Project A Ａ計劃 (1983): The Movie Where Jackie Chan Fell Off a Clock Tower Three Times, Rode a Bike Like a Maniac, and Accidentally Invented the Blooper Reel

 

Let me ask you something.

Have you ever ridden a bicycle so fast that you literally lifted the front wheel and used it as a weapon to smack four chasing policemen in the face?

No?

Then you haven't lived. Or you haven't watched Project A.

This 1983 masterpiece is the film where Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao — the holy trinity of Hong Kong action comedy — joined forces for the first time in a full three-way collaboration. The result? HK$19.32 million at the Hong Kong box office, the #2 spot for the year behind only Aces Go Places, and a legacy that has never been topped.

But here's the thing. Project A is not just a great action film. It is a film where a man falls from a clock tower three times — yes, three separate times — because he refused to use a stunt double. It is a film where a bar fight escalates from throwing noodles to throwing tables to throwing the entire furniture store at each other. It is a film where the hero, handcuffed and dangling from a flagpole, looks down and thinks: "Yeah, I'm just going to drop 40 feet onto a concrete floor. That seems fine."

This is Hong Kong cinema at its most insane, most dangerous, and most wonderful.

And today, I'm going to tell you why you need to watch it — or rewatch it — immediately.

Part One: The Plot (Such As It Is)

Okay, let's get the "story" out of the way.

It's turn-of-the-century Hong Kong. Pirates, led by the delightfully named Lo San Pao (Dick Wei), are terrorizing the coastline. The Hong Kong police force is divided into two rival factions: the land police and the Marine Police, who are basically the red-headed stepchildren of law enforcement.

Enter Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan), a hot-headed Marine Police officer who is tired of his department being treated like a joke. After a disastrous anti-pirate operation that ends with their boat being blown up — before they even left the harbor — the Marine Police are disbanded. The land police, led by the smug and insufferable Deputy Commissioner, celebrate.

But Ma doesn't give up. He teams up with his old friend Fei (Sammo Hung), a small-time crook with a heart of gold and a face that could stop a clock, and the reluctantly helpful Inspector Hong (Yuen Biao). Together, they launch "Project A" — a plan so secret that even the people executing it don't know what it is.

The film then descends into a series of breathtaking action sequences, concluding with an epic battle on Pirates' Island that involves more explosions, flips, and broken furniture than a demolition derby at a furniture warehouse.

But let's be honest. No one watches Project A for the plot. You watch it for the things. The things that happen to human bodies. The things that should not be possible without a trampoline and a lot of painkillers.

Part Two: The Bicycle Chase — A Love Letter to Insanity

Let me describe the greatest bicycle chase in cinema history.

Ma has stolen a bicycle from a bewildered man on the street. He is being chased by a dozen land police officers. They are on foot. He is on two wheels. He enters a narrow alley — not a straight, boring alley, but a labyrinthine network of twisty passages, all alike.

What follows is a four-minute sequence of pure, unadulterated genius.

Ma uses the environment as a weapon. A clothesline becomes a tripwire. A ladder becomes a battering ram. A basket of eggs becomes a blinding agent (and, for the recipient, a very sticky shirt). At one point, he lifts the front wheel of the bike and swings it like a baseball bat, knocking down three pursuers at once.

But the best moment — the absolute peak — comes when Ma rounds a corner and the bicycle seat pops off the post. He doesn't notice. He sits down. The metal post connects with his… sensitive area.

His face. Jackie Chan's face in that moment is worth the price of admission alone.

He doesn't scream. He doesn't stop. He just makes a face that says: "I have made a terrible mistake, and I am going to pay for it for the rest of this movie."

This entire sequence was inspired by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial — specifically, the scene where Elliott and E.T. fly through the air on a bicycle. When a special effects technician pointed out the similarity to Jackie, he reportedly got so worried about potential plagiarism that he stopped production and went to watch the entire movie. Only after confirming that E.T. didn't feature a man smacking people with a bicycle wheel did he give the all-clear.

Part Three: The Clock Tower — Or, "Why Jackie Chan’s Insurance Company Hated Him"

Now we come to the scene. The one that has been parodied by The Simpsons, Gintama, and basically every action comedy that came after.

Ma is handcuffed to a flagpole, dangling above a multi-story drop. A 40-foot drop. Onto a hard surface. With no padding. He has two choices: hang there forever, or let go.

He lets go.

He falls. He hits a series of awnings — the first breaks his fall slightly, the second he completely misses, and the third he crashes through like a bowling ball through tissue paper. He lands on the ground and, after a moment of stunned silence, gets up and limps away.

Here's the thing about that scene: It was filmed three times. Not because of multiple camera angles — because Jackie kept failing.

The first attempt was done by a stuntman named Mars, a member of the "Stuntmen Association." He survived, but the landing wasn't cinematic enough.

