is such a likable goofball who all talk but manages to save the day. As I said before, he the sidekick who thinks he’s the hero.
BTILC was John Carpenter's love letter to Chinese cinema. Because he knew the studio wouldn't fund a film with a Chinese lead at the time, they put Kurt Russell's character front and centre on the poster and played him off as the lead when he's actually the comedy sidekick. JC and Kurt have a laugh about it in the commentary for the film.
Carpenter and Russell are obviously having a VERY good time on the commentary. They do TRY to talk mostly about the film. But as things progress more and more, it becomes very obvious that these two men were also having a very fine DRINKING PARTY and the booze was GOOD. Those two got LIT by the end! 😁😎😏 And because of that they kinda forget about the movie halfway through - but it's still loads of fun listening to them.
Well, it's not like Kurt Russell's character doesn't still have the majority of screen time. It's not that the studio wouldn't fund a film with a Chinese lead, it's that the studio was unsure about a film where Russell's character was depicted as a goofball who's just winging it most of the time. It was a far cry from Russell's performance as Snake Plissken in Escape From New York.
"There's a girl in the garden!" Oh and BTW Jack isn't the hero. He's the comedy sidekick! (Humorously, World of Warcraft had a nifty item for casters in game called (you guessed it!) a Six Demon Bag. It was also rumored to have a hidden area called "The Room of Upside-Down Sinners")
As a wow player myself, I have a bunch of macros for Jack Burton quotes depending on the situation "Everybody relax, I’m here" - when I save someone, or reinc. as a shaman "I’m a reasonable guy. But, I’ve just experienced some very unreasonable things" - setting loot from FFA to group "Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we’re not back by dawn… call the president." - starting an instance or raid "Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it."" - before a duel
FYI, Russell is doing a straight-up John Wayne impression throughout this, which adds a layer of humor to his middling competence. In addition to Raiden, John Carpenter's movie They Live also inadvertently inspired some infamous video game content when a one-liner from the movie made it into Duke Nukem. Both this and the Raiden thing are fitting because Carpenter is a huge video game fan. It is not a prequel or sequel (despite some rumors suggesting otherwise), but if you want to see another similarly wild '80s movie by the same writer, you should check out The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
This is my favorite movie of all time. It has such a great blend of action, humor, and wackiness. Now you need to watch that other great 80's movie that pays homage to the Saturday movie matinee serials, Buckaroo Banzai Into the 8th Dimension. It stars Peter Weller (Robocop) and John Lithgow.
It is my understanding that this was originally written to be the sequel to Buckaroo Banzai, as advertised at the end of that move. For some reason, it was scrapped and picked up by Carpenter. I may misremembering the details, however...
Kurt Russell is a pilot, and owns his own plane. On the night of March 13, 1997 he was flying into Sky Harbor International in Phoenix, AZ. He saw the "Phoenix Lights" and reported them to the tower.
Not only was Raiden from Mortal Kombat inspired by this movie but according to the creators of Teenage mutant ninja turtles Jack Burton was the inspiration for Casey Jones
the ladder in the theater trick is certainly older than that. Christoper Walken has said that he used to walk onto movie studio lots as a kid by carrying a bucket of water. the key is "walken" with confidence, i think he claimed that no one ever questioned or stopped him.
This is one of my all time favorite films! I still have this recorded on VHS from when it played on HBO. There is also an official Graphic Novel sequel to this from BOOM! Studios!
Kim Cattrall was 30 when this film came out. Good Genes or a hell of a lot of work, She's 65 now. Born in Liverpool, England and Grew up in British Columbia.
I also love the chekovs gun that besides running his mouth, Jack's remarkable talent is his reflexes. He bumbles and stumbles all the way to the point that his own incompetence accidentally sets Lo Pan up for the only possible way Jack could eeeeever get the best of him. And even then it's not a given. It's obvious, especially in hindsight, that Jack is prepping for Lo Pan to throw the knife back at him by his stance and shielding. But he definitely doesn't look confident.
