Fearless Tiger

Fearless Tiger (1991)

Vengeance was his motive. Tiger Claws was his weapon

A man's brother dies of an overdose from a new and potent drug introduced by a drug gang. He puts off his wedding to a beautiful model and postpones taking over the family business while he travels to Hong Kong to learn Tiger Claw kung fu from its master. Then he plans to take his revenge on the drug dealers responsible for his brother's death.

Date of release
1991-07-09
TMDB
4.2 / 10 (10)
Runtime
1h 28m
Genres
Action
Director
Ron Hulme

Casting

Interesting facts

Black Pearls is a 1991 Canadian martial arts film directed by Ron Hulme, and starring Jalal Merhi, Monika Schnarre, Lazar Rockwood, Bolo Yeung and Jamie Farr. Merhi stars as a college graduate who renounces his upper class lifestyle to learn martial arts in Hong Kong, and take down the local drug cartel responsible for the death of his brother. An international version, which received significant alterations, was released in 1994 under the title Fearless Tiger.

Production

Black Pearls was the first project for Merhi and his newly formed company Film One, but took two years to finish as he was still trying to balance his film aspirations and his day job as a jeweler at the time. The pitch was concocted by Merhi, director Ron Hulme and Merhi's kung fu student, York University film school graduate J. Stephen Maunder.

Merhi approached Jamie Farr, with whom he shares Lebanese origins, while he was in the Toronto area for a play at the Stage West hotel theater. Locally raised fashion model Monika Schnarre made her feature debut with the film. Bolo Yeung's participation was not planned in advance, and was added during production (see § Filming).

Merhi also summoned a number of his friends from the North American martial arts scene. The film was originally going to co-star Billy Blanks. However, he withdrew shortly before filming, after getting the opportunity to feature in Tango & Cash. He would end up working with Merhi in Talons of the Eagle. Sonny Onoo was another longtime acquaintance, with whom Merhi had talked for years about filming something together.

For the tournament that makes up the middle of the film, the main martial arts schools in Southern Ontario were invited to bring their best members, about fifty in all. In addition to Kwan, the tournament featured future UFC fighter Harold Howard and forms specialist Jean Frenette. American Gōjū-ryū figure Chuck Merriman, a mentor for Frenette and many others, played the referee.

Filming started on July 17 and lasted until September 3, 1989, mostly in the Toronto area. Some additional photography took place in Hong Kong. Merhi met Bolo Yeung through Gary Chau, a Chinese–Canadian student of Mo Chow who had his habits in the colony, while he was there to capture establishing shots.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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