martial arts films
following are pages on the finest martial arts films in my collection and a few pictures carefully selected from the internet for your viewing pleasure. please note, what is expressed on these pages is just my opinion and i don't want to get into an arguement with someone who thinks fong sai yuk is rubbish cos it uses wires. anyway, you are wrong.

i have split it up into three parts, as i think there can really be no direct comparison between the jackie chan modern style, the jet li original hong kong traditional style, and the bruce lee revolutionary style that argueably led the way for all martial arts films and stars since, and broke martial arts into the western world.


jackie chan

jackie chan is one of the most well known martial artists in the film world and has been making films for your pleasure for over 20 years. from humble beginnings (his parents were so poor they offered to sell him to the midwife) he learnt his trade in the china drama academy working 19 hours a day on kung-fu and acrobatics, before helping with the washing up. here jackie earned the name 'double-boy' due to the amount of food the little tyke ate (he has said he didn't like to waste anything, and still never leaves anything on his plate). during this time, jackie had the name his master gave him, yuen lou, and worked with six other pupils in an opera called the seven little fortunes and they were known as such. jackie, sammo hung (yuen lung), yuen biao, and yuen wah (the seven pulis were all given names yuen ... by their master) worked on many films together including project A, dragons forever, wheels on meals and my lucky stars.

jackie started in the film world as a child actor, and then got into stunt work, working with bruce lee on a shot in enter the dragon (they went bowling together a few days before lee's tragic death). the first films were with director lo wei, who tried to make jackie another bruce lee (even making a film called new fist of fury, and changing jackies name to shing lung, meaning 'become a dragon'), but jackie had his own style. the films that shot him to fame were drunken master, snake in the eagles shadow, and the young master, each smashing all previous box office records. the first two films were with seasonal films, and jackie was allowed to introduce his own style of humour into these films, which has remained ever since.� the third was with golden harvest, a relationship which produced some amazing films, including the police story films, project A (and II) etc. jackie broke into the america market with rumble in the bronx - not a bad film except for the ending, and has enjoyed blockbuster sucess from then on, but most still say his best work came from the 80's to mid 90's (the golden harvest years). having said that, i did enjoy who am i, and shanghai noon, and i even thought gorgeous was pretty good. well, the fights anyway. i have always enjoyed jackie chan films, not least for the effort he puts in - he has always said he wants to be a family entertainer, but at the same time, make good movies. his films are amongst the best i've seen, but my mum has seen then with me and also enjoys them.

he must be the most injured guy in the industry with most of his bones having been broken, including his skull, when he fell 30ft out of a tree, onto a rock with his head (there is still a hole there apparently, and if he likes you he will let you put your fingers in it and hum!). the producer, stanley tong, of Armour of God said it was because jackie had short hair in this film, and since, has not let jackie have short hair for a film, hence his trademark 'style'. jackie has also broken his neck and back several times, and i don't even want to think how many times he broke his nose. now, he's starting to feel it and sometimes has to use crutches to even get of bed. anyway, he's been an inspiration to me ever since i saw his first film many many years ago, so i figured this was the least i could do.


jet li

jet li (li lian jie, or li nin kit in mandarin or cantonese) was born in hebei, beijing on the 26th of april, 1963. jet li was a member of the china wu-shu association from an early age and toured round the world on the strength of his martial arts skills. jet explains that wu shu means literally martial arts - 'wu' on it's own is just fighting, military attack, but combined with 'shu' becomes an intricate purposeful skill. (kung fu is more the application and effort devoted to being the best one can at a particular goal, not specifically martial arts, but i will refer to it in the incorrect form for this website - please don't email me and tell me!), jet also won many national competitions in fixed fist, and broadsword forms during the 1970s, including 5 consecutive years in the chinese national martial arts contest. shot to fame after shaolin temple (and so did the shaolin temple actually), during which jet displays his skills with barehand fighting and also weapons such as the three-section staff, and long chain whip. jet likes to keep his private life private, which is fine for me, but for all those wishing to find some gossip on the guy, you'll have to go elsewhere.

jet was offered the leading role in the popular crouching tiger...film but turned it down to spend a year with his wife, nina, and new baby. after this break from work, jet made romeo must die (with many big names including aaliyah houghton, who will be much missed) which, although it wasn't a great film due to hollywood editing and matrix style effects, got him a massive audience in the states, along with lethal weapon IV (umm, how does mel gibson beat up jet li?). his finest moment (for me anyway) came in 1993 when jet li took the role of chinese legend fong sai yuk in the films of the same name. these were very traditional style chinese films, based on the stories of the legend (my mum was explaining the story to me when we watched it), and relies heavily on the use of wires for the action scenes. many people take this piss out of these kinds of films, cos it's not 'realistic'. however, if you see this film, the fighting is simply amazing (so much better than crouching tiger) and the whole film is incredibly stylish. but more about that on the jet li section. now he seems to have gone a little matrix-y and his martial arts skills are difficult to see through the hollywood effects used. jet is still going strong, and has released kiss of the dragon (that i've yet to see - shame on me) and is currently making two more films, 'the one' and 'hero'.

