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| The beginning a of a legacy... |
Snake In The Eagles Shadow (usually shortened to SITES online) is a martial arts comedy movie released in Hong Kong in 1978 and stars Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu-tien, Hwang Jang-Lee, Dean Shek, Paul Chan, and Roy Horan. The movie was directed by Yuen Woo-ping, with Yuen Woo-ping and Hsu Hsia serving as Martial Arts directors (Brandy Yuen Jan-Yeung, Yuen Shun-Yi, and Corey Yuen Kwai serve as Assistant Martial Arts directors). Snake In The Eagle's Shadow was the movie, along with Drunken Master later that year, that shot Jackie Chan up to superstardom in Hong Kong.
In Snake In The Eagle's Shadow, Jackie Chan plays Chien Fu, an orphan taken in by a kung fu school who does nothing but menial jobs there and is used as a punching bag by the assistant instructors (played by Dean Shek and Paul Chan) demonstrating kung fu moves for their students. The only friend Chien has at the school is the cook. One day, Chien finds an old beggar (played by Yuen Siu-tien) getting beat up by a rival kung fu school. He decides to help out, despite having no fighting skills. The old beggar guides Chien's movement in order to help him defeat the mob of attackers. A Christian missionary (played by Roy Horan) comes upon the scene and breaks the fight up.
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| Jackie Chan plays the ultimate underdog in this movie. |
Chien takes the old beggar to his kung fu school to recover. They begin a friendship, and eventually the beggar teaches Chien how to avoid getting hit and how to defend himself. The old beggar teaches Chien snake style kung fu. When the assistant kung fu instructors use him to let a new student beat him up, Chien finally defends himself. Later, a champion from the rival kung fu school comes to Chien's school and demands respect from the assistant instructors. The champion beats them up and takes all of the school's students. The master of Chien's school returns to find the place deserted, with only Chien there cleaning. Chien tells him what happened, and the master confronts the champion martial artist. The master can't beat him, so Chien defeats him, to the shock of everyone.
Unfortunately, Sheng Kuan (played by Hwang Jang-Lee), an Eagle Claw master in search of a master of snake style kung fu named Pai Cheng-tien, sees Chien's skill and is intrigued. Sheng Kuan is on a mission to kill Pai Cheng-tien, the last surviving master of snake style kung fu, and any other practitioners of the style. Sheng Kuan asks Chien who was his kung fu teacher, and Chien describes him, not knowing Sheng Kuan is a really bad guy (or the old beggar's true identity). This all leads to a final battle between the old beggar, Chien Fu, and Sheng Kuan. There are a lot of deaths, fights and betrayal on the way there!
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| The master and student relationship/friendship is portrayed so well! |
Snake In The Eagle's Shadow was the movie that finally put Jackie Chan on the map in Hong Kong. Prior to this movie, Jackie was stuck in a film contract with Lo Wei's production company, with all of the movies made with Lo being complete failures. Jackie Chan was considered box office poison at this time! Lo, who directed The Big Boss and Fist Of Fury (Bruce Lee's break out hits) was trying to make Jackie into the next Bruce Lee. Ng See-Yuen, owner of Seasonal Films, wanted to use Jackie Chan for a two-picture deal. Lo, tired of losing money, agreed. Finally, Jackie Chan was able to work with people who wanted to try something new and different. This was also Yuen Woo-ping's directorial debut, and what do you know, Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-ping were a match made in heaven!
This is the movie that set the template for Jackie Chan's next few movies, and also most all martial arts comedies from then on. So many movies have the same type of format; from Magnificent Butcher to No Retreat, No Surrender. In this movie, the relationship between Chien Fu and the old beggar is warm and caring. You believe that they care about each other. The movie is funny, but it is not over the top like later Jackie Chan movies (not saying either is a bad thing). Jackie Chan plays the underdog so well in this movie! You root for him one hundred percent!
For some reason, I avoided this movie back in the day. It looked like a weaker version of Drunken Master to me. Yes, I believe Drunken Master blows this movie out of the water, but Snake In The Eagle's Shadow is still a really good movie. This movie is the genesis of the Jackie Chan we all know and love.
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| Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang-Lee kick butt in this! |
With Yuen Woo-ping directing and choreographing the fight scenes, you know the fights are good in this. The intricate choreography Yuen Woo-ping is known for is there, but it is a bit more subdued. Hwang Jang-Lee gets to show his powerful kicks in his scenes, and even knocks out one of Jackie's teeth for real in the final fight. Yuen Siu-tien, as the old beggar, has quite a few fight scenes; and despite his advanced age, he shows he can still move with grace. Yuen Woo-ping choreographed around his father's limitations, I'm sure. Jackie Chan fights with such energy and enthusiasm in this. He gets to show off his acrobatic, martial arts, and comedic skills in his fights. Even when he's fighting 'untrained', it's great to see how awkward he is trying to fight a mob of bad guys. The style Chien Fu invents to defeat Sheng Kuan is interesting as well, very unique movements! The fights are fun, and there are plenty of them in this movie!
So, should you watch Snake In The Eagle's Shadow? I would say, yes! It's a fun movie with great action and comedy. It is cool to see Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-ping begin to develop their styles in this movie. You even see Jackie Chan with his front tooth knocked out! This movie even has some weird space-age type of musical soundtrack! Watch it and appreciate where Jackie Chan came from and where he has gone since then!
Reviewed by David Williams
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