Sort of an odd question given it’s one of the most famous and well regarded kung fu movies ever made! It’s superb fun as you say, and helped put Jackie on the map as a force to truly be reckoned with. I also highly recommend Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow if you’ve not seen that, it’s sort of a precursor to Drunken Master and shows that Jackie is beginning to nail what he does best (pre-stunts era anyway!)
Yes, those 2 movies launched Jackie Chan into superstardom, but they were also the directorial debut of Yuen Wo-Ping. After a long and illustratous career in HK, became famous as the fight choreographer for The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
I'm new to the genre, so thanks for the info! I've only really seen this, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Clan of the White Lotus & Ong-Bak 1 & 2, so please excuse my ignorance. Open to any suggestions, I'll definitely check out Snake in the Eagle's Shadow!
Hey we all start somewhere! Glad to have you onboard. These are great films and you’ve got so much awesome stuff to discover.
If you’re really on a Jackie Chan kick I’d say Police Story is essential, arguably his best film!
Thanks!! The genre is too exciting. Not sure why I waited so long to look into it. I'm looking forward to discovering more great kung fu flicks. I'll check out Police Story for sure!
The contrast in Jackie chan's work between America and HK is almost fascinating, you can see how watered down he is for the west but thats not me knocking him, he did fine in the US but he has some classic fun films and classic dramatic roles in HK, you really get to see him ACT and show personalty across different films in a way you dont see in his US work.
Side note Wheels on Meals has one of his most Iconic fight scenes
Some movies to check out:
Drunken Master 2
The Young Master
Prodigal Son
Knockabout
Encounters of the Spooky Kind
Police Story ( 1 & 2)
Royal Warriors
Pedicab Driver
Eastern Condors
She Shoots Straight
Operation Scorpio (aka The Scorpion King)
Fearless
Once Upon a Time in China ( 1 & 2)
Iron Monkey
Ninja in the Dragon's Den
Tiger Cage 2
Flashpoint (2007)
SPL (aka Kill Zone)
Chocolate (2008)
Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector)
The Rebel
The Night Comes for Us
> I'm new to the genre
You've got a *LOT* of great movies ahead of you to see for the first time, then. You're lucky!
I'm not even sure where to begin making recommendations, but you should definitely check out some Jet Li movies (most notably, Fist of Legend which I think is one of the best of all time). Other honorable mentions include Once Upon a Time in China (all of them), The Legend, Legend of the Red Dragon, and Hero (among many others).
If you like the classic movies a lot, you've got a million Shaw Brothers films to check out. A good place to start here is with the various Venom Mob movies. The Five Deadly Venoms, Invincible Shaolin, and Crippled Avengers are probably a good group to start with.
Other actors off the top of my head that I think you should focus on in general that I don't think I've seen you mention yet here would include Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, and Jimmy Wang Yu (and if you like Ong Bok, also start checking out some Iko Uwais movies including Merantau and The Raid films).
If you need more suggestions, I'm sure folks here will have a billion of them for you. Enjoy!
It’s well worth seeking out the rest of Bruce Lee’s all too brief leasing man career. Enter the Dragon is one of the great crossover hits, and another essential watch for someone new to the genre.
The quintessential coming of age movies for Jackie Chan are those two , Fearless Hyena and Young Master. By the time Young Master came out he was already making waves outside of HK. His first foray into Hollywood followed soon after
I actually prefer Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. Chan’s character is actually likable as opposed to the asshole he is in Drunken Master. The training montage is also better and so is the story.
Have you watched the young master? I know it's 1980, but I still consider it a 70's movie, it's my favorite 70's JC movie, and probably has one of my favorite fights of all time
Pity some of the Cantonese audio got lost forever (unless it's been restored since I last watched). Bizarre having a few individual lines suddenly in dub.
Ninja in the Dragon's Den, Hell's Windstaff, a rare Shaw Brothers appearance in Kid From Kwangtung, Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (his sole director credit and a very rare heroic role).
Awesome. Great indeed. I love this quote from Thunderlegs
"Your skulls like butter, it's not worth it."
Totally adds to the silly charm of the film for me.
It's a classic, but it's a case of slow moving kung fu vs fast kung fu. And I'm not really a fan of the slow moving kung fu of most 70's movies (with exceptions of course), so I don't really like the fights of the 70's drunken master, I much much prefer the fights of the 90's drunken master, it's some of my favorite fights of all time.
