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Matt Glasby

This is the latest instalment in a feature series reflecting on instances of East meets West in world cinema, including China-US co-productions.
In the 1970s, the UK film industry was in deep trouble. Hoping to diversify its output, British horror specialist Hammer joined forces with Hong Kong’s legendary Shaw Brothers Studio for a three-picture deal.
The first was 1974’s martial arts mash-up The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, which failed to set the box office alight. The second, made the same year, was Shatter, a tough-talking Hong Kong-set action movie pepped up with bursts of kung fu.
It was a troubled production, with original director Monte Hellman replaced by producer Michael Carreras during shooting. “We ran into all sorts of problems, and like all pictures that are bad, I think it was badly conceived from the start,” Carreras said. “One did all sorts of things to try and save it, but it didn’t work.”


Viewed today, however, the results are much more interesting than film history or Carreras would have us believe.
After assassinating an African leader, American hitman Shatter (Stuart Whitman) travels to Hong Kong to pick up his fee, but his bosses have other ideas. During the cab ride from Kai Tak Airport, someone tries to shoot him, and when he visits the office of German banker Leber (Anton Diffring), he is threatened and turned away.
Soon he finds himself on the run from Leber’s goons, with help from sex worker Mai-Mee (Lily Li Lai-lai) and kung fu expert Tai Pah (Ti Lung). Chief Inspector Rattwood (Hammer regular Peter Cushing) of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force looks on cynically, as corrupt as any of the villains.
“Never trust anyone,” he warns Shatter, “especially in Hong Kong.”
What follows resembles a crude, kung fu-filled Get Carter. David Lindup’s score is absolutely fantastic, all insouciant snare, wah-wah guitar and walking basslines, like the soundtrack to a blaxploitation film. Shatter only has to open a door for his theme to start blaring, and every kick or punch is accompanied by a squeal of outraged brass.


Apparently, music director Philip Martell rejected the original Shaw Brothers score as “absolutely appalling”, and thankfully he did, because the new one gives the film a real pulse.
There are also some good lines. “That’s not a name,” someone tells Shatter when he introduces himself. “No,” he replies, “more a way of life.” And there is much to enjoy in the 1970s stylings: big ties, bad sunglasses and Bacardi cocktails.
Not that Carreras was completely wrong. The exposition is clunky – can you really make cocaine from opium, as the villains seem to think? – and we are never quite sure why Mai-Mee and Tai Pah are so keen to help Shatter.
But the main flaw is how boringly the kung fu fights are staged and shot, especially when compared with the shoot-outs and chases, which have real verve. And the less said about the unconvincing dummies falling to their deaths at the climax, the better.
The action scenes lack excitement, the dialogue scenes are dull and Hong Kong looks like a slum
Producer Michael Carreras
Perhaps nobody could bring together so many clashing styles. Part Bond movie, part blaxploitation homage, part martial arts flick, Shatter attempts to cram far too many genres into one film.
But that feels strangely fitting for Hong Kong, a city of conflicting influences. As writer Tim Worthington said, “It inadvertently captures the push and pull between East and West in early 1970s Hong Kong, repackaged Coca-Cola bottles and all.”
In most Western films, Hong Kong is presented as exotic and romantic. In Shatter, it is a building site, with rubble everywhere, a harbour choked with boats, and streets full of massage parlours, dive hotels and downtrodden locals. In short, it provides the perfect backdrop for Shatter’s enemies – and their dirty deeds – to go unnoticed.
“In my opinion, the action scenes lack excitement, the dialogue scenes are dull and Hong Kong looks like a slum,” said Carreras. But it is the latter element that really brings the film to life, adding grit, local colour and a sense of realism missing from similar macho fantasies.

