So you wanna learn Kung Fu?

Posted by Nostalgiaholic | on November 20, 2007

Crash coarse into the history of Kung Fu films.

“So you wanna learn my drunken style eh…? Well don’t be so hasty, being a drunken master aint no walk around the bush you know!“
- Chan Chi (World of Drunken Master, 1979)

Jack Long, from World of Drunken Master (1979)

With these words old Chan Chi begins the grueling training of his disciples in the ways of Drunken Kung Fu. Kick-starting the plot of another bizarrely entertaining piece of Hong-Kong cinema, and causing me to wet myself with laughter.

These little EMP’s of cinematic culture-shock have fascinated us Western audiences for decades with their insane blend of operatic melodrama, limb-splitting acrobatics, and Beatles-esque haircuts (yeeeeah I don’t get it either). See, back in the 1970s when you, me, and Quentin Tarantino were hanging out at the drive-in watching Vanishing Point, over in China a not-so-communist revolution was happening. Grindhouses were pumping out flicks that involved roundhouse kicks instead of fast cars. This was a world were all disputes were settled with lightening-fast martial arts combat set to unbelievably bad sound effects. And no matter how strange the plots might be, or how poorly dubbed the English dialouge, there was something intangibly fun and exotic about that whole krazy kung fu scene…

THE 1960’s : Wuxia-Mania !!!

The Chinese had been making movies about “Wuxia” (“Martial Arts Hero” in Cantonese) for years, but it wasn’t until the sixties Magical Mystery tour had rolled into Hong Kong that the foundations of the Kung Fu movie empire were laid. The audio-visual entertainment medium of television was taking the island by storm. Directors looking to strike jade took stylistic cues from Ming Dynasty-era China (1300s-1600s) and stories from a new generation of writers free of communist constraint. Most Scripts involved characters with mystical powers on long journeys to save loved-ones or get revenge for the untimely death of said loved ones. Littering these melodramatic journeys of self-discovery were usually long choreographed martial-arts fight sequences that always ended in someone spitting blood, uttering curses, and generally admitting they got served. The Chinese viewing public was eating it up ! ‘Course when you have a bazillion people all buying TVs and only a handful of directors making one or two movies a year you got a prob bob… So, studios began to sprout like shittake mushrooms with the sole purpose of pumping out as much watchable product as possible in the least amount of time. The most famous of which, the Shaw Brothers Studio (actually based in Singapore) could fire off five a week !!!

How good could a movie made in a couple of days be you ask…?

Freakin amazing….

See, the thing is you can’t judge any Hong Kong martial arts flick by the standards of movies today, which have mystical things called “filming schedules”, “casting”, and “budgets”… Nah man, some of these movies were made for pennies, scripts ad libbed, and actors taken from whomever may have been standing around. The films were (and still are) of terrible visual quality, and all share a trademark light yellow-ish haze that makes everything seem like it’s being viewed through the bleary cataracts of a 80 year old Rastafarian. Thankfully, despite such limitations, fearless Chinese directors soldiered on, convinced that their beloved yet slightly ridiculous art form would continue to find a larger audience. And in 1971 they got their wish…

Enter The Dragon

Bruce Lee hit both Chinese and western theaters in 1971 starring in Raymond Chow’s The Big Boss, and later in Fists of Fury (1972).

The success of these two martial arts masterpieces turned Lee into an international superstar, and has been rumored to have caused Atlantis to sink into the ocean… Okay, I may have made up that last bit, but you get how much they rocked !

Lee had it all, good looks, lightning quick moves (he actually had to slow down his movements while filming to allow us all to gawk), and he could speak English ! This former Green Hornet co-star knew what N. American audiences were after, and aimed to mix the big-budget American action flick, with the stylistic elements of Chinese Martial Arts. So, for his next picture Way of the Dragon, Lee took the roll of writer, director, and star to make sure his vision of the perfect east-meets-west blockbuster was spot-on. Almost to symbolize this unity of culture was Lee’s co-star and cinematic rival for the film Chuck Norris, who engages Lee in a fight to the death in the Roman Colosseum at the end. I can still remember the yin and yang of a shirtless, tightly-coiled Bruce Lee opposite an equally shirtless pasty-white Chuck, sporting the reddest chest hair ever seen on film. It was really weird, but kind of mesmerizing…

Though equally blinded by Chuck Norris’ chest, Warner Bros. decided it was time to open the floodgates between East ‘n West and made a deal with Raymond Chow’s Golden Harvest production Co. to co-produce Lee’s next movie. Bigger, Badder, Louder, Faster, Blacker, Punchier, and kickier than anything ever made, Enter The Dragon hit the streets in 1973 to universal praise and reports of people wetting themselves with sheer joy. Grossing billions of dollars and influencing action films for the next three decades, this movie almost single-handedly began North America’s obsession with Chinese martial arts, and Asian cinema in general.

Unbelievably, six days before the movie opened world-wide, Bruce Lee died of mysterious circumstances…. the dude was just 33… OoooooEeeeeeeOooooo… His influence on modern cinema was incalculable.

Thanks to Lee , North American audiences were hooked, and looking to the east for more of… well… whatever the heck that was…? Fung Ku…? no wait, Kung Fu…? Just what does that all mean ? and where can I get some more ?

