{ "id": "ep7qb1nw39", "slug": "dragon-lord", "title": "Dragon Lord (龙少爷)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films", "label": "Martial arts films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films.yr-1943-1985", "label": "Released 1943 to 1985", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films.yr-1943-1985" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Martial arts films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure", "label": "Action and adventure films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films", "label": "Martial arts films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Dragon Lord (龙少爷) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy directed, co-written by, and starring Jackie Chan, in which two young friends uncover a plot to smuggle Chinese antiquities.", "snippet": "Dragon Lord (龙少爷) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy directed, co-written by, and starring Jackie Chan, in which two young friends uncover a plot to smuggle Chinese antiquities.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.action-adventure.martial-arts-films.yr-1943-1985", "markdown": "# Dragon Lord (龙少爷)\n\n**Dragon Lord** (龙少爷; [Cantonese](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantonese): Lung siu yeh) is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy directed, co-written by, and starring [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan), released in Hong Kong on January 21, 1982.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/) Chan plays Dragon, the son of a wealthy man in the late Qing period, who with his best friend Cowboy (Mars) stumbles into a plot to smuggle Chinese antiquities out of the country.[2](https://www.miramax.com/movie/dragon-lord/) The film is regarded as a transitional work in Chan's career, moving from his early kung fu comedies toward the stunt-driven action of his later films, and it was his last period martial arts film until *Drunken Master II* twelve years later.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | January 21, 1982, Hong Kong; produced by Golden Harvest with Lo Wei Motion Picture Company and Paragon Films[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_lord) |\n| Director and star | Jackie Chan, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Barry Wong and Tang King-sang[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/) |\n| Origin | Devised as a sequel to *The Young Master* under the working title *Young Master in Love*, but became a standalone film[5](https://kungfumovieguide.com/dragon-lord/) • [3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm) |\n| Box office | HK$17,936,344, the third-highest-grossing Hong Kong film of 1982[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057015/ebook_eng_03.pdf) |\n| Take record | One scene is said to have required 2,900 takes, a record for a single scene; sources disagree on whether it was the bun-pyramid or the shuttlecock sequence[7](https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/archive/english/2011mm/2011mm_film51.html) • [8](https://kungfukingdom.com/dragon-lord-1982-blu-ray-version/) |\n| Recognition | Nominated for Best Action Choreography at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards (1983)[9](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%BE%99%E5%B0%91%E7%88%B7/5399235?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |\n| Ratings | IMDb 6.3/10 from about 5,100 votes; Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 56% from 4 critics[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/ratings/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_lord) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot and cast\n\nDragon (Jackie Chan) and Cowboy (Mars), sons of the two wealthiest men in the town of Longshan, spend their days in mischief, chasing the local beauty (Sidney Yim), and competing in village sports.[11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-lord) Their carefree lives change when they encounter a man fleeing the imperial guards and discover that the Chief Steward is secretly selling palace treasures to foreigners.[12](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/dragonlord.html) The two shelter the fugitive, and when Cowboy's father is taken hostage, the friends face the villain and his men in a rooftop battle with spear-wielding attackers and a final showdown.[2](https://www.miramax.com/movie/dragon-lord/)\n\nThe cast includes Mars, a longtime Chan supporting actor and stuntman in a rare sizable co-starring role, Michael Chan Wai-man as the deputy steward, Tien Feng as Dragon's father, and the Korean martial artist Hwang In-shik as the chief villain.[13](https://fareastfilms.com/review/dragon-lord/) • [11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-lord) Hwang had played the final opponent in *The Young Master* (1980) and reprises that role here.[14](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/dragon-lord-1982/)\n\n## Production\n\n**Origins.** After the success of *The Young Master*, Chan was given wide freedom for his follow-up and spent considerable time and money on the project.[13](https://fareastfilms.com/review/dragon-lord/) The film began as a sequel titled *Young Master in Love*, but the story drifted far enough from its predecessor to become its own film.[5](https://kungfumovieguide.com/dragon-lord/) Chan later described it in his autobiography as a milestone marking his farewell to his earlier style of filmmaking.[15](https://xmwb.xinmin.cn/resfile/2015-06-08/A24/A24.pdf)\n\n**Troubled shoot.** The production went over budget and fell badly behind schedule; reports describe Chan hiring large numbers of stuntmen and shooting extensive footage that was then abandoned on the cutting room floor.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm) Reviewers have noted traces of this in the finished film, such as a character appearing with injuries he did not have in the preceding scene.[14](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/dragon-lord-1982/) The action directors were credited as Jackie Chan, Corey Yuen Kwai, and Fung Hak-on, with Chan's stunt team.[13](https://fareastfilms.com/review/dragon-lord/)\n\n## Action style and set pieces\n\nThe film is known less for conventional fight scenes than for applying action filmmaking to sports. It opens with a large-scale contest in which teams scramble up a bamboo pyramid of buns to seize a prize at the top, based on a traditional festival from Cheung Chau island, and later features a full game of jianzi, a shuttlecock sport played like soccer without using the hands.