Breathing Fire

Last updated
Breathing Fire
Breathing fire DVD poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byBrandon De-Wilde (co-directed)
Lou Kennedy
Written byRaymond Mahoney
Wayne John
Story by Delon Tanners
Produced byRaymond Mahoney
Starring Ke Huy Quan
Eddie Saavedra
Ed Neil
Jerry Trimble
Bolo Yeung
Wendell C. Whitaker
CinematographyHenry Chinon
Edited byRick Mitchell
William Young
Music by Paul Hertzog
Production
company
Golden Pacific Films & Arts
Distributed byScanbox Entertainment
Release dates
  • January 16, 1991 (1991-01-16)(Sweden)
  • July 15, 1992 (1992-07-15)(United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Breathing Fire is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Lou Kennedy in his directorial debut, and co-directed by Brandon De-Wilde. The film stars Ke Huy Quan, with a supporting cast of Eddie Saavedra, Ed Neil and Jerry Trimble. The film was released on direct-to-VHS in the United States on July 15, 1992. [1]

Contents

It is a remake of the 1977 Hong Kong film The Flash Legs that starred Tao-liang Tan, who executive produced and wrote this film under the pseudonym of Delon Tanners. This was Eddie Saavedra's first and only American film. After the film, Saavedra has retired from acting.

Plot

Michael Moore (Jerry Trimble), a Vietnam vet, pulls off a bank heist with his gang, which includes the bank's manager. To ensure the loyalty of everyone involved, a set of keys is made to the hiding place for the loot so it can only be opened if all the members are present. These sets of keys were encrusted in a fake pizza mold that was later sliced and given to the gang. The bank manager gets cold feet and tries to back out, but Michael and his henchman arrive to kill him and his wife in their home.

The bank manager's daughter Annie (Laura Hamilton) gets hold of the key and runs for help to David Moore (Ed Neil), one of her father's old friends and also a Vietnam vet as well as Michael's brother. David does some investigation, alongside Michael's two sons, Charlie (Ke Huy Quan) and Tony (Eddie Saavedra), to find out who murdered the girl's parents. During his investigation, a disguised Michael cripples David. Charlie and Tony, having seen David fight, are impressed with his skills and asks him to train them. At first, David refuses. However, when the brothers are able to prove their bravery when they kneel on bricks overnight. David begins training the brothers. When the brothers' investigation leads them to one of Michael's gang members, Tank (Wendell C. Whitaker), a confrontation leads to Tank having a change of heart for the sake of his mother. Tank decides to help the brothers gain intel but Michael eventually finds out and kills Tank. Meanwhile, Tony and Charlie use their new skills first on gang member Alan (Allen Tackett) and eventually, the hulking Thunder (Bolo Yeung).

When David and Charlie eventually learn Michael is the gang leader and the one who killed the bank manager, Michael confronts the two. However, trouble brews up when Michael reveals why he adopted his son Charlie. During their time in Vietnam, David caught Michael killing Charlie's birth mother and had convinced him to adopt the orphaned baby. Shocked, Charlie is at first upset but then attempts to reason with Michael. However, Michael's arrogance and ultimatum leads to a showdown between father and son. When Michael is arrested, Tony arrives and not knowing the truth, puts the blame on Charlie. Tony vows to settle the score with Charlie at the national taekwondo tournament. Both Charlie and Tony eventually make the finals and Charlie at first refuses to fight Tony. After getting berated by the referee, Charlie finally fights back until he lets Tony knock him out. Tony wins but is even more in regret when he sees an unconscious Charlie. Tony attempts to help wake Charlie up and when he does, the brothers finally make amends with Tony the winner of the tournament.

Cast

Production

Jason David Frank was considered for the role of Tony, Frank turned down the role due to an injury occurred to him while training. The future Power Rangers star was then replaced by Eddie Saavedra. It is set and filmed at Chino Hills, Redlands and Fontana, California, in 39 days between February 22 and April 2, 1990, with part of the movie filmed at the home of Executive Producer Peter L. Zang in Bradbury, California.

The idea of the film came from former kung fu star Tan Tao-liang, who used the pseudonym "Delon Tanners". Tan was running his martial arts school in Monterey Park, California at the time and was a mentor to actor Ke Huy Quan. Tan took the idea partly from his 1977 film Shaolin Deadly Kicks, which had a similar premise of a gang who steals a key and splits it in pieces. Tan also served as executive producer on the film.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Cohen (actor)</span> American attorney and retired child actor (born 1974)

Jeffrey Bertan Cohen is an American attorney and retired child actor best remembered for appearing as Chunk in the 1985 Steven Spielberg production The Goonies. He is a founding partner of law firm Cohen & Gardner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ke Huy Quan</span> American actor (born 1971)

Ke Huy Quan, also known as Jonathan Ke Quan, is an American actor. As a child actor, Quan rose to fame playing Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Data in The Goonies (1985). Following a few roles in the 1990s, he took a 19-year acting hiatus, during which he worked as a stunt choreographer and assistant director.