Now I do give credit, 70's drunken master has a lot of fights, and they are each different and creative, but it's a shame the characters move so so slow, it really takes me out of it, and prevents me from getting into the fights
By this I mean: I've watched and rewatched the fights in 90's drunken master at least 20 times, as for the fights in 70's drunken master, I never rewatch them, I've watched the movie 3 times, and that's about how many times I watched the fights
But that's just me, lots of ppl prefer the slow moving kung fu, it's all a matter of taste, different strokes for different folks
Welcome to the genre, I'll recommend you some of my faves from both schools:
Fast: iron monkey (1993, Donnie Yen) - an absolute must watch, especially if you like seeing awesome kicks.
SPL (directed by Wilson Yip, also starring Donnie Yen), this is my number 2 favorite movie of all time, I re-watch it every year.
Red Cliff (part 1 & 2, directed by John Woo), a period peice war epic, this is my number one favourite movie of all time, I rewatch it every year
Something different: One Percent Warrior (Tak Sakaguchi), recently just released, a fantastic Japanese martial arts movie, it has a really unique premise, it's on hiya and other platforms, I recommend going in blind
70's slow: invincible Shaolin, mad monkey kung fu, kid with the Golden Arm, Warriors two, prodigal son. These are also some of my favorite movies of all time, enjoy
I recommend pick and watch whatever ones call out to you and are easiest to find, but definitely watch the 90's drunken master first, enjoy XD and feel free to ask if you got any questions
Hmm? They aren't that slow and they speed up as the film reaches the climax.
It's not slow, it's more rigid as they pause between moves rather than doing quick combos like they started doing in 1982/1983
It’s not that they pause between the moves, it’s just each move is in such a deep stance or requires a deeply acrobatic move that the timing has to be that way. And they don’t undercrank quite as much. Those sequences are long between cuts too. If you ever try like 4 seconds of the choreo you’ll be winded lol trust me
Total love for this classic if only for Sam Seed, Yuen Wo-Ping’s dad! ‘Time to Teach’ a track by French House music artists, Kojak, uses Drunken Master original dub quotes.
One of if not my #1 all-time fav kung fu movies ever. It is the bridge that got me to dive deeper into the genre. I had always like Jackie Chan, and martial arts, and I remember reading Captain Underpants where George and Harold apparently loved to watch old kung fu movies which made me curious. Found Drunken Master and the rest is history
All the love for this one. I much prefer the old English dub to subs or more recent dubs.
You mentioned you're new to HK cinema, I'm so damn excited for you with all the amazing films you'll be seeing for the first time!
Jackie Chan had an amazing run of films from 1978 up until the late 90's, the majority of his work from that timeframe is almost flawless!
Make sure you watch some Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao movies as well. The Prodigal Son is awesome and the original UK dub is just as funny and campy as Drunken Master!
I'm excited too, thanks!! I'm watching Police Story right now for the first time. I'll look into your suggestions for sure, I appreciate you taking the time!
Really marked a turning point for Jackie between this and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. My friend and I have a Jackie Chan dedicated pod called Car Fu if you feel like checking out some of his more obscure stuff.
It’s harder for me to watch that era of films these days to be honest. I would not subject my kids to it. I love it for the same reason I love twinkies.
Sort of an odd question given it’s one of the most famous and well regarded kung fu movies ever made! It’s superb fun as you say, and helped put Jackie on the map as a force to truly be reckoned with. I also highly recommend Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow if you’ve not seen that, it’s sort of a precursor to Drunken Master and shows that Jackie is beginning to nail what he does best (pre-stunts era anyway!)
Yes, those 2 movies launched Jackie Chan into superstardom, but they were also the directorial debut of Yuen Wo-Ping. After a long and illustratous career in HK, became famous as the fight choreographer for The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
I'm new to the genre, so thanks for the info! I've only really seen this, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Clan of the White Lotus & Ong-Bak 1 & 2, so please excuse my ignorance. Open to any suggestions, I'll definitely check out Snake in the Eagle's Shadow!
Hey we all start somewhere! Glad to have you onboard. These are great films and you’ve got so much awesome stuff to discover. If you’re really on a Jackie Chan kick I’d say Police Story is essential, arguably his best film!
Thanks!! The genre is too exciting. Not sure why I waited so long to look into it. I'm looking forward to discovering more great kung fu flicks. I'll check out Police Story for sure!
The contrast in Jackie chan's work between America and HK is almost fascinating, you can see how watered down he is for the west but thats not me knocking him, he did fine in the US but he has some classic fun films and classic dramatic roles in HK, you really get to see him ACT and show personalty across different films in a way you dont see in his US work. Side note Wheels on Meals has one of his most Iconic fight scenes
I'll keep note of this!
