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Drunken Master

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Drunken Master
Traditional Chinese醉拳
Simplified Chinese醉拳
Literal meaningDrunken Fist
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZuì Quán
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingZeoi3 Kyun4
Drunken Master
Original Hong Kong movie poster
Directed byYuen Woo-ping
Hsu Hsia (action)
Written byLung Hsiao
Ng See-yuen
Yuen Woo-ping
Produced byNg See-yuen
StarringJackie Chan
Yuen Siu Tien
Hwang Jang Lee
CinematographyChang Hui
Edited byPan Hsiung
Music byChow Fu-Liang
Distributed bySeasonal Film Corporation
Release dates
Hong Kong:
5 October 1978 (1978-10-05)
Running time
110 mins
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese

Drunken Master (aka Drunk Monkey In The Tiger's Eye) is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Siu Tien, and Hwang Jang Lee. The film was a success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the amount of Chan's previous film, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, which was also considered a successful film.[1][2] It is an early example of the comedic kung fu style for which Jackie Chan became famous. The film popularised the Zui Quan (醉拳, "drunken fist") fighting movement.

Cast

  • Jackie Chan - Wong Fei-hung / Freddy
  • Yuen Siu Tien (or Simon Yuen) - Beggar Su Hua Chi / Sam Seed
  • Hwang Jang Lee - Thunderleg
  • Lam Kau as Wong Kei-ying
  • Fung Ging Man - Mr Li
  • Hsu Hsia - King Of Bamboo
  • Linda Lin - Freddie Wong's Aunt
  • Dean Shek - Professor Kai-hsien
  • Shun-Yee Yuen - Chen Ko-Wai
  • Tino Wong Cheung - Bully
  • Tong Jing - Fei-hung's cousin
  • Chiang Kam - Fat student
  • Huang Ha - Fei Hung's opponent
  • Po Tai - Waiter
  • Brandy Yuen - Fei-hung's friend
  • Max Lee - Fei-hung's friend
  • Lee Chun Wah - Gorilla
  • Yuen Woo Ping - Man carrying greens
  • Richard Cheung (extra)
  • Casanova Wong
  • Shih Kien

Fight scenes and martial arts

A number of notable fights are featured in the film, almost all of them with strong elements of comedy - from the game of keep away with Wong Kei-Ying's cocky, but incompetent, assistant kung fu instructor, to the novel "head-fu" fighting style used by one of his opponents. The film features the Hung Ga system of fighting, which was historically practiced by Wong Fei Hung and his father Wong Kei Ying, both of whom are major characters in the film. The animal styles of Snake, Crane, and Tiger performed in the film are derived wholly from the Hung Ga system and bear only a tangential relationship to the Fujian White Crane, Lama Pai (aka Tibetan White Crane), Black Tiger, and Snake systems of kung fu. Monkey style kung fu, popular in Southern Chinese martial arts performances, is also shown briefly.

Numerous systems of kung fu include "Drunken Boxing" forms (e.g. Choi Lei Fut and Drunken Monkey), and the Taoist Eight Immortals are popular staples of Chinese culture and art. However, the "Eight Drunken Immortals" forms depicted in this film are likely the creation of director and choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and based on routines found in other systems.

The primary villain in Drunken Master is played by Hwang Jang Lee, a Korean martial artist specialising in Taekwondo and known for his high-flying kicks, which are prominently displayed in the film. The systems of "Devil's Kick" and "Devil's Shadowless Hands" employed by Thunderleg are entirely fictitious.

Box office

Drunken Master earned an impressive HK $6,763,793 at the Hong Kong box office.[1]

Sequels and spinoffs

  • Drunken Master was a semi-sequel to the 1978 film Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, which featured the same cast and director.
  • Drunken Master II (1994) did star Jackie Chan, and is often considered a sequel. The US release of the film in 2000 was entitled The Legend Of Drunken Master.
  • In 1979 Yuen Siu Tien reprised the role of Beggar So in the film Dance of the Drunk Mantis, which is entitled Drunken Master Part 2 (not to be confused with Drunken Master II noted above) in some releases. The film, which was again directed by his son, Yuen Woo-ping, does not feature Jackie Chan, focusing instead on the drunken beggar character rather than on Wong Fei Hung. It is therefore generally considered to be a spinoff rather than a true sequel.
  • Yuen played this same role again in the films Story of Drunken Master and World of the Drunken Master.
  • In 2010 Yuen Woo-ping returned to directing with True Legend which could be called prequel to Drunken Master as it explains why Beggar Su (Played by Vincent Zhao) turns to drinking.

Imitators

As with many successful Hong Kong action films, several films were released in the wake of Drunken Master (and its sequel) that could be considered to trade on the fame of the original films. These had less in common with the original films than the spinoffs starring Yuen Siu Tien. They include:

  • The Drunken Fighter (1978)
  • Drunken Swordsman (aka Drunken Dragon Strikes Back) (1979)
  • The Shaolin Drunken Monk (starring Gordon Liu) (1982)
  • Drunken Tai Chi (directed by Yuen Woo-ping and starring Donnie Yen) (1984)
  • Revenge of the Drunken Master (1984)
  • Drunken Master III (aka Drunken Master Killer) - starring Andy Lau (1994)
  • The Little Drunken Masters (1995)

It should be noted that not all films that feature the Zui Quan "Drunken Fist" style (or variations on it) can be considered as imitators of the Drunken Master films. Films such as Drunken Monkey (2002) may feature a drunken style of kung fu, and in the case of The Forbidden Kingdom (2008), the same principal star, but they have a fundamentally different plot and sufficiently different title to separate them from Drunken Master.

