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106-510: One-Armed Boxer (獨臂拳王) is a 1972 Hong Kong wuxia film directed, written by and starring Jimmy Wang Yu . Produced by Raymond Chow , it was released in 1972 in Hong Kong and various countries, and in late 1973 in the United States under a new title, The Chinese Professionals . The film follows Yu Tien Lung (played by Wang Yu), a skilled Chinese martial artist whose martial arts school

212-464: A Judo master, a Taekwondo expert, two Thai boxing fighters, a Yoga expert, and two mystic Tibetan lamas (who are later revealed in the sequel to be students of an Imperial Assassin). With this group, Chao easily destroys the Ching Te school and all of their businesses, leaving everyone dead except for Tien Lung who loses his right arm to Chao's Japanese professional. After escaping the massacre at

318-521: A loft and falls to the lower ground. By 1983, Chan branched out into action films which, though they still used martial arts, were less limited in scope, setting and plot, with an emphasis on elaborate yet dangerous stunt sequences. His first film in this vein, Project A (1983), saw the official formation of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team and added elaborate, dangerous stunts to the fights and typical slapstick humor (at one point, Chan falls from

424-421: A busy high road, including a risky stunt where he slides under a truck. Chan continued to take the approach – and the budgets – to new heights in hits like Police Story (1985), which is considered one of the greatest action films of all time. Here was Chan dangling from a speeding bus, destroying large parts of a hillside shantytown, fighting in a shopping mall while breaking many glass panes, and sliding down

530-511: A car accident, at age 28, ending a brief but spectacular career. Members of the Peking Opera School , including Jackie Chan , Yuen Biao , and Sammo Hung , played extras and bit parts in several Shaw Brothers films in the 1970s, although they were unknowns at the time. Better-known female martial arts actresses of Shaw Brothers include Cheng Pei-pei , Lily Ho , Shih Szu , Lily Li , and Kara Hui Ying-Hung . Cheng Pei-pei in particular

636-662: A cinema. One of the plays in their theater, The Man from Shensi , was very popular. The Shaw brothers then bought their first camera, and Runje Shaw made this play into a silent film that turned out to be a success. Runje Shaw and his brothers Runde and Runme formed a film production company in 1925 in Shanghai called the Tianyi Film Company (also known as Unique). The company's earliest films, New Leaf (立地成佛) and Heroine Li Feifei (女侠李飛飛), were shown in Shanghai in 1925. A rival studio, Mingxing Film Company , formed

742-667: A couple of attempts to crack the U.S. market, Jackie Chan 's 1995 film Rumble in the Bronx finally brought him recognition in the U.S. Since then, he has made several highly successful films for U.S. studios including Rush Hour (1998), Shanghai Noon (2000), and their respective sequels Rush Hour 2 (2001), Shanghai Knights (2003), and Rush Hour 3 (2007). Between his films for U.S. studios, he still makes films for Hong Kong studios, sometimes in English ( Mr. Nice Guy and Who Am I? ), often set in western countries like Australia or

848-513: A couple of generations of Hong Kongers by playing historical folk hero Wong Fei Hung in a series of roughly one hundred movies, from The True Story of Wong Fei Hung (1949) through to Wong Fei Hung Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation (1970). A number of enduring elements were introduced or solidified by these films: the still-popular character of "Master Wong"; the influence of Chinese opera with its stylized martial arts and acrobatics ; and

954-798: A fad for Cantopop stars in high-tech, more American-styled action pictures such as Downtown Torpedoes (1997), Gen-X Cops and Purple Storm (both 1999). Andrew Lau 's wuxia comic-book adaptation The Storm Riders (1998) earned a record-breaking gross and ushered in an era of computer-generated imagery , previously little used in Hong Kong film. Tsui Hark 's lavish CGI-enhanced efforts Time and Tide (2000) and The Legend of Zu (2001), however, were surprisingly unsuccessful. Comedy megastar and director Stephen Chow used digital effects to push his typical affectionate parody of martial arts conventions to cartoonish levels in Shaolin Soccer (2001) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004), each of which also set

1060-535: A global success, across Asia , Europe and the third world . This eventually paved the way for Lee's posthumous Hollywood film breakthrough with the Hong Kong and US co-production Enter the Dragon (1973). Hong Kong martial arts cinema subsequently inspired a wave of Western martial arts films and television shows throughout the 1970s–1990s (launching the careers of Western martial arts stars such as Jean-Claude Van Damme , Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris ), as well as

1166-455: A male to attend college because social mingling between the sexes was forbidden. The film resonated with its audience, and reportedly some members of the audience in Hong Kong and Taiwan repeatedly bought tickets and watched the feature in theaters over and over again in 1962, with some having watched it over 20 times. From the late 1960s onward, production of dramatic features was reduced in favor of martial arts features. The group of actors from

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1272-460: A man named Chao and are rivals of the Ching Te school. The Ching Te school is the most prominent martial arts academy in town and controls the local clothes-dyeing and brick factories. In a quick battle, Tien and his friends easily defeat the Hook gang both in the restaurant and again later in the valley where they have a battle royale . The beaten Hook gang members return to Chao and tell him how Tien and

1378-471: A mini-trend of brooding police thrillers. Collaboration with other industries, particularly that of Mainland China , is another increasingly common survival and recovery strategy. Hong Kong stars and other personnel have been involved in international wuxia successes like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Hero (2002) and House of Flying Daggers (2004). Shaw Brothers Studio Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited ( Chinese : 邵氏兄弟(香港)公司 )

