High Noon is a classic Oscar winning western from the 50s starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The movie Outland starring Sean Connery is pretty much a Sci Fi remake of High Noon.
Xander Berkeley is a reliably great character actor, he a did a solid job paying homage to one of the all time great Western villain actors! "How do you survive out here?" hahaha.
the joke of Owen Wilson’s name being Wyatt Earp is because the real Wyatt famously was never injured in a gun fight even though he led a colourful life with legendary events such as the ok corral and taking down the cowboys gang.
Back in the 60s/70s it was also popular to say that Wyatt Earp couldn’t shoot for beans. It was nonsense, so far as I can tell based on the fact he pistol whipped a lot more people than he shot, but that was the “fashion of the day” (there were also a number of movies and shows that made him out to be guilty of all the sins in the calendar). I thought Roy being a terrible shot might be a reference to this.
Literally wading through a river being shot at from multiple sides and not getting hit once, just had a bunch of holes in his jacket. Movie stuff, but it happened in real life.
I've said this before, and now that you've watched this I can say it again: this one's fine. It's enjoyable. The sequel, Shanghai Knights, has what I think is the peak of Jackie's stuntwork in an American movie. It is just utterly delightful, every sequence. Donnie Yen is in it! If you want to see him show off, you've got to see the sequel -- I watch the scene where they're chasing a guy who runs into a circular shopping area all the time.
I was put off by what I took as less sharp humour in the sequel and friends had been saying it was bad, so i prejudged it and didn't pay enough attention when i did watch it (phone scrolling viewing). I'm going to give it a rewatch with that in mind, now. Thanks dude, i've got something to watch tonight 🙂it's a nice reminder for me to go in to a movie without prejudging it. Love seeing Jackie when he gets elaborate and creative with his sequences, so i'm annoyed at myself for not paying attention the first time xD
I actually do think that Jackie was allowed more free rein with his fight choreography and stunt work in “Knights.” Considering he’s consistently cited Buster Keaton & Charlie Chaplin as a physical/comedic inspirations, Chan was able to openly pay homage to them in the sequel.
I actually really agree with this. I think adding in the Victorian British culture was such a fantastic addition to the American cowboy vs imperial China dynamic that we got in Noon. I also thought that Rathbone was such a delightfully fun villain.
And it's funny that in China she's considered extremely unattractive. China (and honestly most of Asia) likes "soft" feature and paler skin. Lucy has what's considered very sharp feature.
But wow does she have short, bowed legs. I watched Charlie's Angels and there was a scene where she plays an efficiency expert and she's walking with a group of workers. They show her at a weird angle and it looks like they're trying really hard to hide what her legs look like. That or the weird angle made her legs look like that. I've tried to see her legs in other movies, but noticed that they're never shown. Still doesn't take away from her general beauty. She's an amazing actress, too. She made her debut in the Allie McBeal TV show and her star shot up from there. She deserves everything she's achieved
Keep in mind that in addition to western insurance requirements, Jackie was 46 at the time and had a lifetime of injuries from stunts, so he was slowing down as far as doing the death-defying stuff. There was a reason he transitioned from Hong Kong filmmaking to a decent amount of USA filmmaking, I would think. He still had his comedy chops.
Also budget and time concerns as a lot of stunts and action scenes filmed the way they film overseas in China or Australia or wherever tended to take a long time. Or if Jackie or someone got injured, it delayed filming. That’s why western movies always have a lot of camera angle changes in fight scenes to hide the lack of time spent on choreography too. Jackie Chan has talked about this before in interviews.
Also, Hong Kong would film a stunt as many times as needed for Jackie to get it just right. In American film, Jackie said they would only give him a few attempts, then edit it in post production.
There was a charles Bronson movie with similar theme. A sword ( _instead of a princess_ ) has to be recovered or something like that. I think it had Zataochi actor playing Japanese agent sent to recover the sword and If I recollect, the movie was awful.
Plus, ahead of the turnover of Hong Kong to the ChiComs, a lot of the HK film industry moved to the US which is why you see a lot of US made movies with Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, Ang Lee, and John Woo from the late 1990's and early 2000's
40:17: Duels in the old west are often said to have taken place at high noon (Marty McFly sarcastically asks Mad Dog Tannen "Yeah, right. When? High noon?" because it's a cliché. High noon. Shang High Noon...
One crab with eight feet, painted horns - what a big crab. Blinking eyes, shrinking head, crawling, crawling everywhere. Two and Two, who should drink? Three and three, who drink first? Five and Five, who should drink? Two and two, you drink first.
I believe Shanghai is also a reference in this case to the old practice of "shanghaiing" where they kidnapped sailors to go to old west as labor for both the ships and the gold rush
@@geraldredmond5141 more coerced than kidnapped. Sometimes it was just a matter of getting them drunk. Once at sea, they had no choice than to work on the ship. It was pretty much a business because boarding masters for ships were charged with putting together a crew for a voyage and would pay for each man brought onboard. This was mostly a practice on the west coast and as common destination for these ships was Shanghai. Hence the term, "Shanghaied".
I love Jackie Chan's martial arts because there's no ego involved. The humor is highest when he is actually losing. A lot of our modern action heroes don't like to lose a fight in their movies. This is one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies, especially the outtakes. But it sounds like you guys need to do some John Wayne movies! :))
I figured "Shanghai Noon" is a play on "High Noon" EDIT: High Noon is an old western movie and is also a term used in cowboy movies i.e. there be a duel at high noon.
"High Noon" was a favorite of several U.S. presidents who identified with main character who fond himself standing alone as all the people who said they would back him up turned backs on him when the crisis came.
Aidan Gillen really took well to action. It's kind of crazy that he's done a few big franchises since and nobody has taken advantage of the fact that the man can pull off a fight scene really well. These days he mostly plays the kinds of villains who don't get their hands dirty. Bit of a waste of talent.
Haven't seen Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights since I was a kid, must be 20 years ago. But I loved these movies! I always liked Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan a lot and I remember that they harmonized very well together in these films. This Reaction is the first time I've seen this movie since then. I'm so excited!