Shatter was released in the US under the blaxploitation-friendly title Call Him Mr Shatter in 1975. In the UK, it remained on the shelf until 1977, when its pick-and-mix charms must have seemed way past their sell-by date. The film opened in Hong Kong in 1980.
Variety called it “dull and sloppy”, praising Ti Lung’s martial arts sequences as “choreographed with unusual skill” while also noting that “this kind of stuff is getting stale by now”.
Perhaps understandably, Hammer and the Shaw Brothers ended their three-film contract ahead of time, and plans to turn Shatter into a TV series were shelved indefinitely.
But just because the film didn’t quite work doesn’t mean it deserves to be forgotten. As a snapshot of Hong Kong in the 1970s, a time capsule from a place in transition, it is fascinating despite its flaws – much like the city itself.
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European cinema

Why flop movie Shatter is a perfect 1970s Hong Kong time capsule

Stuart Whitman in a still from Shatter, a collaboration between the UK’s Hammer Film Productions and Hong Kong’s Shaw Brothers Studio. Photo: Hammer

Stuart Whitman as the titular American hitman in a still from Shatter. Photo: Hammer

Lily Li as Mai-Mee in a still from Shatter. Photo: Hammer

Whitman (left) and Peter Cushing in a still from Shatter. Photo: Hammer

How RZA channelled Shaw Brothers for his flawed kung fu epic The Man with the Iron Fists

RZA in a still from The Man with the Iron Fists. The Wu-Tang Clan leader directed, starred in and co-wrote the 2012 movie about a former slave turned blacksmith in 19th century China caught between warring clans, a shipment of government gold and a brothel.

Russell Crowe in a still from The Man with the Iron Fists.

Byron Mann (centre) in a still from The Man with the Iron Fists.

(From left) Russell Crowe, RZA and Eli Roth on the set of The Man with the Iron Fists.

How Hollywood’s 55 Days at Peking turned China’s Boxer rebellion into a racist Western

(From left) Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner and David Niven in a still from 55 Days at Peking. The 1963 Hollywood epic about China’s Boxer rebellion looks the part with stunning sets, but ultimately casts China as a colonial outpost to be squabbled over by white people.

Charlton Heston (left) and David Niven in a still from 55 Days at Peking.

Robert Helpmann and Flora Robson in a still from 55 Days at Peking.

How M. Butterfly with Jeremy Irons subverted Western fantasies of Chinese femininity

John Lone in a still from M. Butterfly. David Cronenberg’s Beijing-set romance featuring Lone as a spy who disguises himself as a woman to seduce Jeremy Irons’ French diplomat was an interesting experiment, even if it failed to convince audiences.

Jeremy Irons in a still from M. Butterfly.

Jeremy Irons and John Lone in a still from M. Butterfly.

John Lone (centre) in a still from M. Butterfly.

How DOA: Dead or Alive tried to create a new kind of blockbuster amid chaotic China shoot

Holly Valance (right) in a still from DOA: Dead or Alive (2006). Filmed in Hong Kong, mainland China and Thailand, it made just US$7.7 million on a US$30 million budget, and barely secured a release in America.

Kane Kosugi (left) and Devon Aoki in a still from DOA: Dead or Alive.

(From left) Holly Valance, Jaime Pressly and director Corey Yuen on the set of DOA: Dead or Alive.

Jaime Pressly (left) and Brian White in a still from DOA: Dead or Alive.

(From left) Devon Aoki, Holly Valance, Sarah Carter, Jaime Pressly and Natassia Malthe in a still from DOA: Dead or Alive.

Lifestyle

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

East meets West

How giant shark movie The Meg, starring Li Bingbing and Jason Statham, became the highest grossing China-US co-production in history

Li Bingbing and Jason Statham in a scene from The Meg (2018).

Li Bingbing and Ruby Rose in a still from The Meg.

Rain Wilson and Winston Chow in a still from The Meg.

Li Bingbing (third, left) and Jason Statham (centre) lead an international cast in The Meg (2018). Despite negative reviews, the film made US$530 million worldwide to be the highest-grossing Chinese-American co-production of all time.

Zhang Yimou’s fantasy movie The Great Wall with Matt Damon – a great fail for the China-US co-production model

Matt Damon in a still from The Great Wall.

Director Zhang Yimou (centre) and his main cast members on the set of The Great Wall.

Andy Lau in a still from The Great Wall.

Matt Damon in a scene from The Great Wall. The most expensive film ever shot on Chinese soil, it lost US$75 million worldwide.

Keanu Reeves’ martial arts movie Man of Tai Chi marked a high point for China-US co-productions – yet bombed at the box office

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi (2013).

