Wheels on Meals

Wheels on Meals
Wheels on Meals

Chinese DVD Cover
Traditional 快餐車
Simplified 快餐车
Mandarin Kuàicān Chē
Cantonese Faai3 Caan1 Ce1
Directed by Sammo Hung
Mars (action)
Chin Kar Lok (action)
Benny Lai (action)
Produced by Raymond Chow
Written by Edward Tang
Johnny Lee
Sammo Hung
Starring Jackie Chan
Sammo Hung
Yuen Biao
Lola Forner
Benny Urquidez
Jose Sancho
Herb Edelman
Keith Vitali
Cheung Chung
Music by Chris Barbida
Tang Siu Lam
Distributed by Golden Harvest
Release date(s) Hong Kong:
August 17, 1984 (1984-08-17)
Running time 104 minutes
Country Hong Kong
Language Cantonese

Wheels on Meals (快餐車, Mandarin: Kuàicān Chē, Cantonese: Fai2 Chan1 Tse1; also known as Powerman) is a 1984 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Sammo Hung. Starring in the film are Hung, Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. In some releases, the film was released under alternative titles including Spartan X, Weapon X, Los Supercamorristas, and Million Dollar Heiress. It was filmed in Barcelona, Spain.

Contents

Film title

The film's name was actually supposed to be more sensibly titled Meals on Wheels. However, superstitious Golden Harvest executives demanded the name change because their two previous films with titles that began with the letter 'M' – Megaforce and Menage A Trois – were both box office flops.[1][2]

Plot

Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Yuen Biao) are cousins who run a fast food van in Barcelona. The food is delivered by Thomas, who rushes around the square on a skateboard. After fending off a biker gang they continue business as normal.

They go and visit David's father who is in a mental institution and bump into Sylvia who is the daughter of David's father's girl friend. Thomas encourages David to try to ask her out on a date and chickens out of this making the excuse she would have said no anyway.

Cut to the van serving food late at night where Thomas inadvertently bumps into Sylvia who is pretending to be a prostitute. But really Sylvia (Lola Forner) is a robber and she robs a man in a bed room and runs away to their fast food van.

They figure out that Silvia is a pickpocket. She exploits David's infatuation with her by asking to hide her in their van to avoid the police.

Both Thomas and David are enamoured by her. But after allowing her to stay in their apartment that night, they wake to find Sylvia and their money gone. The next day, they bump into Moby (Sammo Hung), a bumbling private investigator who is also tracking Sylvia. It is discovered that Sylvia is the heir to a sizeable inheritance that a criminal gang is trying to steal from her. When she is kidnapped, Thomas, David, and Moby team up to save her, infiltrating the villains' castle and defeating them in a martial arts battle.

Cast

The three action star brothers, Chan, Yuen and Hung, are long-time friends and had been Peking Opera School colleagues in their youth.[3] The release of Wheels on Meals came in the midst of their most prolific period working together as a trio. The three men had acted together on Chan's Project A and the first of Hung's original Lucky Stars trilogy, Winners and Sinners in 1983.[4][5] Wheels on Meals was released in 1984, and a year later they were reunited twice more for the Lucky Stars semi-sequels My Lucky Stars and Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. This was something of a golden period for Hong Kong cinema-goers, as three of the nation's most beloved action stars performed together on screen.

The film also features cameo appearances from fellow Lucky Stars Richard Ng and John Shum as mental patients in the hospital attended by the father of Yuen's character.

Wheels on Meals was the first of two films which paired star Jackie Chan against former professional kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez (the other being the 1988 film Dragons Forever). Their fight in this film is typically regarded as one of the greatest on-screen martial arts fights ever performed. At one point in the final battle between the pair, a spin-kick performed by Urquidez is so quick that the resulting airflow extinguishes a row of candles. This is shown onscreen, with no cuts or trick photography.

Co-star Lola Forner appeared in another Jackie Chan film, Armour of God (1986).

  • Jackie Chan – Thomas (doubled by Mars, Chin Kar-lok, Sammo Hung and Shigeru Ishihara)
  • Sammo Hung – Moby (as Samo Hung)
  • Yuen Biao – David
  • Lola Forner – Sylvia
  • Benny Urquidez – One of Mondale's men
  • Keith Vitali – One of Mondale's men
  • Herb Edelman – Henry Matt
  • Jose Sancho – Mondale (as Pepe Sancho)
  • Susana Sentís – Gloria (as Susanna Sentis)
  • Paul Chang – Uncle Chan (David's father)
  • Amparo Moreno - Susana (as A. Moreno)
  • Richard Ng – Brilliant Mental patient
  • John Shum – Jokey Mental patient
  • Wu Ma – Clock Mental patient
  • Lau Sau Leung – Mondale Punk
  • Blackie Ko – Delinquent Biker
  • Luis Monte (as Lluis Monte)
  • Joseph L. Dallester (as Joseph L Dallester)
  • Josep Lluís Fonoll (as J. Fonoll)
  • Mars (extra)
  • Chin Kar Lok (extra)
  • Stanley Fung (uncredited)
  • Carles Canut (uncredited)
  • Mercedes Albert
  • Miguel Aniles
  • Luis Palenzuela
  • Montserrat Julio
  • Germán Monzó
  • Pep Guinyol
  • Mariló Domínguez

Filming

Audio commentator Bey Logan explains why Sammo Hung decided to shoot the film outside of Hong Kong. By the time it was made in 1984, shooting in Hong Kong had become practically impossible – firstly, because the action stars had become so famous that they could not walk through the streets with impunity, and secondly due to the mounting difficulties in obtaining a permit from the government in order to film in Hong Kong. Bruce Lee had paved the way for Hong Kong filmmakers shooting abroad, with the 1972 film Way of the Dragon. The location filming was done in Italy, whereas the interiors had been shot at Golden Harvest studio.

