The Man from Hong Kong

Although the film was released in a wide array of markets and turned a profit, The Man from Hong Kong was not the blockbuster Trenchard-Smith and the film's producers had hoped it would be upon its initial release; in Australia, its box office performance was limited as a result of its R rating.^[6] Later restored by the Australian National Film and Sound Archive,^[9] it has since garnered a cult following as one of the key films of the Ozploitation cycle and Trenchard-Smith's career,^[5] and was prominently featured in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008).^[10]

While working

After meeting Taylor and Grosse, Fang — to Taylor's amusement and Grosse's outrage — brutally interrogates Chan. He learns that Chan works for Jack Wilton, an import/export businessman whose varied portfolio, including the operation of a martial arts school, is merely a smokescreen for his criminal activities; his wide array of legitimate and illegitimate interests effectively make him Sydney's most powerful man and near-impossible to arrest. Just before his trial, Chan is shot dead, prompting Fang to chase the sniper, John Grantley, through the streets of Paddington and into a Chinese restaurant. Their ensuing fight results in Grantley's death; Fang discovers that he was a martial arts instructor in Wilton's employ.

Despite Taylor and Grosse's warnings, Fang insists on confronting Wilton; a meeting with Willard, his chief secretary, proves fruitless. During his morning exercise, he recalls his promise to meet with Caroline after seeing a pigeon in-flight, which reminds him of her hang-gliding; she takes him as her guest to a party at Wilton's mansion. After a "demonstration" between Fang, Wilton and his thugs turns brutal, he is ordered to leave after Wilton trains a crossbow on him. Fang then infiltrates his martial arts school and is near-fatally injured in an extended fight with its staff and students. He hitches a ride with two university students, Angelica and her friend Mei Ling, who take him to the veterinary clinic of the former's father in the countryside of Bathurst. Fang romances Angelica as he is nursed back to health, but insists on returning to Sydney.

Angered by Fang's interference, Wilton has Willard trace his whereabouts from the

The first Australian/Hong Kong co-production was made during the height of the

Trenchard-Smith received nine offers of co-production after the film's release.[12]

The film was originally budgeted at $450,000 but increased when the producers wanted more action sequences and a hit song on the soundtrack. British band Jigsaw recorded "Sky High", which plays during the opening credits of the film. It went number one in several countries.^[1] Production funding came from Greater Union, Golden Harvest and the Australian Film Development Corporation. The film's production company, The Movie Company, was owned 50% by Trenchard-Smith and 50% by Greater Union.

Wang Yu was injured in a hang gliding sequence while Lazenby had severe burns on his hands during a fight scene.^[13]

The theme song, "

Originally released on vinyl by Overseas Records exclusively in Japan in 1977,^[14] the score was eventually released on CD as a bonus feature of Umbrella Entertainment's 2021 "Ozploitation Classics" Blu-ray re-release of the film. The re-released score was mastered for CD by Jamie Blanks.^[15]

At a screening of a restored print in Sydney, Trenchard-Smith said the film didn't do as well as was hoped due to its R adults only rating. However US rights were sold for $200,000 and at Cannes the film sold around the world for a minimum of $500,000 putting it in profit even before it had been released.

The film was released in the US as The Dragon Flies.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.^[16]

Andrew L. Urban from Urban Cinefile called it "one of the few Australian made kung fu action movies and is also notable for its cinematography by Russell Boyd, who went on to win the Oscar for his work on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.^[17]

The Los Angeles Times called it "a slick, shallow, well-photographed Australian-Chinese movie which has substituted do-it-yourself decapitation with mass demolition."^[18]

The Observer called it "a witless display of non-stop mayhem."^[19]

Peter Cheung won the Golden Horse Film Festival Award for Best Film Editing.

• Cinema of Australia