The second attempt was done by Jackie himself. He missed the second awning and crashed onto the ground, injuring his neck. He was so dazed that he didn't even know what year it was.

The third attempt — the one we see in the final film — was also Jackie. And when he landed, he immediately rolled into the shot, got up, and limped away.

But here is the detail that makes this insane: Jackie was terrified. He reportedly stood on top of that clock tower for seven days, unable to jump. It was only when Sammo Hung showed up and, in classic big brother fashion, yelled at him, "Are you going to jump or are we going home?!" that Jackie finally let go.

He jumped. He fell. He limped. And he accidentally invented a new genre of action filmmaking: the "blooper reel as part of the movie."

Project A was the first film to include outtakes during the end credits — showing Jackie and the crew laughing, messing up, and, in this case, almost dying. It was meant to be a one-off joke. It became a Jackie Chan trademark.

Part Four: The Bar Fight — A Masterclass in "Using Your Environment"

Before the clock tower, before the bicycle, there is the bar fight.

This is the scene that establishes the film's tone: chaotic, funny, and very, very painful.

Ma is trying to get information from a group of pirates disguised as customers. When a fight breaks out, the scene escalates from "fistfight" to "food fight" to "weapons-grade furniture war" in about 90 seconds.

At one point, Ma and Fei (Sammo Hung) are fighting back-to-back, their movements perfectly synchronized. They're not just punching — they're dancing. Every move flows into the next. A kick here, a table flip there, a moment of silent communication where they both decide to throw a bowl of noodles into the same guy's face.

This back-to-back fight scene became a signature of the "Three Brothers" films. It was a way to showcase their shared training at the China Drama Academy, where they learned to move as one unit.

But the bar fight also establishes something darker: the consequences of violence.

Earlier, Ma's uncle was murdered in a similar bar — stabbed in the back by a coward. The fight that follows is not just funny; it's cathartic. Ma is fighting for revenge. The laughter is just a bonus.

Part Five: The Pirates' Island Finale — Why Sammo Hung Was the Real MVP

The final battle on Pirates' Island is where Project A transforms from a comedy into a war movie.

Dozens of pirates. Explosions. Fire. And one very angry Jackie Chan.

But here's a secret: the director of these action scenes wasn't just Jackie. It was also Sammo Hung. In fact, many of the film's best sequences were choreographed by the big man himself.

Sammo was the more experienced brother. He had already directed several hit films by 1983. When Jackie was unsure about a $4 million set piece involving a life-sized pirate ship, it was Sammo who told him, "Don't waste the money — it's not essential to the story." Jackie listened. He saved the money. He used it for the clock tower instead.

Sammo also played Fei, the lovable rogue who is always eating, always scheming, and always ready to hit someone with a chair. His physical comedy is the perfect counterpoint to Jackie's athletic grace and Yuen Biao's acrobatic precision.

The film's final scene — where the three brothers stand victorious, bruised, and exhausted — is a perfect summary of their partnership. They are not just co-stars. They are brothers. And Project A is their family photo.

Part Six: The Legacy — Why This Film Still Matters in 2026

It has been 43 years since Project A was released.

In that time, CGI has advanced to the point where actors can be de-aged, digital stunt doubles can leap off buildings, and entire armies can be generated with a click of a mouse. And yet, no CGI explosion has ever made me flinch the way that clock tower fall did. No digital car chase has made me laugh the way that bicycle chase did.

Because Project A is real. The fear on Jackie's face is real. The bruises are real. The outtakes are not a gimmick; they are proof. They are a contract between the filmmaker and the audience: "We did this for real. Now you watch it for real."

In an era where superheroes fly through the air without a scratch, Project A reminds us that a man falling is more impressive than a god hovering. Because a man can die. A god cannot.

The film also represents a lost era of physical comedy. The Three Brothers — Jackie, Sammo, and Yuen Biao — were trained from childhood in acrobatics. They could flip, kick, and fall in ways that modern actors simply cannot. That training is on full display in every frame of Project A.

Final Thoughts

Project A is a film about men who refuse to give up. The land police refuse to admit defeat. The Marine Police refuse to be disbanded. And Jackie Chan refused to use a stunt double, even when his neck was on the line — literally.

It is also a film about absurdity. A fight breaks out in a bar over a missing gun, and by the end, the entire restaurant is in ruins. Two police officers argue about funding, and it escalates into a food fight. A man falls from a clock tower, gets up, and limps away.

This is the genius of Project A. It treats violence as both dangerous and ridiculous. It makes you laugh at the same moment it makes you gasp. It acknowledges that life is painful, but also that pain is temporary — and that the best way to deal with it is to laugh, dust yourself off, and get back on the bike.

Even if the seat falls off.

Have you seen Project A? What's your favorite Jackie Chan stunt — the clock tower, the bike chase, or the bar fight? Let me know in the comments.

Tom De · The Movie Prince 🎬