Just Curious

Martial Arts movies

I am going to post some film reviews on martial arts movies made by Lau Kar Leung (b. 1935), one of the greatest kung-fu movie director who directed the Legend of the Drunken Master (1994) starring Jackie Chan (which is probably Chan's best movie to date).

Born into a family of martial artists, Lau is a foremost authority on Hung Gar, a traditional Southern-China school of martial arts. After joining the film industry in the late 1950s as assistant martial arts choreographer, Lau rose through the ranks during the 60s and by 1966 he had established himself as the most important action choreographer in Hong Kong.

He directed his deput "Spiritual Boxing", the first ever kung-fu comedy made in Hong Kong, in 1975, thereby establishing Kung-fu comedy as an independent genre of film. Following its box office hit, Lau made 15 more films between 1975 and 1985 for the Shaw Studio in Hong Kong. These are:

The Challenge of the Masters (1976)
Executioners from Shaolin (1977) (Starring Chen Kuan Tai & Wong Yu)
The 36 Chambers of Shaolin/Master Killer (1978) (Starring Gordon Liu)
The Shaolin Mantis (1978) (Starring David Chiang)
Shaolin vs. Ninja (1978) (Starring Gordon Liu)
Dirty Ho (1979) (Starring Gordon Liu & Wong Yu)
Spiritual Boxing II (1979) (ditto)
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979) (Starring Lau Kar Leung & Hsiao Hou)
The 36 Chambers of Shaolin II (1980) (Starring Gordon Liu)
Martial Club (1981) (Starring Gordon Liu & Kara Hui)
My Young Autie (1981) (Starring Kara Hui)
Legendary Weapons of China (1982) (Starring Lau Kar Leung, Kara Hui & Hsiao Hou)
Cat vs. Mouse (1982) (Starring Alexander Fu Sheng & Adam Cheng)
The Lady is the Boss (1983) (Starring Kara Hui & Lau Kar Leung)
8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) (Starring Gordon Liu & Alexander Fu Sheng)
Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985) (Starring Gordon Liu)

After the closing of the Shaw Studio, Lau first moved his base to mainland China, making:

Martial Arts of Shaolin (1986) (Starring Jet Li)

He then turned his eyes to modern action thrillers, producing various pieces for Cinema City:

Tiger on the Beat (1988) (Starring Chow Yun Fat)
Aces go Places V: The Terracota Warriors (1989) (Starring Samuel Hui & Leslie Cheung)
Tiger on the Beat II (1990) (Starring Danny Lee)

Finally, he collaborated with Jackie Chan ( a long time rival as director) to make:

The Legend of the Drunken Master/Drunken Master II (1994), after which he also made
Drunken Master III (1994)

Lau is currently living in semi-retirement, although he did make a comeback in 2004 with the old-school martial arts showcase "Drunken Monkey" (2004). Interestingly, this movie was produced by the Shaw Studio, which has been active again from time to time since early 90s.

posted by James Chang @ 1:25 AM