Invincible Armour

(1977, HK, Lai Wah Film Co.)

Dir. Ng See-yuen; Pro. Chu Yuan; Scr. Ng See-yuen; Action Dir. Corey Yuen Kwai, Yuen Biao; Cast John Liu Chung-liang, Hwang Jang-lee, Tino Wong Cheung, Phillip Ko Fai, Lee Hoi-san, Yuen Biao.

101 min.

A stroke of genius from Ng and the Yuen clan, this is a great costume yarn featuring a classy blend of decent chopsocky and high production values with lavish scenery, slick direction and a rousing spaghetti western soundtrack. Invincible Armour is the best HK movie of 1977 with a sterling cast to boot. We’re taken back to the Ming Dynasty where John Liu plays a straight laced hero, set up and hunted down for a crime he didn’t commit. Hwang Jang-lee plays the traitorous warlord dedicated to his own personal glory. He’s the real culprit, obviously, but defeating him won’t be easy. He’s a master of the Eagle Claw style and he has spent most of his life developing the Iron Armour technique, harnessing an impenetrable body with a minimum of weak spots. Courtesy of a visual aide depicting two eggs being crushed by hand, it’s not too difficult to finally decipher where Hwang’s coveted weak spot is located.

Hand of Death

(1976, HK, Golden Harvest)

Dir. John Woo; Pro. Raymond Chow Man-wai; Scr. John Woo; Action Dir. Sammo Hung Kam-bo; Cast Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Yeng Wei, Paul Chang Chung, James Tien Chun, Sammo Hung Kam-bo, Jackie Chan, John Woo, Yuen Biao.

98 min.

Here’s a formulaic gem from the bygone years – the only movie to ever combine the talents of Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao under the auspices of action auteur John Woo in one of his earliest directing roles. This is kung phooey in the traditional sense, set during the Ching Dynasty and involving a group of resistance Shaolin fighters led by Dorian Tan. His turbulent task is to escort a rebel leader (played by a young John Woo) across dangerous terrain to safety overseas. James Tien is the villain, playing a hairy ex-Shaolin renegade now Manchu leader set to destroy the film’s vengeful heroes: a spearman (Jackie Chan), a swordsman (Yeng Wei) and the super kicks of Dorian Tan. The action is choreographed to perfection by Sammo whose bucktooth villain is a pure hoot. Hand of Death is run of the mill but a superior novelty nonetheless.

AKA: Countdown in Kung Fu; Shaolin Men; Strike of Death

Dragon Lord

(1982, HK, Golden Harvest)

Dir. Jackie Chan; Pro. Leonard Ho Koon-cheung; Scr. Louis Sit Chi-hung, Edward Tang King-chan, Barry Wong Ping-yiu; Action Dir. Jackie Chan, Fung Hark-on, Corey Yuen Kwai; Cast Jackie Chan, Mars, Whang Ing-sik, Michael Chan Wai-man.

92 min.

Out of all Jackie Chan’s self-directed films, this is the most incoherent. Originally devised as a sequel to The Young Master, what sense there is sees Jackie Chan lust over a local girl and uncover a masterful plan by a bunch of mean-looking baddies to smuggle sacred Chinese artefacts out of the country. The nationalism is laid on with a heavy trowel, as subtle as a kick in the teeth. But the film’s best bits include a climactic brawl between Chan and superkicker Whang Ing-sik – showcasing Chan’s tactful departure from traditional kung fu fighting in favour of stunt based frenzies – and a couple of pointless sporting events which are truly mind boggling. The shuttlecock sequence still holds a Guinness World Record for an almighty 2900 takes. Thankfully, the outtake montage has been somewhat abbreviated.

AKA: Dragon Strike; Young Master in Love 

The King of the Kickboxers

(1991, HK/US, Seasonal Films)

Dir. Lucas Lo; Pro. Keith W. Strandberg, Boonlert Setthamongkol; Scr. Keith W. Strandberg; Action Dir. Tony Leung Siu-hung; Cast Loren Avedon, Billy Blanks, Keith Cooke, Sherry Rose, Jerry Trimble.

92 min.

