Yuen Woo Ping Movies
A legendary Hong Kong choreographer/actor/director whose first exposure to many stateside moviegoers came with his work in the Wachowski Brothers' 1999 breakthrough action flick The Matrix, Yuen Wo Ping has subsequently crafted an impressive international career with work on such high-profile efforts as Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill (2003).Born the eldest of 12 children in Guangzhan in 1945, young Wo Ping was schooled in the art of Peking Opera and kung fu by his highly regarded father, Yuen Siu Tin (who also served as something of a mentor to international action superstar Jackie Chan). It was at his father's behest that the young martial artist was brought to the attention of the "Wong Fei Hung" series' producers in the 1960s, and Wo Ping's martial arts skills served him well as he rose through the ranks with stunt work in such Shaw Brothers classics as The Chinese Boxer (1970). A year later, Wo Ping received his first credit as choreographer for director Ng See Yuen's Mad Killer, and through the remainder of the decade he would work frequently with both Yuen and the Shaw Brothers. Of course, it wasn't long before Wo Ping was looking to advance his skills behind the camera, and in 1978, he made his directorial debut with the wildly popular Snake in Eagle's Shadow. Quickly following with Jackie Chan's Drunken Master and Dance of the Drunk Mantis (which featured his brother Sunny), Wo Ping's subsequent work with Golden Harvest found him again in the director's chair for such "Wong Fei Hung" efforts as Magnificent Butcher and Dreadnaught.
After forming his own production company in 1979, Wo Ping's prominence on the Hong Kong screen would skyrocket and his influence expand with the efforts of his protégé Donnie Yen; and though the popularity of traditional kung fu films would wane somewhat in the 1980s, Wo Ping's output never slowed. In 1991, the genre received something of a shot in the arm thanks to Tsui Hark's popular Jet Li vehicle Once Upon a Time in China (again featuring the enduring Wong Fei Hung and choreographed by Wo Ping), and subsequent work on Iron Monkey (1993), Wing Chun (1994), and Fist of Legend (also 1994) would yield some of the best martial arts films of the decade. After witnessing his jaw-dropping work on Fist of Legend, the Wachowski Brothers hired Wo Ping for The Matrix, and following its 1999 release, his life would be forever changed. Soon faced with an unfathomably large fan base that was hungering for more of the same, video stores across the country were swarming with new fans eager to dive into his impressive body of work. Of course, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would not disappoint, and after work on Tsui Hark's Zu Warriors and Black Mask 2, he returned to American films for The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and Kill Bill. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
Yuen Woo Ping directs the action of 1973's Awaken Punch (also known as Village on Fire). Chan Sing plays a young man who lives in a village that is getting raided by gangsters. In order to save his village, he is motivated to violently remove the gangsters. He uses a special killing move called the Awaken Punch. This film has been released on DVD with Red Wolf (1995) as part of a "Black Belt Theatre Double Feature" from Ground Zero. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Martial arts star Jet Li donned a black hat and mask to portray a comic book superhero in this pulp action tale that gets the full-blown Hong Kong treatment from choreographer Yuen Wo Ping, who later designed the fight scenes for The Matrix (1999). Li stars as Tsui Chik, leader of Squad 701, an elite commando team of genetically-engineered super-soldiers. When the unit was deemed a failure because of mental instability in some of the test subjects, the project was disbanded. Tsui now lives quietly in Hong Kong, masquerading as a shy librarian whose only friend is a cop (Lau Ching Wan). When some drug lords begin turning up dead, Tsui dons a black mask and hat to investigate the slayings and learns that his former Squad 701 comrades, led by psychotic Commander Hung (Patrick Lung), are plotting to take over the drug kingpin's illegal trade. Among their number is Tsui's ex-girlfriend Kaelin (Francoise Yip). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li
The Black Mask (Andy On replacing Jet Li) faces-off against a series of gruesome mutants while frantically searching for a cure for his ability not to feel pain in this flashy sequel to the 1996 original. When the Black Mask learns that genetic scientists worldwide are falling victim to an unknown assassin, he races to save the life of the next on the list. Arriving a bit to late, Black Mask learns that the mutants who have carried out the killings were created by the same sentient computer had which created him. Later rushing to the rescue upon learning that a professional wrestler has turned mutant and kidnapped a child, Black Mask makes the horrific discovery that terrorists plan to detonate a mutant bomb that will turn the population into hideous creatures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy On
