Live Life Team
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) is an underappreciated gem from director John Carpenter, but it has given pop-culture a wealth of material to play with in regards to memorable quotes.
This is a story of a hapless, loudmouth truck driver who finds himself caught up in a showdown between ancient Chinese forces in San Francisco’s Chinatown, with only a half-crazed sorcerer-cum-tour bus driver and a hot-headed martial artist for allies against a seven foot tall demon sorcerer.
The dialogue snaps and crackles with wit and humor in equal measure. Sarcasm in the face of adversity is a normal Carpenter-character trait and nowhere is it more in evidence than in BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, delivered with aplomb by Kurt Russell as the out-of-his-element truck driver Jack Burton, Victor Wong as the Chinese sorcerer/tour-bus-driver Egg Shen and Donald Li as the befuddled Eddie Lee. But don’t take my word for it, have a few examples:
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Eddie Lee:
Anybody who showed up was going to join Lim Lee in the Hell-of-Being-Cut-to-Pieces.
Jack Burton:
Hell of what,
Eddie Lee:
Chinese have a lot of hells.
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Jack Burton:
It’s all in the reflexes.
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Jack Burton:
What’s in the flask, Egg, Magic potion,
Egg Shen:
Yeah.
Jack Burton:
Thought so, good. What do we do, Drink it,
Egg Shen:
Yeah.
Jack Burton:
Good, thought so.
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Egg Shen:
Can see things no one else can see. Do things no one else can do.
Jack Burton:
Real things,
Egg Shen:
As real as Lo Pan!
Jack Burton:
Hey, what more can a guy ask for,
Egg Shen:
Oh, a six-demon bag!
Jack Burton:
Terrific, a six-demon bag. Sensational. What’s in it, Egg,
Egg Shen:
Wind, fire, all that kind of thing!
