# Project A (计划) (film)
**Project A** (A計劃; also romanized *'A' gai wak*) is a 1983 Hong Kong action comedy directed by [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan), in which a coast guard officer fights pirates in late 19th-century colonial Hong Kong. It was Chan's first film as director, and he also co-wrote and starred in it alongside his Peking Opera school brothers [Sammo Hung](https://www.edgepedia.org/sammo-hung) and [Yuen Biao](https://www.edgepedia.org/yuen-biao).[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/) • [2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) The film premiered in Hong Kong on 22 December 1983.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title | A計劃 (*'A' gai wak*) |
| Release | 22 December 1983 (Hong Kong); Japan 25 February 1984[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/) • [3](https://kungfutube.info/5860) |
| Director / writers | Jackie Chan (not his first film as director); written by Chan and Edward Tang[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/) • [4](https://www.miramax.com/movie/jackie-chans-project-a/) • [14](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Jackie-Chan_e.pdf) |
| Stars | Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Dick Wei, Mars[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/) |
| Runtime | 101 minutes[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) |
| Signature stunts | A bicycle chase through alleys and a roughly 50-foot fall from a clock tower inspired by Harold Lloyd's *Safety Last!*[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) |
| Award | Best Action Design at the 4th Hong Kong Film Awards, to Chan's stunt team (成家班)[3](https://kungfutube.info/5860) |
| Box office | Third place on the 1983 Hong Kong box office chart[5](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5193470998_1358e1416001006t4p.html) |
## Spoilers
### Story and setting
The film is a cops-versus-pirates actioner set in late 19th-century Hong Kong, where, as one synopsis puts it, the British may rule the land but the pirates rule the waters.[6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/project-a-1983) Jackie Chan plays Sergeant Dragon Ma, a coast guard officer whose unit is left without a fleet after their ships are destroyed by pirates. Transferred into the regular police force, he contends with an inter-service rivalry with the British-led force, represented by Inspector Hong Tin-tsu (Yuen Biao), and teams with his friend Fei (Sammo Hung), a conman, in a scheme involving stolen rifles that goes wrong and leads to colonial officials being kidnapped by the pirate chief Lo San Po (Dick Wei).[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) • [8](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a)
The Chinese-language database entry describes the film as breaking out of the pattern of Chan's earlier pictures: although the background is still the late Qing and early Republican period, the story of the Hong Kong marine police fighting pirates, told with a humorous style and a complete plot that also carries serious elements, opened a new story mode for Chan's films in the 1980s.[9](https://baike.so.com/doc/5369810-11470343.html)
## Production background
**Why the title is obscure.** Chan had returned to Hong Kong after failing to break into the American market with *The Big Brawl* (1980), and his period films *[The Young Master](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-young-master)* (1980) and *Dragon Lord* (1982) had underperformed at the box office.[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) According to the film's production history, rivals at the time commonly stole ideas based on announced titles, so Chan avoided calling the movie *Pirate Patrol* for fear that too many pirate-related films would be fast-tracked into production; he also regretted that the titles of *Drunken Master* (1978) and *Snake in the Eagle's Shadow* (1978) had given away their supposed surprises.[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) Subway Cinema's account adds that after *Dragon Lord* failed, screenwriter Edward Tang rewatched *Raiders of the Lost Ark* repeatedly and came to Chan with the idea of dropping kung fu in favor of pirates, the coast guard, swashbuckling action, and giant stunts; Chan accepted the risk and recruited Hung and Yuen Biao from their opera school days.[8](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a)
**Credits.** Miramax's official page lists Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung as directors, Edward Tang and Chan as writers, and Raymond Chow, Edward Tang, and Leonard Ho as producers.[4](https://www.miramax.com/movie/jackie-chans-project-a/) Frame Rated notes that Hung co-directed the action.[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) The production companies were Golden Harvest-related entities, with Paragon Films and Authority Films Ltd. also credited.[6](https://cinegraph.org/movies/project-a-1983)
## The stunts
Project A is identified by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as the movie that transformed Chan from a martial arts star into a director of transcendent physical comedy, and as one of the first action movies set in colonial Hong Kong.