Another film of Jackie Chan is directed by Woo-Ping Yuen follows a naughty boy named Wong Fei-hong. His father sends him to his uncle - a master of the 8-Drunken Genii kung-fu. When the son comes back after kung-fu class, he prevents an assassin to save his father's life.
Worth watching for the slapstick-like kung fu Chan made famous-it's here martial arts kicked back to Chaplin and Keaton, fusing Eastern acrobatic-fighting with those two Western silent-movie master-clowns (there are also echoes of the Three Stooges).
Chan's breakthrough film is crudely made, but his own charm and athleticism make this worth a look.
Eye for Film
April 27, 2017
Martial arts genius aside, it's the film's warm-heartedness that has really given it its staying power, charming generation after generation of fans. This is a simple story told well, and it gets results.
This is the film where Chan's confidence in his unique mix of comedy and martial arts, his gracefully choreographed slapstick-kung fu fighting style and natural athleticism, really began to blossom.
It's an undisguised star vehicle for the likeable Chan and his incredible acrobatic skills, and even viewers who couldn't care less about which fighting style the combatants are using will enjoy watching him be put through his paces.
Not unlike the silent films of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, or for that matter, the best pictures of Hong Kong's Seventies kung fu films, the genius of Drunken Master lies in its kinetics. Pure entertainment, and a true chop-socky classic.