Tiger Chen stars in Man of Tai Chi, a 2013 film directed by Keanu Reeves.

Tiger Chen (right) and Yu Hai in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

Keanu Reeves in a still from Man of Tai Chi.

How Chinese movie fans made Warcraft the most successful video game adaptation of all time

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016).

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning (2016). Despite flopping badly in the US, the film made a massive US$156 million in its first five days on release in China.

Travis Fimmel (left) in a scene from Warcraft: The Beginning.

Fimmel (left) and director Duncan Jones on the set of Warcraft: The Beginning.

A still from Warcraft: The Beginning.

How 2012 time-travel thriller Looper rewrote the future of Chinese-American co-productions

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a still from Looper.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a scene from Looper. The movie was one of the first major Hollywood films to be granted Chinese co-production status.

Summer Qing (left) and Bruce Willis in a still from Looper.

Emily Blunt in a still from Looper.

Director Rian Johnson (left) speaks to Gordon-Levitt on the set of Looper.

US-China co-production Transformers: Age of Extinction, with its Hong Kong scenes and Chinese character, made more money in China than in the US

Mark Wahlberg in a still fromTransformers: Age of Extinction.  

Optimus Prime and a Dinobot in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction. The fourth instalment in the Transformers series took more money at the Chinese box office than in the US.

 Mark Wahlberg at the world premiere of Transformers: Age of Extinction, at the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, in 2014. Photo: Felix Wong

Stanley Tucci and Li Bingbing in a still from Transformers: Age of Extinction.

A model of the Transformers character Bumblebee in front of Qianmen Gate in central Beijing in 2014. Photo: Jason Lee/Reuters

Why China – not Jackie Chan, nor even Jaden Smith – is the real star of 2010 co-production The Karate Kid

Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid (2010).

Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, co-stars of The Karate Kid. The real star of the 2010 co-production is arguably China, where the film was shot in locations including the Forbidden City, Great Wall and Wudang mountains. Photo: AP

Jaden Smith in a still from The Karate Kid.

Jackie Chan as Mr. Han and Jaden Smith as Dre Parker in a still from The Karate Kid.

How Marvel’s Iron Man 3 tried but failed to please Chinese viewers, from Fan Bingbing’s pointless cameo to brazen product placement

Robert Downey Jr. in a still from Marvel’s Iron Man 3 (2013). A special cut of the movie made for Chinese audiences included four minutes of extra footage. 

Ben Kingsley plays a version of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3.

Fan Bingbing in a still from the Chinese version of Iron Man 3.

Performers at a promotional event before the release of Iron Man 3 in China. Photo: Reuters

Why Jackie Chan’s 2017 movie The Foreigner, a UK-China co-production, was that rare project to offer the best of both worlds

Jackie Chan in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Rory Fleck Byrne in a still from The Foreigner, directed by Martin Campbell. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Jackie Chan and Katie Leung in a still from The Foreigner. Photo: Christopher Raphael

Pierce Brosnan in a still from The Foreigner.

Jackie Chan (centre) at the China premiere screening of The Foreigner.

How The Last Emperor opened doors for more China co-productions and offered a balanced view of its complicated past

Tao Wu and Joan Chen in a still from The Last Emperor, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.

John Lone as Puyi in a scene from Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987). The film opened doors for future co-productions with China.

A still from The Last Emperor.

Film director Bernardo Bertolucci (right) in Beijing, in 1985, with The Last Emperor adviser Pujie, brother of Puyi, the last emperor of China’s Qing dynasty.

How Furious 7 left the competition behind in China, unlike most China-US co-productions

Paul Walker in a scene from Furious 7. When the China-US co-production was released in China in 2015, it broke just about every record going.

A still from Furious 7.

Director James Wan and Vin Diesel on the set of Furious 7.

How 2012 movie The Expendables 2 short-changed Chinese viewers and everyone else, too – but still made US$315 million

Sylvester Stallone in a still from The Expendables 2.

(From left:) Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Sylvester Stallone, Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren in a still from The Expendables 2.

Jet Li in a still from The Expendables 2.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in a still from The Expendables 2.

Sylvester Stallone (left) and Yu Nan in a still from The Expendables 2.