I just noticed this time around that Rongguang Yu plays one of the Imperial guards. He plays the lead in Iron Monkey, one of my favorite martial arts movies.
Usually when we see pirates portrayed, it's a century earlier than this. And usually we see knights portrayed nearly a millennium before this. Technically pirates and knights exist now, that're just not how we picture those things.
so something i found online was this: The very first wave of Chinese students in America arrived in 1872 with the “Chinese Educational Mission,”....It sent 120 boys aged 10 to 15 to spend 15 years learning skills they could bring home to build up China’s infrastructure and military. They left shanghai china Aug. 11th and reportedly arrived in San Fransisco on Sept. 15th
I love the fact that, of all the "Taken" knockoffs that were made, when they finally decided to make one take place in Liam Neeson's home country of Northern Ireland, the actor they got to star in it was... Jackie Chan.
Lucy Liu already had extensive martial arts training when she signed onto this movie, only to discover that her character did not do any fighting. But she convinced the director to let her throw in a couple of good kicks. (I thought that one in the bell tower was really cool.) Others have already mentioned how Jackie Chan was sort of limited in Hollywood, mostly due to insurance concerns, but also because of differences in filmmaking sensibilities. For example, even in a movie with lots of fighting like _Rush Hour,_ the fights were limited to 3 minutes, as opposed to 5-minute or longer fight scenes in Hong Kong films.
The chemistry between these two is incredible, I can’t imagine how nervous Owen Wilson must have been trying to match Jackie’s energy and performance during shooting. It’s still one of my favorite duos in film lol
I had the biggest crush on Jackie Chan's Indian Wife, Brandon Merrill. It's a shame she didn't do more movies. Would've loved to see more from her. She recently started a fanpage on Facebook. Talks about her starting as a model and some behind the scenes anecdotes from the movie. Apparently her real mom plays her mom in the movie.
A very famous John Wayne movie is Rio Bravo. I think you’d enjoy it or at least, you’d have Dean Martin’s handsome face and voice to enjoy Edit: also, them running out into the gun fight at the end of the movie is a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Another great Western with Paul Newman and Robert Redford (best watched as part of a duo with the amazing The Sting) 😊
There are 6 movies my dad rewatches more than any other movies Three comedies Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, & Nacho Libre. And Three war movies Gladiator, The Patriot, and Enemy at the Gates. My father always plays one of these movies to fall asleep too.
This is only tangential but since you compared that scene to Trek's 1930's Spock scene- if you'll recall, the whole thing in that scene was that claiming Spock was Chinese *didn't* work, Kirk was basically flailing and the cop was not amused :)
Part of the under-utilisation of Jackie Chan was from an attempt to not have him upstage the co-star. As he became more famous he was able to persuade directors to let him do bigger and crazier stunts. But now he can't really do many, partly because of all the injuries building up over time, but also because no company will insure him any more.
High Noon Is The best known name of a western. It stars Gary Cooper. It basically takes place in real time leading up to noon. And as the good guy, Gary hast to decide whether to Runaway or to stand up to the villains and face them Down at noon. The name serves as the basis for the title of this movie Shanghai, noon. High noon also serves as the basis for a number of spin offs and spoofs, including 3 o’clock high… and perhaps the seven samurai. When they burst from the church at the end, it recalls the end of the film, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance kid. Since you have never seen a John Wayne movie, I would like to point you in the direction of stagecoach. It was his breakthrough role. But more than introducing you to John Wayne it will show you the basis for the television show firefly. Firefly is hugely influenced by if not a direct descendent of stagecoach. John Wayne‘s character, the Ringo kid, is perhaps the sole (and soul) inspiration for the character, Jayne in firefly. In fact, the name, Jayne may be a shortening of John Wayne. Also, Jack‘s first big American movie was the big brawl or sometimes called battle Creek brawl. It’s definitely worth a watch. Buster Keaton’s influence is easily seen in this film. Jackie didn’t get his own stunt guys nor do I think he coordinates the fights. But in the early 80s it was an eye-opener for me. Especially the scene where he fights, but pretends not to fight.
It's interesting to compare the outtakes from his American movies vs his Hong Kong movies. In his Hong Kong movies the outtakes emphasis the danger of his stunt work, usually showing his injuries. In America the're just actors messing up.
Some of the outtakes show Jackie being injured in western films. In this one it was only the door not budging and the two actors hurting their shoulders/elbows, but in the sequel there's a scene of Jackie Chan falling into a boat and I remember in one of the Rush Hours, I think the second he got injured multiple times attempting the scene where he has to slide though this thin gap between a short wall/door and some bars or something.
Fun fact, people keep saying Jacky does all his own stunts. However, Jacky does what best for the film. So there are many minor stunts that Jacky will pass off to others in his crew, especially earlier in his career. If you watch any of the 80’s movies there’s always a member of his stunt team nicknamed “big mouth”, because he had a big mouth not because he couldn’t keep a secret. He would often double for Jacky as they had the same body type. He would always feature as one of Jacky’s underling, or best friend or some other major role. But Jacky still did the vast majority and always the most dangerous stunts.
The title explanation as I understand it (growing up in a house were westerns were practically a religion lol): -to “shanghai” is to basically to get someone to do something for you, either through trickery or kidnapping/force. Ship captains short on crew would kidnap people and force them to crew his ship. Many of these ships made voyages to the city of Shanghai. -high noon: point of day when sun is at its highest; classic time for a duel in many a western film (I assume because a lower sun or night time would harm visibility; important in a gunfight). Plus, at high noon, the sun is perfectly centered between east and west, a theme of the film. The film title is essentially a pun about the entire plot.
Owen and Jackie bursting out of the church doors into blinding sunlight is an homage to 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', the final scene of which is the duo bursting out of a church, guns blazing, to fight against an overwhelming force. The assumption in that film is that they die, but they go out as friends on their own terms. Here, obviously, it's a bit of a fake-out.
Hey George, in the late 2000s there was a show called "Deadliest Warrior" where experts would collect data from different ages and locations, and pit each other to see who would statistically win in a 1000 simulated battles. Really good.
