Drunken Master
Drunken Master | |||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||
Traditional Chinese | 醉拳 | ||||||
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Directed by | Yuen Woo-ping | ||||||
Written by |
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Produced by | Ng See-yuen | ||||||
Starring | |||||||
Cinematography | Chang Hui | ||||||
Edited by | Pan Hsiung | ||||||
Music by | Chow Fu-liang | ||||||
Distributed by | Seasonal Film Corporation | ||||||
Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes | ||||||
Country | Hong Kong | ||||||
Language | Cantonese | ||||||
Box office | US$16.5 million (est.) |
Drunken Master and also known as Drunken Master The Beginning
Drunken Master was a large success at the Hong Kong box office, earning two and a half times the revenue of the already-successful Snake in the Eagle's Shadow.
Plot
Beggar So has a reputation for crippling his students during training so Wong flees from home in an attempt to escape his punishment. Penniless, Wong stops at a restaurant and tries to trick a fellow patron into offering him a free meal. As Wong was about to leave after his meal, he discovers that the man is actually the owner of the restaurant. He fights with the owner's lackeys in an attempt to escape. An old drunkard nearby is drawn into the fight and helps him escape. The drunkard turns out to be Beggar So (who is known in some versions of the film as Sam Seed, So-Hi or Su Hua-chi), the Drunken Master. Beggar So forces Wong into his brutal and rigorous training programme, but he flees again to avoid the torturous training and runs into the notorious killer Yim Tit-sam (known in some versions as Thunderfoot or Thunderleg) by accident.
Yim is known for his "Devil's Kick", a swift and deadly kicking style which has never been defeated. Wong provokes and challenges him to a fight and is soundly defeated and humiliated. He makes his way back to Beggar So and decides to commit himself to the Drunken Master's training program. The training resumes and soon Wong learns Beggar So's secret style of martial arts, a form of Drunken Boxing called "
Meanwhile, Yim Tit-sam is contracted by a business rival to kill Wong's father. Wong's father fights with Yim and is defeated and injured by him. Wong and Beggar So arrive on time and Wong continues the fight with Yim. Beggar So promises not to interfere in the fight. Wong employs the new skills he has learned and outmatches Yim's kicking style. Yim then resorts to his secret technique, the Devil's Shadowless Hand, which is too fast for Wong to defeat. Wong confesses that he did not master the last style so Beggar So tells him to combine the seven styles and create his own version of the last style. Wong follows the instruction and discovers his own unique style of Drunken Miss Ho, which he uses to overcome the Shadowless Hand and finally defeats Yim.
Background
The film's protagonist
Cast
- Jackie Chan as Wong Fei-hung / Freddy Wong (UK version)
- Beggar So/ Su Hua Chi / Sam Seed
- Hwang Jang-lee as Thunderleg Yen Tie Hsin / Yim Tit-sam / Thunderfoot
- Dean Shek as Professor Kai-Hsin
- Lam Kau as Wong Kei-Ying / Wong Chi-Ying / Robert Wong (UK version)
- Fung King-manas Mr. Lee Man-ho
- Hsu Hsia as King of Bamboo Hsu Ching-tien
- Linda Lin as Wong Fei-hung's aunt
- Yuen Shun-yi as Chan Kwok-wai / Charlie Wei
- Tong Jing as Wong Fei-hung's cousin
- Tino Wong as Jerry Lee
- Yuen Woo-Ping as Man with bucket of greens
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
Numerous systems of kung fu include "Drunken Boxing" forms (e.g.
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.
According to his book I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, Chan nearly lost an eye after his brow ridge was injured.[5][6]
Theme song
The theme song of Drunken Master is based on a Chinese folk song, "Under the General's Orders". Since Drunken Master, the theme song has been popularly associated with the folk hero
Box office
At the Hong Kong box office, Drunken Master earned an impressive HK$6,763,793[2] (US$1,445,255).[7] It was the second most popular film in Hong Kong in 1978 behind the Hui brothers' The Contract and third on the all-time list.[8][9]
In
In Germany, where it was released as Sie nannten ihn Knochenbrecher ("They Called Him Bone Breaker") on 25 July 1980, it was the 41st highest-grossing film of the year, selling 584,312 tickets,[15] equivalent to an estimated €1,460,780[16] (US$2,063,606).[17] In Spain, the film sold 823,203 tickets,[18] equivalent to an estimated €1,070,164[16] (US$1,489,989).
Combined, the film grossed an estimated total of approximately US$16,483,650 (equivalent to $77,000,000 in 2023) in East Asia and Europe.
Sequels and spinoffs
- Drunken Master II (1994) stars Jackie Chan, and is considered the only official sequel. Chan portrays the same character, Wong Fei-hung. The US release of the film in 2000 was entitled The Legend of Drunken Master.
- In 1979, Yuen Siu-Tin 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.
Imitators
As with several successful Hong Kong action films, a number of 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:
- 5 Superfighters (aka The Drunken Fighter) (1978)
- Drunken Swordsman (aka Drunken Dragon Strikes Back) (1979)
- Drunken Arts and Crippled Fist (Featuring Li Yi Min) (1979)
- Drunken Master, Slippery Snake (Starring Cliff Lok) (1979)
- Shaolin Drunken Monkey (Starring Elton Chong) (1981)
- 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), starring Johnny Chan,[19] whose name allowed him to trade off his more successful namesake in other low-budget martial arts films including Golden Dragon, Silver Snake (1979) and The Eagles Killer (1978)
- Drunken Master III (aka Drunken Master Killer) – starring Andy Lau (1994)
- The Little Drunken Masters (1995)
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
Home media
- On 24 April 2000, dubtitles. However, it has a number of additional features including a deleted scene and an interview with producer Ng See-yuen.
