Euphoria #25
Funny scene from KUNG FU HUSTLE, directed by and starring Stephen Chow, suggested by film student and action movie enthusiast Rehan Yousuf.
Reehan is rendered EXTREMELY VOLUBLE by all action-related thoughts. John Woo is his God. He is a spiritual brother to Nick Frost’s character in HOT FUZZ. Yet I feel he is redeemed by his affection for Jean Arthur.
Though never really wooed by Woo (I get TIRED of blood capsules and slomo), I admit to admiring Stephen Chow enormously. PRINCE OF BEGGARS is fun, SHAOLIN SOCCER is lots of fun (my friend Garry Marshall’s three little kids thought the goalkeeper having his clothes blasted off by a supercharged football’s aftershock was THE FUNNIEST THING EVER), and KUNG FU HUSTLE is possibly the best live-action Warner Bros cartoon ever. It shouldn’t be possible to sustain a feature without any respect for the laws of physics, but Chow gets away with it, partly by keeping his central character on the sidelines for so long (and acting as a BAD GUY), and partly by sheer invention. Apart from the grotesque exaggeration of much of the action (like the guy who mutates into a toad thru Kung Fu), mostly this is done by clever stuff of the kind seen here: unusual visual gags of the kind nobody’s really thought to try before.
I love the way the knife handle sticks to her face.
Best of all, apart from a spot of axe-related unpleasantness at the start (setting up the Big Bad Guy’s Big Bad Guyness), the film is enjoyable innocent and not really violent in a Bruce Lee or even a Jackie Chan way. It’s a lovable action movie.
Start looking forward to the next Chow NOW: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0940709/
January 23, 2008 at 1:23 am
The scene when the hidden masters first reveal themselves and fight back against the gang members makes me tear up with joy every damn time I see it. There’s something about the classic Chinese score and the idea of the downtrodden rising up that prods my inner romantic.
January 23, 2008 at 7:36 am
Aaaach! Not the dub!! Not the dub!!!!
Anyway, my favorite Chows are: “The Magnificent Scoundrels,” “Love on Delivery,” “God of Cookery,” and the exquisite “Justice My Foot”. All are worth seeking out.
January 23, 2008 at 9:41 am
Sorry about the dub, it was already online.
I was forced to watch it that way with my little nephew.
The one to REALLY avoid in dubbed form is Shaolin Soccer, which was the victim of a substantial and idiotic Weinstein Bros re-edit. Unusually and commendably, they included the original on the DVD too — demonstrating how misguided all their edit choices were.
Haven’t seen those other Chows, will ask Rehan if he has them!
*
Yes, love those hidden masters! The gay tailor character, although a comic stereotype, has real dignity too, and seems like a step forward fro the action genre.
January 23, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Gus, let’s have a nomination from you! (I can’t accept two from the same film).