Shou hu fei long (1991)

Director:

Chia Yung Liu

Release Date:

10 January 1991 (Portugal)

Genre:

Action | Comedy

Cast

Irene Britto		(as Irene Brito)
Mark Houghton	...	Killer
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Fatty
Chia Yung Liu	...	Wing
Karl Maka	...	Skinny
Carrie Ng	...	Lai
Jackson Ng	...	First Robber
Kuang Ni	...	Fatty's dad
Po Tai	...	Johnny
Ridley Tsui	...	Ah Pak (henchman)
Gabriel Wong	...	Burglar
Fung Woo	...	Inspector Ng
Xin Xin Xiong	...	Second Robber (blue jacket)
Wanda Yung	...	Lanky (Skinny's girlfriend)

Directed by
Chia Yung Liu

Other crew
Ridley Tsui	....	action director
Ridley Tsui	....	martial arts director
Xin Xin Xiong	....	assistant: Ridley Tsui

Distributors

• Hong Kong Legends (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Starlight

Also Known As:

"Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon" - Hong Kong (English title)

Runtime:

Hong Kong:100 min (uncut)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | UK:15 | Australia:M

Trivia:

Kuang Ni, who plays the father of Fatty (Sammo Hung), was also the script-writer on Sammo's earlier film, Fei Lung gwoh gong (1978).

Movie Connections:

Version of Running Scared (1986)

Silly Tiger, Slapstick Dragon.

Even though Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon features Sammo Hung in several superbly choreographed action sequences that effectively showcase his amazing fighting skills (and his excellent Bruce Lee impersonation), the film is still one of the less essential titles in the portly martial arts superstar's resume thanks to its incredibly flimsy plot and embarrassingly unsophisticated comedy.

Sammo plays kung fu cop Fatty who, along with his scurrilous, philandering partner Skinny (Karl Maka), attempts to take down an evil drugs syndicate; during the course of their investigation, the pair get to fondle women's breasts, spy on a female gang member as she prepares for a shower, trash a Mercedes belonging to senior gang member Prince Tak (Lung Ming Yan), battle Thai lady-boys, take a break in Singapore (where Sammo shows that he might be a fighter, but he's definitely not a dancer), and generally act like complete buffoons. It's not clever, and it certainly isn't funny!

Thank heavens, then, for the film's outstanding fight scenes which go quite a way to compensate for the puerile comedy: Sammo takes on a gang of gun toting jewel thieves wearing Sesame St. masks, has a quick fight on a construction site, trashes a restaurant in pursuit of a criminal, and in the breathtaking finale, displays his skill with nunchukus in a superb battle against the syndicate's head honcho (played by the film's director Lau Kar Wing) and assorted henchmen.

Far from classic Sammo fare, but still worth a go for his avid fans, I rate Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon a just-above-average 6/10.