The Master (1992 film)

1989 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Tsui Hark

The Master

Poster ad for The Master home video

Directed by| Tsui Hark
Screenplay by| Lam Kei-to
Lau Tai-muk
Story by| Tsui Hark
Produced by| Tsui Hark
Starring| Jet Li
Yuen Wah
Crystal Kwok
Jerry Trimble
Anne Rickets
Cinematography| Joe Chan
Paul Edwards
Edited by| Kam Ma
Marco Mak
Music by| Tang Siu-lam

Production
companies

Golden Harvest
Wa Nga Films
Film Workshop

Distributed by| Golden Harvest

Release date

* 28 May 1992 (1992-05-28)

Running time

| 92 minutes
Country| Hong Kong
Languages| Cantonese
English
Box office| HK$8,096,542
The Master

Traditional Chinese| 龍行天下
Simplified Chinese| 龙行天下
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Lóng Xíng Tián Xià
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping| Lung4 Hang4 Tin1 Haa6

The Master (traditional Chinese: 龍行天下) is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark, and starring Jet Li, Yuen Wah, Crystal Kwok and Jerry Trimble. The project was filmed in 1989, but it was not released until 1992 when the success of Once Upon a Time in China made Li a major action star.

## Plot

[edit]

The story occurs in Los Angeles, where a fight between Master Tak (Yuen Wah) and Johnny (Jerry Trimble) destroys Tak's herbal medicine store. Johnny is prevented from killing Tak when Anna (Anne Rickets) comes to save him. During his recovery he stays in Anna's camper van. Anna is both a janitor and a student from a gymnastics school but was banned from competing and attending for physically attacking a fellow classmate. As a result, Anna ends up being fired by her coach, who is already fed up with Anna's bad behaviour.

Jet (Jet Li) arrives from Hong Kong on the airport bus. When he arrives at Tak's store to resume as Tak's Kung Fu student, he finds the store shuttered and three thieves steal his bag. He chases their car on foot through the streets and eventually catches them. The thieves are so impressed with Jet's physical skills they beg him to be their master. They take Jet to their home (an abandoned municipal building) but they are attacked by a larger gang. Jet reluctantly steps in to defend his new friends, but their home is set on fire.

Johnny and his gang are closing down kung fu schools and making a name for themselves. Jet meets May (Crystal Kwok), a bank worker responsible for the loan on Tak's store - but neither knows where Master Tak is. Jet finds himself in the middle of a robbery at a carpark. He finds himself fighting beside Johnny, but Johnny recognizes him from one of Tak's pictures and makes it clear he intends to kill both Jet and Tak. Anna and Jet's friends get beaten up, so Jet trains his friends to defend themselves. Jet is eventually re-united with Tak, but Tak claims he is no longer interested in either teaching Kung Fu or doing herbal medicine.

Jet and his friends go to Tak's store and prepare to deal with Johnny's gang. The three friends put their newfound skills into practice fighting four members of Johnny's gang. Jet and Johnny fight outside the store until the police step in.

Jet and Tak argue, and Jet decides to return to Hong Kong. On the airport bus he is attacked by two dreadlocked men armed with a shotgun who were at the carpark. Jet manages to defeat the men and regain control of the bus despite a shotgun blast killing the driver. May has been following the bus in her car, possibly intending to express romantic interest in Jet. In the meantime, Tak and the three friends make their way to a rooftop where Johnny and his gang are holding Anna hostage.

Jet and May go to Tak's store to find a note and a will. They quickly make their way to the rooftop of a tall building where Tak has disabled 15 or 20 of Johnny's men but is beginning to tire due to his age. Jet takes over for his master and fights Johnny while Tak and the friends defeat the rest of the gang and rescue Anna. After an intense fight Jet manages to kick Johnny off a hanging wire to his death.

Anna goes on her trip with the gymnastics class for the competition, implying her ban was lifted. Jet boards the airport bus, once again intending to go to Hong Kong. To his surprise he finds May there as well; planning to go with him for a holiday, but the three friends and Master Tak drive up beside the bus: Master Tak has stolen Jet's passport; so he cannot leave. Jet and the others laugh at May's misfortune of traveling alone but she in anger and frustration shoves her ticket in Jet's mouth as the credits roll.