After the final fight - when they burst through the doors where there are a bunch of people firing from the ramparts - it is an homage to the ending of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". If you haven't seen that movie, you really need to. It's a western classic, and also the inspiration for more than a few of the situations in RDR2.
Jackie Chan was 45 and/or 46 when Shanghai Noon was being made so expecting him to do inhuman stunts at that age may be expecting a little too much of him - compare Chan to Jaromir Jagr as to his ability to perform as he once did - although I’m sure you’re correct about the insurance thing. Thanks for making videos eh.
Other people added this but since I spent the time to look it up I thought I would add mine too : The title Shanghai Noon is a clever play on words combining elements of both Chinese and Western themes. "Shanghai" is intended to reference the Chinese heritage of the main character, who travels from China to the American West. Historically, "to shanghai" someone also meant to kidnap or coerce them into service, often aboard a ship, which fits the movie’s plot where a Chinese princess is kidnapped, setting off a wild adventure. Where the phrase came from : The term "to shanghai" someone, meaning to kidnap or forcibly enlist someone, especially into a ship’s crew, was most widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Here’s more about the time and place: Origins: The term arose primarily from practices in port cities along the West Coast of the United States, especially in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, but it was also used in East Coast port cities like New York. The term reflects the destination many of the ships were supposedly bound for-Shanghai, China-making "shanghai" synonymous with being taken somewhere far away against one's will. Practice: During the height of this practice, sailors were in high demand for long voyages. Unscrupulous ship captains or recruiters (often called "crimps") would kidnap or trick people into joining ships, sometimes by drugging them or getting them drunk. Once on board and at sea, escape was impossible, and they were forced to work until the ship reached its next destination. Spread of Usage: Though particularly associated with American port cities, the term became known internationally and was used in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world. It was especially common in places with high shipping activity where forced labor and exploitation of sailors were issues. Decline: The use of the term declined as legal reforms and stricter labor laws reduced forced enlistment practices. The Merchant Marine Act of 1915 in the U.S., known as the Seamen’s Act, helped improve sailors' working conditions and made it harder for ship captains to forcibly retain crew members. In popular culture, "to shanghai" became shorthand for any kind of coercive kidnapping, and this legacy has survived in the language even after the practice faded from reality. "Noon" nods to High Noon, the classic Western film known for its tense standoffs and showdowns. This element hints at the film’s genre-a humorous Western adventure-and its themes of unlikely partnerships and dramatic confrontations. The title Shanghai Noon blends the action and humor of both worlds in a fun way.
I always assumed the noon part was a reference to westerns where gunfights always happened at 'high noon' and also because they kept refering to where the sun rises and where the sun sets and noon would be between the two.
I've always loved this movie for it's comedic dialogue and the odd partnership between East and West. It's always good to have an Asian person correcting broken Chinese in movies (thank you George for your dialogue service) Edit: every VHS copy after the credits is the behind the scenes (as a 3 partner) showing how the film was made and the two styles of filming (Hollywood mode and HK Mode)
I forgot how much fun this movie was. I think the Rush Hour movies overshadow this series, but find this series equalling entertaining. Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan had such great chemistry. Chan's movies might be hokey and cheesy, but they're so much fun. Impeccable comedic timing and awesome fight choreography.
Assuming you will also do the sequel "Shanghai Knights", please add some more classic westerns to your reaction list. Here are a few recommendations: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976) The Cowboys (Mark Rydell, 1972) Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959) True Grit (both 1969 and 2010) Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976)
The scene near the end where Chon and Roy burst through the church doors yelling and the screen fades to white is a direct reference to the final scene in the 70s western " Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid."
I watched the director’s commentary for this on dvd long ago. My favorite snipped was that the undertaker/hangman guy was an extra picked because he “looked like death” and that the “nothing personal boys” line was improvised by a random extra.
Please follow this up with the sequel and also other chan movies. As a fellow jackie chan fan George can attest to how good they are, his dedication to his craft is unrivaled. Police story, and atleast, at minimum even the rush hour trilogy. He is an icon of the stunt and movie industry
2:00 - HIGH NOON - Shang-High Noon - Shang-hai Noon - Shanghai Noon. If the film was set in India, it'd be Mumbai Noon. If it was set in a city in Ventura County, California, it'd be Ojai Noon.
I have seen an interview with Jackie, where he talks about the difference in the filming/directing/editing with American movies (action scene's). I can not remember where it was but it might explain what you are seeing.
Since you're both Canadian, I will explain this. In the United States, around the late 1800s early 1900s the term Shanghaied means to be kidnapped and to be forced into indentured servitude.
Which is what I love about this film is how it was marketed like, “Oh, Shanghai like kung-fu!” But then it’s like, “No, Shanghai like a euphemism for slavery, specifically Chinese slavery.” Awesome rug-pull on the audience
@@gawainethefirstI believe that's where the term first originated, referring to men who were kidnapped to work on ships that ran between the west coast and Shanghai, and has since come to be used to refer to the more broad sense over time.
high noon means it's exactly 12.00pm, which is traditionally exactly when western gun duels take place so shanghai noon is a play on that. saying it's high noon is like saying its showdown time so roughly it's shanghai showdown time
There must have been a particular fascination with martial arts westerns at this time, because this was not long after Jet Li did "Once Upon A Time In China And America". In fact, the actor who plays the villain in this movie had a small part in that one. This also has a lot of similarities to an older Sammo Hung movie called "Millionaire's Express", sometimes titled "Shanghai Express". Also, the sequel to this movie, "Shanghai Knights" is decent and worth checking out.
❤& ☮ 0:40 Why Shanghai noon? well, High Noon was one of the most popular western movies of all times. a Classic. so they used the pronounciation ironicly. 37:50 it's gonna end like (well almost) another western classic: Butch Cassidy and the sundance kid.
1:11 The title is a play on words, there’s a classic Western movie called “High Noon” (a preferred time of day for gunfights because the sun is directly overhead and not in anyone’s eyes).