Yes, Mortal Kombat got "inspiration" from this movie ie Raiden, Ermac, Rain, Shang Tsung, Liu Kang, The Pit, Throne Room etc. John Carpenter said in the commentary that Kurt Russell is the bumbling sidekick. 🤞🏿I hope they scrapped the Dwayne Johnson remake🤞🏿
Once again your Chinese insights have jelped me gain a deeper understanding of a movie. This time one I and many people have enjoyed for years. Thank You George.
"How uncommon are green eyes?" According to the internet, green eyes are the most rare, but, still, about 1/50 people have them. (Do note that green eyes are different from hazel ones, which are about 1/20.)
The guys working for Lo Pan are The Three Storms - Thunder, Rain and Lightning. Yes, Raiden from Mortal Kombat is inspired by Lightning Lo Pan is also the inspiration for Shang Tsung - in the first Mortal Kombat, Shang Tsung was an old sorcerer and in the rest of the series Shang Tsung has his youth restored
The best part for me was the one time Burton gets things right, asking why it took so long to find a green eyed girl. When it turns out that any woman, doesn't have to be Chinese, will work, then clearly Lopan's the idiot and should have found someone a long time ago. Also, pretty sure the hairy monster is supposed to be an Almas, the Chinese bigfoot
Big Trouble is sort of a spin-off from The Adventure of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Buckaroo has a worldwid network of suppoorts. Jack Burton is supposed to be one of them. As mentioned elsewhere, the script began as a western, but the studio wanted a contemporary setting. So they turned the script over to the director of Buckaroo Banzai for a rewrite.
Some of the movie references are in World of Warcraft, like the magic potion is a trinket Six Demon Bag (power of wind, fire, all that kind of thing! ) And ofcourse the Karazhan upside down sinners.
The creature that captures Grace is yeren, a seemingly mythical creature that inhabits the remote mountainous regions of China, it is also known as yeh ren, yi ren, Chinese wildman and man ape...
Having watched this a ton as a child, thanks to my mom loving this film, I have so many things I quote from this movie. It's all in the reflexes. Yes sir the check is in the mail. To list the two I use the most lol.
The funniest of this is that Jack Burton is the silly sidekick. They just pointed the camera at the comic relief instead of the hero through the whole movie.
Yes you are absolutely correct, Mortal Kombat took huge inspiration from this, Raiden is the thunder character, Shang Tsung is Lo Pan, Johnny Cage was based on Jean Claude Van Damme however, not Jack Burton, but even alot of the aesthetics of the film inspired MK
The Chinese standoff joke is that it is a Mexican standoff, but they are in Chinatown, so he calls it a Chinese standoff. Burton's reaction (A what!?) serves to emphasize the joke in case you missed it. I love that joke.
I heard a fan theory that made a lot of sense. Jack Burton is a legitimate badass... normally. But you've got to remember that the main part of this story takes place after he's been up literally all night drinking beer and playing fan-tan. So he is both drunk and sleep deprived. Thus his oafish incompetence. But if he was sober and well rested, he would definitely be kicking wholesale ass and justifying all of his boasts.
This movie has one of the better commentary’s I’ve listened to for a movie. Carpenter and Russell just shootin’ the shit and talking about the movie is really good. I’d highly recommend it.
The scene where they're underground is something I remembered without remembering what the film was called. All I knew is that there was an Asian guy and a brown door. Years later I rewatched this and I was like, OH SHIT! This is that movie. Nothing major, but Jesus did that bother me for some time! XD
Yes, it was on purpose. It was such an Subverted Expecation, that unfortunatly it DID rub people the wrong way at the time. I mean everyone saw Russel's name on the poster, and thought naturaly that HE was the Protagonist, but like you pointed out its Wang the Protagonist. Whats to take here is the Meddlesome nature of Americans, and thinking that they are always the Main protagonists even tho the story is not about them in the first place. Wich people and critics din't really like, and for some reason the blend of Action, comedy and Horror was also misunderstood at the time, even tho its always an headscratcher for me since we all ready had like the Evil Dead movies, who are also well knowed for their blend of Comedy and Horror... But, cause things are kinda weird that way, the movie while bombing in Theatres, actually DID sell pretty darn well in the VHS and Laser Discs market(and later DvDs), and with the years it actually gained a Cult following, where when you ask someone about a top 10 or something about Under-rated Hidden Gems of movies, this one is always on the List. It was Carpenter's efforts to give some screentime to the Chinese people of the US and not as stereotypes, he asked Kurt about it and he was down to do it, and it was something that he said later, was one of the funniest experience he had on set. It was a misunderstood Master Piece, that found its public and notoriety with the decades and is now a Fans and an 80's Lovers favorite.
