Black Mask (film)
Encyclopedia
Black Mask is a 1996 Hong Kong action film
starring Jet Li
, Lau Ching-Wan
, Karen Mok
and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. It was directed by Daniel Lee
and produced by Tsui Hark
and his production company Film Workshop
.
The film is based an adapted version of the 1992 manhua
Black Mask by Li Chi-Tak
. The film was later followed by a 2002 sequel
, Black Mask 2: City of Masks
.
. However, he is really a former test subject for a highly secretive supersoldier
project and the instructor of a special commando unit dubbed "701." The 701 squad is used for many government missions, but after one of the agents kills a team of policemen in an uncontrollable rage, the government decides to abort the project and eliminate all the subjects. Tsui Chik helped the surviving 701 agents flee the extermination attempt. Having escaped, Tsui Chik went separate ways from his team. Later, he discovers that rest of the team were responsible for a violent crime spree that was beyond the capability of the local police. He sets out to stop them, donning a disguise and using the superhero
alias
of "Black Mask". Having lost the ability to feel pain due to the surgery performed on the super-soldiers by the military, Black Mask is highly invulnerable.
In the film, in homage to The Green Hornet
, Black Mask wears a domino mask and chauffeur's cap in the same style as Kato
from the series. The Black Mask is even compared to Kato in a news reporter scene.
(export
), UK (produced by BMG) and US (produced by Artisan
).
is cut for gore, but the remastered DVD restores a scene of blood-spurting. The French
DVD features the Hong Kong version in the correct form, but contains no English subtitles.
Featured on DVDs distributed in Taiwan
by Long Shong, Ritek and Thundermedia, there is approximately 100 seconds footage exclusive to the Taiwanese version:
Both Hong Kong and Taiwanese releases maintain the green-tinting of the film.
DVD), but BMG and Artisan decided to make their own. Whilst only occasionally replacing the music on the UK release, the US version completely deletes any reference to the original music score - Artisan commissioned a brand-new English Hip Hop
soundtrack. Ironically, Artisan used excerpts from the film's original score in the trailers they produced for their altered version. Despite a tendency of trimming non-violent scenes, the Artisan and BMG versions not only contain all gory content, but also some non-violent scenes not found in any other version:
On 1999, Artisan made a direct-to-DVD version of the same name. It grossed a reasonable US$4,449,692 ($4,545 per screen) in its opening weekend, and grossed a total of US $12,504,289. Black Mask was released in the United States movie theaters and Hong Kong in 1996 and released on DVD in October 26, 1999 to present this movie in English and cash in on Jet Li's recent appearance in the Hollywood film Lethal Weapon 4
.
Hong Kong action cinema
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural...
starring Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
, Lau Ching-Wan
Lau Ching-Wan
Sean Lau Ching-Wan is a Hong Kong Film Award–winning and Golden Bauhinia Award–winning film and former television actor based in Hong Kong.Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1964. He joined the TVB acting classes in 1983 and made his first appearance on TV the following year with TV drama Draw Out the...
, Karen Mok
Karen Mok
Karen Joy Morris, known more commonly in the Sinosphere as Karen Mok or Mok Man-Wai, is a three-time Golden Melody Award-winning Hong Kong-based actress and singer-songwriter.- Biography :...
and Anthony Wong Chau-Sang. It was directed by Daniel Lee
Daniel Lee Yan-Kong
Daniel Lee Yan-Kong is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, assistant director and art director.-Director:* What Price Survival * Black Mask * ...Till Death Do Us Part * Moonlight Express...
and produced by Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark
Tsui Hark , born Tsui Man-kong, is a Hong Kong New Wave film director and producer. He is viewed as a major figure in the Golden Age of Hong Kong cinema .-Early life:...
and his production company Film Workshop
Film Workshop
Film Workshop Co. Ltd. , is a Hong Kong production company and film distributor. It was founded in April 1984 by producer/director Tsui Hark and his wife, Nansun Shi...
.
The film is based an adapted version of the 1992 manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
Black Mask by Li Chi-Tak
Li Chi-Tak
-External links:* *...
. The film was later followed by a 2002 sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Black Mask 2: City of Masks
Black Mask 2: City of Masks
Black Mask 2: City of Masks is a 2002 Hong Kong action film directed by Tsui Hark. Andy On took over the role of Black Mask when original actor Jet Li opted not to return. The film also starred Tobin Bell, Jon Polito, Tyler Mane, Rob Van Dam, Traci Lords, and Scott Adkins-Overview:Black Mask 2 is...
.
Plot
Tsui Chik (Simon in the US version), tries to lead a quiet life as a librarianLibrarian
A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...