8:50 you ask about the amount of work needed to dig a hole, compared to today we have machines. When back then when you needed to do something you used with what you had at the time. If someone died you were close to, you'd take care of it especially if out in the wilderness. Even today here in nz we have our family cemetery, & when a family member passes we dig the hole and Bury them, just shovels sweat and tears.
"A Random Bowl of Nuts" is my favorite TH-cam channel. As was mentioned before, Shanghai Noon is a reference to the classic western High Noon. George wondering about the craziest cultures to meet in the past reminded me of the 1979 comedy The Frisco Kid, starring Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi, traveling across the west on his way to San Francisco, and Harrison Ford as a bandit cowboy who feels sorry for him and decides to help him get there alive.
The downside of expectations of Jakie's stunt work is that eventually as he got older it didn't make sense to keep doing ALL of his own stunts. Wear and tear takes its toll over the years.
True. I remember watching "The Foreigner" in a theater, where he was playing a guy whose physicality was closer to what we normally expect for a guy his age, and I just had this realization that we'll most likely never have a Jackie Chan again. He's one of the few performers who truly sacrificed himself for his craft. Regardless of his certain views and opinions, in that aspect of his life, at least, he was one of the few real paragons of humanity.
I'm pretty sure Jackie has broken nearly every bone in his body at this point. My dad at point had a martial arts magazine in the early 2000 with an interview with Jackie Chan in it and 2 page spread was just a picture of him with every broken bone pointed out and listing which movies he broke them in.
The "They're Jews!" line is actually an in-joke, because in old westerns a lot of native characters were played by jewish actors. That's also why in Blazin Saddles, Mel Brooks had all the natives speaking Yiddish.
Shanghai Noon is a word play on “High Noon”, which was the preferred schedule for duels in Western Spaghetti movies
And also the Title of a pretty well known Western movie from the 50's.
What about "fishsticks?"
High Noon is a classic Oscar winning western from the 50s starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The movie Outland starring Sean Connery is pretty much a Sci Fi remake of High Noon.
It’s also a play on Shanghai, which is an old term for kidding bad in the day
@@VendettaProduction01kidnapping, right?!
The main bad guy is named Van Cleef. As in Lee Van Cleef who was the main bad guy in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
That’s what I was going to comment
Oh for a minute, I thought it was the actual Lee Van Cleef. Goddamn
Xander Berkeley is a reliably great character actor, he a did a solid job paying homage to one of the all time great Western villain actors! "How do you survive out here?" hahaha.
Lo Fong is the main bad guy...though, I do like one of the main villains being named Van Cleef.
“No you said wet shirt don’t break, not piss shirt bend bar” is one of the best lines in cinema history
i love that line and how Owen tries to help with 1 finger and doesnt want to touch him
Literally thought about that line last night, totally at random.
Painful? Richard norton from twinkle twinkle lucky stars is the best line ever in cinema lol😅
Definitely the funniest line and had me laughing the hardest when I first saw this
the joke of Owen Wilson’s name being Wyatt Earp is because the real Wyatt famously was never injured in a gun fight even though he led a colourful life with legendary events such as the ok corral and taking down the cowboys gang.
Back in the 60s/70s it was also popular to say that Wyatt Earp couldn’t shoot for beans. It was nonsense, so far as I can tell based on the fact he pistol whipped a lot more people than he shot, but that was the “fashion of the day” (there were also a number of movies and shows that made him out to be guilty of all the sins in the calendar). I thought Roy being a terrible shot might be a reference to this.
Literally wading through a river being shot at from multiple sides and not getting hit once, just had a bunch of holes in his jacket. Movie stuff, but it happened in real life.
I've said this before, and now that you've watched this I can say it again: this one's fine. It's enjoyable. The sequel, Shanghai Knights, has what I think is the peak of Jackie's stuntwork in an American movie. It is just utterly delightful, every sequence. Donnie Yen is in it! If you want to see him show off, you've got to see the sequel -- I watch the scene where they're chasing a guy who runs into a circular shopping area all the time.
If only they'd react to his HK films, that's the best stuff
I was put off by what I took as less sharp humour in the sequel and friends had been saying it was bad, so i prejudged it and didn't pay enough attention when i did watch it (phone scrolling viewing). I'm going to give it a rewatch with that in mind, now. Thanks dude, i've got something to watch tonight 🙂it's a nice reminder for me to go in to a movie without prejudging it. Love seeing Jackie when he gets elaborate and creative with his sequences, so i'm annoyed at myself for not paying attention the first time xD
Yes, Shanghai Knights, very watchable!
I actually do think that Jackie was allowed more free rein with his fight choreography and stunt work in “Knights.” Considering he’s consistently cited Buster Keaton & Charlie Chaplin as a physical/comedic inspirations, Chan was able to openly pay homage to them in the sequel.
I actually really agree with this. I think adding in the Victorian British culture was such a fantastic addition to the American cowboy vs imperial China dynamic that we got in Noon. I also thought that Rathbone was such a delightfully fun villain.
Man, Lucy Liu is just such a generally attractive person. It's always nice to see her acting
And at 55 she's aging like a fine wine.
@@jculver1674 Her and Ming Na Wen too
And it's funny that in China she's considered extremely unattractive. China (and honestly most of Asia) likes "soft" feature and paler skin. Lucy has what's considered very sharp feature.
But wow does she have short, bowed legs. I watched Charlie's Angels and there was a scene where she plays an efficiency expert and she's walking with a group of workers. They show her at a weird angle and it looks like they're trying really hard to hide what her legs look like.
That or the weird angle made her legs look like that. I've tried to see her legs in other movies, but noticed that they're never shown.
Still doesn't take away from her general beauty. She's an amazing actress, too.
She made her debut in the Allie McBeal TV show and her star shot up from there. She deserves everything she's achieved
Keep in mind that in addition to western insurance requirements, Jackie was 46 at the time and had a lifetime of injuries from stunts, so he was slowing down as far as doing the death-defying stuff. There was a reason he transitioned from Hong Kong filmmaking to a decent amount of USA filmmaking, I would think. He still had his comedy chops.