DVD versions

File:DrunkenMaster DVDcover.jpg
Drunken Master DVD cover
  • On April 24, 2000, Hong Kong Legends released a DVD in the UK. However, it contains cropping of the image from 2:35:1 to 1:78:1 and the incorrect Mandarin soundtrack with dubtitles. However, it has a greater number of additional features including a deleted scene and an interview with producer Ng See-yuen.
  • On April 2, 2002, Columbia Pictures released a DVD in the US. Despite a 2:35:1 image and the inclusion of Cantonese, it's incomplete in some sections (reverting to the English dub) and contains dubtitles. There's an audio commentary by Ric Meyers and Jeff Yang.
  • On March 18, 2004, HKVideo released a "Wong Fei Hung" DVD boxset in France containing this film (French title: "Le maître chinois") and two others. It contains a full 2:35:1 image and the correct Cantonese soundtrack. However, it contains slightly poorer image quality and no English subtitles.
  • On April 30, 2004, Mei Ah Entertainment released a remastered DVD in Hong Kong (pictured right). It contains a 2:35:1 image, Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 track, original Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track and Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. Subtitles include Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English. The missing Cantonese for the opening has been re-dubbed in Cantonese and the other missing Cantonese scenes as extended footage in Mandarin due to trouble of re-dubbing with new voice actors. Many short lines missing Cantonese had been removed. Special features include Extended footage, accessed during the film by selecting the wine jug icon when it appears on the right top corner, Mastering the Drunken Master, a 35 second music video with clips of Jackie Chan practicing the 8 Drunken Gods from the film, film synopsis and cast & crew.

PanMedia released a bootleg DVD that contains the complete Cantonese track.

  • In the Dragon Ball series, when the second tournament is held, Master Roshi is disguised as "Jackie Chun" and he tries to use a Drunken Fist technique on Goku. Akira Toriyama said that Drunken Master was one of his major inspirations for the Dragon Ball series.
  • The Drunken Master was the title of a PC Engine fighting game released in 1987.
  • In the Neo Geo video game Double Dragon the character Cheng-Fu and some of his movements are based on Wong Fei Hung, you can even see his master Su Hua Chi in some parts of the game.
  • In the PlayStation video game Gex 2: Enter the Gecko in the level "Mao Tse Tongue" a poster on a wall says "Drunken Gecko I & II".
  • The PlayStation game Jackie Chan Stuntmaster includes a bonus level in which he wears his traditional Drunken Master dress and drinks wine while fighting. He even gives the Drunken Punch as his charge punch throughout the game.
  • In the Namco Tekken game series the character Lei Wulong copies Chan's Drunken Master fighting styles throughout the game play.
  • In popular PC online game Guild Wars, there is a stance-skill called "Drunken Master" which temporarily increases movement and attack speed. This effect is doubled if character is drunk.
  • In the games Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive 4 the moves of character Brad Wong are based on Zui Quan (Drunken Fist)
  • In the PlayStation 2 video game Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance a character named Bo' Rai Cho used a drunken master fighting style in the game called "Drunken Fist".
  • In the Xbox and computer game Jade Empire, the follower "Henpecked Hou" is a past-master of Drunken Boxing. The player can use this style when this follower is active, by picking up the jugs of wine that appear.
  • In The King of Fighters series, the character Chin Gentsai was modeled after Su Hua Chi.
  • In the Virtua Fighter series, the character Shun Di is a practitioner of Zui Quan.
  • In the online game Rumble Fighter, there is a scroll called Drunken Master, in addition to a Zui Quan scroll, changing the user's punches and kicks to imitate a different form of Drunken Boxing, as well as the spinning ram (Crazy Corkscrew Opening Wine Bottle) and changing the user's throw (Stirring the Bottle).
  • In the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, a kung-fu artist named Rock Lee has a special ability to go into a fighting style called "Drunken Fist." While in this mode the player attacks quicker and more aggressively with moves similar to that of Zui Quan.
  • The PlayStation game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style featured Drunken Style fighting by one of its characters, ODB (Ol Dirty Bastard).
  • The Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition optional rulebook Sword and Fist featured a prestige class called the Drunken Master. Characters of this class gained tactical advantage through weaving and staggering while inebriated, making his motions difficult to counter in a fight.
  • A remix of the Nine Inch Nails song Wish samples a portion of the movie's score for the track.
  • The Korean rap group Drunken Tiger uses lines from the film (specifically lines said by Yan Ti San after his first fight with Wong Fei Hung) in the rap track "Street Fighter".

References

  1. ^ a b "HKMDb entry". Drunken Master (1978). Retrieved 2008-04-17.
  2. ^ "HKMDb entry". Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978). Retrieved 2008-04-17.


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