I’ve got to say, after doing successive weeks of Bond and then Rocky, it’s tough to get back in the swing of things. It’s easier to write a column if you’re really into a particular genre of films, but I’ve been embroiled in my hero worship of 007 and the Italian Stallion for so long that I’m going through a bit of a withdrawal. The only thing lately that’s been able to get my attention is the slew of Oscar contenders that have finally started to show up in my area. It’s a nice feeling to look at the local listings and actually see the names of a bunch of potential classics instead of seeing the Cineplex’s clogged up with titles such as Code Name: The Cleaner and Night at the Museum.
Two nights ago my next big obsession started up again, and now I can’t think of anything else to write about. Lately, I’ve been picking up the new Dragon Dynasty DVD’s from the Weinstein Company. All of these DVD’s are terrific, finally allowing me to see what the internet buzz was all about with Killzone and Tsui Hark’s new film Seven Swords. I also picked up the new Tony Jaa beatdown The Protector, AKA: Tom Yum Goong, AKA: Where are My Elephants!?, which allowed me to compare the bizarre American cut of the film to the original Thai version, which is about 30 minutes longer, and get this; actually makes sense. Where the American version has huge gaping holes in its plot logic and features an annoying rap soundtrack for no reason, the original is a well made and brutal Martial Arts movie that serves to be more than just a highlight reel of Tony Jaa fight scenes.
The final DVD in this series for me to pick up was a movie that I’ve been waiting to hit DVD for close to a decade, after first seeing it on video. Seeing Jackie Chan’s Police Story made me remember why I’ve loved the actor’s work for so long, as his acrobatic skills and stunt work have been second to none. I’ve gone on a complete Jackie Chan bender in the last few days, re-watching movies I haven’t seen in years such as Project-A, Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop (which has one of the best Action movie taglines ever in “There’s never a cop around when you need one, but when this cop’s around, all you need is one.”), Dragons Forever and My Lucky Stars.
I have to say that I feel sorry for Action and Martial Arts fans that have never really seen a classic Hong Kong Jackie Chan film. Not wanting to sit through subtitles (or bad dubbing in some cases) is no excuse not to see one of the greatest Action stars to ever grace cinema. The man simply works harder than any star I’ve ever seen, often writing and directing his pictures. Then he ends up starring, doing all of his own stunts, doing all of the fight choreography, sometimes editing his films, and then singing on the soundtrack. Take that Vin Diesel!
For nearly his entire life, Jackie Chan has been an entertainer, starting his formal training with China’s famed Peking Opera at age 6. There he learned dance and music, along with much of the athletic training that would later be utilized in his career as the star of Martial Arts movies. After starting as a stuntman, Jackie would go on to star in many Chop-Socky movies, also working as a fight coordinator on films such as Last Tiger from Canton and John Woo’s The Young Dragons.
Jackie would also appear as victim to the fury of Bruce Lee in The Chinese Connection (1972) and Enter the Dragon (1973), and in the latter film also sustained an injury when Lee accidentally struck him in a scene involving nun-chucks, at which time the Martial Arts legend promised to have Chan featured in every film that Lee would star in from then on. Unfortunately, Lee’s death prior to the release of Enter the Dragon prevented the promise from being fulfilled.
What did end up happening, was that due to Lee’s death, the Hong Kong industry scrambled to find their next big star, trying desperately to fill the hole left open by Lee’s untimely death. While most of the men pushed into Hong Kong stardom were just clones who tried to look and sound like Bruce Lee did, Chan tried instead to find his own style, focusing more on comedy than other stars. This lead to his distinctive style, making him a hit with audiences in features like Snake in Eagle’s Shadow, and perhaps most importantly, 1978’s Drunken Master.
Fast-forward to 1994, and Jackie Chan is one of the most popular actors in the world. His stunt work and comedy have earned him the comparison with cinema legends such as Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. As a star in Hong Kong, he is nearly unparalleled, thrilling audiences with his determination and skill. 1994 would also be the year that Chan would finally do a sequel to his breakout hit Drunken Master and create a film that would represent the pinnacle of his work. Like Bruce Lee in The Chinese Connection or Jet Li in Fist of Legend, this film is Jackie in top form, pulling off choreography and stunts at a level he had never shown before. This is Jackie Chan in his definitive statement of entertainment and he has never been able to top it since. In Drunken Master 2, Jackie Chan created one of the five greatest Kung Fu films of all time and solidified himself in my eyes as one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Legend of the Drunken Master, AKA: Drunken Master 2 Starring Jackie Chan, Ti Lung, Anita Mui, Lau Kar-Leung, and Ken Lo. Directed by Lau Kar-Leung and Jackie Chan. .
Though he is not widely known in this country, Wong Fei Hung (1847-1924) is an important figure in Chinese culture. The equivalent of Robin Hood or Davey Crocket, Fei Hung was a martial artist that fought to help the Chinese people and protect their heritage. Onscreen, the master has been portrayed in feature films perhaps more than any man ever, appearing in over 100 films played by actors such as Kwan Tak-hing, Jet Li, and others. What I love about how this folk hero has been portrayed onscreen is how differently the interpretations by the actors have been. Most tend to play the man similarly to Jet Li’s performance in Once Upon a Time in China, as a stoic healer, and superhuman Martial Artist even able to take flight for short periods.