1484-429: A modern-dress version of 1970s kung fu films by Woo's mentor Chang Cheh . The formula broke another all-time box office record. It also jump-started the faltering career of co-star Chow Yun-fat , who overnight became one of the colony's most popular idols and Woo's favorite leading man. For the remainder of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, a deluge of films by Woo and others explored similar territory, often with

1590-551: A name for him with American audiences. So far, he has returned to Chinese cinema for only two films: Hero (2002) and Fearless (2006). He claimed Fearless would be his last traditional kung fu film. Chow Yun-fat has also moved to Hollywood. After his 1995 film Peace Hotel , he has made a handful of films in Hollywood which have not seen as much success as those of the aforementioned figures'. These include The Replacement Killers (1998), The Corruptor (1999), Anna and

1696-513: A new box office record. Striking a different note were a series of crime films more restrained and actor-driven than the earlier, John Woo-inspired examples. The Milkyway Image production company was at the vanguard with examples like Patrick Yau 's Expect the Unexpected (1998), Johnnie To 's The Mission (1999) and Running Out of Time (1999). Andrew Lau and Alan Mak 's blockbuster Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002–2003) has set off

1802-399: A pole covered with exploding light bulbs. The latter is considered one of the greatest stunts in the history of action cinema. The 1988 sequel called for explosions on a scale similar to many Hollywood movies and seriously injured leading lady Maggie Cheung – an occupational risk Chan had already grown used to. Thus Jackie Chan created the template for the contemporary urban action-comedy of

1908-501: A progenitor of the kung fu comedy. In subsequent titles like Executioners from Shaolin (1977), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), and Legendary Weapons of China (1982), Lau emphasized the traditions and philosophy of the martial arts and strove to give onscreen fighting greater authenticity and ever greater speed and intricacy. The kung fu boom was partly fueled by enormous international popularity, and not just in East Asia. In

2014-611: A raft of imitations, often starring Mainland wushu champion Jet Li . He went on to receive a special award for a mainland China person at the 1995 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival . The other signature star of the subgenre was Taiwanese-born actress Brigitte Lin . She made an unlikely specialty of androgynous woman-warrior types, such as the villainous, sex-changing eunuch in The Swordsman 2 (1992), epitomizing martial arts fantasy's often-noted fascination with gender instability. Hong Kong's international impact initially came in

2120-551: A setback during the Second World War when the Japanese occupied Malaya and Singapore . After the war, they began to rebuild. In the 1950s, Nanyang started to switch film production from Cantonese to Mandarin as the communist takeover of mainland China had cut off the supply of Mandarin films to overseas Chinese communities. In this period, Nanyang Studio operated under the company name of Shaw and Sons Ltd. The Mandarin films of

2226-507: A similar visual style and thematic bent. They were usually marked by an emphasis on the fraternal bonds of duty and affection among the criminal protagonists. The most notable other auteur of these themes was Ringo Lam , who offered a less romanticized take in such films as City on Fire , Prison on Fire (both 1987), and Full Contact (1992), all starring Chow Yun-Fat. The genre and its creators were accused in some quarters of cravenly glorifying real-life triads, whose involvement in

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2332-464: A strong streak of racial and/or nationalistic pride. The popularity of these movies in North America would continue into the 1980s when ninja movies were introduced. In popular culture, the films of this era were colloquially known as Kung Fu Theater or Black Belt Theater , names that many independent stations used for their weekly airing slot. The Brothers (1979), a Shaw Brothers production,

2438-409: A studio was built in 1940 to make Malay and Cantonese films, followed by another called Singapore Film Studios in 1941 on Jalan Ampas . It produced Malay films under the studio named Malay Film Productions (formally incorporated in 1949) which lasted until 1967. The most prominent Malay actor, director and producer of this period was P. Ramlee . The Shaw Brothers continued to expand but suffered

2544-435: A syndicate with five other Shanghai companies to monopolize the distribution and exhibition markets in order to exclude Tianyi films from being shown in theater chains in Shanghai and Southeast Asia. The brothers therefore became interested in forming their own network, and Runme Shaw, who was then the distribution manager, traveled to Singapore to establish a movie distribution business for Southeast Asia . Runme incorporated

2650-523: A technique known by Western fans, sometimes disparagingly, as wire fu . As so often, Tsui Hark led the way. He produced Swordsman (1990), which reestablished the wuxia novels of Jin Yong as favorite big-screen sources (television adaptations had long been ubiquitous). He directed Once Upon a Time in China (1991), which resurrected oft-filmed folk hero Wong Fei Hung . Both films were followed by sequels and

2756-452: A vogue that helped reinvigorate the waning kung fu genre. Especially notable in this regard were two of Chan's childhood Peking Opera School classmates, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao , who also made careers of this specialty, sometimes co-starring with Chan. Hung, noted for the seeming paradox of his overweight physique and physical agility, also made a name for himself as a director and action choreographer from early on, with titles like Enter

2862-580: Is relatively well-known for her starring role in King Hu's Come Drink with Me and more recently in Ang Lee 's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as Jade Fox. The films produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio were highly popular among Chinese communities in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia and they would have a significant influence on later filmmakers, particularly in the kung fu genre . These films also reached