Yuen Woo Ping, who would in time become one of the world's leading martial arts choreographers, blocked the fight scenes for this Kung Fu action extravaganza. A small Chinese town is being torn apart by a conflict between local farmers and Japanese soldiers of fortune, who have been brought to town to liberate supplies of a rare Chinese herb. A martial arts expert gifted in both Chinese and Japanese fighting disciplines passes through town, and takes it upon himself to settle the feud. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chen Sing
- 2000
- PG13
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Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee took a break from making Western period dramas to fashion this wild and woolly martial arts spectacular featuring special effects and action sequences courtesy of the choreographer of The Matrix (1999), Yuen Woo Ping. In the early 19th century, martial arts master Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat) is about to retire and enter a life of meditation, though he quietly longs to avenge the death of his master, who was killed by Jade Fox (Cheng Pei-pei). He gives his sword, a fabled 400-year-old weapon known as Green Destiny, to his friend, fellow martial arts wizard and secret love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh), so that she may deliver it to Sir Te (Sihung Lung). Upon arrival in Peking, Yu happens upon Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a vivacious, willful politician's daughter. That night, a mysterious masked thief swipes Green Destiny, with Yu in hot pursuit -- resulting in the first of several martial arts action set pieces during the film. Li arrives in Beijing and eventually discovers that Jen is not only the masked thief but is also in cahoots with the evil Jade. In spite of this, Li sees great talent in Jen as a fighter and offers to school her in the finer points of martial arts and selflessness, an offer that Jen promptly rebukes. This film was first screened to much acclaim at the 2000 Cannes, Toronto, and New York film festivals and became a favorite when Academy Awards nominations were announced in 2001: Tiger snagged ten nods and later secured four wins for Best Cinematography, Score, Art Direction, and Foreign Language Film. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, (more)
Famed choreographer and martial arts director Yuen Woo-ping follows up on his wildly successful Jackie Chan vehicle with this kung-fu comedy. Sam the Seed (Simon Yuen Siu-tien) is one of the finest drunken boxers around, in spite of his shambled appearance. He returns home after a prolonged jaunt about the country only to discover that his teenaged son is an incorrigible klutz, seemingly unable to master the simplest of kung-fu moves. Though Sam's wife begs him to teach the lad some of the finer points of fighting, he instead has his son practice a series of grueling and painful calisthenics. Meanwhile, Sam's archenemy and master of the Northern Drunk Mantis style of kung-fu, Rubber Legs, tracks him down and challenges him to a duel. Though Sam seemingly has his rival whipped in the beginning of the match, Rubber Legs soon has him on the robes with his unusual hybrid fighting style. Just when Sam is about to be sent to that great dojo in the sky, his son rescues him. While looking for herbs to help his dad recover, the lad meets the "Sickness Master" who knows just the fighting style that can beat Rubber Legs. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Yuen
Director and master choreographer Yuen Woo-ping spins this brilliant kung-fu-thriller featuring future star Yuen Biao. The film opens with serial killer White Tiger (Yuen Shun-yee) fleeing from the authorities of rural China and hiding in a small town's opera troupe. There he covers his prominent birthmark under a layer of face paint. In that same town lives Mousey (Yuen), a shy lad who scares easily. His best friend Foon (Leung Kar-yan) decides that the only way for Mousey to conquer his timidity is to study kung-fu under Wong Fei-hung (Kwan Tak-hing). Mousey proves to be tepid fighter in spite of Wong's best efforts. Yet after several run-ins with the sociopathic White Tiger, Mousey develops the gumption to stand up to this bloodthirsty bully. This film features some of the most influential and oft copied fight sequences in Hong Kong cinema, including Mousey's rigorous training/laundry detail scene and the film's hallucinatory climax taking place on the stage of a Chinese opera. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yuen Biao, Kwan Tak-Hing, (more)
