Jackie Chan: My Stunts (1999 Video) User Reviews

Informative

[Stofft · 9/10 · 14 October 2005]

If you are, like me, a Jackie Chan fan (at least of his older films) and wanna know more about "how he has done his films" and so on. This is a great film to watch. Jackie explains how many of Asian movies are made (at least were made back in the days) and how they in "cheap" ways came up with ideas on camera work and lots of other things that makes a movie look good.

Also you get behind the scenes of various stunts, how he performed them and how he comes up with those action scenes we all love to see with Jackie.

All in all I really liked this Documentary. I will also point out that if you can find the HK release of this film you can watch the documentary with Chinese voices and eng. subtitles for some things jackie showcases that are NOT in the English talking version.

9/10

very cool look behind the scenes

[sleestakmn · 8/10 · 14 August 2003]

If you are at all into the "wow, how did they do that" aspect of filmmaking, this is great stuff. JC shows the technique, training and pure gumption that make these films work. In an increasingly CGI movie environment, JC remains fairly steadfast to what has worked in the past, and talks about it : "hey, we don't have the budget to fake this, so we just gotta do it".

Fascinating and fun

[moribana · 9/10 · 11 May 2001]

Extremely involved and informative behind the scenes look at Jackie Chan's filmmaking and stuntmaking. He is indeed a perfectionist, very reminiscent of Gene Kelley.

Make sure and watch the Cantonese version unless you absolutely cannot stand subtitles. Jackie is much more fluent and entertaining in his native language (As well as his explanations are much better)

Interesting `how to' look at Chan's stunts – must see for fans

[bob the moo · 27 October 2002]

Jackie Chan walks us through a series of stunts and tricks of his trade. This includes the man himself showing us how the main stunts are carried out and how individual scenes in several films were planned and put together. A narrator also takes us into Jackie's stunt lab where stunt men show the importance of timing and the little things that make it all look so very good.

When I saw this film coming on TV I knew it was going to be about the `how to' rather than a best of compilation. I was right – the film picks several films (including The Young Master, Who Am I and Rush Hour) and looks at key scenes and what went into them. This is interspersed with Jackie addressing the camera and talking generally about his style. It sounds dull but it is actually very good.

I found it interesting because I never realised how very difficult these fights were to put together and all the little things that Jackie considers when doing them. The most interesting bits are on set stuff that I didn't know (like the difficulties in getting the performers on the roof in Who Am I to get their timing right) but mainly Jackie talking. He is very interesting at the worst of times but he is always very good when he is talking about his craft.

Some viewers will be upset that it isn't full of great stunts and outtakes but it does what it is suppose to do well. Some of it is poor – the narrator telling us what a green screen is in a voice like she's talking to children is a real low, but as long as Jackie is either talking or doing his thing then this is very watchable.

Overall this is a must for all fans and has lots of `oh, I didn't know that' moments albeit over a small selection of films. Not perfect but pretty interesting.

Ignore Andrew Hernandez - he's talking a load of sh!t

[jc2ar · 10/10 · 27 May 2006]

This is an excellent documentary of JAckie and how he and his stunt-men do what they do in their movies.

lots of great clips and shows how they practise for it. Would have been better if the stunt-men had interviews and such but oh well...you'll be able to recognise most of them anyway.

Ignore what Andrew Hernandez said about Jackie taking his stuntmens injury in a joking manner - of course he doesn't, but the fact they've been doing this for many years is part of their jobs. JAckie has been through much worse as a young stuntman and strictly taught how to deal with pain.

Also about Ron - yeah, he is great but he had no timing to fit Jackie - WHICH IS WHY HE GOT ANGRY! Its not harsh at all, we all know Jackie is a perfectionist and he's said its difficult to work with other people rather than his own.

Andrew Hernandez also said that Yuen Biao is more of a success than JAckie or should have been. Well, Andy, its not all about who's the greatest fighter or the most flexible, its how they can pull it off on screen. Jackie made it big through mixing comedy and action on screen - he didn't flip and jump around the place for no reason, it had a purpose. Plus I'm sure Yuen Bio would treat Ron the same way so you're obviously a Jackie hater and shouldn't really be reviewing this.

A GREAT DOCUMENTARY

[kennez · 8/10 · 23 June 2000]

This is a great documentary about the world of movie stunts. It shows some of the stunts that Jackie has performed, and he then goes on to show you exactly how he performs these stunts. He also takes you behind the scenes of two of his latest films, and shows you how he made the fights look as good as they do in the finished films. I give it 4 out of 5

Uncovers a surprising number of filmmaking secrets

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 7/10 · 21 July 2020]

It's surprisingly transparent, and sort of like watching a magician reveal his own tricks. I guess Jackie Chan was getting older, and probably willing to pass on his knowledge to others, given that his super crazy stunting days were behind him by 1999.

It's a little static, sometimes feels a bit dated, and at times feels more like an instructional video than a documentary, which was surprising/refreshing, yet perhaps less entertaining to some extent. It's nevertheless still fun and interesting. Also stands as one of the most painful/ action-packed documentaries I've ever seen.

Also: how the heck have I watched so many Jackie Chan movies without registering what all the white powder was for??? Or simply wonder before this documentary why there was so much powder everywhere?????

