Drunken Master, the film that made Jackie Chan a star. The first major martial arts film since the great Enter the Dragon.
Set in Hong Kong, Freddie Wong (Jackie Chan) is a skilled material artists, but a young man who often gets in trouble, fighting with his instructor, flirting with a young woman and beating up a young thug. His father a kung-fu school owner tries to install discipline on his son but fails, so recruits the services of So Chan (Siu Tien Yuen), a notorious instructor who forces Freddie into a tough regime. Freddie even attempts to run away from So Chan, but ends up running into Thunderleg (Jang Lee Hwang), a skilled assassin and insults Freddie's father and his teaching techniques. After that Freddie goes back to So Chan and demanded to work hard with material arts, and learn So Chan's techniques. The two even form a friendship and work together whilst fighting.
After the unfortunate death of Bruce Lee, Hong Kong cinema entered into the brief period of Bruceploitation where lookalikes attempted to make martial arts films, many failed. Jackie Chan did martial arts very differently, he made them comic, and the fights in Drunken Master were slapstick in nature. Some are very comical, but they are all well done and exciting to watch. Like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan is a skilled Martial Artist and possibly the man closest to him in the film world in skill terms. Like any film they is a villain in the piece, Thunderleg who gives Jackie Chan a good challenge at the end. That scene in itself is worth watching. The plot is pretty simple, but who cares? Its still stronger then some of what Hollywood can product.
The major problem with the film is some of dubbing. I hate dubbing and the fact that when the characters do speak in English they sound American, not Chinese. Also some of the humour is not to my taste.
But Drunken Master is a worthy film for Martial Arts fans, especially during the golden period of the 70s.
Set in Hong Kong, Freddie Wong (Jackie Chan) is a skilled material artists, but a young man who often gets in trouble, fighting with his instructor, flirting with a young woman and beating up a young thug. His father a kung-fu school owner tries to install discipline on his son but fails, so recruits the services of So Chan (Siu Tien Yuen), a notorious instructor who forces Freddie into a tough regime. Freddie even attempts to run away from So Chan, but ends up running into Thunderleg (Jang Lee Hwang), a skilled assassin and insults Freddie's father and his teaching techniques. After that Freddie goes back to So Chan and demanded to work hard with material arts, and learn So Chan's techniques. The two even form a friendship and work together whilst fighting.
After the unfortunate death of Bruce Lee, Hong Kong cinema entered into the brief period of Bruceploitation where lookalikes attempted to make martial arts films, many failed. Jackie Chan did martial arts very differently, he made them comic, and the fights in Drunken Master were slapstick in nature. Some are very comical, but they are all well done and exciting to watch. Like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan is a skilled Martial Artist and possibly the man closest to him in the film world in skill terms. Like any film they is a villain in the piece, Thunderleg who gives Jackie Chan a good challenge at the end. That scene in itself is worth watching. The plot is pretty simple, but who cares? Its still stronger then some of what Hollywood can product.
The major problem with the film is some of dubbing. I hate dubbing and the fact that when the characters do speak in English they sound American, not Chinese. Also some of the humour is not to my taste.
But Drunken Master is a worthy film for Martial Arts fans, especially during the golden period of the 70s.