2968-412: Is targeted by a gang leader. After the various mercenary martial artists hired by the gang leader destroy his school, Tien, who lost his right arm in the battle, seeks revenge by strengthening his remaining arm beyond normal human limits. To shoot scenes as a one-armed character, Wang Yu had his right arm strapped to his back. In spite of its similar name, it has no relation to The One-Armed Swordsman ,

3074-448: Is the former home of Shaw Studio (built 1960 to 1961), as well as the vacated TVB headquarters and studios (1986–2003, since relocated to TVB City ) and Celestial Pictures . There are also apartment blocks used to house Shaw actors. The newer Shaw House and Shaw Villa are there. The site has been vacant since 2003 and has been targeted for redevelopment several times since 2006. In 2015, Hong Kong's Antiquities Advisory Board declared

3180-499: Is widely credited with launching the kung fu boom. But remaining at the vanguard, at least initially, were Shaw Brothers and director Chang Cheh. Chang's Vengeance (1970) was another of the first trendsetters and his dozens of contributions included The Boxer from Shantung (1972), Heroes Two (1974), Five Deadly Venoms (1978) and Crippled Avengers (1979). Kung fu cinema was particularly influenced by Chang's concern with his vision of masculine values and male friendship;

3286-418: The wuxia style, emphasizing mysticism and swordplay, but this trend was politically suppressed in the 1930s and replaced by kung fu films that depicted more down-to-earth unarmed martial arts, often featuring folk heroes such as Wong Fei Hung . Post-war cultural upheavals led to a second wave of wuxia films with highly acrobatic violence, followed by the emergence of the grittier kung fu films for which

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3392-658: The Chinese Civil War , and the victory of the Chinese Communist Party —had shifted the centre of Chinese language filmmaking to Hong Kong. The industry continued the wuxia tradition in Cantonese B movies and serials, although the more prestigious Mandarin -language cinema generally ignored the genre. Animation and special effects drawn directly on the film by hand were used to simulate the flying abilities and other preternatural powers of characters; later titles in

3498-665: The Huangmei opera The Love Eterne , starring Ivy Ling Po and Betty Loh Ti and based on the Butterfly Lovers folk legend from the Jin Dynasty , is one of the highest-grossing features of the Shaw Studio. Its huge success is in part due to the ingenious casting of Ivy Ling Po, who was a relatively unknown supporting actress, as the male lead. In the story of Butterfly Lovers , the female lead, played by Betty Loh Ti, disguised herself as

3604-624: The Kuomintang government, who saw it as promoting superstition and violent anarchy. Wuxia filmmaking was picked up in Hong Kong, at the time a British colony with a highly liberal economy and culture and a developing film industry. The first martial arts film in Cantonese , the dominant Chinese spoken language of Hong Kong, was The Adorned Pavilion (1938). By the late 1940s, upheavals in mainland China —the Second Sino-Japanese War ,

3710-624: The Netherlands , and sometimes in Cantonese (2004's New Police Story and 2006's Rob-B-Hood ). Because of his enormous U.S. popularity, these films are usually released in the U.S., a rarity for Hong Kong films, and generally attract respectable audience numbers. Jet Li has reduced his Hong Kong output since 1998's Hitman concentrating on Hollywood instead. After a minor role in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), he has gone on to star in several Hollywood films which have performed respectably and made

3816-698: The Shaw Brothers studio became best known. Hong Kong action cinema peaked from the 1970s to the 1990s . The 1970s saw a resurgence in kung fu films during the rise and sudden death of Bruce Lee . He was succeeded in the 1980s by Jackie Chan —who popularized the use of comedy, dangerous stunts , and modern urban settings in action films—and Jet Li , whose authentic wushu skills appealed to both eastern and western audiences. The innovative work of directors and producers like Tsui Hark and John Woo introduced further variety, with genres such as heroic bloodshed and gun fu films, and themes such as triads and

3922-521: The 18- to 34-year-old demographic, announced its first film licensing deal with Celestial Pictures. The Hong Kong–based company owns, restores and licenses the world's largest collection of Chinese-made films including the Shaw Brothers library of fan-favourite kung fu and action classics such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin , Five Deadly Venoms , and The One-Armed Swordsman . The licensing deal with Karmaloop TV means that kung fu and action fans in

4028-480: The 1950s were primarily wenyi films (文藝片) in a contemporary setting as well as a few period dramas. In 1957, Run Run Shaw moved to Hong Kong, set up a new company, Shaw Brothers (Hong Kong) Ltd., and built a new studio at Clearwater Bay , which officially opened in 1961 as Movietown. In the mid-1960s, Movietown was the largest and best-equipped studio in Chinese filmmaking as well as the largest privately owned studio in

4134-490: The 1967 film that made Wang Yu famous. It was followed by a 1976 sequel, Master of the Flying Guillotine , with Wang Yu reprising his role and returning as writer and director. Tien Lung, the best fighter at the Ching Te martial arts school gets into a fight with the local Hook Gang at a restaurant where Tien Lung and his friends are dining. The Hook Gang are part of a local opium -dealing and prostitution ring run by

4240-527: The 1978 release, Five Deadly Venoms , and the subsequent series of films—known by the name the Venom Mob —were among the most memorable. They were Lo Mang , Lu Feng , Sun Chien, Chiang Sheng , and Kuo Chui , who had been stars in the Shaw Studio for years, but did not become memorable faces until Five Deadly Venoms . Wei Pai, who played the Snake (referred to as "Number Two" throughout the film Five Deadly Venoms ),

