THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM – 2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD REVIEWEXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JACKIE CHAN.

Originally posted September 7th, 2008

Interview and review by Emilio Alpanseque
Courtesy of LIONSGATE

In theaters, the Forbidden Kingdom was a funhouse of a movie with non-stop action and lots of special effects. The teaming up of Jackie Chan and Jet Li had everyone in the martial arts community full of eagerness. The addition of Yuen Woo-Ping as the fight coordinator raised the expectations bar even more. And the result lives up to the promise of what you would anticipate from these exceptional martial artists.

This September, LIONSGATE releases The Forbidden Kingdom 2-Disc Special Edition on DVD and Blu-ray in North America, and along with the film come a good number of thrilling bonus features including multiple behind-the-scenes, a blooper reel, deleted scenes, audio commentary and more. A Digital Copy of the feature film is also included on a separate disk. This comes handy for those that want to bring the movie with them on a hard drive, or play it on their Ipod.

If you end up buying this DVD, you’ll be pleased with the quality of the transfers as they are all top notch. The 2.40:1 widescreen format is superb with vibrant colors and sparkling details. The definition is so good that you can zoom several times and still get a clear image. With the audio, two options are at your disposal: English 5.1 Dolby Digital EX and English 2.0 Dolby Digital. Both are crystal clear without any distortion. The box says the movie runs for 104 minutes; however you have my word that the full 113 minutes of the theatrical release are in it, divided in 24 chapters which will allow easy navigation to your favorite scenes.

The DVD & Blu-ray special features include:

• Audio commentary with director Rob Minkoff and writer John Fusco. This offers a lot of interesting information about the movie. At times serious and others time humorous, Minkoff seems more technical while Fusco reveals his love and respect for martial arts.
• “The Kung Fu Dream Team”. A remarkable view at the team that makes this movie what it is, including interviews and a behind-the-scenes look at some of the action and stunts in the film.
• “Dangerous Beauty”. Interviews and behind-the-scenes introducing Liu Yifei and Li Binbing.
• “Discovering China”. A revealing exploration of spectacular the natural locations used for the film.
• “Filming in Chinawood”. A look at the Hengdian World Studios, the largest film studio in Asia located in the Zhejiang Province. Both, Modern Boston and Ancient China scenes where filmed there.
• “Monkey King and The Eight Immortals”. John Fusco’s own journey into world of Chinese culture and Kung Fu philosophy. There is a break down of one of the synopsis of the film. An introduction to the Monkey King, the Eight Immortals, Drunken Kung Fu and more.
• Pre-Visualization Featurette. This takes the viewer from the storyboards through pre-production animation footage to the final finished look for selected scenes throughout the film, accompanied by commentary from Rob Minkoff.
• Blooper reel. A few accidents, missed dialogue and a lot fun.
• Deleted scenes with audio commentary by Rob Minkoff and John Fusco. Six scenes that did not make the final reel, but maybe should have?

In summary, the long awaited “J&J Project”, which became a reality and was a box-office smash, is now available on this bursting 2-Disc Special Edition. Don’t miss this opportunity to see Jackie and Jet perform together in the comfort of your own home!

Now, let’s get the obvious out of the way: Yes, we all have watched the movie. We’ve seen Jackie and Jet in action. We’ve seen the homage and allusions to the characters from Chinese legends and Kung Fu movies. We’ve learned about the real meaning of “Kung Fu”. But for those who wanted to hear about it from the “Drunken Master” himself, this is your opportunity. Enjoy this exclusive interview!

Emilio Alpanseque: Jackie, we were looking forward to seeing the first collaboration between you and Jet Li. how was it working with him?

Jackie Chan: We really enjoyed it, as if we were two kids playing. Lots of people said that he became more active when I was around him. He usually was very quiet. Not like me. I liked to joke around, sweep the stage, kill flies, etc. I did lots of things. He just sat there by himself (mimic his Buddhist Chanting) – “A Mi Tuo Fo”. He told me some Buddhism stories during the movie shooting. I was only interested in 3 of them, not the other 7 (laughs). I learned a lot from the three stories. Buddhism teaching has its own philosophy. After all it teaches the basics of being a good person. It is very useful.

EA: The fighting scene between you two was very impressive. How do you feel about it?

JC: I had not had that great feeling for a long time. It was great. I had that experience when I worked with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. When I worked with other people, either I had to compromise a little bit, or they had to compromise if I had to fight with lots of people. If I fight with those not knowing how to fight, I have to compromise in the fighting. If I fight with those knowing how to fight well, they may have to slow down for me. But Jet Li and I did not have to do anything like that for each other. I still remember the first day I saw him on the set, it did not feel like it was the first collaboration between us, it was more like we just finished a movie together.

