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8 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
A kung fu masterwork from Yuen Wo Ping, 30 April 2001
Author: Brian Camp from Bronx, NY

LEGEND OF A FIGHTER (1980) is a superb kung fu film directed by Yuen Wo Ping, famous these days for his fight choreography for THE MATRIX and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON. It has a clever plot based on the turn-of-the-century Chinese martial artist Huo Yuan Chia (Fok Yuen Gap in Cantonese). Young Huo secretly learns kung fu from a Japanese tutor who has his own hidden agenda, which is to learn Chinese martial arts by secretly watching Huo's father, who has forbidden his son to study the art. The tutor ingeniously incorporates the training into Huo's book learning, e.g. using kung fu moves in the art of calligraphy. Years later, after Huo has grown to manhood and become an expert martial artist, his tutor comes back into his life through a twist of fate which dictates that Huo face him, not as a student, but as an opponent. It all leads to a heart-wrenching ending.

Leung Kar Yan, a mainstay of Hong Kong kung fu films, plays Huo as a grown man. Yasuaki Kurata, a Japanese performer who made many Hong Kong films (and appears as the Japanese master who fights Jet Li in the countryside in FIST OF LEGEND), plays the Japanese tutor. Yuen Yat Chor plays young Huo and several members of the Yuen clan are involved in the fight scenes. Overall, it's a film boasting excellent martial arts sequences, good acting, lots of welcome humor, and a bit of historical detail. This is arguably the best of Yuen Wo Ping's early work (1978-82), a period which includes such formidable titles as THE BUDDHIST FIST, THE MIRACLE FIGHTERS and two early Jackie Chan hits, SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW and DRUNKEN MASTER. (Warning: the English-dubbed soundtrack on my VHS copy of LEGEND has more hardcore profanity on it than any kung fu movie I've ever seen.)

ADDENDUM (Nov. 16, 2007): I watched LEGEND OF A FIGHTER again to prepare me for FEARLESS, a 2006 film starring Jet Li as the same historical figure, Huo Yuan Chia, who is the subject of LEGEND. The big difference between the two films is that LEGEND spends a good portion on the boyhood and training of young Huo, while FEARLESS is more about his late adult life. The adult version of the character doesn't even appear in LEGEND until about halfway through the film, thus giving a greater sense of the boy's burning desire to learn kung fu and how much he worked and struggled to achieve his skill level and status. We appreciate his later victories all the more because we see how much he earned them. In FEARLESS, less than ten minutes is devoted to the character's boyhood and training. Before the movie's 15-minute mark, we already see Jet Li emerge as the grown-up, full-fledged wushu champ of Tianjin. Also, the character of the Japanese tutor, so significant in LEGEND, is completely absent from FEARLESS.

The fight scenes in LEGEND display the simple, direct approach of old-school fight filming--put the camera in place with a wide enough angle to show all the action and let the actors do their stuff. Unfortunately, the fights in FEARLESS are marred by signs of too much computer manipulation--sudden slowing down or speeding up, apparently done during the editing process rather than in the camera. There's also more wire work than I'm comfortable with and way too many pointless overhead shots. Yuen Wo Ping, the director of LEGEND, choreographed the fight scenes in FEARLESS, which came 24 years later, but he clearly had more control in the earlier film.

5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Now *THIS* is kung fu!!, 21 May 2005

Author: sarastro7

Legend of a Fighter is one of the extremely few totally engaging and at the same time totally realistic kung fu movies. Nobody becomes a master overnight; oh no, the movie jumps ahead 12 years to show that it damn well takes time to master a decent kung fu style!

The fight scenes are nothing less than stupendous. This is old school wireless fighting at its best, helmed by Hong Kong's premiere martial arts choreographer, not to mention the stellar fighting skills of the great Ka-Yan Leung.

The story is also good, although the end, with the entire national honor of China at stake, perhaps stretches credibility a bit. But the yarn is structured very well, so the audience is engaging their emotions in the story, right up to the end.

If you're looking for a really good, classic kung fu movie with lots of action and lots of intensity, you can't do much better than this.

My rating: 9 out of 10.

2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
As near to faultless a martial arts film of its era as they come, 21 September 2009