4346-578: The 1980s had not only established Hong Kong as the dominant cinema in East Asia , but reawakened Western interest. By the 1990s, there was a second "Asian invasion" from Hong Kong action cinema, heavily influencing and revitalizing Hollywood action cinema. There was a significant crossover of Hong Kong stars, filmmakers and action choreographers from Hong Kong to Hollywood, in addition to the wide adoption of Hong Kong action filmmaking techniques in Hollywood. The wide adoption of Hong Kong action film conventions

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4452-518: The 1980s, combining cops, kung fu and all the body-breaking potential of the modern city with its glass, metal and speeding vehicles. Chan's move towards larger-scale action films was paralleled by work coming out of Cinema City , the production company established in 1980 by comedians Raymond Wong , Karl Maka and Dean Shek . With movies like the spy spoof Aces Go Places (1982) and its sequels, Cinema City helped make modern special effects, James Bond -type gadgets and big vehicular stunts part of

4558-541: The 1990s, reshaping the way Hollywood action films were made. Lam's City on Fire (1987) inspired Quentin Tarantino 's Reservoir Dogs (1992); Tarantino was an admirer of the heroic bloodshed genre. The Killer also heavily influenced Luc Besson 's Léon: The Professional (1994). Eventually, John Woo himself introduced his brand of heroic bloodshed to Hollywood in the 1990s. By the late 1990s, Woo's style of cinema had become firmly established in Hollywood. Due to

4664-410: The 1990s. Bollywood action scenes emulated Hong Kong rather than Hollywood, emphasising acrobatics and stunts and combining kung fu (as perceived by Indians) with Indian martial arts such as pehlwani . Hong Kong martial arts films such as Enter the Dragon were the foundation for fighting games . The Street Fighter video game franchise (1987 debut) was inspired by Enter the Dragon , with

4770-459: The Ching Te school beat them for no reason. More importantly, the Hook gang lies and tells Chao that Tien had disrespected their group. This infuriates Chao enough to go to the Ching Te dojo and challenge Tien's master, Hang Tui, to a fight. Hang Tui quickly defeats Chao, leaving him even more humiliated. Chao plans his revenge by hiring a group of mercenary martial artists from Shanghai . This group consists of two karate experts and their teacher,

4876-602: The Clear Water Bay Land Company Limited; its film production business was taken over by other companies within the Shaw conglomerate. However, the company continues to remain active in producing TV shows under the Shaw Brothers name to this day as of 2022. Prior to their involvement in the filmmaking business, the Shaw brothers were interested in opera and happened to own a theater in Shanghai ; their father also owned

4982-492: The Dragon as being influential for the way they pitched "an elemental story of good against evil in such a spectacle-saturated way". In Japan, the manga and anime franchises Fist of the North Star (1983–1988) and Dragon Ball (1984–1995) were influenced by Hong Kong martial arts films, particularly 1970s kung fu films such as Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and Jackie Chan's Drunken Master (1978). In turn, Fist of

5088-469: The Eagle's Shadow . The resulting blend of physical comedy and kung fu action provided Chan with his first hit and the rudiments of what would become his signature style. Chan's follow-up movie with Yuen, Drunken Master (also 1978), and his directorial debut, The Fearless Hyena (1979), were also giant hits and cemented his popularity. Although these films were not the first kung fu comedies, they launched

5194-490: The Fat Dragon (1978). Chan's clowning may have helped extend the life of the kung fu wave for several years. Nevertheless, he became a star towards the end of the boom, and would soon help move the colony towards a new type of action. In the 1980s, he and many colleagues would forge a slicker, more spectacular Hong Kong pop cinema that would successfully compete with the post- Star Wars summer blockbusters from America. In

5300-775: The Hai Seng Co. (海星, which later became the Shaw Brothers Pte Ltd) to distribute films made by Tianyi and other studios. In 1927, they operated their own cinema in Tanjong Pagar in Singapore, expanded in Malaya , and opened four cinemas there. The number of cinemas owned by the Shaw chain in Southeast Asia would eventually reach 200 by the 1970s before it declined. In 1928, Run Run Shaw moved to Singapore to assist Runme. In 1931,

5406-637: The Hong Kong practice of training in martial arts and performing their own stunts, such as Keanu Reeves , Uma Thurman and Jason Statham . Martin Scorsese 's crime film The Departed (2006) was a remake of the Infernal Affairs trilogy (2002–2003) by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak . The heroic bloodshed genre had a considerable impact on world cinema , especially Hollywood . The action, style, tropes and mannerisms established in 1980s Hong Kong heroic bloodshed films were later widely adopted by Hollywood in

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5512-586: The Hook gang by first killing two of the group's professional fighters. Upon killing the Judo master, Tien Lung orders the Hook Gang's school to relay a message to tell Master Chao to meet him in the quarry for a showdown. Master Chao eventually meets with Tien Lung at the quarry but not without the experts he had hired. Tien Lung easily defeats Chao and his professionals but fights a lengthy duel with Chao's Japanese professional, in which he emerges victorious. One-Armed Boxer