<i>Head of the Class</i> American sitcom television series

Head of the Class is an American sitcom television series that ran from 1986 to 1991 on the ABC television network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickie Moore (actor)</span> American actor (1925–2015)

John Richard Moore Jr. was an American actor known professionally as Dickie Moore, he was one of the last surviving actors to have appeared in silent film. A busy and popular actor during his childhood and youth, he appeared in over 100 films until the early 1950s. Among his most notable appearances were the Our Gang series and films such as Oliver Twist, Blonde Venus, Sergeant York, Out of the Past, and Eight Iron Men.

<i>Encino Man</i> 1992 film by Les Mayfield

Encino Man is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut. The film stars Sean Astin, Brendan Fraser, Mariette Hartley, Richard Masur, and Pauly Shore with supporting roles done by Megan Ward, Robin Tunney, Michael DeLuise, and Ke Huy Quan. In the film, two teenagers discover and thaw a frozen caveman, who has to adjust to 20th-century society while teaching them life lessons of his own.

<i>Harlem Nights</i> 1989 comedy drama crime film directed by Eddie Murphy

Harlem Nights is a 1989 American crime comedy-drama film starring, written, and directed by Eddie Murphy. The film co-stars Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Danny Aiello, Michael Lerner, Della Reese, and Murphy's older brother Charlie. The film was released theatrically on November 17, 1989, by Paramount Pictures. The film tells the story of "Sugar" Ray and Vernest "Quick" Brown as a team running a nightclub in the late 1930s in Harlem while contending with gangsters and corrupt police officials.

<i>The Juror</i> 1996 American film

The Juror is a 1996 American legal thriller film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green. It was directed by Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a mafia trial and Alec Baldwin as a mobster sent to intimidate her. The film received highly negative reviews and Moore won a joint Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for both her performance in this film and in Striptease.

Jerry Trimble is an American martial artist, actor, stuntman, youth motivational speaker and former world kickboxing champion. Trimble played Detective Schwartz in the 1995 film Heat and Jonny in the 1989 film The Master.

<i>The Master</i> (1992 film) 1989 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Tsui Hark

The Master is a 1992 Hong Kong martial arts film written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark, and starring Jet Li, Yuen Wah, Crystal Kwok and Jerry Trimble. The project was filmed in 1989, but it was not released until 1992 when the success of Once Upon a Time in China made Li a major action star.

Antonio Viana Hernandez, also known as Anthony and Tony, was a Filipino actor, singer, and councilor of Quezon City.

<i>Second Time Around</i> (film) 2001 film by Jeffrey Lau

Second Time Around is a 2002 Hong Kong film starring Ekin Cheng, Cecilia Cheung and Ke Huy Quan. The film involves the use of parallel universes.

<i>A Place to Go</i> 1963 British film

A Place to Go is a 1963 British crime drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Bernard Lee, Rita Tushingham and Michael Sarne. Set in contemporary Bethnal Green in the East End of London, it charts the dramatic changes that were then happening in the lives of the British working class, fitting into the kitchen sink school of film-making that was popular in Britain at the time. The film was based on the novel Bethnal Green by Michael Fisher, which had been published in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Tan</span> Singaporean Producer and Stunt Coordinator

Philip Tan is a Singaporean / British film director and stunt coordinator. He is the father of actor Lewis Tan.

<i>Once a Thief</i> (1965 film) 1965 film by Ralph Nelson

Once a Thief is a 1965 crime film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Alain Delon, Ann-Margret, Van Heflin and Jack Palance. It was written by Zekial Marko, based on his 1961 novel Scratch a Thief. The movie was known in France as Les tueurs de San Francisco.

Tan Tao-liang is a Chinese-Korean martial artist and former film actor. He has used numerous pseudonyms throughout his career, most frequently Delon Tam, Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Tan Tao-liang, Delon Tan, Dorian Tan, and Delon Tanners. Noted for his leg holding and hopping skills, Tan was nicknamed "Flash Legs".

<i>Ambush</i> (1939 film) 1939 film by Kurt Neumann

Ambush is a 1939 American drama film directed by Kurt Neumann and written by Laura Perelman and S. J. Perelman. The film stars Gladys Swarthout, Lloyd Nolan, William "Bill" Henry, William Frawley, Ernest Truex and Broderick Crawford. The film was released on January 20, 1939, by Paramount Pictures.

The Electric State is an upcoming American science fiction adventure film directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. It is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Simon Stålenhag. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci, Jason Alexander, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobius M. Mobius</span> Fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics

Mobius M. Mobius, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Walter Simonson, the earliest incarnation of the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #353. A clone of Mark Gruenwald, various versions of Mobius from different points in time make up the bureaucratic leadership and middle management of the timekeeping organization known as the Time Variance Authority, including Mr. Tesseract, Mr. Ouroboros, and Mr. Paradox.

The 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2022, were presented on February 26, 2023 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, California. The ceremony streamed live on Netflix's YouTube channel, starting at 8:00 p.m. EST / 5:00 p.m. PST. The nominees were announced on January 11, 2023 by Ashley Park and Haley Lu Richardson via Instagram Live.

References

  1. Black Belt - May 1993 Vol. 31, No. 5 The ninth- and 10th-best fight films are, respectively, Johnathan Ke Quan's Breathing Fire and Tang Tak Wing's Trained to Fight. Breathing Fire includes some original tournament fight sequences between Quan and Eddie Saavedra, which ...