When Hung took his cast and crew to Barcelona, he wanted to strongly establish the locations in Barcelona as real, and to avoid shooting interiors at Golden Harvest. In comparison to Hong Kong, the Spanish authorities were very cooperative in allowing the use of locations for filming, even for car chases and fight scenes.[6]

Influence on popular culture

  • The video game Kung-Fu Master was based on this film.[7] The Japanese version of Kung-Fu Master was titled Spartan X and credited to be under license from Paragon Films Ltd. and Towa Promotion. The game in turn laid the foundations for the side-scrolling beat 'em up genre of video games.[8][9]
  • Japanese Pro Wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa used the theme song of the Japanese version of Wheels on Meals (named Spartan X) throughout his career wrestling under his real name.

DVD

Unlike the majority of Chan's later films, the standard DVD releases of Wheels on Meals do not contain the usual outtakes over the final credits. However, a VHS release of the film did exist in the mid-1980s under the title Spartan X, which includes the outtakes intact.

Awards and nominations

Box office

Wheels on Meals grossed HK $21,465,013 in its Hong Kong theatrical run.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Trivia for Kuai can che (1984)". IMDb film listing. IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087578/trivia. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  2. ^ "Wheels on Meals". AMG film listing. All Movie. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:158474. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  3. ^ "Seven Little Fortunes". Feature article. LoveAsianFilm. http://www.loveasianfilm.com/features/sevenlittlefortunes.html. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  4. ^ "Sammo Hung Profile". Kung Fu Cinema. Archived from the original on 2007-05-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070529210629/http://www.kungfucinema.com/people/sammo_hung_kam_bo.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-07. 
  5. ^ "Yuen Biao Profile". Kung Fu Cinema. Archived from the original on 2007-04-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20070415122914/http://www.kungfucinema.com/people/yuen_biao.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-07. 
  6. ^ Wheels on Meals, Audio commentary Bey Logan Disc 1, Sammo Hung interview Disc 2 (DVD featurette) (DVD). Hong Kong Legends, UK. 1984 (film), 2001 (DVD). 
  7. ^ "Kung Fu Master (Coin-Op) by Data East". Great Game Database.com. http://www.ggdb.com/GGDB/Details.asp?VID=1484. Retrieved 2008-11-27. 
  8. ^ Spencer, Spanner, The Tao of Beat-'em-ups, Eurogamer, Feb 6, 2008, Accessed Mar 18, 2009
  9. ^ Kunkel, Bill; Worley, Joyce; Katz, Arnie, "The Furious Fists of Sega!", Computer Gaming World, Oct 1988, pp. 48-49

External links

v · d · eFilms directed by Sammo Hung
1970s
The Iron-Fisted Monk (1977) · Enter the Fat Dragon (1978) · Warriors Two (1978) · Knockabout (1979)
1980s
Encounters of the Spooky Kind (1980) · The Victim (1980) · The Prodigal Son (1981) · Carry On Pickpocket (1982) · Winners and Sinners (1983) · The Owl vs Bombo (1984) · Wheels on Meals (1984) · Heart of Dragon (1985) · My Lucky Stars (1985) · Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985) · Millionaire's Express (1986) · Eastern Condors (1987) · Dragons Forever (1988) · Spooky, Spooky (1988) · Pedicab Driver (1989)
1990s
Pantyhose Hero (1990) · Slickers vs. Killers (1991) · Ghost Punting (1992) · Moon Warriors (1992) · Blades of Fury (1993) · Don't Give a Damn (1995) · Mr. Nice Guy (1997) · Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997)

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Wheels on Meals — Filmdaten Deutscher Titel: Powerman Originaltitel: Kwai tsan tseh Produktionsland: Hongkong, Spanien Erscheinungsjahr: 1984 Länge: ca. 104 Minuten Originalsprache: Kantonesisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Meals on Wheels — For the film, see Wheels on Meals. Meals on Wheels are programs that deliver meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home delivered meals programs, not all …   Wikipedia

  • meals on wheels — meals on wheels, meals on wheels meals on wheels . A program that delivers hot meals to persons, such as the elderly or disabled, who are confined to their homes and unable to cook for themselves; also, the meals thus delivered. Such programs are …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • meals-on-wheels — meals on wheels, meals on wheels meals on wheels . A program that delivers hot meals to persons, such as the elderly or disabled, who are confined to their homes and unable to cook for themselves; also, the meals thus delivered. Such programs are …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Meals on Wheels — n. an agency or service that delivers cooked meals to disabled people and senior citizens in their homes: also meals on wheels n …   English World dictionary

  • meals-on-wheels — n a service run by the government in Britain in which hot meals are taken to old or sick people in their homes …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • meals on wheels — noun uncount a service that brings cooked meals to the homes of people who are too old or sick to cook for themselves …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Meals on Wheels — En EE.UU., programa diseñado para proporcionar comidas calientes a ancianos, discapacitados físicos y a otras personas que carecen de recursos para proporcionarse ellos mismos una nutrición adecuada con alimentos calientes a diario. Diccionario… …   Diccionario médico

  • meals on wheels — meals delivered to old people or invalids who cannot cook for themselves. → meal …   English new terms dictionary

  • meals on wheels — (sometimes cap.)a program, usually one supported or subsidized by a charitable, social, or government agency, for delivering hot meals regularly to elderly, disabled, or convalescing persons who are housebound and cannot cook for themselves.… …   Useful english dictionary

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