5618-592: The King (1999) and Bulletproof Monk (2003). He returned to China for 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and 2006's Curse of the Golden Flower . The Hong Kong film industry has been in a severe slump since the mid-1990s. The number of local films produced, and their box office takings, are dramatically reduced; American imports now dominate in a way they had not for decades, or perhaps ever. This crisis and increased contact with Western cinema have probably been

5724-504: The North American box office. King Boxer ( Five Fingers of Death ) starring Indonesian -born actor Lo Lieh was the first Hong Kong film to top the US box office, paving the way for Bruce Lee's breakthrough with The Big Boss ( Fists of Fury ) topping the US box office. In May 1973, Hong Kong action cinema made US box office history, with three foreign films holding the top three spots for

5830-496: The North Star and especially Dragon Ball are credited with setting the trends for popular shōnen manga and anime from the 1980s onwards. Similarly in India, Hong Kong martial arts films had an influence on Bollywood masala films . After the success of Bruce Lee films (such as Enter the Dragon ) in India, Deewaar (1975) and later Bollywood films incorporated fight scenes inspired by 1970s Hong Kong martial arts films up until

5936-548: The Shaws' prolific star director into the early 1980s. The early 1970s saw wuxia giving way to a new, grittier and more graphic (and Mandarin -speaking) iteration of the kung fu movie, which came to dominate through the decade and into the early 1980s. Seriously trained martial artists such as Ti Lung and Gordon Liu became some of the top stars as increasing proportions of running times were devoted to combat set-pieces. Chinese Boxer (1970), starring and directed by Jimmy Wang Yu,

6042-553: The Tianyi Studio in Shanghai produced what is considered by some to be the first sound-on-film Chinese talkie , Spring on Stage (歌場春色). In 1932, they teamed up with Cantonese opera singer Sit Gok-Sin ( 薛覺先 ) to make the first Cantonese talkie, White Golden Dragon ( 白金龍 ). This film proved to be very successful, and in 1934, they established the Tianyi Studio (Hong Kong) in Kowloon to make Cantonese films. The move to Hong Kong

6148-477: The United States will see these films in their digitally restored versions, many of which will be premiering for the first time on U.S. television in high definition. The licensed collection includes more than 60 of the greatest martial arts masterpieces—movies which launched the careers of stars like Jimmy Wang Yu, Cheng Pei-Pei, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-Tai, and Gordon Liu. The Clearwater Bay site at Clearwater Bay Road and Ngan Ying Road

6254-489: The West and were popular for a time in the 1970s and early 1980s, having some influence on filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino , who paid homage to the studio by displaying their logo in his Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 films and adapting the styles of some of their films. The 2023 animated movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem also paid homage to the studio by adding clips from classic Shaw Brothers movies into

6360-498: The West, kung fu imports, dubbed and often recut and retitled, shown as "B" films in urban theaters and on television, made Hong Kong film widely noticed, although not widely respected, for the first time. African-Americans particularly embraced the genre (as exemplified by the popular hip-hop group, the Wu-Tang Clan ) perhaps as an almost unprecedented source of adventure stories with non-white heroes, who furthermore often displayed

6466-518: The arms and would make any fighter very powerful, whether or not they have both arms. However, for the elixir to work, Tien Lung must destroy all the nerves in his remaining arm, which he agrees to do by singeing his arm on an open flame. After recovering from the ordeal, Tien Lung's abilities improve vastly and become strong enough for Tien to be able to demolish everything with his fist, at which point he decides to finally carry out his mission. Tien Lung eventually returns to town and exacts his revenge on

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6572-477: The biggest recent influences on Hong Kong action cinema. Luring local and regional youth audiences away from Hollywood is a constant concern. Action movies are now generally headlined by babyfaced Cantonese pop music idols, such as Ekin Cheng and Nicholas Tse , enhanced with wires and digital effects – a trend also driven by the waning of a previous generation of martial arts-trained stars. The late 1990s witnessed

6678-450: The box office records and some spawned multiple sequels. The studio popularized the kung-fu genre of films, which included Five Fingers of Death and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin made in the 1970s. The 1960s was a period of intense rivalry between Shaw Brothers and Cathay Organisation , but eventually Shaw Brothers gained the upper hand and Cathay ceased film production in 1970. Sir Run Run Shaw became involved in television when TVB

6784-399: The concept of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the West via his Jeet Kune Do system. In 2004, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) founder Dana White called Lee the "father of mixed martial arts". Parkour was also influenced by the acrobatic antics of Jackie Chan in his Hong Kong action films, as well as the philosophy of Bruce Lee. Hong Kong action cinema's innovative developments in

6890-561: The concept of martial arts heroes as exponents of Confucian ethics. In the second half of the 1960s, the era's biggest studio, Shaw Brothers , inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films, starting with Xu Zenghong's Temple of the Red Lotus (1965), a remake of the 1928 classic. These Mandarin productions were more lavish and in colour; their style was less fantastical and more intense, with stronger and more acrobatic violence. They were influenced by imported samurai movies from Japan and by

6996-497: The cycle included The Six-Fingered Lord of the Lute (1965) and Sacred Fire, Heroic Wind (1966). A counter-tradition to the wuxia films emerged in the kung fu movies that were also produced at this time. These movies emphasized more "authentic", down-to-earth and unarmed combat over the swordplay and mysticism of wuxia . The most famous exemplar was real-life martial artist Kwan Tak Hing ; he became an avuncular hero figure to at least