Jackie 101

[MichaelMovieLoft · 9/10 · 2 May 2003]

I saw this last night and it was very interesting. He takes you behind the scenes at how he chorographs his fight scenes and stunts. The two films that get the most exposure are Police Story and Who Am I?. He shows you how the bus scene in Police Story (which I consider his greatest stunt of all time) was done by using a modified umbrella. He revisits the Hong Kong mall to show you how everything was done in the film. The films clips also have the original music score, rather than J. Peter Robinson's score used in the U.S. edit. We also see how the fight scene with Dutch fighter Ron Smoorenberg was accomplished. Smoorenberg could not keep up the pace Jackie needed to make the scene work, so he uses his own stuntman Bradley James Allan (considerably smaller than the Dutchman) for some of the scenes. Allan (who has developed a cult status among Jackie fans) gets to show his stuff in his own fight scene made for the video. The only debit for this was Jackie's broken English. Still, he is able to show how it is all done. No question about it, Jackie Chan means action.

A must watch for all fans, especially those who love the out takes.

[SameirAli · 9/10 · 21 November 2021]

Are you a fan of Jackie Chan film's out takes? If yes, this is a must watch for you. In this documentary workshop, Jackie Chan takes you behind the scenes of some of the most exciting stunts he ever performed. He opens up the tricks and techniques used to create his own unique style. This is a great guide to those who want to start their career as an action choreographer. He explains how important is every small details. Even after two decades, this is worth watching.

Hmmm....

[VynnyWard · 2/10 · 12 December 2001]

Let me preface by saying I'm a huge JC fan. With that out of the way it's fair to note that I was expecting a lot from this DVD of his incredible stunts... but I felt cheated. Sure there's several great clips of his most famous moves - but there's also huge amounts of yapping and surprisingly boring recreations. I wanted to see the outtakes of his stunts, the rushes not used, the top 10 most dangerous, most complex et al. Instead I got to endure night-schoolesque classroom workshops on do-it-yourself fight scenes, albeit JC style. If you can, I recommend simply recording his best scenes directly off-air onto a home-made compilation tape. "My Stunts" is worth a rental but I'll bet your finger will not stay too far from the fast-forward on the second viewing. Shame.

great film!

[Mixx · 9 June 2003]

I just saw this on on my comp (yep ripped by that is the only way to get it here). I have to say that I went into it with a large dose of respect for Jacki, and after the feature was over, this respect had grown to even highr proportions. Jag must be one of the most skilled guys around a movieset. I love his movies, and this video didn't change that. Au Contrarire.

A clear 8+ in my book. A film for the fans - nonfans wont get much out of it other than if their curious

BW. Mixx

Jackie Chan tells his tale

[ebiros2 · 24 November 2011]

There're many programs done to highlight the secrets of Jackie Chan's stunts, but this one is official as Jackie Chan himself takes you to the back stage of his production scenes.

If you ever wondered how he does all his stunts, this is the best documentary to find out. Jackie Chan takes you into the lots of his locations, and shows you the innovative techniques he's used to create some of the best stunts in movie business. It also shows you how hard these people work to deliver the scene. In one sequence, it took 348 takes to get one scene right. So if you see a fantastic action scene in Jackie Chan's movie, it's not an accident.

The greatness is perhaps that he never stopped to better his own efforts. There're new ideas in every movie. How he comes up with all the ideas is perhaps the biggest mystery.

If you're a Jackie Chan fan, or amazed at his movies, this video is a must see.

Very informative, but it's hard to respect Jackie

[JackDevoe · 24 July 2003]

I learned a lot about the film making techniques in this documentary. Jackie's use of props and camera angles is very clever. But Jackie does seem to pat himself on the back too much.

When he talks about the stuntmen who were seriously hurt in the bus sequence of POLICE STORY, he refers to it in a joking manner. I'm pretty sure those men didn't appreciate being crippled and made fun of.

The scene where Jackie is coreographing Ron Smoorenberg in WHO AM I is insulting. Somehow, it's a common practice in Hong Kong to double actors not because of saftey concerns or because an actor can't do a move, but because an actor can not perform the way the coreographer wants them to perform. Ron was very capable of doing his own action in WHO AM I, but when Jackie was directign his fight with him, he was getting mad at him for not following his rythym. People may say that Ron was the one not keeping up with Jackie, but the fact was that Jackie could not keep up with Ron. As a martial artist, it's a very bad thing if you can't keep up with an opponent's movements, and that reflects badly on Jackie. Rather than work with Ron's skills and limitations, Jackie had him doubled by Bradley James Allen. It seemed pointless to hire Ron for WHO AM I if he was just going ot be doubled for scenes he could easily pulled off, but Jackie showed off how selfish he is in this segment.

Yuen Biao, Jackie's longtime friend in Peking Opera and HK cinema is much more deserving of Jackie's success. He is a better actor, more charming, a better martial artist, and a better stuntman. If only he was willing to learn English, he could be much bigger in the US.

If you care how stunts are done, this is an important piece

[ersbel · 3 February 2020]

The off screen voice talk is atrocious, but the images and what the actors explain can be very precious in understanding how things are done.