@@grife3000 Although, he was still doing crazy stunts in his HK films during the 2000s. It was in the 2010s that he truly slowed down.
Also budget and time concerns as a lot of stunts and action scenes filmed the way they film overseas in China or Australia or wherever tended to take a long time. Or if Jackie or someone got injured, it delayed filming. That’s why western movies always have a lot of camera angle changes in fight scenes to hide the lack of time spent on choreography too. Jackie Chan has talked about this before in interviews.
Also, Hong Kong would film a stunt as many times as needed for Jackie to get it just right. In American film, Jackie said they would only give him a few attempts, then edit it in post production.
There was a charles Bronson movie with similar theme. A sword ( _instead of a princess_ ) has to be recovered or something like that. I think it had Zataochi actor playing Japanese agent sent to recover the sword and If I recollect, the movie was awful.
Plus, ahead of the turnover of Hong Kong to the ChiComs, a lot of the HK film industry moved to the US which is why you see a lot of US made movies with Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, Ang Lee, and John Woo from the late 1990's and early 2000's
40:17: Duels in the old west are often said to have taken place at high noon (Marty McFly sarcastically asks Mad Dog Tannen "Yeah, right. When? High noon?" because it's a cliché. High noon. Shang High Noon...
One crab with eight feet,
painted horns - what a big crab.
Blinking eyes, shrinking head,
crawling, crawling everywhere.
Two and Two, who should drink?
Three and three, who drink first?
Five and Five, who should drink?
Two and two, you drink first.
For years I have wondered what the translation of the bathtub drinking game was, this did not disappoint, thank you!
I believe Shanghai is also a reference in this case to the old practice of "shanghaiing" where they kidnapped sailors to go to old west as labor for both the ships and the gold rush
@@geraldredmond5141 more coerced than kidnapped. Sometimes it was just a matter of getting them drunk. Once at sea, they had no choice than to work on the ship. It was pretty much a business because boarding masters for ships were charged with putting together a crew for a voyage and would pay for each man brought onboard. This was mostly a practice on the west coast and as common destination for these ships was Shanghai. Hence the term, "Shanghaied".
I love Jackie Chan's martial arts because there's no ego involved. The humor is highest when he is actually losing. A lot of our modern action heroes don't like to lose a fight in their movies.
This is one of my favorite Jackie Chan movies, especially the outtakes. But it sounds like you guys need to do some John Wayne movies! :))
Let's be real, John Wayne, or should I say Marion the hairdresser, pretty much acted the same in the vast majority of his films.
Donnovan's Reef is one of my favorites. Not a western, but I love all of the characters in it =D
I figured "Shanghai Noon" is a play on "High Noon" EDIT: High Noon is an old western movie and is also a term used in cowboy movies i.e. there be a duel at high noon.
"High Noon" was a favorite of several U.S. presidents who identified with main character who fond himself standing alone as all the people who said they would back him up turned backs on him when the crisis came.
The term "high noon" is also used as a metaphor for "the moment of truth" when you either step up and face something or run away.
High Noon, really great movie with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. But Three O'Clock High is also a pretty good movie. 😀
Wonder what happens if you have a duel at low noon. Does god get mad?
In case you weren't aware, the blonde gentleman that betrays Lucy Lui's character is Sean Connery's son, Jason.
One of my favourite Jackie Chan movies. Shanghai Knights is awesome as well.
More to the theme is an homage/pun to the classic "High Noon" w/Gary Cooper n an Grace Kelly...a must watch for fans of the classic B & W western
So... John Wayne once played Genghis Khan 😬 which kinda makes having a Chinese man who's name sounds like John Wayne extra funny
Oh yes the infamous
Movie where all cast members died for radioactive poison
Definitely!
whose* name
Even funnier when you know John's birth name was Marion Robert Morrison
john wayne did wear a red bandana
Shanghai Knights is my favorite of the two. Donnie Yen & Aidan Gillen are great villains.
Aidan Gillen really took well to action. It's kind of crazy that he's done a few big franchises since and nobody has taken advantage of the fact that the man can pull off a fight scene really well. These days he mostly plays the kinds of villains who don't get their hands dirty. Bit of a waste of talent.
Haven't seen Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights since I was a kid, must be 20 years ago.
But I loved these movies!
I always liked Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan a lot and I remember that they harmonized very well together in these films.
This Reaction is the first time I've seen this movie since then. I'm so excited!
I just noticed this time around that Rongguang Yu plays one of the Imperial guards. He plays the lead in Iron Monkey, one of my favorite martial arts movies.
And Roger Yuan (Lo Fan) was part of House Atreides in Dune and Dune 2 (...the undrugged fighter in the colosseum in part 2).
Yup, one lead of Iron Monkey is in this movie, and the other is in the sequel.
Yu and Chan also were in The Karate Kid together.
"John Wayne is a terrible cowboy name"
It's better than Marion Morrison :D
What about Eastwood... Clint Eastwood :)
Or Marion Williamson
@@daxriley8195”what kind of STUPID name is that?”-Biff Tannen(?), Back to the Future, Part 3
Shanghai Knights is still very worth the watch
@@the3Ebroadcast yes! Other reaction channels usually forget to react the knights after watching the noon or they don't know the sequel exist idk.
"what would be the craziest cultures to meet in the past?"
you gotta keep in mind, pirates and knights also existed during this time
Yeah, but the ones you're thinking of are from the same culture
Usually when we see pirates portrayed, it's a century earlier than this. And usually we see knights portrayed nearly a millennium before this. Technically pirates and knights exist now, that're just not how we picture those things.
Back then I had a crush on Brandon Merrill (Chans wife) 🥰, too bad she never did anything after this... 😞
i love when the vulture is trying to find the treats they put around owen's head and he's screaming. His horse is amazing.
so something i found online was this: The very first wave of Chinese students in America arrived in 1872 with the “Chinese Educational Mission,”....It sent 120 boys aged 10 to 15 to spend 15 years learning skills they could bring home to build up China’s infrastructure and military. They left shanghai china Aug. 11th and reportedly arrived in San Fransisco on Sept. 15th
"High Noon" is also the name of a 1952 western.
