1986 Cult Classic With 'Iconic' Kurt Russell Lines Made This Director Quit Hollywood

These days, you can see him on TV thanks to Taylor Sheridan's recent hit series The Madison, but Kurt Russell once shot to stardom thanks to a number of film roles.

Last year, the website Cinema Blend made clear that some of Russell's "most iconic lines" from his movies over the decades hail from Big Trouble in Little China, a cult-classic that's now celebrating 40 years since its release.

Directed by the great John Carpenter, the action-comedy is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which offers the following synopsis:

"Jack Burton... gets caught in a bizarre conflict within, and underneath, San Francisco's Chinatown. An ancient Chinese prince and Chinatown crime lord has kidnapped a beautiful green-eyed woman, who is the fiancée to Jack's best friend. Jack must help his friend rescue the girl before the evil Lo Pan uses her to break the ancient curse that keeps him a fleshless and immortal spirit."

Despite the critical acclaim, Big Trouble flopped at the box office earning just $11.1 million domestically on a budget that was estimated up to $25 million. This influenced director Carpenter's decision to return to independent filmmaking, according to Politico.

Years later, however, the film gained a steady audience on home video and ultimately garnered cult-classic status. But since there no immediate commercial success, 78, reportedly turned down offers to direct the high-profile movies Top Gun and Fatal Attraction and opted to work on small-budget passion projects instead, such as They Live.

The longtime filmmaker and composer is also known, of course, for directing Halloween (1978), starring Jamie Lee Curtis. It's still rewatched every year during the spooky season and has been ranked among the best movies of all time by Rotten Tomatoes, cementing its place as one of the most influential horror films ever made.

Since its release, Halloween has spawned more than a dozen sequels and reboots, making it one of the longest-running horror franchises in film history.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 12:20 PM.