Drunken Master (Woo-ping Yuen, 1978) stars legendary martial arts film actor and kung fu master Jackie Chan. Even though it is a comedy and contains nonstop action, and fight scenes, the film does contain some very serious political and historical undertones and has a wide influence culturally on China.
Jackie Chan began his acting career in 1962 as a child in Big and Little Wong Tin Bar. Since his 1962 debut he has been appearing and staring in films as leads and as extras. Drunken Master was around the 36th film he made his appearance in. (3) Since his death in July of 1973 many Hong Kong Kung Fu filmmakers were looking for the next Bruce Lee. With a decline in Kung Fu cinema in the late 1970's they finally found Jackie Chan.
[...] Even after his defeat and humiliation he refuses to give up and returns to complete his training of the drunken boxing techniques. Since we connect with Freddy through cinematic technique we too as the audience have a feeing of optimism, a feeling of optimism that he will succeed in his mission. As said before China was searching for what they called the next Bruce Lee. Many believed the new Bruce Lee was Jackie Chan. Drunken Master contains this idea of stressing the necessity for versatility in a fighter to defeat an opponent. [...]
[...] Drunken Master in no way steps away from this motif. The first time we see this is when the rich kid tries to take the old mans medallion without paying for it even though he certainly is able to. When he eventually breaks it instead of paying for it or giving it back Freddy then beats him up, while toying and humiliating him. We see this again with the same family when the rich kid's father hires Thunderleg to kill Freddy's father. [...]
[...] At this point the comedic relief comes into action as Freddy fights the Drunken Miss Ho with his feminine movements. The same medium close-up that shows Freddy's pain the first time he fought Thunderleg is put in use, but in this case it is so we can see the comical, feminine faces he is making. Because of the comedic fighting style of drunken boxing and its effectiveness in battle, the humiliation and abuse inflicted on Freddy earlier in the film is now reversed onto Thunderleg. [...]
[...] The scene of the drunken boxing techniques Freddy has learned marks the second pivotal point of Drunken Master. This is the scene where the movements of the drunken techniques learned by Freddy are juxtaposed with the images of the drunken gods in the book. The same method of medium shots zooming out to long shots is used. What is extremely interesting and clever is how the camera moves slightly along with the movements of Freddy as he goes through the different styles of drunken boxing. [...]
[...] The first is Freddy's first fight with Thunderleg, the second is when Freddy learns the eight drunken boxing techniques, and the last is the final fight between Freddy and Thunderleg when Freddy finally defeats him. The entire film maintains certain techniques found in most or all martial arts films. The classic zoom to a close-up instead of a cut is used frequently. Most film genres typically avoid using a zoom at all costs, but it has its dramatic effect in martial arts films. [...]
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