The Man from Hong Kong

Colour, 35 mm
Australia, 1975, 126 min
Section: Midnight Screenings: Ozploitation!

Synopsis

Australia’s first genuine action film delivers an ostentatious takeoff on the Bond franchise where sophisticated panache and technical gizmos make way for brazen blows below the belt and hair-raising stunt escapades. A Hong Kong inspector arrives in Sydney, and while local hoods feel the heat of his kung fu mastery, Australian ladies can’t resist the warmth of his charms. The starring role of the rough-and-tumble inspector is taken by Hong Kong superstar Jimmy Wang Yu, and the main bad guy is portrayed by onetime James Bond George Lazenby. Director Brian Trenchard- Smith conceived the film as a radical work intended to push the limits of cinematic action and violence. The entire film contains less than 20 minutes of dialogue, with the remainder made up of endless melees, gritty stunts, and thrilling car chases. Initiated by Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest studio, the movie laid the foundation for Australia’s tradition of auto stunt films.

About the director

Brian Trenchard-Smith (b. 1946, Great Britain) ushered in the era of Australian action films with his feature debut The Man from Hong Kong. He then worked with daredevil stuntman Grant Page on the movies Deathcheaters (1976) and Stunt Rock (1978), whose absurd stories were a mere pretext to parade the actor’s splendid death-defying escapades. In the following years, the director continued to specialize in action films while accepting a variety of subgenre variations. Thus he made Turkey Shoot (1982), a self-indulgently brutal mix of outlandish pulp elements, and BMX Bandits (1983), a playful kids’ flick featuring a pubescent Nicole Kidman in her first big role.