The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)

A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.

Director:

Chia-Liang Liu

Writers:

Edward Tang (screenplay), Man-Ming Tong (screenplay)

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Ho-Sung Pak, Lung Ti

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Wong Fei-hung
Lung Ti	...	Wong Kei-ying, Wong's Father
Anita Mui	...	Ling - Wong's Step-Mother
Felix Wong	...	Tsang
Chia-Liang Liu	...	Master Fu Wen-Chi (as Lau Kar-Leung)
Ken Lo	...	John (as Low Houi Kang)
Kar Lok Chin	...	Fo Sang (as Chin Ka Lok)
Ho-Sung Pak	...	Henry
Chi-Kwong Cheung	...	Tso (as Tseung Chi Kwong)
Yi-Sheng Han	...	Uncle Hing (as Hon Yee Sang)
Andy Lau	...	Counter Intelligence Officer
Wing-Fong Ho	...	Fun (as Ho Wing Fong)
Chia Yung Liu	...	Marlon (as Kar Yung Lau)
Siu-Ming Lau	...	Mr. Chiu
Suki Kwan	...	Chiu's Wife

Storyline

Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong has learned a style of fighting called "Drunken Boxing", which makes him a dangerous person to cross. Unfortunately, his father is opposed to his engaging in any kind of fighting, let alone drunken boxing. Consequently, Fei-Hong not only has to fight against the foreigners, but he must overcome his father's antagonism as well.

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Plot Keywords:

fighting | battle | martial artist | fight | sword fight | 

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Taglines:

Old wine in a new bottle

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

20 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Legend of the Drunken Master

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,845,278 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

$11,546,543 (USA) (8 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Hong Kong Stuntman Association, Paragon Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (US version) Mono (original version) Dolby Digital (US version) DTS (US version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The drunken boxing style exists in real life, originating from China. In Chinese it is called Zui Quan (sometimes called Zuijuquan). But unlike in the movie, it is dangerous to perform the art whilst drunk because serious injuries can occur.

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Goofs

Just at the beginning of the first street fight drunken boxing scene, Fei-hung's Step-Mother pushes past a tall blond man in a grey suit and tie to go inside with her girlfriends and get Fei-hung some wine. In the next scene, we see them go up to the bar and grab some bottles, first pushing past the exact same blond man from outside.

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Quotes

Wong Kei-ying: Water floats, but also capsizes boats.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits list Jackie Chan as "His stuntperson's double".

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Connections

Featured in Anime Abandon: Lily C.A.T. (2014)

User Reviews

how can you not like Jackie?

Jackie Chan is the trouble prone son of a local doctor and martial arts instructor. In an attempt to help his Dad avoid paying taxes on some ginseng he is bringing home for one of his patients, Jackie stows the root in luggage belonging to a local political official. When he attempts to retrieve it, he finds someone else digging in the same baggage and a battle ensues. Jackie is stymied at every turn, even when he uses his famous Drunken Boxing, but finally retrieves the precious package and makes it back to the train as it is leaving the station. Unfortunately as all Jackie Chan fans can figure, Jackie got the wrong box. It seems the official was smuggling out a famous Chinese artifact and the man who was going through the luggage was a special investigator trying to get evidence. This local official is using the factory in Jackie's town to hide all the other relics he has stolen and becomes enraged when he discovers the theft has been committed. He ships his men all over town searching and they final track down Jackie and his spitfire step-mother and try to steal the artifact back. Jackie is a ball of fire rolling through the group but is vastly outnumbered. His step-mother takes matters into her hands and begins throwing bottles of liquor at him since what could better help a master of Drunken Boxing than getting drunk. Jackie ends up beating the gang and disgracing his father in the process who has always told him not to use this style. His father knows that many practitioners of this style end up as drunks in the end and worries the same will happen to his son. Finally Jackie is forced into helping rescue some of his friends who are trapped in the factory. The battle that follows is a dazzling display of Drunken Boxing at it's finest. This movie succeeds at all levels. It doesn't promise any hidden agenda and fail to deliver. It promises a martial arts packed movie with dazzling stunts and comedy to boot...and it works. Jackie was trained in the Hong Kong Opera at an early age and his talents are never more on display. The opening fight which takes part under a train is something that must be seen to be believed. The two combatants use a spear and a sword in their battle and basically are in a crouch the entire length of the car. Subsequent scenes incorporating the drunken movies are both hilarious and awesome in the ease of the choreography. Another good point for this movie is the dubbing is better than any many I have seen. They even allow Jackie to dub his own voice which is something that doesn't always happen for English speaking foreign actors. As usual with a Jackie Chan movie you must also watch the deleted scenes that are shown during the credits.