. However, he is really a former test subject for a highly secretive supersoldier
Supersoldier
Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...
project and the instructor of a special commando unit dubbed "701." The 701 squad is used for many government missions, but after one of the agents kills a team of policemen in an uncontrollable rage, the government decides to abort the project and eliminate all the subjects. Tsui Chik helped the surviving 701 agents flee the extermination attempt. Having escaped, Tsui Chik went separate ways from his team. Later, he discovers that rest of the team were responsible for a violent crime spree that was beyond the capability of the local police. He sets out to stop them, donning a disguise and using the superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
alias
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of "Black Mask". Having lost the ability to feel pain due to the surgery performed on the super-soldiers by the military, Black Mask is highly invulnerable.
In the film, in homage to The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
, Black Mask wears a domino mask and chauffeur's cap in the same style as Kato
Kato (The Green Hornet)
Kato is a fictional character from The Green Hornet series. This character has also appeared with the Green Hornet in film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato was the Hornet's assistant and has been played by a number of actors...
from the series. The Black Mask is even compared to Kato in a news reporter scene.
Alternate versions
The film is recognised for having multiple versions: Hong Kong (Cantonese), Taiwanese (Mandarin), EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
), UK (produced by BMG) and US (produced by Artisan
Artisan Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment Inc. was a privately held independent American movie studio until it was purchased by a Canadian studio, Lionsgate, in 2003. At the time of its acquisition, Artisan had a library of thousands of films developed through acquisition, original production, and production and...
).
Hong Kong/Taiwanese versions
For the Cantonese version, the original Mei Ah DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
is cut for gore, but the remastered DVD restores a scene of blood-spurting. The French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
DVD features the Hong Kong version in the correct form, but contains no English subtitles.
Featured on DVDs distributed in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
by Long Shong, Ritek and Thundermedia, there is approximately 100 seconds footage exclusive to the Taiwanese version:
- Extended dialogue between Tracy and other library staff where they discuss what she would do with Tsui Chik if they cohabited.
- An entire scene where King Kau and a woman are together - he watches her dance, proceeds to have sex and then excitedly shoots her with a water gun and smashes a light.
- An exchange of gestures between Inspector Sek and King Kau.
- King Kau saluting Inspector Sek in an exasperated form.
- A member of the 701 squad impaling himself onto metal sticks and spitting blood. Shortly after trying to retaliate and getting swiftly defeated, Black Mask entangles the metal sticks (whilst still in his body).
- Shots of bullet-impacting when Black Mask shoots the 701 thugs to save Tracy.
- A shot of a bullet hitting the arm of a 701 thug whilst choking Tracy.
- During the hospital sequence, a scene where a 701 thug grabs two cops arms and breaks them.
- The thug smashes a cop's head with his hands.
- More footage of the thug getting shot by police.
- A shot of Yuk Lan's shoulder being shot with blood shooting out.
- Some more bullet hits on masked cops when the other zombie grabs his gun.
- Inspector Sek removes a severed thug's arm that had been clutching onto his shoulder.
- Shots of Black Mask bleeding after being stabbed.
- More footage of Tracy obtaining a blood bag.
- A shot of Black Mask's blood after being stabbed with a pipe tube.
Both Hong Kong and Taiwanese releases maintain the green-tinting of the film.
English-language versions
An English version similar to the Hong Kong version was produced for export use (featured on the SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
DVD), but BMG and Artisan decided to make their own. Whilst only occasionally replacing the music on the UK release, the US version completely deletes any reference to the original music score - Artisan commissioned a brand-new English Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
soundtrack. Ironically, Artisan used excerpts from the film's original score in the trailers they produced for their altered version. Despite a tendency of trimming non-violent scenes, the Artisan and BMG versions not only contain all gory content, but also some non-violent scenes not found in any other version:
- Tsui Chik looking for Inspector Sek.
- A few shots of Black Mask's hide-out.
- Inspector Sek advicing Yuk Lan to seek Tsui Chik.
Reception
Released on November 9, 1996, Black Mask grossed a moderate HK $13,286,788 during its Hong Kong box office run.On 1999, Artisan made a direct-to-DVD version of the same name. It grossed a reasonable US$4,449,692 ($4,545 per screen) in its opening weekend, and grossed a total of US $12,504,289. Black Mask was released in the United States movie theaters and Hong Kong in 1996 and released on DVD in October 26, 1999 to present this movie in English and cash in on Jet Li's recent appearance in the Hollywood film Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4
Lethal Weapon 4 is a 1998 American action film directed by Richard Donner, starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock and Jet Li. It is the third sequel in the Lethal Weapon series of films. -Plot:...
.