The Chinese characters shown in the background during the opening credits are excerpts from a translation of "The Frog Prince."
Actress Brandon Merrill, who plays Jackie Chan's horse-riding Native American wife, is a real-life rodeo champion.
During the scene where Roy and Chon are drunk in the hotel, director Tom Dey hoped to include a drunken kung fu scene as an homage to Jui kuen II (1994) (Legend of the Drunken Master (1994)). There was no time to choreograph such a scene, so Dey showed Chon blowing bubbles from his mouth, as Wong Fei-hung does in the Drunken Master movie.
The name of Marshall Nathan Van Cleef is a homage to Lee Van Cleef, who starred in many spaghetti westerns.
The catchy quote "I don't know karate, but I know crazy" is actually a line from a James Brown song.
Chon Wang is the Chinese translation/pronunciation of John Wayne. However, in the case of Jackie Chan's character, Chon represents his last name while Wang is his first name. This represents the order Chinese names are presented.
The song playing during the first bar-fight sequence is the same song that plays during the The Dirty Dozen (1967)-style intro of the characters in _Armageddon (1998)_ , an earlier 'Owen Wilson' film.
Princess Pei Pei:
Father, is this my husband-to-be? He's a toad. If the Emperor is so fond of him, why doesn't he marry him?
Medicine Man:
Don't worry, it could be worse - he could be a white guy.
Chon Wang:
I got an idea: why don't I pretend I'm sick, and then you can attack the guard when they come in?
Roy O'Bannon:
Oh, you mean the sick person routine? Does that still work in China? 'Cause here it's sorta been done to death.
Chon Wang:
See! I told you so!
Roy O'Bannon:
No, you said "wet shirt don't break," not "piss shirt bend bar"!
Roy O'Bannon:
Ooooh... who's the pretty lady?
Chon Wang:
That's my wife!
Roy O'Bannon:
How long you been in this country?
Chon Wang:
Four days.
Roy O'Bannon:
Nice work.
Roy O'Bannon:
[Adjusting Chon's cowboy hat] There, sort of a rakish angle.
Chon Wang:
How do I look?
Roy O'Bannon:
I think you look great! I think you look like a real cowboy. Very dapper - red bandana.
[Holding out his hand]
Roy O'Bannon:
Roy O'Bannon.
Chon Wang:
[Shaking his hand] My name is Chon Wang.
Roy O'Bannon:
John Wayne?
Chon Wang:
Chon Wang.
Roy O'Bannon:
That's a terrible cowboy name!
Chon Wang:
Why?
Roy O'Bannon:
No, come on. That's not gonna work. That's horrible; that's so bad! And so's the ponytail!
Marshal Nathan Van Cleef:
How about that? It's a Mexican standoff. Only we ain't got no Mexicans.
Chon Wang:
He took the gold.
Roy O'Bannon:
Is that all you care about, the gold? Shame on you.
[Roy is watching Chon attempt to saddle his horse. The horse keeps pulling the saddle blanket off before Chon can get the saddle on]
Roy O'Bannon:
Well, best of luck to you. Guess this is what your people call "sayanora." Looks like Fido's giving you some problems there. You want me to, uh, give you a hand?
Chon Wang:
No, I can do it.
Roy O'Bannon:
*Sure* you can. H-How is a greenhorn like you gonna make it to Carson City and rescue this princess?
["Fido" pulls the saddle blanket off again. Roy sighs]
Roy O'Bannon:
Stop, stop, stop, stop. I can't take it any more. Watch me do it.
[He takes the saddle blanket]
Roy O'Bannon:
You get it like this and you put it up high
[demonstrates]
Roy O'Bannon:
. See, it'll drift back when you're riding.
[pause]
Roy O'Bannon:
All right, I'll do it.
Chon Wang:
Do what?
Roy O'Bannon:
Take you to Carson City, help you rescue Princess Pee Pee.
Chon Wang:
Pei Pei! You do not care about the princess.
Roy O'Bannon:
You don't know me very well, do you? Tell you one thing: I hate to think of an innocent member of Chinese nobility suffering, I'll tell you that.
