{"podcast":{"title":"The VHS Strikes Back","slug":"the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704","podcast_index_feed_id":1174704,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/bd52f7c/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://www.patreon.com/thevhsstrikesback","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/production/podcast_uploaded_nologo/1885207/1885207-1599111512346-f90c846c4e82b.jpg","author":"Whatever Entertainment","episode_count":372,"summary":"Nostalgic movie review show hosted by Whatever Entertainment team, Dave and Chris. The guys go back in time to review some wonderful and truly awful movies from the days before streaming and even DVD's and had to go to the video store to pick up the latest entertainment. If you want to email the show please contact us on: thevhsstrikesback@gmail.com","last_synced_at":"2026-07-01T14:20:06.316111+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704"},"episode":{"title":"The Protector (1985) | Jackie Chan’s Gritty US Action Experiment | VHSSB","slug":"the-protector-1985-jackie-chan-s-gritty-us-action-experiment-vhssb","published_at":"2026-02-25T08:36:49+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704/the-protector-1985-jackie-chan-s-gritty-us-action-experiment-vhssb","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thevhsstrikesback/episodes/The-Protector-1985--Jackie-Chans-Gritty-US-Action-Experiment--VHSSB-e3fcjrt","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/bd52f7c/podcast/play/115805501/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-25%2F51b2220e-c248-de02-b4f7-cdc7b2426ecb.mp3","summary":"The Protector (1985) was chosen by Greig, and it stands as one of the more unusual entries in Jackie Chan’s filmography — an attempt to firmly break him into the American action market during the mid-1980s. Directed by James Glickenhaus and produced by Golden Harvest in collaboration with U.S. partners, the film was conceived as a tougher, more hard-edged vehicle than Chan’s Hong Kong output. The production reflected a clear effort to reshape Chan’s screen persona for Western audiences, emphasizing a grittier tone and more conventional cop-movie structure compared to the acrobatic, comedy-infused style that had made him famous in Asia. Filming took place across New York City and Hong Kong, giving the movie an international scope that was relatively ambitious for the time. However, creative differences emerged between Chan and the production team, particularly regarding tone and action style. Chan was reportedly unhappy with the film’s direction and later took control of certain fight sequences for the Hong Kong release. Upon its theatrical debut, The Protector performed modestly but failed to fully launch Chan in the U.S. market as intended. In retrospect, the film is often viewed as an important transitional project — a fascinating snapshot of Hollywood’s early attempts to package Jackie Chan for Western audiences before his eventual global breakthrough in the 1990s. TRAILER GUY PLOT SYNOPSIS One city on the edge… one cop pushed too far… and one case that’s about to explode across continents. When a routine investigation spirals into something far more dangerous, a hard-hitting detective finds himself pulled into a deadly world of crime, corruption, and international danger. Outgunned and outnumbered, he’ll have to rely on his instincts, his fists, and sheer determina…","meta_description":"The Protector (1985) was chosen by Greig, and it stands as one of the more unusual entries in Jackie Chan’s filmography — an attempt to firmly break him i…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3804,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704/episodes/the-protector-1985-jackie-chan-s-gritty-us-action-experiment-vhssb/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-vhs-strikes-back-1174704/the-protector-1985-jackie-chan-s-gritty-us-action-experiment-vhssb.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}