Crash Course into Martial Arts Movie History....Sort Of

KUNG FU CINEMA
Whether you have seen The Matrix or a Jackie Chan film, martial arts have been embraced as a component for storytelling in films. Even though it seems like it has always been around, its prominence has only been relatively recent. The reason we can see martial arts on the silver screen is all thanks to Chinese opera, believe it or not.

Respect the Opera, Grasshopper
Chinese opera, or Peking opera, was a form of entertainment that would tell stories about folklore, myths, or battles that had taken place thousands of years ago. A special attribute to this type of opera was the actor's painted faces. The color of the paint would identify the role being played; for example a red face would be the hero while a white face would be the villain. For those who think the colors should be switched, Chinese culture sees the color red attributed with good fortune while white is attributed with death. The opera was originally male dominated, so it was not uncommon for a man to play a woman.

Dude looks like a lady! (chinatouronline.com)

Besides being able to sing and act, the performers were also great martial artists and acrobats. In fact, the Peking opera was where Jackie Chan was able to learn all the skills he uses in the films he makes.

Mr. Bond, meet Wong Fei Hung!
A particular cinematic character that Hong Kong filmmakers liked to make a movie about was Wong Fei Hung. The popularity of Wong Fei Hung would be that of James Bond or Rambo for the Western audience; the big difference here is that Wong Fei Hung was an actual person.

The Real Life Folk Hero (wikipedia.org)

Wong Fei Hung was an accomplished martial artist and was seen as the type of character who would defend the underdog and fight for what was right. So how popular was he? A former opera actor by the name of Kwan Tak Hing is well known for playing Wong Fei Hung; he did so in 99 films! Keep in mind he was not the only actor to play this character. Wong Fei Hung is still used in cinema to this day.

The Importance of Bruce Lee

That ain't CGI. Bruce made those flames! (warriorfitness.org)

It can be said that Bruce Lee was the bridge between Eastern and Western thinking. While he was proud of his Chinese heritage, he stood out greatly by also having a western style. In terms of emotion and action in his films, Bruce Lee was very dynamic as opposed to the more reserved manner of the traditional Eastern hero. He changed martial arts movies when he had his first film, The Big Boss, take place in a contemporary setting as opposed ancient China; Bruce would also combine styles, such as muay thai, judo, and boxing.

His success in Hong Kong would eventually lead up to Enter the Dragon, the first Chinese martial arts movie that was made by an American major studio; it was a collaboration of Golden Harvest from the East and Warner Brothers from the West. While this film shot him into international stardom, he sadly died soon after at the age of 32.

The One and Only Jackie Chan

Being drunk is so a super power! (activeengine.net)

Shortly after Bruce Lee had died, there was still this high demand for his films. Suddenly there were many actors who had stage names similar to Bruce Lee's: Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, etc. Although he did not have a "Bruce" stage name, Jackie Chan was advertised as the next Bruce Lee. His first film under this reputation was The New Fist of Fury, a sequel to Bruce's Fist of Fury. This and many other attempts bombed at the box office.

Eventually Jackie decided that instead of being the next Bruce Lee, he would become the first Jackie Chan. Using his training from his Peking opera days, he paired comedy with kung fu and made the film Snake in Eagle's Shadow. This film and Drunken Master was the one-two punch that jump started his career. He was one of the people to reinvigorate the martial arts genre in Hong Kong Cinema. The rest is history.

No Comment...(youtube.com)

What to See:
My recommendations for martial arts movies include the following in no particular order:

• 36th Chamber of Shaolin
• Drunken Master
• Every Original Bruce Lee film...except maybe Game of Death
• Police Story
• Heroes of the East

Most of these films should be easy to find. Make a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the majesty of kicking butt.