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The
synopsis below is based on the original script by Carlton
Holder (which was re-wrote by Clint
Lien on behalf of the producers). Reading it let us imagine
how the completed film could have been like. Before and after
are some comments from the writer & the re-writer.
Carlton
Holder : "The
script was originally "A Bridge of Dragons."
It was a futuristic love story very much like "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon." While the script wasn't written
for Dolph Lundgren, it was written for someone of his stature.
I don't know how much you know about how Hollywood works, but
this is how a good script becomes a bad movie:
I brought the script to an indie producer who wanted to work
with Nu-Image and knew they were looking for a project for Dolph
Lundgren. The indie producer got the script to Dolph and Dolph
said he wanted to do it immediately. So, Nu- Image bought the
script and agreed to let the indie producer produce the movie.
I was flown to New York to meet with Dolph and the director.
Both were excited about doing the project. Dolph said he wanted
to train for two months, so he went to Europe to train. [...]
The director and Dolph, who both loved my script, were upset
when they arrived in Bulgaria to shoot the movie and [there was]
a totally different script waiting for them [...]" August
2002 (to the webmaster)
SYNOPSIS
:
Set in a post war holocaust, BRIDGE OF DRAGONS tells the story
of two warring nations left over from the aftermath, threaten
to wipe out the population for good. They are divided into the
"Confederation of Scientific Technology" and "The
Republic". The first nation pushes for the advancement of
technology while the latter rejects it.
The story opens up in the heat of battle between the two. Our
hero, Warchyld, tears through the opposing forces. Meanwhile,
in a mansion overlooking a vast spread of outdated villages,
a young oriental girl – Halo – awaits to be married
to – Roucheng – a high ranking general from the Republic.
She is also a Taoist priestess, trained in the ancient martial
arts. Unfortunately she is not in love with the general and on
their wedding day she escapes, becoming a fugitive.
At the same time Warchyld, tired of the effects of battle, walks
amongst the ruins. He is on a mission to destroy an enemy despot.
This is not the first time he's been on such a mission. In fact
he's been killing enemies since childhood. He's good at what
he does, but recently, age, experience, and a new outlook have
raised some shadows of doubt inside.
Warchyld has penetrated an enemy target as instructed. Inside
the building he fires at will killing the "enemy" One
man remains alive, bleeding and praying. Warchyld cannot find
it in him to kill the man. The man talk to Warchyld, and trough
this, he discovers that he is in a church and just killed a group
of priest. He is not supposed to care as religion has been banned
however he is unable to just brush this off.
He returns to his superiors telling them he is no longer willing
to continue with his life style. They see him as a threat and
send out an assassin to kill him. The assassin –Jeremy-
is also the man who trained him. He too feels a conscience, and
is torn between his friend and his cause. Warchyld is on the
run being chased by his own people.
Back at the front, Halo rides as far away from her land as possible.
She finds a hiding spot by a river and takes a bath. Suddenly
a group of "Republic" soldiers come across her and
begin teasing her. Using beauty as a weapon, she tricks and kills
their leader. What they don't know is that she has more than
beauty. Alongside her martial arts experience, she has a barrage
of ancient weapons. During the battle Warchyld shows up and help
her dispose of the last remaining soldiers.
The two go on the run together, stopping at a tavern to eat.
There a group of soldiers are causing a bit of a raucous. Warchyld
and Halo go to town on them and quickly disperse of them. The
innkeeper thanks them and gives them a supply of food. After
numerous skirmishes and battles along the way, they arrive at
a sanctuary. There they are wed and they move on to another city.
While trying to rescue a tied up girl, they are captured and
the taken hostage by their respective sides. Halo is due to be
beheaded and Warchyld is left crucified on a cross. He yells
at the soldiers below him that although he is going to die there,
al least he is free.
Halo manages to escape and heads back to rescue Warchyld. They
ride off into the sunset, galloping right past a man on foot.
He turns out to be Jeremy. The three exchange looks. Jeremy gives
them a peace sign. Jeremy lets them go unhindered – he is
the next outlaw. |
Carlton
Holder : "That
synopsis, although not written by me, is basically the story.
They did however leave out the entire climax, which is once Warchylde
and Halo wed, they have to escape across a narrow bridge between
two mountains. However, unknown to them the Confederation of
Scientific Knowledge and the Republic have declared a temperary
truce in order to capture Halo and Warchylde. While crossing
the bridge, they are trapped in between by both armies (One army
on each side). Together Halo and Warchylde fight back to back,
until the overwhelming numbers overtake them. But for that moment,
they themselves are a bridge... a bridge of dragons."
August 2002 (to the webmaster)
Clint
Lien : "I
did an uncredited rewrite on the project and spent two week in
Bulgaria last summer on the set. You'll see my name as an Associate
Producer. Cary's character's name is simply Ruechang. There is
no set date for the film. It's simply in the future." "There
is no Republic or Scientific Techno factions. There is only the
ruling class and an underground group of rebels. Cary plays a
ruthless General who is suppose to marry the princess, but she
flees before the wedding. Cary sends his best soldier to retrieve
her - that's Dolph. I saw a screening of the film a few weeks
ago. It looked pretty good." , message posted on the
DOLPH-Definitive Guide
guestbook, summer 1999
Clint
Lien : "I
rewrote Bridge of Dragons for the film company two years
ago. It seems many people wanted to go in a different direction
than the original writer chose. I wrote a completely different
script and was subsequently sent to Bulgaria with Dolph during
the filming to do additional writing for the show. It was a great
experience and Dolph was a great guy. After the movie ended Dolph
and I stayed in touch and I ended up doing another rewrite for
a movie he was going to do in Sweden called Still
The Drums. I don't know if they ever made that movie."
, February 2000 (to the webmaster) |