[pause]
Roy O'Bannon:
You people believe in Karma over there, right? Well I've been thinking... there must be a reason why we keep running into each other. Now I've ridden with some terrible men, just people I couldn't trust, but when I look at you, there's something different about you. And I can see it, I can see it in your eyes. It's what the Indians call... chipichawa.
Chon Wang:
What's that?
Roy O'Bannon:
Chipichawa is nobility. And you have it, in spades. You got yourself a partner, and this has nothing to do with gold, okay?
[Spits in his hand and offers it to Chon]
Roy O'Bannon:
Shake on it.
Chon Wang:
Why are you spitting in your hand?
Roy O'Bannon:
Well, it's, uh, customary to seal the deal. Come on, let's go
[Chon spits into Roy's hand]
Roy O'Bannon:
. No, you -
[wipes of his hand on his shirt]
Roy O'Bannon:
this is going to be a long journey.
Roy O'Bannon:
Now I'm gonna have to get rid of my outlaw name, it just won't work anymore. My real name's Wyatt Earp.
Roy O'Bannon:
Come on. We're men, we're not piÒatas!
Roy O'Bannon:
You've lost your "winging it" privileges!
Roy O'Bannon:
I don't know Karate but I do know crazy, and I will use it.
Chon Wang:
What happened?
Roy O'Bannon:
Oh nothing I just killed him, how'd you do?
[Reading a reward poster]
Roy O'Bannon:
The Shanghai Kid. This is terrible!
Chon Wang:
I know. I'm not from Shanghai.
Medicine Man:
[on Peace Pipe] This is some pretty powerful shit.
Chon Wang:
You gave me bad directions!
Roy O'Bannon:
No, I gave you wrong directions.
[Holds up Chon's chopsticks]
Roy O'Bannon:
Want your toothpicks back?
Chon Wang:
Fight with honor. You will win.
Lo Fong:
One thing about the Chinese, Mr. Andrews. We do not renegotiate.
Roy O'Bannon:
Holy crap, the vultures are eating my head!
Roy O'Bannon:
[Looking at the bullet holes in his robe] It's a miracle. I am invincible. Roy! Invincible!
Chon Wang:
This is the West, not the East. The sun may rise where we come from... but here is where it sets.
Roy O'Bannon:
I feel like there's this gap between us. It's like I'm a cowboy, you're an Indian. You say wampum, I say money. It is so important, I just think that...
Falling Leaves:
(kisses Roy) Shut up, Roy. You talk too much.
Imperial Guard:
Chon Wang!
Roy O'Bannon:
That's right, Johnny Wayne's here.
Roy O'Bannon:
Yes, John, I've heard all about the Emperor. Must be one hell of a man.
Chon Wang:
He's only twelve.
Roy O'Bannon:
Are you kidding me? You're sitting here, waiting to die for someone whose balls haven't even dropped?
Roy O'Bannon:
First time you ever see an outlaw?
[Pretty victim nods]
Roy O'Bannon:
Scared? Kind of excited, too? All mixed up? Yeah. Last train we robbed we were naked it was so hot out.
[Chon gives Roy a pair of chopsticks to dig with]
Chon Wang:
Dig.
Roy O'Bannon:
Hey!
Chon Wang:
Don't talk. Just dig.
Roy O'Bannon:
Just relax.
[Chon glowers menacingly]
Roy O'Bannon:
Is that relaxed? You look sort of rigid there.
Roy O'Bannon:
Let me put it this way. My horse is definitely not my best friend.
[Watching the three Imperial Guards at sword practice]
Jedediah's wife:
They're not like any Injuns I ever seen, Jedediah.
Jedediah:
That's because they're not Injuns, woman. They're Jews!
Jedediah's wife:
[watching Chon Wang practice] They don't look like any Injuns I ever seen, Jedediah.
Jedediah:
That’s because they're not Injuns, woman! They're Jews!
[as Roy and Chon are about to be strung up]
Carson City Hangman:
Nothing personal, boys.