One of the earliest major films starring Jackie Chan, this 1978 Hong Kong offering highlights the relationship between a student and his martial arts master. This theme would dominate the American martial arts genre for years to come, as evidenced by The Karate Kid and many films to follow. Wong Fei-hong, played by Chan, is a 19th-century folk hero in Chinese culture and cinema, a kung fu master who fights injustice in the time of British colonialism. This character would later be portrayed by Jet Li in the more serious Once Upon a Time in China. Drunken Master finds Wong in his early years as a troublesome youth who is sent to receive discipline and martial arts instruction from his uncle (Siu Tien Yuen), the hard-drinking title character. Wong runs away, but runs afoul of some local villains. Beaten badly, he returns to his uncle, who trains him in "drunken-style" kung fu. The martial arts showcased by Chan in this film are important in the development of his career; the staggering, inebriated techniques allow for a looser, more flowing style, but more importantly, they contribute to the elaborate martial-arts slapstick that have become Chan's trademark and have made him an international star. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Simon Yuen, (more)
- 1984
Prolific Hong Kong filmmaker Yuen Woo-ping directed this amusing martial arts spoof which marked the film debut of popular genre actor Donnie Yen. Yen plays Chin Dao, an unruly rascal who continually runs headlong into trouble. After causing the son of a local boss to lose face, Chin Dao compounds his infraction by causing the young man to go insane after fighting back when the boy seeks revenge using firecrackers. This development enrages the boss so much that he orders Dao's entire family to be murdered by a mute but powerful killer known as the Killer Bird (Yuen Shun-yee). Dao is crushed when he comes home one day to find that his father and brother have both been killed by the assassin, and -- his life completely altered -- wanders aimlessly until meeting a puppeteer (Yuen Cheung-yan) and his heavyset wife (Lydia Shum). The couple attempt to teach Dao to earn a living, but his inability to carry out even the most simple tasks without botching them soon finds him homeless again. While on the streets, he unwittingly saves the Killer Bird's son from some kidnappers, but this does nothing to dissuade the assassin from trying to murder him. Dao is almost killed, but makes his way to the puppeteer, who decides to teach him a method of "soft style tai-chi" which can defeat his pursuer. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen, Wang Tao, (more)
Fearless opens in Shanghai, China, circa 1910, when wushu master Huo Yuanjia (martial arts superstar Jet Li) prepares to battle one Japanese opponent, Tanaka (Shidou Nakamura), and three American opponents (Anthony de Longis, Jean-Claude Leuyer, and Brandon Rhea) in a massive tournament. The picture then cuts back to Huo's boyhood in the city of Tianjin, in North China, circa 1880, when his father forbids him from engaging in martial-arts training. He must therefore slip off and train covertly. Around 1900, Huo -- then in his twenties -- continues to fight in tournaments. His determination is such that his entire life begins to revolve around championships, and the prospect of becoming the top-ranked fighter in Tianjin turns into a die-hard obsession, despite the repeated warnings of his best friend, Nong (Dong Yong), to cut back. Huo ignores these admonitions, then turns conceited and ultimately refuses to hear an additional word of caution, until his arrogance leads to the death of a fighter and Nong's decision to abandon him as a friend. Driven into exile, Huo journeys to southeastern Asia, where he works alongside rice farmers and divests himself of conceit, then gently touches the spirit of a blind girl. When he finally returns to Tianjin, he has transformed, internally, into a different person altogether. A huge hit in Hong Kong when originally released into theaters in 2006, Fearless was often touted as Jet Li's final film in the wushu school of martial arts. The picture is based on the real-life story of Huo Yuanjia, founder of the Jingwu school of martial arts. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Jet Li stars in this historical Hong Kong action film, as Chen Zhen, a Chinese student in Japan in the 1920s. When his master is killed during the Japanese occupation of China, he returns to avenge his teacher's death. Back in China, he finds himself caught in the escalating racial tensions between the Chinese and the Japanese. The martial arts sequences in this 1994 film are handled more seriously than flashy acrobatics of other kung fu epics of the time and are perhaps a better showcase for Li's awe-inspiring fighting abilities. This story is inspired heavily by Bruce Lee's classic Fists of Fury. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li
- 1974
- R