7102-464: The day, Chan came out of training in Peking opera and started in film as a stuntman , notably in some of Lee's vehicles. He was groomed for a while by The Big Boss and Fist of Fury director Lo Wei as another Lee clone, in several movies including New Fist of Fury (1976), with little success. But in 1978, Chan teamed up with action choreographer Yuen Woo Ping on Yuen's directorial debut, Snake in

7208-410: The early 1980s, Jackie Chan began experimenting with elaborate stunt action sequences in films such as The Young Master (1980) and especially Dragon Lord (1982), which featured a pyramid fight scene that holds the record for the most takes required for a single scene, with 2900 takes, and the final fight scene in which he performs various stunts, including one where he does a back flip off

7314-457: The female warrior figures who had been prominent in late 1960s wuxia work were sidelined, with prominent exceptions such as the popular Angela Mao . Chang's only competitor as the genre's most influential filmmaker was his long-time action choreographer , Lau Kar Leung (a.k.a. Liu Chia Liang in Mandarin). Lau began directing his own movies for the Shaw brothers in 1975 with The Spiritual Boxer ,

7420-561: The film business was notorious. As the triad films petered out in the early 1990s, period martial arts returned as the favored action genre. But this was a new martial arts cinema that took full advantage of technical strides as well the higher budgets that came with Hong Kong's dominance of the region's screens. These lavish productions were often adapted from the more fantastical wuxia novels, which featured flying warriors in mid-air combat. Performers were raised up on ultrathin wires to allow them to conduct gravity-defying action sequences,

7526-534: The film production business of its Hong Kong –based sister company, Shaw & Sons Ltd; in 1958, a new company, "Shaw Brothers," was set up. In the 1960s, Shaw Brothers established what was once the largest privately-owned studio in the world, Movietown. The company's most famous works include The Love Eterne (1963), Come Drink with Me (1966), The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), King Boxer (1972), Executioners from Shaolin (1977), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Five Deadly Venoms (both 1978). Over

7632-545: The films became more available in the mainstream video market and even occasionally in mainstream theaters. Western critics and film scholars also began to take Hong Kong action cinema seriously and made many key figures and films part of their canon of world cinema. From here, Hong Kong came to define a new vocabulary for worldwide action cinema, with the aid of a new generation of North American filmmakers. Quentin Tarantino 's Reservoir Dogs (1992) drew inspiration from City on Fire and his two-part Kill Bill (2003–04)

7738-492: The first time: Fists of Fury , Lady Whirlwind ( Deep Thrust ), and Five Fingers of Death . Lee continued his success with Fist of Fury ( The Chinese Connection ), which also topped the US box office the following month. Kung fu film releases in the United States initially targeted Asian American audiences, before becoming a breakout success among larger African-American and Hispanic audiences, and then among white working-class Americans . Kung fu films also became

7844-421: The form of martial arts films , especially 1970s kung fu films and most notably those of Bruce Lee . His earliest attempts at introducing his brand of Hong Kong martial arts cinema to the West came in the form of American television shows , such as The Green Hornet (1966 debut) and Kung Fu (1972 debut). The "kung fu craze" began in 1973, with the unprecedented success of Hong Kong martial arts films at

7950-453: The gameplay centered around an international fighting tournament, and each character having a unique combination of ethnicity, nationality and fighting style. Street Fighter went on to set the template for all fighting games that followed. The early beat 'em up game Kung-Fu Master (1984) was also based on Bruce Lee's Game of Death (1972) and Jackie Chan's Wheels on Meals (1984). The success of Bruce Lee's films helped popularize

8056-528: The industry vernacular. Director/producer Tsui Hark had a hand in shaping the Cinema City style while employed there from 1981–1983 but went on to make an even bigger impact after leaving. In such movies as Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983) and A Chinese Ghost Story (1987, directed by Ching Siu-tung ), he kept pushing the boundaries of Hong Kong special effects. He led the way in replacing

8162-515: The more general integration of Asian martial arts into Western action films and television shows by the 1990s. Sascha Matuszak of Vice said Enter the Dragon "is referenced in all manner of media, the plot line and characters continue to influence storytellers today, and the impact was particularly felt in the revolutionizing way the film portrayed African-Americans , Asians and traditional martial arts." Kuan-Hsing Chen and Beng Huat Chua cited fight scenes in Hong Kong films such as Enter

8268-482: The most internationally successful film from the region. Furthermore, his decision at the outset to work for young, upstart studio Golden Harvest , rather than accept the Shaws' notoriously tightfisted standard contract, was a factor in Golden Harvest's meteoric rise and Shaw's eventual decline. The only Chinese performer who has ever rivalled Bruce Lee's global fame is Jackie Chan . Like many kung fu performers of

8374-447: The movie when the title characters were trained in martial arts by their father figure, Master Splinter (voiced by Jackie Chan, who played smaller roles in few Shaw Brothers films), by showing them various video clips containing martial arts techniques, including clips from The 36th Chamber of Shaolin , Dirty Ho , The Magnificent Ruffians and Mad Monkey Kung Fu . Many Shaw Brothers classic films have been bootlegged due to

8480-401: The new-found international awareness of Hong Kong films during the 1980s and early 1990s and a downturn in the industry as the 1990s progressed, many of the leading lights of Hong Kong cinema left for Hollywood , which offered budgets and pay which could not be equalled by Hong Kong production companies. John Woo left for Hollywood after his 1992 film Hard Boiled . His 1997 film Face/Off