[14](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/dragon-lord-1982/) The Hong Kong Film Archive describes these set pieces, along with a rooftop encounter and an acrobatic fight, as marking a transition from Chan's early kung fu comedies to more stunt-oriented work.[7](https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/archive/english/2011mm/2011mm_film51.html)\n\nThe 2,900-take figure attaches to one of these sequences: the Film Archive's program notes attribute it to the opening bun-pyramid scene, calling it a record for the most takes for a single scene, while Kung Fu Movie Guide attributes the record to the shuttlecock sequence, and a Blu-ray review notes that sources disagree on which scene it was.[7](https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/archive/english/2011mm/2011mm_film51.html) • [5](https://kungfumovieguide.com/dragon-lord/) • [8](https://kungfukingdom.com/dragon-lord-1982-blu-ray-version/)\n\nThe climax is a lengthy final brawl between Chan and Hwang In-shik, roughly twenty minutes long, in which Chan mixes flashy stuntwork with the fighting, a style he would develop further in films such as *Police Story*.[16](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93690--dragon-lord-long-shaoye/) • [17](https://wevegotbackissues.com/2026/02/25/dragon-lord-1982-review/) Critics have described the fight as bone-crunching and intricately choreographed, with an emphasis on the physical toll on the fighters.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm) • [18](https://letterboxd.com/the_rock/film/dragon-lord/)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nThe film earned HK$17,936,344 in Hong Kong, placing third among 1982 releases behind *Aces Go Places* and *Project A*.[6](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057015/ebook_eng_03.pdf) Chan's autobiography records that its reception in Hong Kong was disappointing, while it became a hit in Japan.[19](https://baike.sogou.com/m/fullLemma?lid=7709076) Critics have generally judged the narrative weak: LoveHKFilm called it a woeful failure as a cohesive film but worthwhile as pure action, and Kung Fu Movie Guide called it the most incoherent of Chan's self-directed films.[3](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm) • [5](https://kungfumovieguide.com/dragon-lord/)\n\nIts standing rests mainly on its place in Chan's development. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image notes that the comic action sequences with elaborate stunts and rapid editing that Chan pioneered in *Dragon Lord* had a major impact on the subsequent development of Hong Kong action cinema.[16](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93690--dragon-lord-long-shaoye/) Chan reused elements of its antiquities-smuggling plot to better effect in *Drunken Master II* (1994), and the film's difficulties led him toward greater collaboration with filmmakers such as [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung) on later projects.[20](https://cinemastrikesback.com/review-dragon-lord-hong-kong-1982/) • [14](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/dragon-lord-1982/) It was nominated for Best Action Choreography at the 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 1983.[9](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%BE%99%E5%B0%91%E7%88%B7/5399235?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n\nRuntime figures vary across editions and databases, from 86 minutes in Chinese listings to 102 minutes for the Hong Kong Film Archive print, with 94 to 96 minutes common for home video releases.[21](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1931766/) • [7](https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/archive/english/2011mm/2011mm_film51.html) • [11](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-lord)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Dragon Lord (1982), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/)\n2. [Dragon Lord, Miramax official site](https://www.miramax.com/movie/dragon-lord/)\n3. [Dragon Lord (龍少爺) (1982), LoveHKFilm, review by Calvin McMillin](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews_2/dragon_lord.htm)\n4. [Dragon Lord, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dragon_lord)\n5. [Dragon Lord (1982), Kung Fu Movie Guide, review by Ben Johnson](https://kungfumovieguide.com/dragon-lord/)\n6. [A Different Brilliance—The D & B Story, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/18995340/19057015/ebook_eng_03.pdf)\n7. [Dragon Lord programme notes, Film Programmes Office, LCSD](https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/archive/english/2011mm/2011mm_film51.html)\n8. [Dragon Lord (1982) Blu-ray version, Kung-fu Kingdom](https://kungfukingdom.com/dragon-lord-1982-blu-ray-version/)\n9. [龙少爷（1982年成龙主演的电影）, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E9%BE%99%E5%B0%91%E7%88%B7/5399235?fromModule=lemma_inlink)\n10. [Dragon Lord (1982) - Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084266/ratings/)\n11. [Dragon Lord streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/dragon-lord)\n12. [Dragon Lord, Fortune Star Media catalogue](https://www.fortunestarentertainment.com/dragonlord.html)\n13. [Dragon Lord (1982) Review, Far East Films, review by Andrew Saroch](https://fareastfilms.com/review/dragon-lord/)\n14. [Review: Dragon Lord (1982), Heroic Cinema](https://www.heroic-cinema.com/reviews/dragon-lord-1982/)\n15. [成龙自述，《新民晚报》2015年6月8日](https://xmwb.xinmin.cn/resfile/2015-06-08/A24/A24.pdf)\n16. [Dragon lord = Long shaoye, ACMI collection](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93690--dragon-lord-long-shaoye/)\n17. [Dragon Lord (1982) – Review, We Have Issues](https://wevegotbackissues.com/2026/02/25/dragon-lord-1982-review/)\n18. [Dragon Lord review by Rock, Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/the_rock/film/dragon-lord/)\n19. [龙少爷, 搜狗百科](https://baike.sogou.com/m/fullLemma?lid=7709076)\n20. [Review: Dragon Lord (Hong Kong 1982), Cinema Strikes Back](https://cinemastrikesback.com/review-dragon-lord-hong-kong-1982/)\n21. [龙少爷 (1982), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1931766/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Martial arts films › Released 1943 to 1985*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Dragon Lord (龙少爷)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Dragon Lord (龙少爷)](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord](https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Dragon Lord (龙少爷)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/dragon-lord. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Dragon Lord is a 1982 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy directed, co-written by, and starring Jackie Chan, in which two young friends uncover a plot to smuggle Chinese antiquities." }