Big Trouble In Litt le China books

Tara Bennett and Paul Terry | Boom! Studios

When Big Trouble In Little China opened in 1986, it tanked. “Audiences weren’t ready for it,” rues director John Carpenter in his candid The Making Of… foreword. “The studio were in shock because they wanted Raiders Of The Lost Ark with an Asian theme. It wasn’t what I made.” Instead, he gave us a goofy comedy steeped in Chinese mysticism that’s become a cult classic.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Ol’ Jack Burton’s (Kurt Russell) misadventures in Frisco’s Chinatown, Tara Bennett (of this parish) and Paul Terry cover the movie with twin coffee-table tomes. The Making Of… is the meatier of the two. With archive photos, breakdowns of key scenes and a plethora of cast and crew retrospectives, it’s exhaustively researched. Particularly poignant are reflections on how progressive the film was. “Back then,” remembers actor Donald Li, “and even today, there hasn’t been many studio projects that are telling a story that involve a lot of Asian faces.”

The Art Of… showcases artwork from the time of production (storyboards, costume sketches, international posters) and beyond it (comic books, fan art, mini-figures). Fascinating stuff, though combining with The Making Of... might have made a more essential single volume. Still, the exuberant joy of Big Trouble permeates both titles. “Making movies with John was always pure fun,” gushes Russell in his outro. Exploring these books, you believe it. Tim Coleman