I’d long heard about the legend of Drunken Master (1978) so it was good escapism to finally catch up with this iconic Jackie Chan film, a box office hit in Hong Kong early in his career, Wikipedia tells me. As the character of Wong Fei-Hung, Chan is a cheeky, cocky troublemaker whose mischief catches up with him (there’s a great scene where he gets beat up by his Auntie after being a creep to a girl in the village). His father, as punishment, sends him to be trained by the infamous Beggar So (Yeun Siu-Tin) whose alcoholism is signified by red make up on his nose (his old man prop wig also made me smile every time I saw). Even though the art of Drunken Fist fighting is taught quite late in the film, there’s lots of choreographed comedy action and training sequences to entertain. Chan is young and very buff yet he also shows off his talent for playing the clown, whenever he accidentally hits himself with a nun-chuck or has to get drunk to fight (the climactic duel using the “eight drunken idols” fighting styles is ridiculous and funny while also being super athletic). The version on SBS OnDemand veers weirdly between Cantonese and English dubbing; it also features classic 70s martial arts sound effects where the exchange of blows sound like giant wind fans or someone knocking at a door. It’s good, silly fun. Directed by the action choreographer legend that is Yuen Woo-ping. I hear the Jackie Chan sequel from the 90s is real good too. Recommended.
VHS Tracking 