'the one' has been described as a science fiction / martial arts movie, and i'm not sure what to make of that - apparently it has jet li split into two people of different characteristics, who battle it out with each other - it will definitely be interesting to see. from what i hear it's pretty heavy on the effects and a little matrix-y but the choreography is excellent, and of course with jet li instead of keanu reeves, it's gonna be good. although, to be honest, i feel that if you have jet li's skills and direction, such heavy effects arent really needed and can detract from the film a la romeo must die. anyway, we'll see, as a fan, i genuinely hope i'm wrong.

'kiss of the dragon' is already out in the states, and stars bridget fonda. i have heard that it is a mix between fist of legend (a wicked film) and the professional (a luc besson film, who is one of the producers on KOD) and is more fist of legend style than for example romeo must die, so i'm really looking forward to seeing that! all reviews have said it is one of the best jet li films ever made, so i've high hopes for this.

'hero', due for release sometime in 2002, and with a comparitively small budget, is the tale of historical events revolving around the failed assasination of china's first emperor. it is a traditional style film, directed by the highly acclaimed zhang yimou, and with an all chinese crew. zhang yimou started as a cinematographer before directing, and his mastery of colours is legendary, especially the colour red. this film is said to be no exception, with four warriors in three colours - jet li is in black, with helmet, armour, hat, robe and sword shield all black. maggie cheung and leung chiu wai, who play two of the assasins are all in green, and zhang ziyi is in full red. red represents passion, green, life, and black, death. donnie yen (of iron monkey fame) has also been rumoured to co-star in this film as some of the assasins or guards, i get confused, but he fights jet li anyway. jet li is either called the 'silencer', or wu ming (no name) in this film (i think wu ming is the official line so far), and� plays guard to the first emperor of china, a brutal leader, who becomes the target of many assisinations (although i heard jet kills the emporer as well, so i am confused...). anyway, this film seems to have every ingredient perfect so far, and this is the one i really can't wait to see - it sounds awesome, maybe even better than fong sai yuk! or am i getting carried away...


bruce lee

hardly needs an introduction - possibly one of the most famous people in the world, because he changed it so much. born on 27th of november, in the year of the dragon (1940), of a chinese father and german mother, bruce studied the martial art of wing chun, originally developed by a chinese nun for effective self defence. bruce was constantly trying to improve his spirit and body. he developed jeet kune do, a fighting method which translates roughly as way of the intercepting fist (or foot), or the art of fighting without fighting. he also began intense physical training, having started life as a kinda skinny chappy, turning himself into one cut beast! whilst studying philosophy at university, he began teaching jeet kune do to anyone who wanted to learn, and there met his future wife, linda (lee) cadwell.

snubbed by the directors of an american tv show, called kung fu (in which david carridine (!) played the chinese character) bruce returned to hongkong, and there made his first film, the big boss, which smashed all previous box office records. his second film, fist of fury did the same again, and established bruce as a major player. his third film, and i think, his best, was called the way of the dragon, and was set in italy. this film also starred a very hairy man by the name of chuck norris, as well as some other karate, tae kwon do aond hapkido masters. the legendary nunchuka sequence was cut by english censors after some guy killed himself trying to emulate bruce by hitting himself on the head (can no-one take any responsibility for themselves anymore?? to be honest thats just lame). however, now, laws seem to have relaxed and we are again able to see the sequences. his fourth film, enter the dragon in which bruce played an undercover secret agent had him going to a martial arts tournament set on a small island. bruce had to share the film with john saxon, who seemed to have perfected the art of ugly kicking with bent legs and flailing arms, and general unco-ordinated crapness right at the time of filming, and a blaxploitation hero, jim smith, who was really just too busy looking good. no really, he had the biggest 'fro and everything.

his next film, the game of death, was never to be completed. bruce did manage to film the ending of the film though, in a sequence where he must fight his way to the top of a pagoda, with each level guarded by a martial arts master of a different style. one of the levels, not often shown, has danny inosanto, one of bruces best students and close personal friends, and bruce facing off in a nunchuka battle. at the very top of the pagoda is a fighter of no particular style, emphasising bruces philosophy of adaptablity - you must be like water.... unfortunately, it's kareem abdul jabaar, who isn't much good.

bruce died of a cerebral edema on the 27th of july, 1973, just weeks before the opening of enter the dragon. a national mourning took place in hong kong for days, as the impact of this tragedy shook peoples lives. bruce was a parent during his short life, with son brandon and daughter shannon lee (keasler) by his wife, linda. brandon was the fatal victim of an accident whilst on a film set. shannon is being taught martial arts by benny the jet, and is now involved in film.�

bruces memory lives on through his films, through those who were lucky enough to know him, and through everyone who has been inspired by his films, martial arts and philosophy. i know his effect on me, and so i thank the 'little dragon' with this token of appreciation..
index
jackie chan
jet li
bruce lee
benny urquidez
links
my collection
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