A skewed retelling of the Kickboxer story, Van Damme‘s seminal hit released two years previously. The irony being it was Seasonal Films that first recognised Van Damme’s high kicking potential in their 1986 film No Retreat, No Surrender. The same team back this spirited if ham-fisted revenge film, offering Loren Avedon a prime spot for his bolshy American routine and great footwork. He plays renegade New York undercover cop Jake who breaks up drug busts with his sharp kickboxing skills and refuses to call for back up. He’s assigned (for completely unfathomable reasons) to a case in Bangkok where big budget snuff movies are luring foreign kickboxers to a sticky end, pulverised by the punishing blows of burly beefcake Kahn (Blanks) who is called upon to lynch and cripple opponents for the final reel. But the preposterous conceit doesn’t end there, because Kahn just happened to kill Jake’s brother 10 years back. His American kickboxing isn’t up to scratch, so Jake descends down the Mekong to meet reclusive master Prang (Cooke) and his pet monkey to undergo a torturous lesson or two in the ways of Muay Thai. The film works despite its ineptness because of some strong fight sequences, particularly the final showdown between Avedon and Blanks in a ceremonial bamboo cage, and some convincing chemistry, mostly in the unorthodox relationship between master and pupil. The slights against violent movies add an acerbic irony to the film, but whether that was actually the intention is anyone’s guess.

AKA: Karate Tiger 4; No Retreat, No Surrender 4

Dance of the Drunk Mantis

(1979, HK, Seasonal Films)

Dir. Yuen Woo-ping; Pro. Ng See-yuen; Scr. Ng See-yuen, Siao Lung; Action Dir. Yuen Woo-ping, Sunny Yuen Shun-yi, Corey Yuen Kwai, Brandy Yuen Jan-yeung, Chin Yuet-sang; Cast Simon Yuen Siu-tien, Sunny Yuen Shun-yi, Hwang Jang-lee, Linda Lin Ying, Yen Shi-kwan, Dean Shek Tin, Lee Fat-yuen, Corey Yuen Kwai, Chien Yuet-san.

90 min.

Sublime kung fu comedy from the Yuen clan, devised as a sequel to Drunken Master with much of the original cast returning to similar roles. Apart from one glaring absence, Jackie Chan; although young Sunny Yuen slips nicely into the same naive persona, even if he lacks a leading man’s charisma.

He plays Foggy, a part-time pot-wash bumpkin and the adoptive son of drunken vagabond Sam the Seed (played by real-life Yuen clan patriarch Simon Yuen). Sam only discovers he has an adopted son following a chance visit to his long-suffering wife, who devises a plan to help with some father-son bonding time by getting the disgruntled beggar to teach the young boy some drunken boxing.

Woo-ping expands on the vindictive yet soft centred Sam the Seed from his earlier portrayal in Drunken Master. Here, he is far from cuddly – he is stubborn and reluctant to teach the boy anything particularly useful in a callous attempt to undermine the boy’s significance. It is only upon a chance meeting with the Sick God (Yen Shi-kwan) – master of the “Sick Fist” – that Foggy finds his father figure, learning kung fu and developing into a supreme fighter.

Not unsurprisingly, Hwang Jang-lee rips up the screen as the villain of the piece, playing Rubber Legs – a northern drunken boxing expert on a quest to confront Sam the Seed and end his days. Rubber Legs has devised a new technique of combining the Drunken Fist with the Praying Mantis style, and in combination with his exuberant kicking technique, he puts up quite a challenge. The scene in which Rubber Legs and Sam the Seed meet over bottles of rice wine is a classic encounter of mind games, posturing and kung fu tricks – a really fantastic sequence.

But the film is full of great moments, like Foggy’s ascension to kung fu  greatness via some unorthodox training scenes, and a climactic duel in which Foggy must protect his foster parent despite the cruelty he has shown towards him. On one level, you could read this as Woo-ping’s most personal film. But on a less pretentious level, it is simply one of his most enjoyable kung fu movies.

AKA: Dance of the Drunken Mantis; Drunken Master Part 2; South North Drunk Fist

Drunken Master

(1978, HK, Seasonal Films)

Dir. Yuen Woo-ping; Pro. Ng See-yuen; Scr. Yuen Woo-ping, Hai Wah-on; Action Dir. Yuen Woo-ping, Hsu Hsia, Corey Yuen Kwai, Sunny Yuen Shun-yi; Cast Jackie Chan, Simon Yuen Siu-tien, Hwang Jang-lee, Dean Shek Tin, Tino Wong Cheung, Hsu Hsia, Lam Kau, Sunny Yuen Shun-yi, Linda Lin Ying.

107 min.

This is a really great movie, the kind of thing you would recommend to a distant cousin. Brought to us by the Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow team, Drunken Master is a slightly superior film and undoubtedly the quintessential kung fu comedy.

Credit due to all involved: Woo-ping’s stylish direction and choreography, Simon Yuen’s synonymous ageing beggar, Hwang Jang-lee’s dastardly evil adversary. Yet the real delight here is Jackie Chan, strikingly confident from his new found fame and looking better than ever.