EA: How would you compare Jet Li’s fighting style with yours and how was it to finally shoot a fight scene together?

JC: Our fighting style, we are basically the same. We know “Bei Pai” – northern style Chinese martial arts. I first learned northern style, then learned southern styles like Tiger and Crane, Wing Chun, Pak Mei, but also practice Karate, Hapkido, Boxing; during those years those other kinds of martial arts were not practiced in China yet, China was closed, but we did have them in Hong Kong. So, my style has become more of a “Chop Suey” style. I can do everything. For our fight scene together, Yuen Woo-Ping had choreographed the first action sequences and Jet and I went to take a look at them. Two stuntmen did the demonstration, once they finished I asked him to show me the sequence one more. Then I said, “OK, let’s shoot it. We do not need a rehearsal”. Jet Li said “sure, let’s do it.” So, we did not do any rehearsal. Hey, that was a long fighting scene, no rehearsal. Once we are doing the moves, I looked at Jet Li and said, “you go faster, let’s see who is faster”. We were competing, showing off. It was fun at that moment. I told him to slow down. He said to me “you slow down”.

EA: As you said, Yuen Woo-Ping is the Wushu instructor for this movie. But since you usually design your own fight scenes, was it weird for you?

JC: It felt weird. It was. Why? I usually design the choreography of my fight scenes with the Jackie Chan Team and teach others how to fight. From the stunt team of this movie, Yuen Woo-Ping and his younger brother, we know each other. The others used to be just kids, we used to call them “little ghosts”. But now they teach me how to fight. Actually they were not teaching me how to fight. They did not dare to teach me. They just showed me the moves. Some of them are left handed, but I am right handed, it’s different. It’s like my experience of teaching Chris Tucker. He never got it easy, since he was left handed and I was right handed. So I had to adjust to his left-hand habit to show him the moves, it was not comfortable. Some of the moves they showed me, if I do it, I would do 1, 2, then lower down my head, done. Those are basics. I did not change the sequence they put together. I did whatever they showed me. Because I knew if I changed, they would be messed up. I also needed to give Yuen Woo-Ping my respect. Also, if I did not say anything, Jet Li would not say anything either. If Jet Li had no comments, I would not have comments either. So we both kept quiet. It was just like that.

EA: So the sequences were choreographed as you were going on?

JC: They had their beginning and ending points, some ideas. Yuen Woo-Ping would say “we respectively ask the two big brothers out for a break” so Jet and I would go out to chat until they finished choreographing the new fight scene. Then, they would ask us to come in again. We would go in and stand there so they could slowly show us the sequence of moves. Right after that, we would say “OK, let’s shoot”. Then we shoot. It was just like that, very fast. Those moves were so easy for us.

EA: This movie has many characters such as the Monkey King, the Eight Immortals, the Bride with White Hair all combined in the same story. What is your opinion about it and what do you think the reaction of the western audience will be?

JC: About this movie, we knew that the story was ridiculous when we were making it. But the story was about a young kid, who was just like any kid from France, German, Russia, or USA and loved Chinese Kung Fu. It is about a young kid who loves Chinese Kung Fu and culture. What he wanted everybody was to practice Kung Fu, Kung Fu, Kung Fu. He fell into a hole, a deep hole; he was falling deeper and deeper. With that in mind, I can accept the story. But nobody would make such a movie in China. Also nobody would write up such a story in China. We could have a story about Monkey King. But how come Monkey King dreamed about Drunken Fist, then the Eight Immortals, then the Jade Emperor. It’s totally a mess. But for foreign audience, they do not know who is Monkey King, what is Drunken Fist. They don’t know them. Anyway it’s fine to have them all together. I think as long as the movie can make Chinese culture look interesting, it works. Wow, what is it? What is Monkey King?

EA: Lastly, how did it feel to do “Drunken Boxing” after all these years?

JC: Sometimes, I feel very embarrassed! I refused to do it in a couple of movies already. Rush Hour director Bret Ratner asked me “just drink a little bit and then do some Drunken Boxing”, I said no, no more of that. But in the Forbidden Kingdom is a good opportunity to showcase different styles like mantis, tiger, etc. So it was a good idea. Show the spirit of martial arts, Chinese culture, respect, and those kinds of things. Combine comedy, excitement and education.

Original link: http://www.wushukicks.com/blog/13.html