This is miles away from the portrayal by Chan in his two Drunken Master films. Here, Fei Hung is portrayed as an impish troublemaker, constantly trying to avoid his family’s ire, while unwittingly getting into trouble. While the first film was an old school Chop-Socky flick, Drunken Master II is a full modern day Martial Arts masterpiece. Even at 40, Chan is able to bring a youthfulness that is unbelievable, showing a joy on screen that few Action stars have ever attained.
As we catch up with Wong Fei Hung in this film, he mistakenly ends up in the middle of a conspiracy in which smugglers are working with British aristocrats to steal precious Chinese artifacts and antiques. As in most Jackie Chan films, none of this plot actually matters in the long run. We’re simply there to see Jackie Chan do things we’ve never seen before, and Chan gives us that in spades. Anita Mui and Ti Lung both do good work in supporting roles (especially Mui, who has some inspired comedy bits), but really its Jackie we’re here to see. We can hardly catch our breath as Chan gives us everything he’s got here, and then gives us even more.
We get fights galore throughout this picture, with Chan’s Wong Fei Hung going one on one with a Manchurian soldier early on in the movie in a brawl that goes from inside a train cart, to on top, underneath a train and then ending up in a nearby hut where Fei Hung gives us a taste of his mastery of drunken boxing, a martial art that utilizes the movements of an intoxicated person in order to use misdirection. A helping of comedy also gives great life to the sequence, making it a memorable one even if it isn’t very long.
Chan and Director Lau Kar-Leung turn up the volume as the film goes on, giving Wong Fei Hung multiple opponents in several sequences. In each fight there is a creativity and rhythm to the scenes that seem to build and build to the point of astonishment. The first of the two sequences has the drunken style being shown off once more, this time with Fei Hung completely off his rocker. I love seeing Martial Arts films that feature different styles and stances, this Drunken Master entry is one of the best at doing this. It’s almost as if Wong Fei Hung calls his shots as he’s taking down the bad guys as he screams “down the hatch” or “nursing a hangover”.
The next to last fight has Wong Fei Hong taking on a small army called The Axe Gang. Now while these gangsters seem to be a fictional group, they also appear in Project A, II and in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle and make for a fearsome adversary. Swarmed by the gang in a teahouse, Fei Hung must dodge axes and fists a flying. There’s so much kinetic energy packed within these few minutes that you’re exhausted just watching these men brawl. It’s easy to be awed by the mayhem of the scene, but it still doesn’t seem to prepare you for the film’s finale, which elevates this film from a great one to Jackie Chan’s best and one of the best films of its genre.
Chan and the film’s director eventually had a falling out over the film closing fight scenes, which Jackie wanted to be more over the top than was initially designed. The feud was so bad that Lau Kar-Leung eventually left the production to Chan who spent at least four months fine tuning the movie’s last battle. Turns out, Jackie was right all along, as Lau Kar-Leung eventually went on to direct another Drunken Master without Chan that’s been long forgotten, and this film’s finale has gone on to legendary status.
Even posed against the brutal finales of modern day entries like The Protector or Killzone, Legend of the Drunken Master’s climatic 20 minutes offer a grace and acrobatic display that trumps all the cracks of broken bones a sound designer can muster. Sheer athletic skill is on display that will leave you in awe, the way Jackie Chan’s comedy usually leaves you in stitches. Inside of a steel refinery, Wong Fei Hong weaves his way through a gauntlet of opponents, more serious than perhaps I’ve ever seen him. The myriad of opponents working with the evil British thugs seem to be more and more imposing by the minute, until Wong Fei Hung must fight his ultimate adversary, played by Jackie’s own real-life personal bodyguard Ken Lo.
Setting his feet and then body on fire earlier in the gauntlet simply provides a teaser for the astonishment that is to come as Chan falls backward into a pit of hot coals, with slow motion proving that it is him and not a stuntman taking this horrible punishment in the name of entertaining his fans. Fans doubting the scene’s authenticity should check out the movie’s closing credits, which shows him going over the coals again, just to get the timing right. There are simply no words to describe the awesomeness of the stunt and the remaining sequence, which remains Chan’s most intricately choreographed fight to date.
Much like my love for earlier Bond entries that featured stuntmen in impossibly dangerous sequences, there’s simply no CGI equivalent to watching Chan do his best work. You don’t have to force your imagination to believe he’s in danger, because he IS in danger. To millions of fans, Chan rewards our loyalty by giving us amazing feats over and over again. With already 97 credits to his name on imdb.com, it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping anytime soon. Hopefully, Chan has at least one more great work left in him, though its not like he hasn’t given us so much already.
Picture Credits: haro-online.com, DVDtown.com, beyondHollywood.com