Author: t-birkhead from United Kingdom

I've seen Legend Of A Fighter a few times and no doubt I'll see it a few more, its that kind of rewarding and thoroughly pleasing film. Whilst it tells a standard "classic" story, it does so with a level of feeling and class that elevates it far above average and makes every turn interesting, even if we can guess whats going to go down at the end. The story tells of Fok Yun Gap, youngest of his family and a weakling, forbidden to learn kung fu by his father, who prefers him to be a scholar. He secretly does learn kung fu though, with the help of his mysterious Japanese tutor and becomes well, a legendary fighter, but his use of his skills ultimately leads to a sad turn in events and a stirring and poignant climax. The key to this film is its deft combination of plentiful classy fight scenes with likable characters, fine performances and genuine emotional heft, a combination that allows the film to go reasonably heavy on the fighting and power through a fairly conventional plot whilst still exerting a potent grip on the audience. The stars are what make the film this way, a set of four great performances. Chor Yuen plays young Fok Yun Gap, convincingly weak and downtrodden but with a easy youthful charm and energy, a sympathetic figure and also good at showing the progression of his skills. Philip Ko is excellent as Master Fok, authoritative in his general manner and his fighting, strict and slightly wrong headed, yet earnest and inherently decent enough to always be an engaging and likable figure, with moments of lightness that even allow his character to be a figure of fun. Yasuaki Kurata is perhaps the highlight as the Japanese tutor though, with a demeanour noble yet mysterious, likable yet fierce and hard hitting when he needs to be. His complex performance and mighty skills lead to the question, why on Earth didn't he have more roles like this one. The nominal star, last but not least is old school kung fu veteran Leung Ka Yan, aka. Beardy, though he isn't in this film as the grown up Fok Yun Gap, and in probably his finest role he makes for a great hero, deploying his fighting abilities with force and goodness a tough yet decent man. The stars have fine chemistry and also are able to convey their characters through fighting, such as Kurata with his cunning and unexpected moves, or Chor Yuen takingon bullies with his new skills. All this talent is also key to supporting the films resonant themes of friendship, personal growth, honour and national pride, themes which are powerfully evoked in several moments, especially friendship. The film is fractionally off perfect for its genre, it has just two scenes that stick out. There is a comedic sequence that whilst funny, doesn't fit the overall fairly serious minded feel of the film and one scene that verges on an offputting sort of gloating nationalism, these parts are one after the other and could have been profitably replaced with more training. But as problematic scenes go they do so little to harm the overall greatness of the film that I can't quibble. its a tour de force for all involved and one of my favorite films from director/choreographer Yuen Woo Ping. The film moves beautifully, the characters are nicely drawn and the fighting is excellent, hard hitting and suitably complex, mostly grounded but with a splash of more fanciful moments (ie. Master Fok's egg breaking technique) and a pleasing emphasis on strength that makes for lots of impressive moves. Altogether I'd say this is one of the great martial arts films of its time and pretty much a must watch for genre fans.

3 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Kurata's finest hour, 27 July 2006

Author: (winner55) from United States

Kurata Yasuaki made quite a good living in Hong Kong, playing one Japanese bad-guy after another. He even played a Chinese bad-guy on occasion, as in Prodigal Boxer (the Meng Fe film). The only time in the '70s when I can remember him playing a good-guy was in a Japanese film, the Sue Shiomi film Dragon Princess.

As any one should know, who has seen the Jet Li remake of Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection, Fist of Legend (wherein Kurata plays an aging karate master), Kurata's acting ability is really quite broad and quite strong. that he got himself lost in Hong Kong type-cast as a villain is therefore a little disheartening.

At any rate, his performance in this film is really top-notch; and despite his being Japanese - and a spy - and despite his confrontation with the hero at the end, he actually plays a decent guy! His character - marvelously complex for this genre - someone we find easy to like - so that when the bad things start to happen, we feel as upset and confused as the young hero.

This is not one of those all-good or all-evil morality plays we often see in old-school chop-socky films. although this film technically still belongs to that tradition, the audience - as with the hero himself - is caught in a terrible grey zone where one must destroy those one loves, for the sake of a better future for all; and where one's heroes can prove nastier than one's enemies.

I should also remark that this appears to me to a quasi-autobiographical film for director Yuen Woo Ping - This isn't so far-fetched - the Yuen family is among the most respected for having produced martial arts instructors and Chinese opera performers -arts that involve considerable - and frequently harsh - disciplinary training.

At any rate, whatever the source, the writing of the film makes this one of the strongest of its genre and of its period.

Pretty good old-school kung fu movie, 4 September 2006

Author: Matti-Man from London, England

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Anyone who's familiar with Hong Kong kung fu movies will know that the name of Yuen Wo- Ping is pretty much a seal of quality. LEGEND OF A FIGHTER is one of his earlier offerings, and though the star Leung Ka-Yan isn't the best martial artist in movies, his acting is pretty good, so you become more involved in the drama of the story.

Yuen has concentrated on the quality of the drama here, and though the storyline is a bit familiar ("son in conflict with his father, then later with teacher/father-substitute"), it's the treatment of the story that carries the burden of the film's emotional drama.

The kung fu scenes are - as you might expect from a Yuen movie - very well choreographed, but because the characters are so sympathetically played by the better than average acting the audience's involvement is more intensely felt.

Yes, it's old-school, but it's top quality old-school, so well worth a look ...

A Great Story of Nationalistic Pride..., 20 June 2004

Author: clubhonda from United States

Out of all the movies by Yuen Wo Ping, this is probably his best work. The movie goes beyond the normal routine of private feuds and senseless fights to reflect on the strong nationalistic pride before the Japanese occupation of World War 2 and the pride of a pugilist.

It also tells us how even someone who is weak and bullied can one day rise and become someone great if the spirit is willing. This is a very complex movie with many themes and invokes great respect for the main martial artists in the movie, not because they are great fighters -- but because they have great spirit behind their martial arts. A movie of inspiration, and of great nationalistic pride. This is a movie I continually watched to remind me of how even the weak can someday rise beyond that. One of my favourite movies even up to today, it has themes that will resonate throughout the ages. A+

kung fu.. and so much more, 21 February 2004
Author: bavski-knovril from england

I bought this movie expecting an 'old skool' kung fu movie typical of the genre, but was pleasently surprised that the story was strong and well presented - not typical of your run-of-the-mill kung fu flick.

'Beardy' (though shaven) gives a great performance as the legendary student of a travelling teacher who is secretly taught kung-fu and becomes the best fighter in China.

The action is great, especially the boat scene where 'western style boxing' is shown to be no match for a beating up-side-the-head with a pipe stuck in your suspenders.

Plenty of balsa wood furniture and a comic relief with rabbit-teeth and freckles - action, reasonable script-writing and comedy make this movie a must-see.

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