Roy O'Bannon:
You gotta be able to laugh at stuff like that. Like me in the desert. I don't hold any grudges; I laugh about it. I'm not angry at you. You just left me there with chopsticks to die. Roy, all by his lonesome, just me and the buzzards, pickin' at my head... You're a very silent man, aren't you?
Sioux Chief:
Daughter, husbands like Man-Who-Fights-in-Dress don't come along every day.
Chon Wang:
Never touch my queue.
Roy O'Bannon:
You blew it, John! Never interrupt a man in the middle of a duel! I had 'im! That's what gets me: I had 'im! I had 'im!
Roy O'Bannon:
I'm so lost, Chon. Ninety percent of the time I don't even know what I'm doing out here in the West.
Chon Wang:
No, you're a good outlaw.
Roy O'Bannon:
Stop, please. I'm a screw-up.
Roy O'Bannon:
You blew it. Whoo, you blew it, man. You did not want to cut his hair off, trust me.
Chon Wang:
What happened my horse? Is he dead?
Roy O'Bannon:
No, but we are, Chon.
Chon Wang:
Hi, horsey!
Roy O'Bannon:
These guns are really weird.
Roy O'Bannon:
Maybe we should let bygones be bygones. You got off some good shots, I got off some good ones. Let's call it a tie.
Roy O'Bannon:
Reach for the sky, Baldy!
Wallace:
Reach for the sky, O'Bannon, ha ha!
Roy O'Bannon:
That's my line. He stole my gang, he's stealing my lines. It's unbelievable!
Roy O'Bannon:
There's more to life than money. I hope you learn that one day.
Roy O'Bannon:
Is that her? She's pretty! Grab her!
Chon Wang:
We stick together. We are partners.
Roy O'Bannon:
That's beautiful.
Imperial Guard:
On the battlefield, a soldier can't always obey the General's orders.
Marshal Nathan Van Cleef:
Mighty impressive hardware you packin' there...
Roy O'Bannon:
Why don't you get your eyes of my package, you twisted son of a bitch!
Marshal Nathan Van Cleef:
[Roy, an incredibly bad shot, has just hit Van Cleef in the chest]
[bewildered]
Marshal Nathan Van Cleef:
How the hell did that happen?
Roy O'Bannon:
I *am* like a wild horse. You can't tame me. You put the oats in the pen, though, and I'll come in for a nibble every day. But the minute you shut that gate, I'll jump the fence and you'll never see me again.
Roy O'Bannon:
The thing about your husband, and this is nothing against him, I mean I really like him, but...
[lowering his voice]
Roy O'Bannon:
he comes from a very male dominated society.
Roy O'Bannon:
Come on out, Little Roy. Work your magic.
Roy O'Bannon:
A 2000-year-old civilization and that's the best you can come up with? Shame on you. Shame on you!
Wallace:
[When the safe blows out of the train, Wallace says to Roy] Roy, he just blew the shit out of our fruits.
Continuity: When Wang finds O'Bannon in the desert, the sun is behind Wang's back. In the next shot it has moved to his side.
Anachronisms: Marshall Van Cleef states, "By the authority vested in me by the Territory of Nevada..." Nevada became a state in 1864. The story took place in 1881.
Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Chon Wang is trying to remove his face paint with whiskey, the red and white paint appears to alternate between his left and right cheeks because some of the shots are in a mirror.
Continuity: The amount of soap on Wang's hand during the bath sequence.
Audio/visual unsynchronized: The bell never makes an impact sound, even though it should have made a huge crash (and possibly gone through the wooden floor of the old church).
Anachronisms: In one scene, O'Bannon tells Wang: "I don't know karate...", however, karate was unknown in the Western world prior to World War I (or later), so he wouldn't have even known what to call it.
Crew or equipment visible: During fight in the bell tower, safety net visible at bottom of the frame.
Continuity: During the final fight in the bell tower between Chon Wang and Lo Fong, Fong pulls out a short sword and slashes Wang's arm. A moment later, Wang bends the blade of the sword back a full 180 degrees back at Fong around the post of a ladder. However, when the sword falls through the bell tower floor a moment later, the blade is only slightly bent.