8586-411: The other hand, was slight and wiry and often played the sarcastic antihero to Lung's standard archetype. Chang Cheh, with his stars Ti Lung and David Chiang, were known as the cinematic "Iron Triangle" throughout Southeast Asia. In the middle of that decade, the duo was overshadowed by the rise of Alexander Fu Sheng , who had played supporting roles opposite them on many occasions. Fu was killed in 1983 in

8692-556: The period were Chang Cheh with One-Armed Swordsman (1967) and Golden Swallow (1968) and King Hu with Come Drink with Me (1966). Hu soon left Shaw Brothers to pursue his own vision of wuxia with independent productions in Taiwan , such as the enormously successful Dragon Inn (1967, a.k.a. Dragon Gate Inn ) and A Touch of Zen which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1975 Cannes Film Festival . Chang stayed on and remained

8798-460: The popularity of particular kung fu/martial arts titles. Celestial Pictures acquired rights to the Shaw Studio's legacy and is releasing, on DVD , 760 out of the nearly 1,000 films with restored picture and sound quality. Many of these DVDs have come under controversy, however, for remixing audio and not including the original mono soundtracks. Karmaloop TV, a multi-platform programming network designed to help operators "reclaim" viewership among

8904-468: The present day... developing his own fighting style... and possessing superhuman charisma". His first three movies broke local box office records and were successful in much of the world. Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon went on to gross an estimated US$ 100 million and US$ 130 million worldwide, respectively. The English-language Enter the Dragon , the first-ever US-Hong Kong co-production, grossed an estimated US$ 350 million worldwide, making it

9010-463: The rough and ready camera style of 1970s kung fu with glossier and more sophisticated visuals and ever more furious editing. As a producer, Tsui Hark facilitated the creation of John Woo 's epoch-making heroic bloodshed movie A Better Tomorrow (1986). Woo's saga of cops and the triads (Chinese gangsters) combined fancifully choreographed (and extremely violent) gunplay (called gun fu ) with heightened emotional melodrama, sometimes resembling

9116-480: The school, Tien Lung flees and is eventually rescued by a woman named Jade and her father, who happens to be a specialist in medicine. The pair nurse Tien Lung back to health but Tien Lung is still inconsolable for his lost arm and vows revenge and begins his training to destroy anyone and everyone who stands in his way. After hearing his intentions, Jade and her father eventually offers to help Tien Lung by explaining that they are in possession of an elixir that strengthen

9222-682: The supernatural. However, an exodus by many leading figures to Hollywood in the 1990s coincided with a downturn in the industry. The signature contribution to action cinema from the Chinese -speaking world is the martial arts film , the most famous of which were developed in Hong Kong. The genre emerged first in Chinese popular literature . The early 20th century saw an explosion of what were called wuxia novels (often translated as "martial chivalry"), generally published in serialized form in newspapers. These were tales of heroic, sword-wielding warriors, often featuring mystical or fantasy elements. This genre

9328-403: The top of a clock tower through a series of fabric canopies). The new formula helped Project A gross over HK$ 19 million in Hong Kong, and significantly more in other Asian countries such as Japan, where it grossed ¥ 2.95 billion and became one of the highest-grossing films of 1984. Winners and Sinners (1983) also featured an elaborate action sequence that involves Chan skating along

9434-611: The wave of "New School" wuxia novels by authors like Jin Yong and Liang Yusheng that started in the 1950s. The New School wuxia wave marked the move of male-oriented action films to the centre of Hong Kong cinema, which had long been dominated by female stars and genres aimed at female audiences, such as romances and musicals . Even so, during the 1960s female action stars like Cheng Pei-pei and Connie Chan Po-chu were prominent alongside male stars, such as former swimming champion Jimmy Wang Yu , and they continued an old tradition of female warriors in wuxia storyte directors of

9540-460: The works of Jin Yong ), One-Armed Swordsman , and other classics of Wuxia and Wushu film. Almost equally as famous was fight-choreographer -turned-director Lau Kar-leung, who would produce such highly regarded kung fu films as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter , while P. Ramlee was known for Malay style romantics and comedy such as Nujum Pa' Belalang , Seniman Bujang Lapok and Do Re Mi . Shaw Brothers

9646-414: The world, with 15 stages, two permanent sets, state-of-the-art film-making equipment and facilities, and 1,300 employees. Period and music dramas were popular in the 1960s, and later in the decade Kung fu films also became popular. Some of Shaw Brothers' most notable films were made in this period, including The Magnificent Concubine , The Love Eterne , as well as One-Armed Swordsman , which broke

9752-419: The years, the film company produced around 1,000 films, some becoming the most popular and significant Chinese-language films of the period. It also popularized the kung fu genre of films. In 1987, the company suspended film production in order to concentrate on the television industry through its subsidiary, TVB . Film production resumed in limited capacity in 2009. In 2011, Shaw Brothers was reorganized into

9858-501: Was a significant departure from the kung fu films the studio was known for. The Brothers was an action crime-drama, about two brothers on opposing sides of the law. It was a remake of the Indian crime drama Deewaar (1975), written by Salim–Javed . In turn, The Brothers laid the foundations for the heroic bloodshed genre of 1980s Hong Kong cinema, inspiring John Woo 's breakthrough film A Better Tomorrow (1986). No single figure

