Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge is a 1981 American superhero film that had a theatrical release abroad, a composite of the 1979 two-parter episode "The Chinese Web" of the contemporary television series The Amazing Spider-Man, released on 9 May 1981. It was directed by Don McDougall, written by Lionel E. Siegel and stars Nicholas Hammond as the titular character, Rosalind Chao, Robert F. Simon, Benson Fong, and Ellen Bry. It is the sequel to Spider-Man (1977) and Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978).
| Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge | |
|---|---|
 British theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Don McDougall |
| Written by | Lionel E. Siegel |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Lionel E. Siegel |
| Starring | Nicholas Hammond Rosalind Chao Robert F. Simon Benson Fong Ellen Bry |
| Cinematography | Vincent A. Martinelli |
| Edited by | Erwin Dumbrille Fred Roth |
| Music by | Dana Kaproff |
Production company | Danchuck Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures Television (United States) Columbia Pictures (International) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
It was the final Spider-Man film that was released theatrically outside of North America, until Columbia Pictures acquired the rights in 1999 from its license, due to licensing and financial issues with Cannon Films, Carolco Pictures and New Cannon, and finally released Spider-Man in 2002.
Plot
editMin Lo Chan, the Chinese Minister of Industrial Development, who happens to be an old college friend of J. Jonah Jameson, flees China and comes to the United States to locate three men who during the war approached him and offered him money for secrets about Mao Zedong, which he refused at the time. He stays with his niece Emily Chan, who lives in New York City. However, it appears the incident is now being investigated and he needs to find one of them quickly in order to verify his innocence. He asks Mr. Jameson to help him find them, but he wants it done quietly because it seems that there are elements who want him convicted, so Jameson asks Peter Parker to find the three ex-Marines on his behalf, but also to talk to them discreetly. Meanwhile, back in Hong Kong, Zeider who is a wealthy industrialist, is among the ones being considered to build a power plant for the Chinese Government worth one billion dollars. However, he knows that Min Lo Chan is considering another company but if he's convicted his successor will award the contract to him. As a result, he sends Clyde Evans to make sure he doesn't return to China alive.
As Spider-Man, Peter saves Min's life several times. However, in one of the murder attempts Min suffers a minor heart attack and has to remain under medical observation. To trick Evans, the Daily Bugle publishes the news stating that Min has died in hospital.
Peter manages to contact the last of the Marines needed to clear Min's name, Professor Dent, who agrees to help as he also wants to clear his name. Along with Peter and Min's niece Emily, Dent flies to Hong Kong to testify, but Zeider has him kidnapped to ensure his silence. During an incident while chasing the kidnappers, Emily discovers that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Finally, with Emily's help, Spider-Man traces Dent in Zeider's secret office at the top of a building. After defeating all of the henchmen, he captures Zeider and frees Dent. Peter Parker proceeds to return to the United States as Emily decides to stay in China and promises Peter not to reveal his secret identity.
Cast
edit- Nicholas Hammond as Spider-Man / Peter Parker
- Robert F. Simon as J. Jonah Jameson
- Rosalind Chao as Emily Chan
- Benson Fong as Min Lo Chan
- Richard Erdman as Zeider
- Ellen Bry as Julie Masters
- Chip Fields as Rita Conway
- John Milford as Professor Dent
- Hagan Beggs as Clyde Evans
- George Cheung as Doctor Pai
- Ted Danson as Major Collings
- Myron Healey as Lieutenant Olson
- Anthony Charnota as Quinn
- Tony Clark as Joe
Release
editThe film was theatrically released in European territories on 3 February 1981 and in Australia where it screened at the Pix theatre among others, distributed by Hoyts.[1][2] It received a VHS release in 1982.[3][4][5][6]
References
edit- ^ McEniry, Matthew J.; Peaslee, Robert Moses; Weiner, Robert G. (30 March 2016). Marvel Comics into Film: Essays on Adaptations Since the 1940s. McFarland. ISBN 9780786443048 – via Google Books.
- ^ Icons of the American Comic Book: From Captain America to Wonder Woman, Volym 1, page 695
- ^ https://www.filmposter.net/en/spider-man-the-dragon-s-challenge-original-release-german-movie-poster/ https://archive.today/20180719224310/https://www.filmposter.net/en/spider-man-the-dragon-s-challenge-original-release-german-movie-poster/
- ^ "Spider Man – The Dragon's Challenge 1979, directed by Don McDougall | Film review". 10 September 2012.
- ^ https://www.cbr.com/every-spider-man-movie-ever-ranked/ https://archive.today/20180719225258/https://www.cbr.com/every-spider-man-movie-ever-ranked/
- ^ "The evolution of 'Spider-Man' on the silver screen | Entertainment/Life | theadvocate.com". 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018.