How US-China co-production The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), co-starring Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh, buried a billion-dollar franchise

Jet Li in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Jet Li as the vicious Han Emperor in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).

Maria Bello (left) and Brendan Fraser in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Luke Ford (left) and Isabella Leong in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Michelle Yeoh in a still from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Despite starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom, a US-China co-production, ended up as ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for kids’

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online


From left: Jackie Chan, Michael Angarano and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008). Photo: SCMPost

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom. Photo: Online

Jet Li (left) and Jackie Chan arrive for the world premiere of The Forbidden Kingdom in Beijing, China in 2008. Photo: AP

Jet Li and Liu Yifei in a still from The Forbidden Kingdom (2008).

Steven Spielberg’s China-set Empire of the Sun – the first American film to be shot in Shanghai since the 1940s – forgot one important element: the Chinese

Christian Bale (left) in a still from Empire of the Sun.

Christian Bale in a still from Empire of the Sun.

The crowded streets of Shanghai in a still from Empire of the Sun. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

A still from Empire of the Sun.

How The Dark Knight’s makers tried in vain to court China by shooting scenes for Christopher Nolan’s superhero masterpiece in Hong Kong

The Dark Night was partly filmed in Hong Kong.

Batman swoops over Hong Kong’s Central district in a scene from The Dark Knight, which failed to impress China despite its makers’ intentions. Photo: Warner Brothers

Christopher Nolan (right) on the set of The Dark Knight in Hong Kong.

Crowds mob Christian Bale during shooting in Hong Kong in 2007. Photo: SCMP

 Chin Han plays corrupt businessman Lau (right), with Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, in a still from The Dark Knight (2008).

Bad guys changed from Chinese to North Korean in Red Dawn remake at the height of Hollywood appeasing China in 2012 – but it still flopped

Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn (2012).

(From left) Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson and Chris Hemsworth in a still from Red Dawn. Photo: Ron Phillips/2009 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

‘North Korea’ in a still from Red Dawn.

Chris Hemsworth and cast in a still from Red Dawn.

Will Yun Lee in a still from Red Dawn.

Did China ruin actor Richard Gere’s career after 1997 film Red Corner?

FOR USE WITH FEATURE PACKAGE FOR SUNDAY NOV. 2 --Chinese actress Bai Ling begs Richard Gere not to run in a scene from the movie “Red Corner,” being released Friday, Oct. 31.  “Red Corner,” an account of an American executive framed for murder and railroaded by the Chinese judicial system, is one of five films being released that deal with Chinese oppression.  The fresh batch of China-related films is motivated by genuine concern about international human rights and the film business’ unique position to advocate for change. (AP Photo/Richard Foreman Jr., HO)

Richard Gere in the 1997 film Red Corner, which was highly critical of China. Photo: UPPA

Bai Ling (centre) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Richard Gere (centre) and Bai Ling (right) in a still from Red Corner. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios

Is Dwayne Johnson action movie Skyscraper a blueprint for US-China co-production despite being a box-office flop in America?

Dwayne Johnson attends a Skyscraper press conference in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson (left) and Chin Han in a still from Skyscraper, a film which courted the Chinese market it wanted to break into with respect. 

Neve Campbell (left) and Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Johnson with Chin Han (left) and Campbell (right) at the Skyscraper press conference in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang

Dwayne Johnson in a still from Skyscraper.

Why this dragon didn’t roar: starring Sam Neill, first Chinese-Australian film co-production The Dragon Pearl was a flop

Sam Neill in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

A still from The Dragon Pearl (2011). In order to appease China and get approval for the film, the character of the dragon was changed and the script rewritten weeks before filming began. 

Li Linjin as Ling (left) and Jordan Chan as Wu Dong in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Sam Neill as Chris Chase (left) and Robert Mammone as Philip Dukas in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Louis Corbett and Li Linjin in a still from The Dragon Pearl.

Why Milla Jovovich movie Ultraviolet, a US film shot in China, went so horribly wrong

Milla Jovovich in a still from the 2006 movie Ultraviolet, a US-China co-production that rips off sci-fi standards such as Total Recall, The Matrix and Minority Report.

Milla Jovovich (left) and Cameron Bright in a still from Ultraviolet.

Milla Jovovich in a still from Ultraviolet.