Woo-ping retraces the early years of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, who is sent as a punishment by his father to learn kung fu from his torturous Uncle Sam the Seed (Simon Yuen), a bummed out alcoholic famous for crippling his students. The film’s villain Thunderfoot (Hwang) – a hired assassin who is good with his legs – kicks a little sense into the rebellious youth, and Sam is quick to teach the boy a few drunken kung fu techniques.

The training scenes are awesome, and you’ll have to go some to find a better brawl than Hwang and Jackie’s final punch up, in which our young hero resorts to camping it up with his new style of lady-like kung fu.

This movie caused a storm when first released and it still holds an impact today. A kung fu classic if ever there was one.

AKA: Drunken Monkey in the Tiger’s Eyes; Eagle Claw, Snake Fist and Cat’s Paw; Story of the Drunken Master

Flash Legs

(1977, HK, Hwa Tai Movie Co.)

Dir. Wu Ma; Pro. Tung Chen-ching; Action Dir. Wong Lung; Cast Dorian Tan Tao-liang, Lung Fei, Lo Lieh, Doris Lung Chung-erh, Wong Hap, Kam Kong.

92 min.

Promising more boot than you can shake a kwan at, Flash Legs does everything it says on the tin. The titular flash legs belong to Dorian Tan who gets to show off his entire repertoire of fancy kicks. The premise seems tedious enough – eight bandits are singlehandedly bumped off by police chief Tan for stealing a sacred treasure map – and makes you wonder how it lasts the distance. Its probably got something to do with all those fight scenes, which fly in thick and fast in this relatively mediocre kung fu fest.

AKA: Deadly Kick; Shaolin Deadly Kicks

Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow

(1978, HK, Seasonal Films)

Dir. Yuen Woo-ping; Pro. Ng See-yuen; Scr. Clifford Choi Gai-gwong, Hsi Hua-an, Ng See-yuen; Action Dir. Yuen Woo-ping, Hsu Hsia; Cast Jackie Chan, Simon Yuen Siu-tien, Hwang Jang-lee, Roy Horan, Tino Wong Cheung, Dean Shek Tin, Peter Chan Lung.

94 min.

Jackie Chan’s first box office triumph is a marvelous chopsocky which ranks as one of the best martial arts films ever made. Revolutionary as it is splendid and bolstered by a palpable spirit of free-flowing creativity, the film was only made possible at the behest of prolific producer Lo Wei.

Lo agreed to release Jackie Chan from his own stifling, straight-jacketed contract to make an independent picture with Ng See-yuen’s fledgling new company Seasonal Films. The film would pair Chan with a new and unproven director, Yuen Woo-ping. Lo Wei, who believed Chan to be “box office poison” may have believed the same fate would befall Seasonal Films, but nothing could have been further from the truth. Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow proved to be a huge, unprecedented hit, the quintessential kung fu comedy heralding a new wave of Hong Kong action films not seen since the heady days of Bruce Lee.

Although not as rounded or confident as its follow up Drunken Master, Snake is still an absolute riot. The story of Chien Fu (Chan) – the so-called “human punching bag” – is not a particularly inspired one. He is relentlessly picked on and bullied by his classmates and even his own sifu. That is until he befriends a beggar (played by Yuen Woo-ping’s father, Simon Yuen) who teaches him the Snake Fist technique, an ancient and almost obliterated kung fu style targeted by rival Eagle Claw masters who want it eradicated. They are led by the great kung fu menace Hwang Jang-lee from Seasonal’s breakthrough film The Secret Rivals.

Woo-ping’s beggar character is much more than a mere comedic device. He represents a revolutionary take on the master/pupil tradition, far removed from the virtuous, dignified masters of the Shaw Brothers era. The beggar is a homeless, uncouth, disrespected and alcoholic vagabond living on the outer fringes of society. But he is also sensitive, nurturing and deceptively proficient at the martial arts. His hidden physicality is almost bashfully disguised as to assume his role within society’s pecking order, making the connection between boy and beggar even stronger. Shunned and regarded as failures, they are both outcasts in a world governed by antiquated rules and traditions. The beggar character would become synonymous with kung fu slapstick, but this is where it all started.

Of course for the most part it is Jackie Chan who steals the limelight with his expert kung fu skills and comic timing, relishing the freedom of working with a creative and like-minded studio for the first time in his career. Yuen Woo-ping (future choreographer of The Matrix films and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) helps to create a platform for the visionary performer to unleash his true comedic potential after so many years of demoralising false starts.

AKA: Bruce vs. Snake in Eagle’s Shadow; Eagle’s Shadow