George Chan & Simone Wilson is quite the duo!
Also: 2:11 ?? It's literally called *_Forbidden City,_* so why did you go to there?
No it’s not insurance, it’s scheduled. They don’t let Jackie do his thing to the max due to scheduling
Owen's reaction after the big fight at the end always gets me.
"What happened? Oh, nothing, I just killed him. How did you do?"
I wanna say Shanghai Knights (the sequel) utilised more of Jackie's skills though I haven't seen it in many years. Worth watching !
Also wanted to note not only did they emulate High Noon they also emulated Dustin Hoffman in Little Big man. It is a fun movie also.
Consider watching "The Foreigner" for a darker, more dramatic performance by Jackie Chan.
Yes, The Foreigner is a great Jackie Chan film 👍
Piggybacking on the "regular guy who is ex-forces" trope.
An OK film with Pierce Brosnan.
I love the fact that, of all the "Taken" knockoffs that were made, when they finally decided to make one take place in Liam Neeson's home country of Northern Ireland, the actor they got to star in it was... Jackie Chan.
Lucy Liu already had extensive martial arts training when she signed onto this movie, only to discover that her character did not do any fighting. But she convinced the director to let her throw in a couple of good kicks. (I thought that one in the bell tower was really cool.)
Others have already mentioned how Jackie Chan was sort of limited in Hollywood, mostly due to insurance concerns, but also because of differences in filmmaking sensibilities. For example, even in a movie with lots of fighting like _Rush Hour,_ the fights were limited to 3 minutes, as opposed to 5-minute or longer fight scenes in Hong Kong films.
I question whether the princess would ever actually be allowed to train in martial arts, though.
@@JakkFrost1 Right, it may not have made sense for the story, I think Lucy Liu just wanted to have some fun.
That must be why so much of what was filmed for the second movie was cut. The sequence with Donnie had a much longer deleted version.
The chemistry between these two is incredible, I can’t imagine how nervous Owen Wilson must have been trying to match Jackie’s energy and performance during shooting. It’s still one of my favorite duos in film lol
The Shanghai films are so fun. Classic peak Owen Wilson humor that blends real well with Jackie Chan. I loved watching these on TV when I was younger.
I had the biggest crush on Jackie Chan's Indian Wife, Brandon Merrill. It's a shame she didn't do more movies. Would've loved to see more from her. She recently started a fanpage on Facebook. Talks about her starting as a model and some behind the scenes anecdotes from the movie. Apparently her real mom plays her mom in the movie.
This movie and Around the World in 80 days an Rush hour are my favorite action/comide movies involving Jackie Chan
A very famous John Wayne movie is Rio Bravo. I think you’d enjoy it or at least, you’d have Dean Martin’s handsome face and voice to enjoy
Edit: also, them running out into the gun fight at the end of the movie is a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Another great Western with Paul Newman and Robert Redford (best watched as part of a duo with the amazing The Sting) 😊
There are 6 movies my dad rewatches more than any other movies Three comedies Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, & Nacho Libre. And Three war movies Gladiator, The Patriot, and Enemy at the Gates. My father always plays one of these movies to fall asleep too.
Sir, your father is a man of great taste, congratulations
This is only tangential but since you compared that scene to Trek's 1930's Spock scene- if you'll recall, the whole thing in that scene was that claiming Spock was Chinese *didn't* work, Kirk was basically flailing and the cop was not amused :)
It amuses me that Owen Wilson's hair in the thumbnail actually suits Simone.
Wow
Does give her a bit of a "Ch-ch-ch-ch-Cherry Bomb!" style.
Part of the under-utilisation of Jackie Chan was from an attempt to not have him upstage the co-star.
As he became more famous he was able to persuade directors to let him do bigger and crazier stunts. But now he can't really do many, partly because of all the injuries building up over time, but also because no company will insure him any more.
Wait, so his name was Wang Chung? Everybody have fun tonight.
Can you tell me what a Wang Chung is ?
@@jmartinqe London New Wave 80s band. Hits include "Dance Hall Days" and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight".
@@deano42 Man, haven't you heard that part in the song?
th-cam.com/video/YyGjMqVhFUQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=ukvsUvh5QoM_VhDt&t=200
High Noon Is The best known name of a western. It stars Gary Cooper. It basically takes place in real time leading up to noon. And as the good guy, Gary hast to decide whether to Runaway or to stand up to the villains and face them Down at noon. The name serves as the basis for the title of this movie Shanghai, noon. High noon also serves as the basis for a number of spin offs and spoofs, including 3 o’clock high… and perhaps the seven samurai.
When they burst from the church at the end, it recalls the end of the film, Butch Cassidy, and the Sundance kid.
Since you have never seen a John Wayne movie, I would like to point you in the direction of stagecoach. It was his breakthrough role. But more than introducing you to John Wayne it will show you the basis for the television show firefly. Firefly is hugely influenced by if not a direct descendent of stagecoach. John Wayne‘s character, the Ringo kid, is perhaps the sole (and soul) inspiration for the character, Jayne in firefly. In fact, the name, Jayne may be a shortening of John Wayne.
Also, Jack‘s first big American movie was the big brawl or sometimes called battle Creek brawl. It’s definitely worth a watch. Buster Keaton’s influence is easily seen in this film. Jackie didn’t get his own stunt guys nor do I think he coordinates the fights. But in the early 80s it was an eye-opener for me. Especially the scene where he fights, but pretends not to fight.
It's interesting to compare the outtakes from his American movies vs his Hong Kong movies. In his Hong Kong movies the outtakes emphasis the danger of his stunt work, usually showing his injuries. In America the're just actors messing up.
The outtakes for his Hong Kong movies scare me more than any horror movie I can think of.
Some of the outtakes show Jackie being injured in western films. In this one it was only the door not budging and the two actors hurting their shoulders/elbows, but in the sequel there's a scene of Jackie Chan falling into a boat and I remember in one of the Rush Hours, I think the second he got injured multiple times attempting the scene where he has to slide though this thin gap between a short wall/door and some bars or something.
