[Fight Scene Friday] Yuen Biao in Righting Wrongs - Parking Lot Scene

 It's Yuen Biao's birthday on this Fight Scene Friday™, so let's watch a classic scene from Above The Law/Righting Wrongs (1986)! I love this movie, and I highly recommend watching it! It's one of Yuen Biao's best, if not the best, of his movies. Also, the director of the movie shows up at the end of this clip as the cop. That is Corey Yuen, fellow Peking Opera actor, who studied with Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Wah, etc. and became a great choreographer and director himself.

 

[Fight Scene Friday] Jackie Chan's Project A (1983): The Restaurant Brawl

 It's April 7th, and that means it's Jackie Chan's birthday! To celebrate this momentous occasion, this week's Fight Scene Friday™ will feature a classic fight scene from the classic Jackie Chan movie, Project A (1983)! This fight scene is great not only because of the choreography and stunts, but because of the story behind it. The movie builds up to this moment, and it's like a moment of catharsis throughout the whole fight scene. You have to watch the whole movie to really feel the impact of this fight scene. It's also great because Yuen Biao fights alongside him for a portion of it.

This is the complete, unedited fight scene; with the original music, sound effects, voices, and dialogue. This is not from the horrid Dimension/Miramax version of the movie. Check out this fight scene, and then check out Project A, unedited if you can! Happy birthday, Jackie! Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Snake In The Eagle's Shadow (1978) - A Review

 

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.

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!

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.

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

The Fate Of Lee Khan (1973) - A Review

 

The Fate Of Lee Khan is an artistic wuxia film.

The Fate Of Lee Khan is a Hong Kong wuxia movie released in 1973, and stars Li Li-hua, Ying Bai, Tien Feng, Angela Mao Ying, Hsu Feng, Roy Chiao, Wei Ping-Ao, and Han Ying-chieh. The legendary King Hu directed the movie, with Sammo Hung as martial arts director.

These women kick so much butt!

In The Fate Of Lee Khan, Li Li-hua plays Wan Jen-Mi, the innkeeper of the Spring Inn in the Shaanxi province of China. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Mongol General Lee Khan (played by Tien Feng) and his crew; his sister Lee Wan-erh (played by Hsu Feng) and his second in command, Tsao Yu-kun (played by Roy Chiao). Lee Khan is traveling to the Spring Inn to get a map that reveals the location of the Chinese rebel forces that were stolen. Wan Jen-Mi has four women (Angela Mao plays one of them named Hai Mu-tan) who serve as waitresses at the inn, and they put up with a lot of unruly customers.

Three customers are particularly noteworthy: Wang Shih Cheng (played by Ying Bai) is the most civil, polite, and generous customer there. Wen Mei-Chi (played by Wei Ping-Ao) is a rude, drunk, and horny old man constantly grabbing at the waitresses. Sha Yuan Shan (played by Han Ying-chieh) is an incredibly rude traveling musician. As you can guess, almost every person in the inn is not who they say they are...

Lee Khan (in the middle) and his sister are quite the intelligent villains.

The Fate Of Lee Khan is a classic King Hu film. King Hu is a well respected Hong Kong movie director, writer, and actor who gets compared to Akira Kurosawa. You can see in this movie how talented he is. The acting is really good! Very realistic, subtle performances. The cinematography is excellent as well. Even though most of the movie takes place in the inn, the way it is shot and all the colors on display never make it boring. The scenes shot outside are great as well, the final battle takes place on a beautiful mountain side. The story (which was written by King Hu and Chung Wang) is very interesting. It held my attention the whole time, and there are no superfluous scenes. This movie is really good!

I will admit, back in the day, I always avoided renting this movie at the local video rental store. Looking at the cover and reading the description, I thought it was going to be an old-fashioned boring movie. Decades later, I find out I was wrong! It is old-fashioned in some respects, but in a good way.

Angela Mao showing who's boss at the inn!

Admittedly, there is not that much action in this movie. What action there is, is pretty decent. The legendary Sammo Hung choreographed the fighting in this movie. Since this is a wuxia film (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), all of the fights involve swords or other weapons. The characters don't fly around like in many other wuxia movies, but they do jump a lot, and they jump two stories and above with ease! It is cool to see them do those jumps without wires as well (trampolines were used).

This movie was made early in Sammo's choreography career, so it isn't what you would think of as Sammo Hung-style fights. There are some trademark hard hits in the final fight scene, though! Angela Mao (she played Bruce Lee's sister in Enter The Dragon) gets to strut her stuff in this movie, especially in the finale. Hsu Feng as Lee Khan's sister is especially vicious in her fight scenes (as well as in her character). The fights aren't intricately choreographed, but they are still fun to watch. It is cool to see early Sammo choreography, and how much he evolved in such a short time.

In conclusion, The Fate Of Lee Khan is an interesting, compelling movie. I do recommend it, heartily! Just be warned that it is not full of action, it is a movie filled with tension. The action is good, but it is not the modern Hong Kong style we all know and love. Watch this movie to see what King Hu is all about!

Reviewed by David Williams

Dreadnaught (Eureka Classics) Trailer

 Check out this new trailer for Eureka's upcoming Blu-Ray release of Dreadnaught, a classic martial arts movie! The movie is directed and choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, and stars Yuen Biao, Leung Kar-yan, Kwan Tak-hing, and Yuen Shun-yee. The movie is about a serial killer hiding among a Peking Opera troupe, and a cowardly laundry boy who gets the guts to stop him. The most famous scene in this movie, Yuen Biao drying wet clothes with martial arts techniques, was copied by Batman Forever! Me and my brother looked at each other in disbelief when we saw that scene in the movie theater. In that theater, only me and my brother knew where that Batman Forever scene originally came from. It's been years, more than a decade actually, since I've seen this movie! I really hope I am able to buy this release, and if not, that I can at least watch it in some way!