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Jackie Chan: Inside the Dragon
by Clyde Gentry III (1997); paperback; $15.16
This is the first, and possibly the best, of the Jackie Chan
books to hit the market. Fully indexed, background information on
just about every movie Jackie made, stories about him from people who
know him, it's a ton of fun. Certainly recommended for any fan. |
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Dying for Action: Life and Films of Jackie Chan
by Renee Witterstaetter (1997); paperback; $10.39
Renee has done a nice job with this book, I think. It has a very complete
filmography, lots of interesting tidbits. The layout and the writing style
make it a pleasant read, and there are lots of interesting "sidebars" containing
information and stories about people and events in Jackie's life. Jackie
Chan fans will definitely want to pick this one up as well. |
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The Essential Jackie Chan Source Book
by Jeff Rovin and Kathy Tracy (1997); paperback; $12.80
I like this book a lot. For one thing, it has the best gossip of any
of the Jackie Chan books, including a very interesting section on the
Hong Kong "triads," particularly with reference to Anita Mui. It also has
some types of information the others don't, including stuff about Jackie's
fitness regimen and his philanthropic and business interests, plus the
usual (very comprehensive) filmography with little behind the scenes
details. There's also a little section in the back on kung fu history, and
one providing biographical sketches of a variety of Jackie Chan related people.
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Jackie Chan: The Most Dangerous Hands in Hollywood
by K.S. Rodriguez (1997); paperback; $4.95
Publication of this book has been cancelled. It ain't happening.
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Hong Kong Action Cinema
by Bey Logan (1996); paperback; $23.95
This book is quite a good general overview of the Hong Kong action genre, including
(of course) Jackie Chan, with a kind of historical perspective on how the
genre has changed over the years. It has lots of color pictures, and is a
lot of fun to read. |
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Hong Kong Babylon
by Fredrik Dannen (1997); hardcover; $13.27
The pre-release title of this one was "Hong Kong Cinema: An Insider's Guide," which
I suppose wasn't as sexy sounding as Hong Kong Babylon, but may have been a
more accurate choice. The book isn't about juicy sexy scandals, as the "Babylon"
of the title might imply. Oh well. It's about 400 pages and very
detailed, and of course includes a lot on Jackie Chan. From what I understand
it gets tedious at times but has lots of good stuff in it. |
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Kung Fu: Cinema of Vengeance
by Verina Glaessner
(out of print, but there's hope)
This one is out of print, but Amazon says there's a pretty
good chance they can locate a copy "within 2-6 months." If you
order it, they'll look for it and let you know what happens.
If they find one they will tell you the price then you can decide do you still want it.
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Sex and Zen and a Bullet in the Head
by Stefan Hammond and Mike Wilkins (1996); paperback; $9.60
This book is really good, a fun read. I found the self-consciously
"hip" "hey we're cool" writing style to be vaguely obnoxious at times,
but this book is sure to turn you on to some great Hong Kong movies. It
has a whole section devoted to Jackie Chan, and Chan the Man even
wrote the introduction. It has a lot of fun features that run in
sidebars along the main text, including descriptions of the "one
great scene" in otherwise crappy films, and a listing of hilarious
subtitle translations (you may have seen some of these go around
the Internet--this is probably the original source). |
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The Essential Guide to Hong Kong Movies
by Rick Baker, Toby Russell, John Woo
(out of print, but there's hope)
This one is out of print, but Amazon says there's a pretty
good chance they can locate a copy "within 2-6 months." If you
order it, they'll look for it and let you know what happens.
If they find one they will tell you the price then you can decide do you still want it.
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Hong Kong Cinema - The Extra Dimension
By: Stephen Teo, 256 pages,(March 1998)
British Film Inst; Paperback US$ 19,96
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Hong Kong Cinema - The Extra Dimension
By: Stephen Teo, 256 pages,(March 1998)
British Film Inst; Hardcover US$ 60,00
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Note: most of these reviews were originally written for Jackie Chan Mailing List. I am planning to write some reviews some day because I have most of these books. Before that I really should link o Jackie Chan mailing list site if I ever find URL again. Sorry for getting your reviews here but it was supposed to be temporary solution.