Fun fact, people keep saying Jacky does all his own stunts. However, Jacky does what best for the film. So there are many minor stunts that Jacky will pass off to others in his crew, especially earlier in his career. If you watch any of the 80’s movies there’s always a member of his stunt team nicknamed “big mouth”, because he had a big mouth not because he couldn’t keep a secret. He would often double for Jacky as they had the same body type. He would always feature as one of Jacky’s underling, or best friend or some other major role. But Jacky still did the vast majority and always the most dangerous stunts.
Jackie's very open about using a stunt team in his Chinese interviews. It's just in America they wanted him to seem more invincible.
The title explanation as I understand it (growing up in a house were westerns were practically a religion lol):
-to “shanghai” is to basically to get someone to do something for you, either through trickery or kidnapping/force. Ship captains short on crew would kidnap people and force them to crew his ship. Many of these ships made voyages to the city of Shanghai.
-high noon: point of day when sun is at its highest; classic time for a duel in many a western film (I assume because a lower sun or night time would harm visibility; important in a gunfight). Plus, at high noon, the sun is perfectly centered between east and west, a theme of the film.
The film title is essentially a pun about the entire plot.
Owen and Jackie bursting out of the church doors into blinding sunlight is an homage to 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', the final scene of which is the duo bursting out of a church, guns blazing, to fight against an overwhelming force. The assumption in that film is that they die, but they go out as friends on their own terms. Here, obviously, it's a bit of a fake-out.
@Crazyivan777 Spoilers dude!!! I want them to watch Butch Cassidy
Cool cast, cool soundtrack. Great fun. And the always great Walton Goggins in an earlier role.
Hey George, in the late 2000s there was a show called "Deadliest Warrior" where experts would collect data from different ages and locations, and pit each other to see who would statistically win in a 1000 simulated battles. Really good.
The classical gunslinger duel occurs at high noon to keep the sun out of their eyes.
High Noon is a very famous Western starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelley. You should watch it next.
About the name of the movie: the verb "Shanghai" means to kidnap, and "Noon" is probably a reference to the Western "High Noon".
After the final fight - when they burst through the doors where there are a bunch of people firing from the ramparts - it is an homage to the ending of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". If you haven't seen that movie, you really need to. It's a western classic, and also the inspiration for more than a few of the situations in RDR2.
I was pleasantly surprised how funny and entertaining this movie turned out to be.
"You said wet shirt don't break, not piss shirt bend bar." Classic!
Maybe you should consider watching the Academy award winning western movie "High Noon" with Garry Cooper
Jackie Chan was 45 and/or 46 when Shanghai Noon was being made so expecting him to do inhuman stunts at that age may be expecting a little too much of him - compare Chan to Jaromir Jagr as to his ability to perform as he once did - although I’m sure you’re correct about the insurance thing.
Thanks for making videos eh.
He slid down a building 2 years earlier.
Other people added this but since I spent the time to look it up I thought I would add mine too : The title Shanghai Noon is a clever play on words combining elements of both Chinese and Western themes. "Shanghai" is intended to reference the Chinese heritage of the main character, who travels from China to the American West. Historically, "to shanghai" someone also meant to kidnap or coerce them into service, often aboard a ship, which fits the movie’s plot where a Chinese princess is kidnapped, setting off a wild adventure.
Where the phrase came from : The term "to shanghai" someone, meaning to kidnap or forcibly enlist someone, especially into a ship’s crew, was most widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Here’s more about the time and place:
Origins: The term arose primarily from practices in port cities along the West Coast of the United States, especially in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, but it was also used in East Coast port cities like New York. The term reflects the destination many of the ships were supposedly bound for-Shanghai, China-making "shanghai" synonymous with being taken somewhere far away against one's will.
Practice: During the height of this practice, sailors were in high demand for long voyages. Unscrupulous ship captains or recruiters (often called "crimps") would kidnap or trick people into joining ships, sometimes by drugging them or getting them drunk. Once on board and at sea, escape was impossible, and they were forced to work until the ship reached its next destination.
Spread of Usage: Though particularly associated with American port cities, the term became known internationally and was used in Britain and other parts of the English-speaking world. It was especially common in places with high shipping activity where forced labor and exploitation of sailors were issues.
Decline: The use of the term declined as legal reforms and stricter labor laws reduced forced enlistment practices. The Merchant Marine Act of 1915 in the U.S., known as the Seamen’s Act, helped improve sailors' working conditions and made it harder for ship captains to forcibly retain crew members.
In popular culture, "to shanghai" became shorthand for any kind of coercive kidnapping, and this legacy has survived in the language even after the practice faded from reality.
"Noon" nods to High Noon, the classic Western film known for its tense standoffs and showdowns. This element hints at the film’s genre-a humorous Western adventure-and its themes of unlikely partnerships and dramatic confrontations. The title Shanghai Noon blends the action and humor of both worlds in a fun way.
I always assumed the noon part was a reference to westerns where gunfights always happened at 'high noon' and also because they kept refering to where the sun rises and where the sun sets and noon would be between the two.
A great and underrated Western comedy. There are very few movies like Shanghai Noon
I've always loved this movie for it's comedic dialogue and the odd
partnership between East and West.
It's always good to have an Asian person correcting broken Chinese in movies (thank you George for your dialogue service)
Edit: every VHS copy after the credits is the behind the scenes (as a 3 partner) showing how the film was made and the two styles of filming (Hollywood mode and HK Mode)
This is a FUN movie. Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan are great together Shang-HIGH NOON
"It's High Noon, but the guy is from China...Shanghai noon"
I forgot how much fun this movie was. I think the Rush Hour movies overshadow this series, but find this series equalling entertaining. Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan had such great chemistry. Chan's movies might be hokey and cheesy, but they're so much fun. Impeccable comedic timing and awesome fight choreography.
Simone and George, your laughter always lightens my mood. Thanks.
I never thought I'd see Jackie Chan fighting cowboys and indians (native Americans). This is such a fun movie.
