Hak hap (1996)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Daniel Lee

Writers:

Hark Tsui (screenplay) &
Koan Hui (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

14 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A survivor of a supersoldier project must fight his former comrades as a masked hero.

Plot Keywords:

Mask | Police | Superhero | Severed Leg | Lasersight

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Jet Li	...	Tsui Chik / Black Mask
Ching Wan Lau	...	Inspector 'Rock' Shek Wai-Ho (as Lau Ching Wan)
Karen Mok	...	Tracy Lee
Françoise Yip	...	Mei Lin (as Francoise C.J. Yip)
Kong Lung	...	Commander Hung (as Patrick Lung)
Anthony Wong Chau-Sang	...	King Kau (as Anthony Wong)
Xin Xin Xiong	...	Jimmy Jimmy
Moses Chan	...	701 Squad Member (as Mouses Chan)
King-fai Chung	...	Police Commissioner (as Chung King Fai)
Ken Lok
Lawrence Ah Mon	...	Operating Room Doctor (as Lawrence Ahmon)
Mei-Yee Sze		(as Sze Mei Yee)
Roy Szeto
Suk-yee Chan		(as Chan Suk Yee)
Nunzio Caponio		(as Caponio Nunzio)
Henry Fong	...	Ricky Tai
John Whitney		(as John J. Whitney)
Glenn Peters
Winston Ellis	...	701 Squad Member (as Winston G. Ellis)
Russ Price	...	Rocket (as Russell A.C. Price)
Victor Haiti
Mike Lambert	...	701 Squad Member (as Michael Ian Lambert)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ricardo Alexander	...	701 Squad Member
Corey Burton	...	Commissioner (voice) (uncredited)
John DeMita	...	Tsui Chik / Black Mask (voice: English version) (uncredited)
John Di Maggio	...	Ricky Tai (voice) (uncredited)
Alex Fernandez	...	Tony (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Carlos Ferro	...	Kaio (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Yung Kwan	...	(uncredited)
John Lee	...	Commander (voice) (uncredited)
David Leung	...	Jimmy Jimmy (uncredited)
Sherry Lynn	...	Tracy Lee (voice) (uncredited)
Matt McKenzie	...	Inspector 'Rock' Shek Wai-Ho (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Andrew Philpot	...	Lieutenant (voice) (uncredited)
Dwight Schultz	...	King Kau (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Daniel Lee

Writing credits
Hark Tsui		(screenplay) (as Tsui Hark) &
Koan Hui		(screenplay) &
Teddy Chan		(screenplay) (as Teddy Chen) &
Joe Ma		(screenplay)
Chi-Ming Pang		(comic story) uncredited
Ann Hui		uncredited

Produced by
Teddy Chan	....	associate producer (as Teddy Chen)
Tiffany Chen	....	administrative producer
Hark Tsui	....	producer (as Tsui Hark)

Original Music by
Teddy Robin Kwan		(as Teddy Robin)
DJ Revolution
Ben Vaughn

Cinematography by
Tony Cheung		(as Cheung Tung Leung)

Film Editing by
Ka-Fai Cheung		(as Cheung Ka Fai)
Ka Cheung Tai		(as Cheung Ka Tai)
Ettie M. Feldman		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Bill Lui
Eddie Ma