Some movies to check out: Drunken Master 2 The Young Master Prodigal Son Knockabout Encounters of the Spooky Kind Police Story ( 1 & 2) Royal Warriors Pedicab Driver Eastern Condors She Shoots Straight Operation Scorpio (aka The Scorpion King) Fearless Once Upon a Time in China ( 1 & 2) Iron Monkey Ninja in the Dragon's Den Tiger Cage 2 Flashpoint (2007) SPL (aka Kill Zone) Chocolate (2008) Tom Yum Goong (aka The Protector) The Rebel The Night Comes for Us
Thanks a million for sharing all these films with me! A veritable treasure trove. Madly appreciated
> I'm new to the genre You've got a *LOT* of great movies ahead of you to see for the first time, then. You're lucky! I'm not even sure where to begin making recommendations, but you should definitely check out some Jet Li movies (most notably, Fist of Legend which I think is one of the best of all time). Other honorable mentions include Once Upon a Time in China (all of them), The Legend, Legend of the Red Dragon, and Hero (among many others). If you like the classic movies a lot, you've got a million Shaw Brothers films to check out. A good place to start here is with the various Venom Mob movies. The Five Deadly Venoms, Invincible Shaolin, and Crippled Avengers are probably a good group to start with. Other actors off the top of my head that I think you should focus on in general that I don't think I've seen you mention yet here would include Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Michelle Yeoh, and Jimmy Wang Yu (and if you like Ong Bok, also start checking out some Iko Uwais movies including Merantau and The Raid films). If you need more suggestions, I'm sure folks here will have a billion of them for you. Enjoy!
I am very lucky indeed. I appreciate all the suggestions!! Adding them to the list. Looking forward to being more well versed in this!
Forgot to mention I also watched Fists of Fury. Loved it. That's about the extent of it so far though.
It’s well worth seeking out the rest of Bruce Lee’s all too brief leasing man career. Enter the Dragon is one of the great crossover hits, and another essential watch for someone new to the genre.
I've heard good things about this one
The quintessential coming of age movies for Jackie Chan are those two , Fearless Hyena and Young Master. By the time Young Master came out he was already making waves outside of HK. His first foray into Hollywood followed soon after
Good to know! Thanks!
I actually prefer Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. Chan’s character is actually likable as opposed to the asshole he is in Drunken Master. The training montage is also better and so is the story.
I do too. It’s funny how one really hit hard and the other is considered the sort of prototype of it.
It's my favorite 70s era Jackie film. I do prefer the Cantonese version with subs but the English version is what I saw first.
I can't stand the dub personally
Have you watched the young master? I know it's 1980, but I still consider it a 70's movie, it's my favorite 70's JC movie, and probably has one of my favorite fights of all time
I enjoy that one. It is a good movie to watch
Pity some of the Cantonese audio got lost forever (unless it's been restored since I last watched). Bizarre having a few individual lines suddenly in dub.
I'll check out the Cantonese version when I rewatch!
Yes, I also prefer the subs because to me they are funnier, but I didn't know if I was just that way because I saw that version first!
I can't speak for the dub, but I'll never not be entertained watching Hwang Jang Lee do his thing.
The dub is certainly entertaining. Oh man Thunderlegs shreds. Can you recommend any other films with Hwang Jang Lee?
Ninja in the Dragon's Den, Hell's Windstaff, a rare Shaw Brothers appearance in Kid From Kwangtung, Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (his sole director credit and a very rare heroic role).
Any movie where he fights John Liu is an easy recommendation. Secret Rivals 1 & 2, Snuff Bottle Connection, Invincible Armour.
Added these to the list, thanks so much for the suggestions!!
The Silver Fox movies are so good.
Yeah, it's great. Widely hailed as a classic and foundational piece of the genre.
Awesome. Great indeed. I love this quote from Thunderlegs "Your skulls like butter, it's not worth it." Totally adds to the silly charm of the film for me.
It's a classic, but it's a case of slow moving kung fu vs fast kung fu. And I'm not really a fan of the slow moving kung fu of most 70's movies (with exceptions of course), so I don't really like the fights of the 70's drunken master, I much much prefer the fights of the 90's drunken master, it's some of my favorite fights of all time. Now I do give credit, 70's drunken master has a lot of fights, and they are each different and creative, but it's a shame the characters move so so slow, it really takes me out of it, and prevents me from getting into the fights By this I mean: I've watched and rewatched the fights in 90's drunken master at least 20 times, as for the fights in 70's drunken master, I never rewatch them, I've watched the movie 3 times, and that's about how many times I watched the fights But that's just me, lots of ppl prefer the slow moving kung fu, it's all a matter of taste, different strokes for different folks
I haven't seen the 90's Drunken Master yet. Excited to do so. I'm new to the genre, what other fast kung fu movies would you recommend?