The majority of duels in western/ cowboy movies usually took place at "Dawn" or at "High Noon"
Assuming you will also do the sequel "Shanghai Knights", please add some more classic westerns to your reaction list. Here are a few recommendations:
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell, 1972)
Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
True Grit (both 1969 and 2010)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)
The Shootist (Don Siegel, 1976)
The scene near the end where Chon and Roy burst through the church doors yelling and the screen fades to white is a direct reference to the final scene in the 70s western " Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid."
I watched the director’s commentary for this on dvd long ago. My favorite snipped was that the undertaker/hangman guy was an extra picked because he “looked like death” and that the “nothing personal boys” line was improvised by a random extra.
33:03 the main Imperial guard actor Yu Rongguang was in other movies staring Jackie Chan like New Police Story, The Myth, and 2010 The Karate Kid.
I love shanghai knights. Can't wait for that reaction!
Please follow this up with the sequel and also other chan movies. As a fellow jackie chan fan George can attest to how good they are, his dedication to his craft is unrivaled. Police story, and atleast, at minimum even the rush hour trilogy. He is an icon of the stunt and movie industry
There is a sequel to Shanghai noon which is Shanghai knights.
2:00 - HIGH NOON - Shang-High Noon - Shang-hai Noon - Shanghai Noon. If the film was set in India, it'd be Mumbai Noon. If it was set in a city in Ventura County, California, it'd be Ojai Noon.
One of my favorite comedies for sure..
Awesome reaction to a childhood favorite!
I have seen an interview with Jackie, where he talks about the difference in the filming/directing/editing with American movies (action scene's). I can not remember where it was but it might explain what you are seeing.
Since you're both Canadian, I will explain this.
In the United States, around the late 1800s early 1900s the term Shanghaied means to be kidnapped and to be forced into indentured servitude.
Usually for work on a ship .🚢
@@njw5869…but not exclusively.
Which is what I love about this film is how it was marketed like, “Oh, Shanghai like kung-fu!” But then it’s like, “No, Shanghai like a euphemism for slavery, specifically Chinese slavery.”
Awesome rug-pull on the audience
@@gawainethefirstI believe that's where the term first originated, referring to men who were kidnapped to work on ships that ran between the west coast and Shanghai, and has since come to be used to refer to the more broad sense over time.
Probably the port city where it happened a lot.
Like being press-ganged in Britain.
Still fishing ships with slaves.
high noon means it's exactly 12.00pm, which is traditionally exactly when western gun duels take place
so shanghai noon is a play on that. saying it's high noon is like saying its showdown time
so roughly it's shanghai showdown time
There must have been a particular fascination with martial arts westerns at this time, because this was not long after Jet Li did "Once Upon A Time In China And America". In fact, the actor who plays the villain in this movie had a small part in that one.
This also has a lot of similarities to an older Sammo Hung movie called "Millionaire's Express", sometimes titled "Shanghai Express".
Also, the sequel to this movie, "Shanghai Knights" is decent and worth checking out.
❤& ☮
0:40 Why Shanghai noon? well, High Noon was one of the most popular western movies of all times. a Classic. so they used the pronounciation ironicly.
37:50 it's gonna end like (well almost) another western classic: Butch Cassidy and the sundance kid.
It's a play on the old term High Noon. Old western movies always had their Duels at High Noon.
This is such an amazingly fun ride!!! The sequel is also well worth a watch.
I love this farce. Good choice. Shanghai Knights is pretty good also.
1:11 The title is a play on words, there’s a classic Western movie called “High Noon” (a preferred time of day for gunfights because the sun is directly overhead and not in anyone’s eyes).
Yall should watch Shanghai Knights too
8:50 you ask about the amount of work needed to dig a hole, compared to today we have machines. When back then when you needed to do something you used with what you had at the time. If someone died you were close to, you'd take care of it especially if out in the wilderness. Even today here in nz we have our family cemetery, & when a family member passes we dig the hole and Bury them, just shovels sweat and tears.
Chan has best panic face because he makes physical comedy on par with Buster Keaton before talkies. He is an international wonder. A gem of the world.
Shanghai Noon is a play on the classic Gary Cooper western "High Noon", with a Chinese twist.
"A Random Bowl of Nuts" is my favorite TH-cam channel.
As was mentioned before, Shanghai Noon is a reference to the classic western High Noon.
George wondering about the craziest cultures to meet in the past reminded me of the 1979 comedy The Frisco Kid, starring Gene Wilder as a Polish rabbi, traveling across the west on his way to San Francisco, and Harrison Ford as a bandit cowboy who feels sorry for him and decides to help him get there alive.
The downside of expectations of Jakie's stunt work is that eventually as he got older it didn't make sense to keep doing ALL of his own stunts. Wear and tear takes its toll over the years.
True. I remember watching "The Foreigner" in a theater, where he was playing a guy whose physicality was closer to what we normally expect for a guy his age, and I just had this realization that we'll most likely never have a Jackie Chan again. He's one of the few performers who truly sacrificed himself for his craft. Regardless of his certain views and opinions, in that aspect of his life, at least, he was one of the few real paragons of humanity.
I'm pretty sure Jackie has broken nearly every bone in his body at this point. My dad at point had a martial arts magazine in the early 2000 with an interview with Jackie Chan in it and 2 page spread was just a picture of him with every broken bone pointed out and listing which movies he broke them in.
He never did ALL his own stunts.
It’s also a play on the title of one of the most classic westerns ever, High Noon starring Gary Cooper.
My personal favourite theory is noon is halfway between the sun setting and rising. Roy is sunset and John is sunrise and together they land at noon.
I’d highly recommend Behind Enemy Lines, a super underrated Owen Wilson action movie, imo anyway
i love george coming at a silly comedy like its a historical documentary
I love both Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights, absolutely adore them. Hope you guys plan on watching Knights whenever you can get around to it.
The charging out of the door of the church at the end is a play on the ending to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
I was going to mention that. You beat me to it. 😀
The "They're Jews!" line is actually an in-joke, because in old westerns a lot of native characters were played by jewish actors.
That's also why in Blazin Saddles, Mel Brooks had all the natives speaking Yiddish.
LOZ IM GEEEEEEEEYN