Drunken Master (1978) Jui kuen (original title)

Director:

Woo-ping Yuen

Writers:

See-Yuen Ng (writer)
Woo-ping Yuen (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

5 October 1978 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Plot:

An undisciplined boy must learn Drunken Fist Kung Fu in order to stop an assassin.

Plot Keywords:

Master | Kung Fu | Revenge | Friend | Good Versus Evil

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Wong Fei-Hung (as Jacky Chan)
Siu Tien Yuen	...	Su Hua Chi / Sam Seed
Jang Lee Hwang	...	Thunderleg
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Siu Hung Cham
Tien Lung Chen	...	Bully
Ching Chiang
Ging Man Fung	...	Mr. Li
Hsia Hsu	...	King of Bamboo
Ying Li
Chiao Lin
Linda Lin	...	Fei-hung's aunt
Dean Shek	...	Professor Kai-Hsien
Fu Tsan Shih
Kien Shih
Han Chen Wang
Casanova Wong
Pan Pan Yeung
Brandy Yuen
Shun-Yee Yuen	...	Chen Kuo-Wei

Directed by
Woo-ping Yuen

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lung Hsiao		writer
See-Yuen Ng		writer
Woo-ping Yuen		writer

Produced by
See-Yuen Ng	....	producer

Original Music by
Fu Liang Chou

Cinematography by
Hui Chang

Film Editing by
Hsiung Pan

Production Design by
Yuen-Tai Ting

Sound Department
Hung-ta Chi	....	sound recordist
Erick Jolley	....	sound editor (english version)

Stunts
Hsia Hsu	....	stunt coordinator
Brandy Yuen	....	assistant stunt coordinator (as Yuen Chun-Wai)
Corey Yuen	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Shun-Yee Yuen	....	assistant stunt coordinator
Woo-ping Yuen	....	stunt coordinator
Yuen Biao	....	stunt double: Jackie Chan (uncredited)

Other crew
Lun Tang	....	production assistant
Chuo-lun Ting	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Seasonal Film Corporation

Distributors

• Rim (1993) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sino Cine (1982) (UK) (theatrical)
• Artemis Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Beverly Wilshire Filmworks (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (video)
• Hong Kong Legends (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Mei Ah Entertainment (2000) (worldwide) (DVD)
• UAP Video GmbH (2005) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Jui kuen" - Hong Kong (original title)
"Challenge" - India (English title)
"Drunken Monkey in the Tiger's Eyes" - Hong Kong (English title)
"The Drunken Master" - Philippines (English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and language (re-rating)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) | USA:R (original rating) | Australia:M | South Korea:12 | UK:12 (video rating) (2007) | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | West Germany:16 (heavily cut) | UK:X (original rating)

Company:

Seasonal Film Corporation

Trivia:

Jackie Chan nearly lost an eye when Hwang Jig Lee kicked him in the head during the final fight scene.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After Won Fei Hung is beaten by Thunderleg and offered Beggar Su some wine, he drops the bowl, and Su catches it. If you slow-mo the DVD, for a split second you can see that the bowl goes past Su's foot, which is coming up to catch it. The film then cuts to a shot where the bowl is on Su's foot.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dirty: One Word Can Change the World (2009)

Original kung-fu comedy with Jackie Chan at his finest

All I have to say about this one…just amazing. To think that Jackie Chan has fallen so far from Grace, from this masterpiece to the likes of The Tuxedo, The Medallion, and Around the World in 80 Days. This was one of the first movies to combine slapstick humor with awesome kung-fu, and it does a superb job of it.

This is the story of a young misfit who, instead of being kicked out of his home by his father for his mischief, is sentenced to stay with his great uncle to learn discipline. Upon knowing how notorious this man is, Jackie Chan runs away only to accidentally run into him and learn the ways of the Drunken Master. The combat scenes are very well acted, and this movie includes some funny and terrific dialogue. The final battle scene where Jackie Chan demonstrates what he learned of the Eight Drunken Gods to battle a famed assassin is both humorous and suspenseful. I recommend this movie to lovers of action and comedy alike. 8/10