Art Direction by
Bill Lui
Eddie Ma

Costume Design by
William Fung
Mabel Kwan

Makeup Department
Justo D. Cascante III	....	special makeup effects artist
Rachel Kong	....	hairdresser (as Rachel Kwong)
Tooke Lee	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Paul Au	....	assistant production manager
Marco Mak	....	post-production manager (as Mak Chi Sin)
Wong Kam Ming	....	assistant unit manager (as Wong Kam Ming)
Steven Ng	....	unit manager
Dana Reid	....	executive in charge of production
Bonnie Shum	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pou-Soi Cheang	....	second assistant director (as Cheang Pou Soi)
Koan Hui	....	assistant director
Teddy Lee	....	second assistant director
Kavin Leung	....	assistant director
Benny Luk	....	second assistant director
Hing Fan Wong	....	second assistant director (as Wong Hing Fan)
Ann Hui	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Chak Wing Cheung	....	property master (as Cheung Chak Wing)
Sung Pong Choo	....	storyboarding
Kin Wah Ko	....	assistant property master (as Ko Kin Wah)
Raymond Kwok	....	assistant art director
Chung-Sum Lam	....	head construction (as Lam Chung Sum)
Kenneth Mak	....	assistant art director (as Ken Mak)
Alex Mok	....	assistant art director
Chung Ching Wong	....	assistant art director (as Wong Chung Ching)

Sound Department
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley walker (as Greg Barbanell)
Jeff K. Brunello	....	sound effects assistant (as Jeff Brunello)
Eddie Bydalek	....	sound recordist
Ming Yang Chen	....	dialogue: Mandarin (as Chen Ming Yang)
Paul Curtis	....	supervising sound editor
Marc Fishman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Akbar Ali Goolam	....	sound transfer
John Garret Gorman	....	sound recordist (as Gary Gorman)
Rebecca Hanck	....	sound effects editor
Alan Hunter	....	foley artist
Shawn Kennelly	....	foley mixer
Sid Knowles	....	foley recording engineer
Eric Lewis	....	assistant adr engineer: English dialogue
Kwok-Wah Ng	....	sound effects editor
Kwok-Wah Ng	....	sound effects (as Ng Kwok Wah)
Juliet Phillips	....	foley artist
Mark Phillips	....	sound re-recording engineer
Joan Rowe	....	foley walker (as Joanie Rowe)
Ernie Sheesley	....	dialogue recordist
Liz Sroka	....	sound re-recording mixer
Johan Theron	....	sound effects editor
Nicci Van Niekerk	....	sound effects editor
Tim Walston	....	sound effects editor

Visual Effects by
Stephen Ma	....	visual effects

Stunts
Ricardo Alexander	....	stunts
Siu Wah Chan	....	stunts (as Chan Siu Wah)
Kwai Po Chin	....	stunts (as Chun Kwai Po)
Sam Kai-Sen Huang	....	stunts (as Huang Sen)
Huan-Chiu Ku	....	martial arts coordinator (as Ku Huen Chiu)
Mike Lambert	....	stunts
Dion Lam	....	martial arts coordinator
Chi Wah Ling	....	stunts (as Ling Chi Wah)
Lam Fu Wai	....	stunts
Xin Xin Xiong	....	stunts (as Xiong Xin Xin)
Woo-ping Yuen	....	martial arts fight director (as Yuen Wo Ping)
Russ Price	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Wai Lin Chan	....	gaffer: second unit (as Chan Wai Lin)
Chi Fai Chow	....	best boy (as Chow Chi Fai)
Pui Lun Ho	....	dolly grip (as Ho Pui Lun)
Kwok-Man Keung	....	camera operator: second unit (as Keung Kwok Man)
Kwok-Man Keung	....	second cinematographer
Tsan Cheong Kie	....	focus puller (as Kie Tsan Cheong)
Albert Sum	....	gaffer
Sunny Tsang Tat Sze	....	gaffer (as Tsang Tat Sze)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Siu Lan To	....	wardrobe assistant (as To Siu Lan)

Music Department
Tree Adams	....	composer: additional music (as Adam Hirsh)
D.J. Babu	....	musician: additional scratching (as DJ Babu)
Brian Cox	....	music supervisor
Jed Grodin	....	music supervisor
Roc Raida	....	musician: additional scratching (as DJ Roc Raida)
Rob Swift	....	musician: additional scratching
Ross Guidici	....	additional music editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles Heung	....	presenter
Huan-Chiu Ku	....	martial arts coordinator (as Ku Huen Chiu)
Dion Lam	....	martial arts coordinator
Kavin Leung	....	continuity
Kit Wong	....	production accountant
Pauline Yeung	....	service
Pauline Yeung	....	tea lady
Woo-ping Yuen	....	martial arts director (as Yuen Wo Ping)
Cathy Ziehl	....	assistant to studio vice president (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Distant Horizons
• Film Workshop
• Win's Entertainment Ltd.

