The Protector (1985 film)

The Protector
Hong Kong poster
Directed byJames Glickenhaus
Written byJames Glickenhaus
Edward Tang (H.K. version only)
Produced byDavid Chan
Shek Hong-chan
Raymond Chow
Leonard Ho
StarringJackie Chan
Danny Aiello
Roy Chiao
Moon Lee
Peter Yang
CinematographyChang Yao-chu
Mark Irwin
Johnny Koo
Jimmy Leung
Ardy Lam
Gary Hoh
Edited byYao Chung-chang
Evan A. Lottman
Barbara Minor
Peter Cheung
Music byKen Thorne
Distributed byGolden Harvest (Hong Kong)
Warner Bros. (U.S.)
Release dates
  • July 11, 1985 (1985-07-11) (Hong Kong)
  • August 23, 1985 (1985-08-23) (U.S.)
Running time
91 minutes (Hong Kong)
95 minutes (U.S.)
CountriesHong Kong
United States
LanguagesCantonese
English
Box officeHK$13,917,612 (Hong Kong)
US$981,817 (U.S., limited release)

The Protector (Chinese: 威龍猛探) is a 1985 action film directed by James Glickenhaus and starring Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, and Roy Chiao. A Hong Kong–American co-production, it was Chan's second attempt at breaking into the American film market, after 1980 film The Big Brawl, which had moderate box office success but was considered a disappointment. Conflicts between Glickenhaus and Chan during production led to two official versions of the film: Glickenhaus' original version for American audiences and a Hong Kong version re-edited by Jackie Chan. The original Glickenhaus cut only received a sparse release in North America, while Chan's edited version was a moderate success in Asia.