The film started as a Western, so Carpenter had a lot of input as it changed to a modern fantasy. He made non-commercial decisions that doomed the film when it was initially released, but help in the long term to make this a lasting and unique classic. He cast Kurt Russell who was coming off years of flops, but Kurt leaned into Jack Burton’s American swagger that failed at every opportunity. He’s not even the real lead of the film, but the buffoonish sidekick to Dennis Dun. This worried the Studio so much they insisted on an opening scene where Russell’s character is revered as a Hero.
In general, I love the Art Direction of the film and would love to walk through some of the iconic sets from David Lo Pan’s underground kingdom, but there’s a transitional moment that I clocked even as a kid and it’s the sequence I would want to be on set for. It’s when Jack in his truck is chasing the thugs who kidnap Mioa Yin at the airport. Wang shouts at him to turn down a tight alley, and it’s here were the film leaves real locations behind and enters an exterior set where the first large martial arts battle takes place. Among them is the familiar face of 80s legend Al Leong (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon). I’m curious to know the day-to-day of this sequence, not just the fight choreography but the decision to have Kurt stay in the truck and watch everything, the introduction of The Three Storms, and the idea of the signs that fold in as Jack’s truck moves into the tight alley.
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