Chinese Box (1997) or, Death in Hong Kong

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+ Best Hong Kong Movie of the Year

 

Exotic Eastern passion is promised on this colorful poster for Wayne Wang's Chinese Box

John is from the West but has lived the last two decades in Hong Kong, which he loves as a city and as an opportunistic paradise, as he one day discovers that he is, in fact, dying from leukemia.

 

Chinese Box is written by Jean-Claude Carrière (Sommersbye (1993)), with Larry Gross (Gunshy (1998)), Paul Theroux (Saint Jack (1979)), Rachel Ingalls (A Question of Faith (2000)) and great Hong Kong-born American filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Wayne Wang (A Man, A Woman, and A Killer (1975)) contributing elements.

At times a heavy film, Chinese Box is nevertheless ultimately a moving drama, which binds Hong Kong's British heritage poignantly together with the story of a terminal expat, who also suffers from heartache.

Jeremy Irons (And Now Ladies & Gentlemen (2002)) and Gong Li (The Banquet (1991)) as his chosen, but rejecting barmaid lover are both good in this film about death, in which the ideal circumstances are out of reach. Chinese Box is sensitive and melancholy.

 

Related post:

 

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 2.1 mil. $ -  North America only

= Uncertain

[Chinese Box premiered 4 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 99 minutes. Shooting took place in Hong Kong. The film opened #22 to a 97k $ first weekend in 12 theaters in North America, where it grossed 2.1 mil. $. Regrettably the gross numbers from the film's many international markets, including Hong Kong (but not China) are not made public. Without a cost figure and other gross figures a theatrical status cannot be projected for this film. It won a prize in Venice. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Wang returned with Anywhere But Here (1999). Irons returned in Lolita (1997); Li in The Emperor and the Assassin/Jing Ke ci Qin Wang (1998). Chinese Box is fresh at 64 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Chinese Box? 

Another 48 Hrs. (1990) - More of the same from your buddies Hill, Murphy & Nolte

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'The boys are back in town', the tagline asserts on this deliciously 1980s-styled poster for Walter Hill's Another 48 Hrs.

Biker hoodlums want to kill Reggie Hammond, as he is finally released from jail. Meanwhile, officer Jack Cates has been hunting criminal mastermind 'The Iceman' for 3 years.

 

Another 48 Hrs. is written by John Fasano (The Visit (1999)), Jeb Stuart (Die Hard (1988)) and Larry Gross (Chinese Box (1997)), with co-writer/co-star Eddie Murphy (Harlem nights (1989)) contributing story elements, and directed by great Californian filmmaker Walter Hill (Hard Times (1975)).  

Murphy has become a superstar in the inevitable sequel to Hill's successful milestone in buddy action-comedy, 48 Hrs. (1982), which the film is tailored to cater to.
It doesn't in itself elevate the film, which falls into the familiar sequel curse in that it brings nothing new to the table, which makes it unoriginal and thereby less outstanding than the first one.
Still in Another 48 Hrs. favor: It is nevertheless an entertaining film, and it has Brion James (Time Runner (1993)) and Ed O'Ross (Six Feet Under (2001-2005)) as effective super bad guys.

Related posts:

Walter Hill: Alien 3 (1992) or, The Monsters Go to Jail! (co-writer)

48 Hrs. (1982) or, Reluctant Partners

The Getaway (1972) - McQueen/Peckinpah hit the bank with unrefined thriller (writer) 

 

Watch a 1-minute clip from the film featuring Murphy here

Cost: 50 mil. $
Box office: 153.5 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 3.07 times its cost)

[Another 48 Hrs. was released 8 June (North America) and runs 95 minutes. Hill was apprehensive about making a sequel but has stated: " A lot of folks will say I'm just doing it for the money. What I want to know is, why do they think I made the first one?" Murphy's salary ballooned from 200k $ for the first film to 12 mil. $ and a gross percentage for the sequel, whereas co-star Nick Nolte's (Blue Chips (1994)) 1-2 mil. $ (different reports) original salary only went up to 3 mil. $ for Another 48 Hrs.. Shooting took place from January - April 1980 in California, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, and in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 145 minute work print was edited down to 120 minutes, but a week before release, the studio cut it down with 25 minutes, creating plot holes and continuity problems and removing any mention of a 48 hour deadline from the finished movie. The film opened #1 to a 19.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained in the top 5 for another 3 weeks (#2-#4-#5), grossing 80.8 mil. $ (52.6 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch harder than this one. Hill returned with Tales from the Crypt (1989-91) and theatrically with Trespass (1992). Murphy returned in Michael Jackson: Remember the Time (1992, music video) and theatrically in Boomerang (1992); Nolte in Cape Fear (1991). Another 48 Hrs. is rotten at 21 % with a 4.00/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Another 48 Hrs.?