The hero is orphaned early on in From China With Death. The culprit is a powerful warlord, who not only kills the protagonist's mom and dad, but everyone else in the family. Thirsting for revenge, the young man trains diligently in the martial arts. By the time he's ready to take on the villain, he's a lean, mean kung-fu machine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Gordon Chan Kar-seung directs this critically panned crime comedy starring Andy Lau Tak-wah as Wong Kau-tai, an idiot savant who is mistaken for the head of a massive and ruthless crime syndicate after his mobland doppelganger is arrested in India. Everyone quickly becomes concerned with Wong's bizarre behavior and his fascination with toys, especially his bodyguard Chung (Aaron Kwok Fu-shing) and the gang's number two guy Uncle Seven (Ng Man-tat). When Wong declares that the gang is getting out of crime all together, crime load Master Dragon (Yuen Woo-ping) orders his stunning hitwoman daughter Veronica Kwan (Rosamund Kwan Chi-lam), who looks fetching in a leather jumpsuit, to marry Wong, and then kill him. Sandra Ng Kwan-yu also appears. Rumor has it that director Gordon Chan was forced to direct this film by the triads. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Lau Tak-wah, Aaron Kwok, (more)
As officer Lam Che Chu (Fong Pao) and Wong Fei Hong (Yuk Wong) join forces to fight a gang of determined opium smugglers, Beggar So Chen (Kwan Hoi-Shan) takes on the dreaded Fire Lotus Gang in this martial-arts classic from Drunken Master director Yuen Woo Ping. As the tireless trio do their best to fend off the rogue forces, beautiful school teacher Yi The-Tai (Fennie Yuen) is berated by parents who suspect her of running a whorehouse and of being pursued by drug traffickers who fear that she knows too much about their operation to live. When the three stories collide in a opium warehouse filled with brutal drug runners, the stage is set for a spectacular battle featuring a variety of deadly weapons! ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen
A pair of teenage kung fu experts find that their widowed father's far-fetched tales of adventure may hold more water than they thought in this martial arts adventure featuring fight choreography from The Matrix action director Yuen Woo Ping. In his day, Teddy (Anthony Wong) was a force to be reckoned with, but these days most of the aging chiropractor's energies are spent looking after his rebellious son Nicky (Stephen Fung) and his thrill-seeking daughter Natalie (Gillian Chung). Despite the fact that the young pair cringe when their father begins waxing nostalgic about the good old days, what they don't realize is that their father is still fighting the good fight by doing his best to protect other retired agents. When their father is kidnapped by a vengeful nemesis looking to settle a score from the past, Nicky and Natalie jump into action with Natalie's butt-kicking boyfriend Jason (Daniel Wu) to take on the bad guys and ensure that their father has a safe and happy homecoming. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Cynthia Yang Li-chang stars again in this fourth installment of the popular series directed by Yuen Woo-ping. The film opens with straight arrow American longshoreman Luk Wan-ting (Yuen Yat-chor) stumbling into a police raid, in which he gets blamed for a DEA agent's death. Now a murder suspect, Luk flees to Hong Kong with Madam Yeung (Yang) and street cops Donny (Donnie Yen Chi-tan) and Michael (Michael Wong Man-tak) in hot pursuit. When they finally catch him, Luk is shot by a shadowy assailant before he is extradited. As Luk is the lucky survivor of one assassination attempt after the next, Yeung begins to suspect that Michael isn't necessarily on the side of the law. As it turns out, he's a CIA agent selling drugs to the inner cities to finance terror campaigns in Central America. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Yang Li-ching, Donnie Yen, (more)
This kung fu classic weaving fact and myth earned a theatrical release in the U.S. from Miramax eight years after it was produced, following a successful retrospective screening at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. Wong Kei Ying (Donnie Yen) is a master of the Hung Gar style of boxing in mid-19th century China. His son, Wong Fei Hung (Sze-Man Tsang), though still just a boy, will grow up to become a martial arts legend, a nearly mythical figure in Chinese history. When Wong Fei Hung is kidnapped, his father is forced to use his daunting skills in the service of the abductor, a dishonest politician plagued by the Robin Hood-style thief known as Iron Monkey, a mysterious masked avenger stealing from the rich, delivering the spoils to the poor. Wong Fei Hung's only allies are the kindly Dr. Yang (Yu Rong Guang) and Yang's assistant, Orchid (Jean Wang), who are protecting an important secret. Iron Monkey (1993) director Yuen Wo Ping is also the masterful martial arts choreographer behind The Matrix (1999) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000); his father served as action choreographer on a series of popular, long-running films centered around the Wong Fei Hung character in the 1950s. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yu Rongguang, Donnie Yen, (more)