It love hearing people like Carter Wong, James Hong etc talk about how much they loved working on this movie and what it meant for them in terms of representation. Looking at it with a strictly modern lens, I wish they had had the time and the resources to get a more authentic take on the mythologies involved, but that's my only (and very slight) criticism of the film.
I love Simone's welcomes. Great thing about this film is that Kurt is essentially the clueless sidekick, and plays against "type" for him. I've always loved this film, thanks for uploading your reaction! George, I think you'd enjoy "Mr Vampire" I think Simone would as well. That beastie's a Yeren.
I’d love to see you guys react to the movie Selena! She was the biggest Latin artist in the 90’s and a household name in Mexico and the United States! (I also wonder if y’all have heard her music yourselves) The movie launched JLo’s acting career and Selena was just the most beautiful soul.
I must recomend you to watch The Golden Child, starring Eddie Murphy. Big Trouble in Little China and The Golden Child would be in the same world or universe, same vibes of oriental fantasy in occidental world and comedy too. And the villain is Charles Dance. Mi generation knew Charles Dance with The Golden Child and The Last Action Hero. And yes, Mortal Kombat was inspired by this movie. Beholders already exist in D&D when this movie came out.
A couple of films with a similar vibe ar: Escape From New York; more from John Carpenter, with Kurt Russell as Snake "I thought you were dead" Plissken. The sequel is Escape From L.A, obviously....both worth adding to your list
This is the perfect take on the White Saviour trope. Russell is there and somehow the movie centres around him, but he does fudge all to help with anything. His moment of glory comes about entirely by accident ("good reflexes")
There wasn’t a sequel because it did really badly at the box office and only found an audience later. But Carpenter says in the commentary that Jack is dead, and that’s exactly what he was trying to say in that last scene. I just think there are few films as casually witty as this one. “…I know, there’s a problem with your face” is one of the funniest movie lines of all time, in my opinion. I’m also a huge fan of “do you have a gun, I hope?”
LOL...Simone reppin that Pumat Sol joint...I wonder if he ever got restocked...too mad M9 never went back to see him. What, bitter? Me?!?! Never!!!! Though, she missed an opportunity to make an Essek reference when she said that LoPan was "so glidey". 😜😂😁
Oh, so it was called Peking before eh? We say Peking in Sweden most of the time (Beijing is an alternative that's becoming a little more popular lately because of English). :)
It's been my thought for years -- Jack Burton is the kind of hero in a story where he rolls into town and gets mixed up in some embezzlement scheme at the local sawmill with the cops on the take who killed his old friend because he knew too much (ending in a big battle scene), but instead he gets transplanted into a kung fu movie even while thinking he's the main antagonist. I also loved how he managed to sideline himself for all the martial arts scenes to make the choreography easier.
An aside--If you have not seen them I recommend the movies Lost in Translation (Bill Murray, Scarlet Johansson), and Eye in the Sky (Helen Mirren). I love your channel!
I would love to see you guys do the FLASH GORDON movie from 1980! Sam J. Jones, Brian Blessed Timothy Dalton, Topol, and Max von Sydow, just chewin' up the scenery! And the soundtrack!!!! By Queen, just AWESOME!
Pretty sure Gracie(Kim Catralls cjaracter) is supposed to be half Chinese, her ladt name being Law points to possibly being the child of a Chinese father and white mother which would explain her familiarity with Chins town and thr cultural stuff