(From left) Ultraviolet director Kurt Wimmer, Charles Wang of producer Salon Films, and John Tsang, then Hong Kong secretary of commerce, industry and technology, in 2004. Photo: SCMP

Why Brad Pitt was banned from China after 1997 movie Seven Years in Tibet

Brad Pitt as mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacque Annaud. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo.

Brad Pitt in a still from Seven Years in Tibet (1997), directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Seven Years in Tibet director Jean-Jacques Annaud (left) and star Brad Pitt (centre), and members of the Tibetan Association of Southern California, at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on October 6, 1997. Photo: Reuters

Brad Pitt (right) as Heinrich Harrer receives a blessing from Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk as the Dalai Lama in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt (left) as Heinrich Harrer and David Thewlis as fellow Austrian mountaineer Peter Aufschnaiter in a still from Seven Years in Tibet. Photo: Columbia/Tristar Photo

Brad Pitt poses for a selfie with Chinese fans as he arrives at a premiere of the film Allied in Shanghai, China on November 14, 2016. Photo: AP

Was Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, a US-Mexico co-production set in Hong Kong, really a show of Hollywood power?

A still from a scene in Hong Kong in Guillermo del Toro’s “Pacific Rim”. The film, inspired by Godzilla movies, was criticised by some in China for its geopolitical undertones, but the director argued that it was simply popcorn entertainment. Photo: Warner Bros

Charlie Hunnam (left) and Rinko Kikuchi in a still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

A still from “Pacific Rim”. Photo: Warner Bros

Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro signs posters from “Pacific Rim” in Los Angeles, California, in 2013. Photo: EPA/Michael Nelson

How US-China co-production The 355, starring Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain and Fan Bingbing, failed on all fronts

Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg.

(From left) Diane Kruger as Marie, Jessica Chastain as Mason “Mace” Brown and Lupita Nyong’o as Khadijah in a still from “The 355”, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg. The US-China co-production, which also featured Fan Bingbing, was a box office flop.

Co-writer/director Simon Kinberg (left) and Jessica Chastain on the set of The 355.

Fan Bingbing as Lin Mi Sheng in a still from The 355, co-written and directed by Simon Kinberg.

(From left) Penélope Cruz, Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o and Diane Kruger in a still from The 355.

How Jackie Chan vehicle Skiptrace, a 2016 US-China co-production by Hollywood director Renny Harlin, put the clash in culture clash

Jackie Chan as Benny Chan and Johnny Knoxville as US gambler Connor Watts in a still from US-China co-production Skiptrace (2016). Photo: Intercontinental Film Distributors

Fan Bingbing as Samantha (left), the daughter of Jackie Chan’s partner, and Johnny Knoxville as American gambler Connor Watts (right) in a still from “Skiptrace”.

Film director Renny Harlin in Hong Kong in 2019. Photo: Edmond So

Jackie Chan as Hong Kong detective Benny Chan in a still from “Skiptrace”.

Fan Bingbing in a still from “Skiptrace”.

How Bait 3D, an Australia-Singapore shark movie co-production, became a monster hit at the Chinese box office

A still from “Bait 3D”.

Sharni Vinson (left) and Xavier Samuel in a still from “Bait 3D” (2012), which took the Chinese box office by storm.

“Bait 3D” has “the requisite mix of gore, bad CGI and ‘Jaws’ jokes”. 

Adrian Pang as Jessup in a still from “Bait 3D”.

Clean up on aisle three: a great white shark menaces shoppers in a still from “Bait 3D”.

How Disney got kicked out of China over Martin Scorsese’s Kundun, a 1997 movie that ripped a hole in US-China relations

Tulku Jamyang Kunga Tenzin is bowed to in a scene from the film &apos;Kundun&apos;, 1997. (Photo by Buena Vista/Getty Images)

Why flop movie Shatter is a perfect 1970s Hong Kong time capsule

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Shatter, featuring Peter Cushing, Lily Li and Ti Lung, was a box office failure in 1974, but offered a glimpse of a Hong Kong in transition

Shatter, featuring Peter Cushing, Lily Li and Ti Lung, was a box office failure in 1974, but offered a glimpse of a Hong Kong in transition