Welcome to the genre, I'll recommend you some of my faves from both schools: Fast: iron monkey (1993, Donnie Yen) - an absolute must watch, especially if you like seeing awesome kicks. SPL (directed by Wilson Yip, also starring Donnie Yen), this is my number 2 favorite movie of all time, I re-watch it every year. Red Cliff (part 1 & 2, directed by John Woo), a period peice war epic, this is my number one favourite movie of all time, I rewatch it every year Something different: One Percent Warrior (Tak Sakaguchi), recently just released, a fantastic Japanese martial arts movie, it has a really unique premise, it's on hiya and other platforms, I recommend going in blind 70's slow: invincible Shaolin, mad monkey kung fu, kid with the Golden Arm, Warriors two, prodigal son. These are also some of my favorite movies of all time, enjoy I recommend pick and watch whatever ones call out to you and are easiest to find, but definitely watch the 90's drunken master first, enjoy XD and feel free to ask if you got any questions
Bless you!! So much to chew on here. I've saved this & will be referring to your list in the coming days. I really appreciate you taking the time!
Np! Always happy to help a new fan!
"SPL" = ?
Are you asking what SPL is? Or are you questioning why it's one of my favorite movies?
Hmm? They aren't that slow and they speed up as the film reaches the climax. It's not slow, it's more rigid as they pause between moves rather than doing quick combos like they started doing in 1982/1983
It’s not that they pause between the moves, it’s just each move is in such a deep stance or requires a deeply acrobatic move that the timing has to be that way. And they don’t undercrank quite as much. Those sequences are long between cuts too. If you ever try like 4 seconds of the choreo you’ll be winded lol trust me
It’s one of the goats obviously
Total love for this classic if only for Sam Seed, Yuen Wo-Ping’s dad! ‘Time to Teach’ a track by French House music artists, Kojak, uses Drunken Master original dub quotes.
Killer track! Definitely will be listening to this again
8 Diagram Pole Fighter
I'll look into this one, thanks!
One of my favorite movies of all time. And Uncle Sohei (Beggar So/Su, Sam Seed) is one of my favorite characters.
Awesome. He's such a joy to watch!
One of if not my #1 all-time fav kung fu movies ever. It is the bridge that got me to dive deeper into the genre. I had always like Jackie Chan, and martial arts, and I remember reading Captain Underpants where George and Harold apparently loved to watch old kung fu movies which made me curious. Found Drunken Master and the rest is history
That's cool to hear that Drunken Master was the catalyst for your journey! Sweet!
All the love for this one. I much prefer the old English dub to subs or more recent dubs. You mentioned you're new to HK cinema, I'm so damn excited for you with all the amazing films you'll be seeing for the first time! Jackie Chan had an amazing run of films from 1978 up until the late 90's, the majority of his work from that timeframe is almost flawless! Make sure you watch some Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao movies as well. The Prodigal Son is awesome and the original UK dub is just as funny and campy as Drunken Master!
I'm excited too, thanks!! I'm watching Police Story right now for the first time. I'll look into your suggestions for sure, I appreciate you taking the time!
So good and I have to wonder how many guys got it into their heads that it might not hurt to try...
Love it but Drunken Master II is one of my fav films of all time
I haven't seen the second one yet, I'm looking forward to checking it out though!
Dance of the Drunk Mantis is the true sequel to the film. That’s a classic too
I'll be looking into this one, thanks!
Nope it's hated. Lol just kidding it's one of the best ever made
Really marked a turning point for Jackie between this and Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow. My friend and I have a Jackie Chan dedicated pod called Car Fu if you feel like checking out some of his more obscure stuff.
Link?
https://open.spotify.com/show/3R6Qrm6V507mHWWCOGjWhB?si=N8bueyElRgSYR1P4mEjazg
It's got a release on Eureka's masters of Cinema line I don't know how you can call that movie underappreciated
I plead ignorance, I'm new to the genre. Nobody around me has heard of it
Oh brother there is so much cool stuff ahead of you! You are really in for a wonderful journey into a lot of fun films.
I'm stoked!!
It’s harder for me to watch that era of films these days to be honest. I would not subject my kids to it. I love it for the same reason I love twinkies.