Product Description

A classic Jackie Chan martial arts movie.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #59827 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-02-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
Though Jackie Chan is billed as the star of The Prisoner, he's actually part of a stellar ensemble cast including Sammo Hung (Dragons Forever, TV's Martial Law), Andy Lau (Saviour of the Soul), and Tony Leung Ka-fai (The Lover). Leung plays a cop who goes undercover in a prison to dig out corruption; Hung is a roustabout prisoner who keeps breaking out to see his son; Chan plays a pool shark who accidentally kills a gambler; and Lau is that gambler's mob boss brother who's sworn to kill Chan. They all end up in the same prison, resulting in a complex, engrossing, and sometimes brutal story--think of it as the Hong Kong version of HBO's Oz. Which is not to say it isn't full of the bizarre narrative shifts that make Hong Kong movies such a perverse pleasure: Chan got into a fight with this gambler because he was trying to raise money to buy his dying girlfriend a black-market liver; at one point, Hung escapes and takes his son to the park, where they buy cotton candy and have some quality time; and at the end the whole movie takes a bizarre lurch into John Woo-style gunplay spectacle. This isn't a criticism--this crazy quilt of emotional tones and genres adds to the movie's entertainment value without detracting from the emotional power of some gripping scenes of prison conflict. For new Jackie Chan fans who've seen his American movies and want to learn more about why he's one of the biggest stars in the world, this is probably not the right place to start; but for anyone looking to experience more of one of the world's most exuberant and engaging bodies of cinema, The Prisoner offers jolting fights and hairpin twists and turns. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

GREAT FOR ANY JACKIE CHAN COLLECTION
Before I get to anything let it be known that there are spoilers in this review.

Although Jackie hardly speaks in it and is showed in it, it kinda seemed like he played a big part in the movie, but I think Tony Leung was the main character in this movie. I thought it was awesome. Sammo Hung I thought was kinda funny how he always tried to escape from prison and would get caught, and the one where he ran over that one police officer(You could easily tell that was a doll). If your a diehard Jackie Chan fan that always likes to see him succeed this is not your movie because Jackie Chan gets killed in this movie. It's the first one where I have seen that and I was suprised. Overall its a great movie and it actually has a good story to it if you pay attention to the beginning.

An Offer Jackie Couldn't Refuse, But Maybe You Should
Bottom line: Jackie Chan owed Jimmy Wang Yu a favor, but apparently so do a lot of people. I wouldn't recommend this movie, but do recommend reading about how it came about in Jackie's autobiography "I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action".

Cheesy Kung-Fu Movie
This cheesy kung-fu prison movie, contrary to the box art, does not "star" Jackie Chan. Chan and several other Hong Kong actors (like Sammo Hung) reportedly did this as a favour to co-star and producer Jimmy Wang-Yu ("One-Armed Swordsman," "Fantasy Mission Force"). Much of this movie is laughably bad, with goofy dialogue and entire scenes ripped-off from "Cool Hand Luke" of all things. Jackie Chan is in the movie for about 15 minutes.
The DVD is in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1, and it looks reasonably good. The dialogue is dubbed, but it hardly seems to matter in a movie like this. There is a commentary by a martial artist and filmmaker named Phillip Rhee that is okay. His historical insights aren't fabulous, but his anecdotes about some of the films stars are enjoyable. Rounding out the extras are some cast biographies and a trailer (which, deceivingly, shows Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung as being the central characters).