Miracles: The Canton Godfather (1989)

How sad is this?

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This movie actually have numerous titles - this is only the most common one. The other titles are: Singapore Sling, Chinese Godfather, Canton God father, and Miracle. This movie I saw a while back and thought that it was quite dull. Now this time I suddenly got all of the jokes. I thought that it would be funny, but the jokes were lost in the translation. Either it was a very bad translation or I were not paying attention because there are a lot of jokes in this movie and they are quite funny.The reason I gave this movie a 9 was because it was based on a Frank Capra movie, Lady for a Day. This is not a bad thing for Jackie Chan makes it well known that he is influenced by the old American comedies, especially comedians like Buster Keating. In fact, the more of his movies you watch, the more you will see that a lot of the comedy is developed through excellent timing (and can be quite clever slapstick). This movie though is more of a Capra style, which can be quite farcical at times (as I have seen in Arsenic and Old Lace and Mr Smith goes to Washington).I will not delve too deep into the themes of this movie as I wish to save that for the original Lady for a Day (if I can find it). Need I say that a lot of the themes have probably been brought over to this one, and quite successfully I will hazard to say, seeing that I have not yet seen Lady for a Day. In any case, this movie is in itself a brilliant movie, and also goes to show how good a filmmaker Jackie Chan actually is (even though it was copied from an earlier film, but there is nothing wrong with that if it is done right).

I wanted to see this film based on a trailer for it on a kung-fu DVD. This film looked very different from anything else Jackie Chan has done and from everything else that I've seen of Chinese films. It took some time to track the DVD down.Black Dragon is based on Frank Capra's Pocketfull of Miracles (1961). From the way Black Dragon has been made it is apparent that Jackie Chan intended it only for Chinese audiences. On the DVD the language choices are Cantonese or Mandarin. The characterizations, plot situations, conflicts and resolutions do not use western story structure.The male characters tend to fill several types for this kind of film while the female roles seem to break from those traditions. This comment is based on commentaries to several other Chinese films, where these types are described.I found that the film lacked depth and the plot fell short of being cohesive.Analysis aside, this film is very entertaining. It is upbeat, zippy and likable. One of the high points, for me came with the singing of the title song by Anita Mui early in the film. The song involves a montage of developmental incidents along with several costume and setting changes for the singer and chorus, which deftly indicated passage of time.The fight sequences, while entertaining, really do not advance the story in any way and are more of a show case for Jackie Chan's acrobatic and martial arts talent. Beyond that they don't really add to the film. What I'm trying to say here is with or without the fight scenes what you have here is a pretty good film.I recommend that you see this film if you get the chance and I would say that it would be suitable for children from around seven years and up.

This movie is funny and has excellent fight scenes which are very well done! But there isn't a great deal of action here. there is about four or five and needs a bit more to keep it entertaining but i'm not complaining about the few but great fights! just that it is a little long and could of been cut down a bit. there is good humour as well as the little but excellent fights and all in all i give it a 9. the only thing that lets it down is that it is a little too long and there isn't a great deal fights. the few fights are some of Jackies best work though! I would actually recommend this to any Jackie fan but warn that it is a little too long! still very good! Get it on video or DVD if its' cheap (just in case it is too long and you don't like it for that) or watch it if it appears on telly and see what you think. Chan fans will like it. it would be a great example of Jackies' brilliant Martial arts and humour. it is very styled and like i said contains Jackies' action and humour. but any way, it is one of those things that people will love if it is there type of thing! if it isn't, you will hate it!

MR CANTON AND LADY ROSE (Ji Ji)Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)Sound format: Mono1930's Shanghai: A naive country bumpkin (Jackie Chan) is appointed leader of a shady criminal gang and helps an impoverished flower-seller (Gui Yalei) to convince her unwitting family that she's a wealthy society figure with important political connections. Hilarious complications ensue...Eager to dispel the notion that he was little more than an action star, Jackie Chan directed and co-wrote this sumptuous 'homage' to Frank Capra's POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES (1961), distinguished by its high profile cast and breathtaking cinematography by industry veteran Arthur Wong. Beloved by Hong Kong movie fans worldwide, the film's mixture of period detail, balletic action (among the best of Chan's career), uproarious farce and slapstick comedy is undeniably entertaining, but it's also something of a mixed bag. The emphasis on pratfalls and comic complications serves to dilute the basic storyline, and the running time is excessive. But as spectacle, it's hard to beat: The late and much-lamented Anita Mui emerges from Chan's shadow to camp it up as an old-fashioned chanteuse (get a load of her Busby Berkeley-esquire musical number!); the fight scenes are timed and filmed with jaw-dropping style and precision; and Wong's camera swoops and dives over some of the most eye-popping production design this side of a Hollywood blockbuster. Also known as BLACK DRAGON, THE CANTON GODFATHER and MIRACLES.(Cantonese dialogue)