## Cast

[edit]

* Jet Li as Jet, who arrives from Hong Kong to meet Uncle Tak and becomes Tak's student
* Yuen Wah as Chan Hou-tak / Uncle Tak, Chinese immigrants who open herbal shop in LA and master to Jet
* Crystal Kwok as May, a bank officer who give loan to Tak
* Jerry Trimble as Johnny, owner of a martial arts studio and the main antagonist
* Rueben Gonzáles as Cito
* Guy Fadollone as Ruben
* Derek Annunciation as Mouse
* Michael Burke as Oscar
* Camille Carrigan as Jeannie
* Wayne Post as Jimmy
* George Cheung as Paul
* Pamela J. Anderson as coach
* Steven Ho as Johnny's student
* To Wai-wo as martial arts teacher
* Cheung Ching as Clerk of International Publication
* Billy Blanks as Black Thug (uncredited)
* Glen Chin as taxi driver
* Anne Rickets as Anna
* Corey Yuen
* Michael McConnohie as Johnny (Miramax dubbed version)

## US version

[edit]

Miramax's North American version of The Master, which was distributed on home video and DVD, was dubbed in English and the dubbing often strayed heavily from the original dialogue. Four minutes of cuts were made, including:

* The opening scene, in which Anna fights a gymnastics student.
* A scene of Anna being banned from gymnastics school.
* A scene of Jet walking through Los Angeles is cut slightly. Also, acoustic guitar music replaces the original, more somber score, changing the intentions of the scene significantly.
* A scene in which Jet, after the clinic is raided, finds Anna beaten up.

## Reception

[edit]

Upon initial release, The Master was not particularly successful. In his audio commentary for the Hong Kong Legends DVD release, Bey Logan gives possible explanations why, citing characters' ridiculous behaviour and contrived situations. He explains that the characters' motivations are unclear - there is no clear reason why Johnny and his gang repeatedly go to Uncle Tak's store to intimidate him, and close down other kung fu schools. Also, if the bus driver is shot by the dreadlocked man with a shotgun, why does the bus keep moving while the action is still going? Lastly, the Hong Kong film crew does not have the same luxury as the American film crew which led to certain scenes that did not work well.

Despite the flawed plot, the film did give signs of what was to come from Jet Li's appearances in films with modern settings. Li's action style in The Master was an early example of what was to come in his Hollywood films Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave.[1][2]

## Box office

[edit]

The Master earned a weak HK$8,096,542 in Hong Kong.

## Home media

[edit]

On 28 March 2005, DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in the United Kingdom in Region 2. Four months later, The Jet Li Collection DVD was released on 25 July 2005 at 2 disc set including Hitman.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ The Master, Audio commentary Bey Logan (DVD featurette) (DVD). Hong Kong Legends, UK. 2001 [1989].
2. ^ "Master, the Review (1989)".

## External links

[edit]

* The Master at IMDb
* The Master at Rotten Tomatoes
* The Master at AllMovie

* v
* t
* e

Films by Tsui Hark

Films directed|

* The Butterfly Murders (1979)
* We're Going to Eat You (1980, also writer)
* Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980, also writer)
* All the Wrong Clues for the Right Solution (1981)
* Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
* Shanghai Blues (1984, also produced)
* Aces Go Places 3 (1984)
* Working Class (1985, also produced)
* Peking Opera Blues (1986, also produced)
* A Better Tomorrow III: Love & Death in Saigon (1989, also produced)
* Once Upon a Time in China (1991, also writer and produced)
* King of Chess (1991, uncredited, also produced)
* Once Upon a Time in China II (1992, also writer and produced)
* The Master (1992, also produced)
* Green Snake (1993, also writer and produced)
* Once Upon a Time in China III (1993, also writer and produced)
* The Lovers (1994, also writer and produced)
* Once Upon a Time in China V (1994, also writer and produced)
* The Blade (1995, also writer and produced)
* The Chinese Feast (1995, also writer and produced)
* Love in the Time of Twilight (1995, also writer and produced)
* Tristar (1996, also writer and produced)
* Double Team (1997)
* Knock Off (1998)
* Time and Tide (2000, also writer and produced)
* The Legend of Zu (2001, also writer and produced)
* Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002, also produced)
* Seven Swords (2005, also writer and produced)
* Missing (2008, also writer and produced)
* All About Women (2008, also writer and produced)
* Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010, also produced)
* Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011, also writer and produced)
* Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013, also writer and produced)
* The Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014, also writer)
* Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017, also writer and produced)
* Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018, also produced)

Films written|

* A Better Tomorrow II (1987; also produced)
* A Chinese Ghost Story III (1991, also produced)
* Swordsman II (1992, also produced)
* New Dragon Gate Inn (1992, also produced)
* The Wicked City (1992; also produced)
* The East Is Red (1993; also produced)
* Once Upon a Time in China IV (1993; also produced)
* The Magic Crane (1993, also produced)
* Iron Monkey (1993; also produced)
* Black Mask (1996; also produced)
* The Era of Vampires (2002, also produced)
* Sword Master (2016; also produced)
* The Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)

Films produced only|

* A Better Tomorrow (1986)
* A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
* The Big Heat (1988)
* I Love Maria (1988)
* The Killer (1989)
* A Terra-Cotta Warrior (1990)
* The Swordsman (1990)
* A Chinese Ghost Story II (1990)
* Shanghai Grand (1996)
* Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)
* The Climbers (2019)

Collaborating director|

* The Banquet (1991)
* Twin Dragons (1992)
* Triangle (2007)
* Septet: The Story of Hong Kong (2020)
* The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021)
* The Battle at Lake Changjin II (2022)

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