THE 1970’s : “Bruceploitation” and The Golden Age of Shaolin

After Bruce Lee’s death, both American and Chinese markets were flooded with a backlog of 1960’s Wuxia films quickly slapped onto VHS, and a new breed of shameless Lee-imitating flicks aimed at cashing in on the former titan’s name. Casting Lee lookalikes in the starring roles and using almost lawsuit-inducing screen aliases like “Bruce Li”, “Bruce Lei”, and “Dragon Lee” was enough to make some serious cash for the major Hong Kong studios like the Shaw Bros.

Sporting all the aesthetic flaws of the 1960s original Wuxia films, these poorly duplicated, and even more poorly dubbed reproductions became essential parts of American culture. They were the atypical 1970s action movie, sandwiched in with a B-grade science fiction, or a campy Blaxploitation flick as part of a midnight double feature. Literally thousands of movies were made between 1971-1977 all dedicated to the ancient Chinese art of cheaply-made, shiny distraction.

One Bruce Lee nockoff flick was New Fist Of Fury (1976) which starred a very talented former Bruce Lee stunt man named Jackie Chan. Though he was promoted as the next Bruce Lee, Chan’s fighting style was much different, more theatrical and acrobatic than Lee’s very focused, solid style. In fact, in the post Bruce Lee hysteria, many new styles of martial arts were appearing in Hong Kong, and therefore on the chipped and faded drive-in billboards of N. America. Martial arts we’re just the mystical domain of the wuxia of the 1960s anymore, anyone could learn ‘em.

Ancient styles of martial arts were dusted off and put on-screen to add variety to the constant grind of same actors, same plot. “Kung Fu” was the word on the streets of Hong Kong…

“Say, your not too bad at kung fu, maybe some day I’ll teach your teeth a thing or two !“

- Return of the Kung Fu Dragon

The ancient Chinese martial arts of Wushu and Kung Fu (or Gong Fu) took center stage during the later half of the grindhouse 70s. Based on historical evidence of myriad styles and techniques for defending, attacking, Avoiding, and generally beating the bejeezus out of an enemy. These styles of martial arts had been passed down through generations, each teacher with his or her own style of fighting. In the movies it became important to showcase each character’s style of Kung Fu and how it stacked up against equally savvie martial artists. Hong Kong Directors started choosing masters of various techniques to play leading roles (sometimes regardless of acting ability) and showcasing their style against a wide range of opponents. An excellent example, and pioneer of the genre is the Shaw Bros. director Chang Cheh, and his best known film Five Deadly Venoms (1978).

It was the golden age baby, Immortalized by Carl Douglas’ song Kung Fu Fighting !!!

The most famous of the cinematic styles of Kung Fu were the Shaolin styles, developed by monks in the Henan province of China. These dudes developed advanced offshoots from the traditional Kung Fu styles based on the movements of animals, the changing of the seasons, and the deities of Mahayana Buddhism. More Kung Fu movies reference Shaolin, or Shaolin styles of fighting than any other. The image of the peaceful Buddhist monk pushed too far by villains, forced to unleash animal-inspired, well-choreographed beatdowns seems to have an honored place in the hearts and imaginations of all martial arts audiences (made famous by Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, but perfected by Jet Li in Shaolin Temple in 1982). the usually non-violent monks loved to prove that their style was superior to any other in the great Shaolin Vs. Ninja series and Shaolin Vs. Lama series.

“Come on back if you want some more! If you want some more, then come on back!”

- Quincey (Black Belt Jones, 1974)

Kung Fu and Blaxploitation films were forever twisted cousins due to their co-billings at movie theater double-features. Black audiences seemed to relate to the plight of the workin’ man of the east, and were among the biggest fans of the martial arts genre. Inbreeding between these cousins was inevitable, and soon Kung Fu Blaxploitation flicks were delivering their own brand of bad-mutha-martial arts to the man !!! Sucka… Some of the best and blackest of the sub-genre are Black Belt Jones (1974), TNT Jackson (1975), and the awesomely named Jive Turkey (1974).

The Kung Fu genre had started to lose steam by the end of the 70s, but still maintained sales as the style changed into the more polished action films of the 80s. Guys like Chuck Norris, Jet Li and Jackie Chan went on to hone their individual styles in Hollywood releases, while Hong Kong cinema continued as it had always done.

There is something special about the movies that washed ashore from Hong Kong in the 60s ‘n 70s. Something warm, soothing and exotic like a fine jasmine tea, something beyond just nostalgia. Maybe it’s the campy, dubbed dialog and “THWACK” sounds that emanate from every movement that make us laugh, or the glimpses into everyday Chinese life (communal family meals always get me fuzzy inside). It could be the fact that you can sit down and watch a Kung Fu movie, or just pop one on for background noise and do something else. It’s non-intrusive, slightly silly cinema that is at the same time completely foreign to us, but also an essential part of North American pop-culture.

You can argue that if you’ve seen one Kung Fu movie, you’ve seen ‘em all… and there may be some truth to that, but I still get a kick (no pun, I swear) out of seeing wiry Chinese guys fly through the air and match their Drunken Monk Kung Fu style against the evil boss and his poison mantis style. WAAAAATAAAAHHHH !!!! Besides, I have a short attention span… Maybe I have seen this one before…?

Click on over to my Essential Kung Fu Movie List (1960s-1970s) to get the skinny on Chow Yun Fat (oh that was brilliant)

Much Love…

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