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) Its two most famous sequences are an acrobatic bicycle chase through alleys, staged on a low budget with a bunch of bicycles, and the clock tower fall in which Chan hangs from the clock's hand in homage to [Harold Lloyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/harold-lloyd)'s hour-hand dangle in *[Safety Last!](https://www.edgepedia.org/safety-last)* (1923) before plummeting through awnings.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) • [8](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a) The fall was about 50 feet, and it took Chan three days to work up the courage to attempt it.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/) Reviewers note that he visibly landed on the nape of his neck and limped away trying to stay in character.[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/project_a)
The 1905.com database records a production anecdote from the bicycle chase: a special-effects technician on set warned Chan that [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg)'s *E.T.*, released the previous year, might contain a similar shot in its ending. Chan stopped filming, went to watch the film, decided audiences would not mind such a detail, and resumed shooting.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/)
In action style, the film retained the comic acrobatics of *Drunken Master* while adding harder-hitting, realistic fight scenes, and 1905.com credits it with opening the era of Chan films built around high-difficulty stunts.[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/) The climactic three-way fight in which Chan, Hung, and Yuen Biao take on the pirate captain has been called by one critic possibly the greatest fight scene in all of cinema.[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/project_a)
## Reception and legacy
The film ranked third on the 1983 Hong Kong box office chart.[5](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5193470998_1358e1416001006t4p.html) At the 4th Hong Kong Film Awards it won Best Action Design, awarded to Chan's stunt team.[3](https://kungfutube.info/5860) Decades later it holds an IMDb rating of 7.2/10 from about 21,000 votes and an 81% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes from 16 reviews.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085127/) • [10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/project_a)
Its commercial success led to a string of films in the same mold, including the *[Police Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/police-story-film-series)* and *Armour of God* series, and a sequel, *Project A Part II*, in 1987.[7](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/) • [12](https://thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/project-a-collection-88films-2025-uhd) According to Chan's biography on the Film Archive, Project A was the picture where his brand of thrilling, high-risk stunt work first took shape, a style he would later perfect in *Police Story*.[13](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/project-a/) The film also brought Dick Wei a new career as a favorite Chan villain after his turn as the pirate king.[8](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a)
A recurring critical observation is the chemistry among the three leads, who trained together under the same master at the same opera school; Subway Cinema writes that when they act together it is like being privy to a family dinner, and that never again would the three be this in synch with each other.[8](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a)
## References
1. [《A计划》Project A (1983), 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/1989421/)
2. [Project A, Film Society of Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/project-a/)
3. [プロジェクトA／A計劃（1983）, KUNGFU TUBE](https://kungfutube.info/5860)
4. [Jackie Chan's Project A, Official Site, Miramax](https://www.miramax.com/movie/jackie-chans-project-a/)
5. [元彪、洪金宝、成龙合作的六大经典, 新浪新闻](https://k.sina.com.cn/article_5193470998_1358e1416001006t4p.html)
6. [Project A, Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/project-a-1983)
7. [PROJECT A (1983) • PROJECT A PART II (1987), Frame Rated](https://www.framerated.co.uk/project-a-1983-1987/)
8. [Project A, Subway Cinema](https://www.subwaycinema.com/project-a)
9. [a计划(中国1983年成龙执导的喜剧电影), 360百科](https://baike.so.com/doc/5369810-11470343.html)
10. [Project A, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/project_a)
11. [Project A (1983), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085127/)
12. [The Project A Collection (4K UHD Review), The Digital Bits](https://thedigitalbits.com/reviews/item/project-a-collection-88films-2025-uhd)
13. [Project A, Cinema Anthology](https://cinemaanthology.com/movie-night/hong-kong/films/project-a/)
14. [Jackie Chan E.pdf, filmarchive.gov.hk](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/Jackie-Chan_e.pdf)
---
*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*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license