- On 2 April 2002,
- On 18 March 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 Cantonese soundtrack. However, it contains slightly poorer image quality and no English subtitles.
- On 30 April 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.
Cultural impact
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2010) |
Fashion
- During the late 1970s to early 1980s, Jackie Chan's shoulder-length hairstyle in Drunken Master became popular across Asia, widely adopted by both men and women across the region.[21]
Film
- Edgar Wright's The World's End (2013) had drunken pub fight scenes inspired by Drunken Master. The film's fight scenes were choreographed by Brad Allan, who was part of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team during the 1990s to 2000s.[22]
Manga and anime
- Manga author Akira Toriyama cited Drunken Master as one of his major inspirations for the Dragon Ball series of shōnen manga and anime, along with Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon (1973) and the Chinese novel Journey to the West.[23] Toriyama said that he would never have come up with Dragon Ball if he had not watched Drunken Master,[24] and he was drawn to its more light-hearted tone.[25] Drunken Master also served as a reference for the training scenes.[26] The series pays homage to Drunken Master when the first tournament is held, where Kame-Sennin (Master Roshi) is disguised as "Jackie Chun" and he tries to use a Drunken Fist technique on Son Goku (Goku).
- In the Naruto series, one of the characters 'Rock Lee' is seen performing similar fighting styles after consuming alcohol. Known as the 'Drunken Fist' in the series' Japanese version and the 'Loopy Fist' in the English.
Music
- Jamaican musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and The Revolutionaries recorded a reggae song titled "Drunken Master" that was released by Island on the album Sly and Robbie Present Taxi in 1981.[27]
- UK dubstep artist FuntCase used speech samples taken from the film in his song "Half drunk".
Video games
- 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 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 Chin Gentsaiwas modeled after Su Hua Chi.
- The Tekken video game series features a character named Lei Wu Long, a Hong Kong detective based on Jackie Chan's Police Story films. While the character was originally nicknamed Supercop after the film Police Story 3: Supercop Lei Wu Long uses 5 to 6+ stances which have all of Jackie Chan's signature film movies. Initially in the series it focused on the Snake style he created for Snake in The Eagles Shadow. In Street Fighter X Tekken released in 2012, Lei Wulong's "Ultimate Stance" is "Drunken Fist" based on his performance in the 1978 original and the 1994 sequel.
- The Chen.
- The Bo' Rai Cho in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance; his name is a play on the word "borracho" (Spanish for "drunk"), and he is indeed usually depicted as intoxicated, and carrying a canister of alcohol. His fighting moves consist of drunken style fighting mixed with vulgar actions.
See also
- Jackie Chan filmography
- List of Hong Kong films
- List of martial arts films
References
- ^ "Drunken Master (1978)". hkmdb.com. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ a b "HKMDb entry". Drunken Master (1978). Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- ^ "HKMDb entry". Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978). Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- GamesRadar. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
- ^ Jackie Chan. "Jackie's Aches and Pains: It Only Hurts When I'm Not Laughing". Random House. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ISBN 9780613217385.
- ^ "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1978. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ a b "More than 'the next Bruce Lee'". Variety. 23 January 1995. p. 56.
- ^ "Hong Kong's 20 Alltime Top Pix". Variety. 3 January 1979. p. 42.
- ^ "【ジャッキーチェン興行成績】 第12回:日本での興行収入". KungFu Tube (in Japanese). Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ "Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) - Japan". World Bank. 1979. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
- ^ "【ジャッキーチェン興行成績】 第10回:韓国での興行収入". KungFu Tube (in Japanese). 5 September 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "Asian Culture Quarterly". Asian Culture Quarterly. 11–12. Asian Cultural Center.: 20 1983.
The average admission fee in 1979 was 1,000 won for national films and 1,500 won for imports. (In 1982, the average increased to 2,000 won, or US$3.)
- ^ "Official exchange rate (KRW per US$, period average)". World Bank. 1979. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "Die erfolgreichsten Filme in Deutschland 1980" [The Most Successful Films in Germany (1980)]. Inside Kino (in German). 1980. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ )
- ^ "Historical currency converter (EUR)". fxtop.com. 25 July 1980. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ Soyer, Renaud (4 February 2014). "Jackie Chan Box Office". Box Office Story (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ^ "Johnny Chan (I)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ "Drunken Master : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". Dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- NewspaperArchive.
The 1978 "Drunk Monkey in a Tiger's Eye" made him an instant star. His shoulder-length hair was copied by both males and females all over Asia.
- ^ Franklin, Oliver (17 July 2013). "Edgar Wright interview on The World's End, pubs & Ant Man – Film – GQ.COM (UK)". Gq-magazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ISBN 9780972312493.
- ^ "Interview — Dragon Power / Ask Akira Toriyama!". Shonen Jump (1). January 2003.
- ISBN 4-08-873478-5.
- ISBN 978-4088748030.
- ^ "Sly & Robbie". Reggae Reviews. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
External links
- Drunken Master at IMDb
- Drunken Master on HKMDB
- Drunken Master at Rotten Tomatoes
- Drunken Master at Box Office Mojo
- Drunken Master at AllMovie
- Hong Kong Fanatics: Jackie Chan