Police Story

"From the master of action comes more screen excitement than you've ever seen."

1985 1h 39m CN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

90%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 1,110🍅90%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 46,659

ActionCrimeComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.

“From the master of action comes more screen excitement than you've ever seen.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jackie Chan
Sergeant 'Kevin' Chan Ka-Kui
Brigitte Lin
Salina Fong
Maggie Cheung
May
Bill Tung Biu
Inspector "Uncle" Bill Chou
Chor Yuen
Chu Tao
Charlie Cho Cha-Lee
John Ko
Lam Kwok-Hung
Superintendent Raymond Li
Kam Hing-Yin
Inspector Man

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jackie Chan
Writers: Edward Tang, Jackie Chan
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Police Story Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jackie Chan, shot by Cheung Yiu-Cho. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Lai Siu-Tin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jackie Chan and Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "From the master of action comes more screen excitement than you've ever seen.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089374 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jackie Chan directs. Cheung Yiu-Cho behind the camera. Michael Lai Siu-Tin scores. Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

141 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Part of the "Police Story Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Jackie Chan, shot by Cheung Yiu-Cho. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michael Lai Siu-Tin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jackie Chan and Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "From the master of action comes more screen excitement than you've ever seen.".
8IMDB entry: tt0089374 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 13 themes, including "martial arts", "kung fu", "undercover", "chase".
10Released under 16 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Cheung Yiu-Cho
Original score: Michael Lai Siu-Tin
Editing: Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung
Costume design: Ginger Fung Oi-Man
Makeup / hair: Chan Wing-Yee
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $18,724,000
Original language: CN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Police Story (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 78/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 46,659 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 5 nominations total

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Police Story Collection

The Police Story film series (Chinese: 警察故事系列) comprises six Hong Kong crime-action films, directed by Jackie Chan, Stanley Tong and Benny Chan, produced by Raymond Chow, Leonard Ho, Jackie Chan, Barbie Tung, Willie Chan and Solon So. The first film Police Story was released on 14 December 1985. After the film's success, five sequels were made. Chan began work on the film after a disappointing experience working with another director on The Protector, which was intended to be his entry into the American film market. The first Police Story film is considered by fans to be one of Chan's best films. It was a massive hit in Asia. According to his book, Chan considers the film his best, in terms of action.