Factual errors: If Chon Wang is an Imperial Guard, then that means that PeiPei is an imperial princess (i.e. Emperor's daughter). In the movie, the guards all call her "Gong Zhu", but that refers to a king's daughter. An imperial princess is supposed to be called a "Ge Ge."
Continuity: When Wang grabs O'Bannon's hand after the poker game, the cards pop out and withdraw back in. In the next fighting scene they are out.
Revealing mistakes: When the horse carriage knocks over the hanging gallows, Roy falls to the wagon below. Before he falls, his hands are tied behind his back; as he falls, you can see a piece of rope tied around each hand, which are separated (when he places his hands together, this gives the appearance that his hands are tied together).
Continuity: During the bath scene, the level of the "firewater" in the bottle varties inconsistently between shots.
Anachronisms: Chon Wang is shown to have dental fillings when he opens his mouth and laughs during the peace pipe scene.
Continuity: When Chon Wang is protecting the Indian kid, two warriors on horseback arrive. In the first shot, one of them has distinct black and white war paint on his face. In the next shot he is replaced by a different rider, but then returns later in another scene.
Errors in geography: The movie is set in Nevada, but in the closing scene where they are looking down on the train, you can see that the train has Canadian Pacific on it, and CP never ran into Nevada.
Continuity: Shadow of Chon Wang when he finds Roy O'Bannon in the desert.
Continuity: When Chon and Roy are on the gallows, the nooses around their necks are behind/in front of their shoulders between shots.
Continuity: While Roy and the 'new guy' are talking before the train robbery, the new guy removes his hat to smooth his hair. There is a very short cut to Roy and then we go back to the new guy, who has his hat on again.
Anachronisms: The movie is set in 1881. The train depicted in the early scenes has a large, prominent name plate on the front of the locomotive, with its engine number, "68", and the date of manufacture, 1883.
Errors in geography: The movie is set in Nevada, and the Indians are identified as being Sioux. However, Nevada was not Sioux territory, but rather inhabited by Washoe, Shoshone and Paiute tribes.
Revealing mistakes: When Chon is using the spear during the church fight, you can tell the tip is rubber because it bends when it comes in contact with the door.
Continuity: When Wang says, "The sun rises in the east, blah, blah, blah," O'Bannon's left arm changes from pointing at Wang to being in the tub in the next shot, and then in the next shot his arms and shoulders are further out again.
Factual errors: It is impossible for Roy to be buried up to his head in sand, the force of the earth around him would compress his lungs and cause him to suffocate long before he could dig himself out.
Revealing mistakes: When Chon Wang and Lo Fong are fighting, the "metal" spearhead that Lo Fong is trying to stab Chon Wang with bends against the wall.
Continuity: After Roy and Chon 'cheat death' and Chon tells him he is riding alone, he takes his hat off and fixes it, in the very next shot it is behind his head and back as he jumps on the horse.
Followed by
Shanghai Knights (2003)
References
Should Tall Men Marry? (1928)
- In both movies a mule/horse sits down. Which is impossible in real life. They just played it backwards.
The Searchers (1956)
The Big Country (1958)
Dr. No (1962)
How the West Was Won (1962)
Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
Soleil rouge (1971)
Kárate, el Colt y el impostor, El (1974)
- The original buddy movie featuring a Chinese man in the old west. It stars Lee Van Cleef whose name is referenced in the film.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Caddyshack (1980)
Lethal Weapon (1987)
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)
The Last Emperor (1987)
Back to the Future Part III (1990)
Jui kuen II (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Wong Fei-hung chi saiwik hung si (1997)
Referenced in
Charlie's Angels (2000)
K-PAX (2001)
The Making of 'Kill Bill' (2003) (TV)
- mentioned once
Featured in
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002) (TV)
Spoofs
High Noon (1952)
Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
Hang 'Em High (1968)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Soleil rouge (1971)
- same beginning ( the association of a cow-boy and a asiatic warrior and The attack of a train by cowboys...)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Spoofed in
Shrek (2001)