Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championships and later founded his own discipline, Chun Kuk Do. Shortly after, in Hollywood, Norris trained celebrities in martial arts. Norris went on to appear in a minor role in the spy film The Wrecking Crew (1968). Friend and fellow martial artist Bruce Lee invited him to play one of the main villains in The Way of the Dragon (1972). While Norris continued acting, friend and student Steve McQueen suggested he take it seriously. Norris took the starring role in the action film Breaker! Breaker! (1977), which turned a profit. His second lead, Good Guys Wear Black (1978), became a hit, and he soon became a popular action film star.
Project A is a 1983 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film starring and directed by Jackie Chan, who also wrote the screenplay with Edward Tang, who produced with Leonard Ho and Raymond Chow. The film co-stars Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Project A was released theatrically in Hong Kong on December 22, 1983.
The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that invested heavily in the video market, buying the international video rights to several classic film libraries. Some of their best known films include Joe (1970), Runaway Train (1985) and Street Smart (1987), all of which were Oscar-nominated.
The Way of the Dragon is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This is Lee's only complete directorial film and the last one released during his lifetime. The film co-stars Nora Miao, Robert Wall, Wei Ping-ou and Chuck Norris.
Crime Story is a 1993 Hong Kong action crime thriller film, directed by Kirk Wong, and starring Jackie Chan, Kent Cheng, Law Kar-ying and Puishan Au-yeung. The film was released in Hong Kong on 24 June 1993.
Invasion U.S.A. is a 1985 American action film produced by Cannon Films, and starring Chuck Norris. It was directed by Joseph Zito. It involves the star fighting off a force of Soviet/Cuban-led guerrillas.
The Delta Force is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin as leaders of an elite group of Special Operations Forces personnel based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. Directed, co-written and co-produced by Menahem Golan, the film features Martin Balsam, Joey Bishop, Robert Vaughn, Steve James, Robert Forster, Shelley Winters, George Kennedy, and an uncredited Liam Neeson in an early role. It is the first installment in The Delta Force film series. Two sequels were produced, entitled Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and the direct-to-video Delta Force 3: The Killing Game. The Delta Force was "inspired" by the hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
Silent Rage is a 1982 American action crime science fiction film directed by Michael Miller. It stars Chuck Norris as a sheriff who must stop a mentally ill man who goes on a rampage after being granted near-indestructibility in a medical experiment. It grossed $10.5 million on release.
Lone Wolf McQuade is a 1983 American Western film directed by Steve Carver and starring Chuck Norris, David Carradine, Barbara Carrera, L.Q. Jones, R.G. Armstrong, Leon Isaac Kennedy and Robert Beltran.
Missing in Action is a 1984 American action film directed by Joseph Zito and starring Chuck Norris. It is set in the context of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. Colonel Braddock, who escaped a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp ten years earlier, returns to Vietnam to find American soldiers listed as missing in action during the Vietnam War. The film was followed by a prequel, Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), and a sequel, Braddock: Missing in Action III (1988). The first two Missing in Action installments had been filmed back-to-back with the intent to have the first film involve the POW years of Braddock be the first film. However, it was determined that the commercial prospects were stronger with the film directed by Zito involving the POW rescue. As such, Hool's film was turned into Missing in Action 2 and labeled as a prequel that detailed events before those in Missing in Action.
American Hot Wax is a 1978 biographical film directed by Floyd Mutrux with a screenplay by John Kaye from a story by John Kaye and Art Linson. The film tells the story of pioneering disc jockey Alan Freed, who in the 1950s helped introduce and popularize rock and roll, and is often credited with coining the term "rock 'n' roll". The film starred Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, Jay Leno, Laraine Newman, Jeff Altman, and Moosie Drier. It also featured musical performances by Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Ford, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Brooklyn Dreams as "Professor La Plano and The Planotones". The film was not a box-office success.
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning is a 1985 American action adventure film, and a prequel to Missing in Action, both of which star Chuck Norris. It was directed by Lance Hool, and written by Steve Bing, Larry Levinson and Arthur Silver. It is the second installment in the Missing in Action film series.
Firewalker is a 1986 American action-adventure comedy film starring Chuck Norris, Louis Gossett Jr., Will Sampson in his final feature film role, and Melody Anderson. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Norman Aladjem, Robert Gosnell and Jeffrey M. Rosenbaum. This was the first comedic role for Norris, giving him a chance to poke fun at his action persona.
A Force of One is a 1979 American martial arts action-thriller film directed by Paul Aaron and starring Chuck Norris, with Jennifer O'Neill, Ron O'Neal, Clu Gulager, and martial artist Bill Wallace in his film debut. Norris plays karate champion Matt Logan, who is hired to assist an anti-narcotics police unit, who are being targeted by a killer. The screenplay by Ernest Tidyman was based on a story co-written by martial artist Pat E. Johnson.
James Fargo is an American film director. He directed numerous films from 1976 to 1998. After serving as assistant director to Steven Spielberg on Duel and on many films starring Clint Eastwood, he was then given the chance to direct the third Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer, in 1976. Later he also directed Eastwood in 1978's Every Which Way but Loose. It would be his final film working with Eastwood. Fargo has also directed other films such as Caravans, A Game for Vultures, Voyage of the Rock Aliens, as well as Forced Vengeance with Chuck Norris.
Good Guys Wear Black is a 1978 American martial arts action film starring Chuck Norris and directed by Ted Post. This was the second film to feature Norris as the star, following Breaker! Breaker! (1977). However, this is the one that Norris considers his "breakthrough".
An Eye for an Eye is a 1981 American crime action film directed by Steve Carver. It stars Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee, Richard Roundtree, Matt Clark, Mako Iwamatsu, and Maggie Cooper.
Five Golden Dragons is a 1967 international co-production comedy action film set in Hong Kong and photographed in Techniscope on location in September 1966 at the Tiger Balm Pagoda and Shaw Brothers studios. It was directed by Jeremy Summers and starred Bob Cummings in his final theatrical feature film, Margaret Lee who sings two songs in the film, Rupert Davies and a cast of "guest stars".
Vengeance is a 2009 action thriller film co-produced and directed by Johnnie To, and written by Wai Ka-Fai. It stars Johnny Hallyday, Anthony Wong, Gordon Lam, Lam Suet, Simon Yam, Michelle Ye and Sylvie Testud. The film tells the story of Francis Costello, a French chef and former assassin whose daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren are attacked by a gang of Triads. Costello travels to Macau to embark on a quest for revenge, enlisting the aid of three hitmen. The film explores the themes of assassination, violence and the influence of Triads in modern society. Produced by Milkyway Image, the film was released by ARP Sélection in France, and Media Asia Films in Hong Kong.
The Man from Hong Kong, originally released in the US as The Dragon Flies, is a 1975 action film written and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in his directorial debut and starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, with Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Rosalind Speirs, Rebecca Gilling, Sammo Hung, Grant Page and Frank Thring in supporting roles. The first film to be made as an international coproduction between Australia and Hong Kong, it serves as a satire of the James Bond and Dirty Harry franchises, combined with tropes of the concurrent chopsocky craze. Its plot follows Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Wang) of the RHKPF's Special Branch, who travels to Sydney to perform an extradition, only to find himself locked in battle with Jack Wilton (Lazenby), the city's most powerful crime lord.
