Yuen was the other half of that creative process, and the two recognized their chemistry.
KUNG FU ROLLING SKY MOVIE
The movie was a hit, and set the tone for Jackie to define his unique style of comedic kung fu. Yuen was born in Guangzhou, and landed on the movie scene with a splash, nabbing his first director credit on Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow with Jackie Chan.
KUNG FU ROLLING SKY SERIES
Yuen Woo PingĪlready in this series we’ve talked about directors and actors, now let’s turn the lens onto another instrumental figure - the choreographer.
Gordon Liu left his mark on kung fu cinema - especially through his style and timing in fight choreography - across continents, cultures, and generations. The latter was a special role for Liu - Pai Mei is a recurring character throughout Shaw Brothers lore, and Liu has been on the receiving end of some serious Pai Mei beatdowns, in films like Executioners from Shaolin and Fists of the White Lotus. 2, Liu returned, but in a different role, this time as the infamous kung fu assassin, Master Pai Mei. 1, Liu played Johnny Mo, the leader of the Crazy88 Yakuza gang. You may also recognize Liu from a totally different franchise: Kill Bill. Admire some of the raw beauty of the film below: It’s the reason Wu-Tang Clan’s debut album was called Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is widely considered to be one of the greatest kung fu films in history, and marked a career turning point for Liu and the film’s directors. He managed to star in some pretty significant films, but it wasn’t until his signature role as the monk San Te in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin that Liu became a household name. Gordon Liu hailed from Guangdong, and studied Hung Gar style kung fu under master Lau Cham. With Shaw Brothers Studio up and running, it was only a matter of time before its first superstar was born. Thank you Shaw Brothers, for your contributions to the genre. The rest is kind of history - Shaw Brothers became the most iconic name in Chinese or Asian cinema anywhere, and built the identity of the classic “kung fu movie” from the ground up. Right before the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, Tianyi Film Company moved equipment and operations to Hong Kong, and Shaw Brothers Studio was born in earnest. Runje had a knack for bringing Chinese culture to the silver screen, from imperial costume dramas to traditional myths. His first movies were immediate hits - 1925’s A Change of Heart made it big at the box office, and Swordswoman Li Feifei, released in the same year, is considered the earliest Chinese martial arts film. Runje used to run a classical theater, but made the jump to film after watching colleagues of his achieve early success with the medium. Runje Shaw poses by a camera with cast and crew of “Swordswoman Li Feifei” (source: Baidu) That was in 1925, when the Shanghai-based studio was still called Tianyi Film Company. His younger brothers Runde, Runme, and Run Run handled accounting, distribution, and odd jobs. As the eldest sibling, Runje Shaw handled the dual jobs of managing their early studio in Shanghai, as well as directing their movies. The Shaw Brothers are probably the single most important group in the founding of this particular film genre.
There’s no better way to kick this piece off than with the Shaw Brothers themselves. Here are seven lesser-known heroes of kung fu cinema. It takes a village to raise a child, and the “child” of kung fu classics was raised by a pantheon of legendary figures - actors, studios, and directors. It took a long time to build the genre into its current form, and it took more than Bruce Lee, Jet Li, and Jackie Chan. Fictionīut kung fu movies weren’t always international cult classics. Life with China’s Shaolin Monks: Fact vs. Good versus evil, revenge, justice, and the journey to manhood are themes that transcend cultural boundaries. Kung fu movies are just another vehicle for the same age-old stories people have always told - dressed up differently, and distilled down into easy-to-recognize archetypes. Martial arts, Chinese opera, “crosstalk” and comedy performances were blended together into something completely new.īut in retrospect, the rise of kung fu films may have been unavoidable. We say “against all odds”, because we don’t think anyone in the genre’s early days would have predicted global success for such a niche and culturally-specific style of storytelling. Kung fu movies, as a genre and against all odds, have become one of the most iconic forces in film worldwide.
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