9964-509: Was accelerated as the Nanjing government had issued a ban on martial arts films as well as Cantonese films, and two years later, they moved the entire film production operation from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Tianyi was reorganized into Nanyang (南洋) Productions with Runde Shaw as the studio head. They also announced plan for their first film production studio in Singapore in 1937 to make films in Malay;

10070-530: Was also part of the Venom Mob , which numbered over 15 actors who appeared in almost all of the Venom movies. In the first half of the 1970s, two other stars were particularly renowned and favored by the "Million-Dollar Director" Chang Cheh in his movies: Ti Lung and David Chiang . He is also accredited as a capable actor who reinforced his muscular glamor with strong characterization over his many films. Chiang, on

10176-529: Was an early director who is best remembered for his film, Come Drink with Me , a martial arts film which differed from those of Chang Cheh in that it featured a capable female protagonist and revolved around romance in the martial arts world, rather than fast-paced action and the tales of brotherhood which Chang Cheh would later popularize. Chang Cheh, who was more fond of the latter components, would go on to be Shaw Studio's best-known director, with such films as Five Deadly Venoms , The Brave Archer (based on

10282-633: Was followed by Master of the Flying Guillotine , with Jimmy Wang Yu both directing and reprising his role as the one-armed kung fu master Tien Lung. With his arm strapped behind his back, Wang Yu had earlier portrayed the One-Armed Swordsman in two films for the Shaw Brothers Studio . The 1999 tokusatsu film Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris was inspired by One-Armed Boxer for Gamera to sacrifice his right arm. Hong Kong martial arts film The first Hong Kong action films favoured

10388-501: Was in large part a martial arts homage, borrowing Yuen Woo-Ping as fight choreographer and actor. Robert Rodriguez 's Desperado (1995) and its 2003 sequel Once Upon a Time in Mexico aped Woo's visual mannerisms. The Wachowski sisters ' The Matrix trilogy (1999–2003) of science-fiction-action blockbusters borrowed from Woo and wire fu movies, and also employed Yuen behind the scenes. A number of Hollywood action stars also adopted

10494-673: Was launched in 1967. In 1969, Shaw Brothers (HK) issued shares and became a public listed company. In the 1970s, Shaw Brothers faced a strong challenge from a new studio, Golden Harvest , which had considerable success internationally with the martial arts film, Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee . Shaw Brothers then also began to co-produce films with Western producers for the international market and invest in films such as Meteor and Blade Runner . However, Shaw Brothers ceased film production in 1986 because of competition from Golden Harvest and increasing piracy, focusing instead on TV production. In 1986, Movietown became TV City, which

10600-518: Was leased to TVB for TV production. In 1988, the company was reorganized under the umbrella of the Shaw Organization. In the 1990s, Shaw again started making a few films, but no longer on the same scale as before. Shaw has since relocated to a new site in Tseung Kwan O , Hong Kong. Shaw Brothers is noted for film directors such as King Hu , Lau Kar-leung , P. Ramlee and Chang Cheh . King Hu

10706-502: Was modeled after the classic Hollywood system, with hundreds of actors signed to exclusive contracts. While other studios rotated cast members, Shaw Brothers assigned certain groups of actors to work exclusively with certain directors. Shaw Brothers productions during the late 1950s to early 1960s were dominated by actresses like Li Li-Hua , Ivy Ling Po , Linda Lin Dai , Betty Loh Ti , Li Ching in dramatic and romantic features. In particular,

10812-417: Was more responsible for this international profile than Bruce Lee , an American-born, Hong Kong-raised martial artist and actor. Lee completed just four movies before his death at the age of 32: The Big Boss (1971), Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon (both 1972), and Enter the Dragon (1973). Eastern film historian Patrick Macias ascribes his success to "(bringing) the warrior spirit of old into

10918-517: Was quickly seized on by early Chinese films , particularly in the movie capital of the time, Shanghai . Starting in the 1920s, wuxia titles, often adapted from novels (for example, 1928's The Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery and its eighteen sequels) were hugely popular and the genre dominated Chinese film for several years. The boom came to an end in the 1930s, caused by official opposition from cultural and political elites, especially

11024-530: Was referred to as the "Hong Kongification" of Hollywood. Building on the reduced but enduring kung fu movie subculture, Jackie Chan and films like Tsui Hark's Peking Opera Blues (1986) were already building a cult following when Woo's The Killer (1989) had a limited but successful release in the U.S. and opened the floodgates. In the 1990s, Westerners with an eye on "alternative" culture became common sights in Chinatown video shops and theaters, and gradually

11130-413: Was the breakthrough that established his unique style in Hollywood. This effort was immensely popular with both critics and public alike (it grossed over US$ 240 million worldwide). Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) grossed over US$ 560 million worldwide. Since these two films, Woo has struggled to revisit his successes of the 1980s and early 1990s. After over fifteen years of success in Hong Kong cinema and

11236-534: Was the largest film production company in Hong Kong , operating from 1925 to 2011. In 1925, three Shaw brothers— Runje , Runme , and Runde —founded Tianyi Film Company (also called "Unique") in Shanghai , and established a film distribution base in Singapore , where Runme and their youngest brother, Run Run Shaw , managed the precursor to the parent company, Shaw Organisation . Runme and Run Run took over

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