Distributors

• Alliance Releasing Home Video (Canada) (VHS) (dubbed)
• Arcade Movie Company (1998) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Arcade Movie Company (1999) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Artisan Entertainment (1999) (USA) (dubbed)
• Artisan Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Artisan Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Evolution Entertainment (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Manga Films (1998) (Spain) (video)
• Odeon Films (1999) (Canada) (dubbed)
• RTL Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (TV) (RTL7)
• Rapid Eye Movies (Germany)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2000) (Finland) (VHS)

Special Effects

• Cinefex Workshop Co. Ltd. (visual effects)
• Cubists (visual effects)

Other Companies

• Fine Art Film Production Company  subtitles
• True Technic Ltd.  studio
• Ramindra Sound Recording Studios  sound mixing studio: Dolby
• Kodak (Far East)  film supplied by
• Mandarin Laboratory (International) Ltd.  subtitles
• Cinerent (Thailand) Co. Ltd.  equipment
• EFX  sound editing
• Screen Music Studios (SMS)  adr recording facilities
• Tommy Boy Records  soundtrack released by
• Wilshire Stages, The  sound re-recording mixing

Also Known As:

Black Mask (Hong Kong: English title) (International: English title)
Hei xia (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence including martial arts combat, some sexual content and language.

Runtime:

96 min | USA:102 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB (cut) | Hong Kong:III (original version) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (2000) | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Australia:MA | Canada:18A | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 (direct to video) | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R (certificate #36739) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Distant Horizons

Trivia:

The games Tracy plays on the Sega Saturn while locked inside Black Mask's apartment are "Virtua Fighter 2" and "X-men: Children of the Atom."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jimmy Jimmy and King Kau's gang notices the fuse which is heading towards the powerboard, Jimmy Jimmy is smoking a cigarette. When Jimmy Jimmy gets the fire extinguisher and climbs the ladder to extinguish the fuse, he no longer has a cigarette.

Quotes:

Michael: [after finding out something went wrong with his friend, Rock] Something's wrong! I'll go to save him.
Tracy Lee: Are we going down the gutter?
Michael: You can't go. It's too dangerous.
Tracy Lee: Why?
Michael: I can't let you take any more risks. If I don't come back in a half-hour, you should leave here at once.
Tracy Lee: Wait. Let me look at your face.
Michael: Why?
Tracy Lee: Because you promised me that.
Michael: You promise you'll keep this a secret?
Tracy Lee: Promise. I won't even tell Tsui Chik, that nerd!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Undergrads: Roommates (#1.6)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Pack Jam (Look Out for the OVC)

Wham, bam, thank you, Jet Li!!

Anyone who had never seen anything like the fight scenes in The Matrix has never seen this movie. The fight scenes were choreographed by action scene psychopath Yuen Woo Ping, who also did the fights in The Matrix. And the fight scenes are somethin.

Li plays a supersoldier who feels no pain, who now lives a life as a pacifist librarian (ya got me). When other evil supersoldiers begin killing off local drug lords to take over the drug trade, Li teams up with his cop buddy to help stop them.

There are some absolutely crazy things going on in this movie (one badguy gets his arm lopped off with a pane of glass and hardly notices). The fights scenes are filled with flying kicks and punches; the body count is way up there. Li has seldom been better, and he has surrounded himself with a bevy of beautiful female costars (Yip kicks some serious ass as a fellow supersoldier). Anthony Wong even makes a cameo as a drug lord (no suprises there; he makes a cameo in every HK movie). It's unfortunate they don't make action movies like this in the US; I wouldn't have to sit through all of these horrible dubbing jobs to see that action that I crave so much. Recommended.