- 1996
In this sequel to the martial arts cult classic Iron Monkey, Cool Head (Chen Kwun Tai) is a Kung Fu master and strong-arm man with the Monkey Fist. With a beautiful warrior (Judy Lee) at his side, Cool Head is sent out to vanquish a team of hired killers who intend to topple the government. Iron Monkey 2 also stars Chan Sing and Pao Hsieh Lee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donnie Yen
Perhaps the most highly anticipated film of 2003, Kill Bill Vol. 1 marked the return of renowned filmmaker Quentin Tarantino after a six-year hiatus. Re-teaming the director with Uma Thurman for the first time since 1994's Pulp Fiction, the film was originally the first half of what was to be a three-hour-plus movie before being split into two films. Thurman stars as The Bride, one-fifth of a team of assassins called DiVAS. When The Bride opts to leave the outfit for a life of marital bliss, it doesn't sit well with her boss, Bill (David Carradine), so he has her former cohorts, played by Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, and Michael Madsen, show up at the nuptials, leaving behind a blood bath. Miraculously, The Bride survives a bullet to the head and, four years later, she sets out for revenge against her four assassins and their employer. The story is concluded in Kill Bill Vol. 2, released six months later. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, (more)
Quentin Tarantino's sprawling homage to action films of both the East and the West reaches its conclusion in this continuation of 2003's ultra-violent Kill Bill Vol. 1. Having dispatched several of her arch-enemies in the first film, The Bride (Uma Thurman) continues in Kill Bill Vol. 2 on her deadly pursuit of her former partners in the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, who, in a furious assault, attempted to murder her and her unborn child on her wedding day. As The Bride faces off against allies-turned-nemeses Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), she flashes back to the day of her deadly wedding, and we learn of how she was recruited to join the DiVAS, her training under unforgiving martial arts master Pai Mei (Liu Chia-hui), and her relationship with Squad leader Bill (David Carradine), which changed from love to violent hatred. Originally planned as a single film, Kill Bill grew into an epic-scale two-part project totaling more than four hours in length; as with the first film, Kill Bill Vol. 2 includes appearances by genre-film icons Sonny Chiba, Michael Parks, Larry Bishop, and Sid Haig; Wu-Tang Clan producer and turntablist RZA and filmmaker and composer Robert Rodriguez both contributed to the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, David Carradine, (more)
The work of international superstar Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle is a humorous, special-effects-filled, action-packed martial arts epic set in early '40s China. A bumbling thief named Sing (Stephen Chow) desires to be the toughest member of the dreaded gangster hit squad known as The Axe Gang, but to completely join the gang he has to commit murder. When Sing attempts to rob a crowded run-down apartment complex known as Pig Sty Alley, the locals begin to defend themselves with some high-flying kung fu skills, and a tiny war erupts between the local masters and the axe-wielding gang. After the gang busts the ancient kung fu king known as The Beast (Leung Siu Lung) out of jail, tensions reach a boiling point as Pig Sty Alley's landlady (Yuen Qiu) leads an all-out attack against the gang and Sing discovers his true heroic fate. Kung Fu Hustle, which set box-office records across Asia during its December 2004 release, also stars Yuen Wah and Xing Yu, and features fight choreography by legendary masters of martial arts cinema Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung. ~ Jason Gibner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Chow, Yuen Wah, (more)
- 1993
Wong Fei-hung runs a martial arts academy in Canton, and is the exemplar of all sorts of native Chinese virtues. He is appalled to discover that the rent on his space in Canton was raised significantly while he was away in Hong Kong. In addition, he has to face the escalating enmity of a local government type, Lui, a martial artist who has adopted many western values and is conspiring with western businessmen to disrupt the Chinese way of doing things in the region. Tournament competitions between rival academies are only a prelude to the final competition between the two masters, in which the Iron Chicken style will be used against the Centipede style of fighting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jet Li
