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Shaolin Soccer (2001)

Siu lam juk kau (original title)
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1:17 | Trailer

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A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.

Director:

Writers:

, (as Tsang Kan Cheong) | 4 more credits »
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4,396 ( 448)
12 wins & 12 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Mui (as Zhou Wei)
Man-Tat Ng ...
Golden Leg Fung (as Ng Mang Tat)
Yin Tse ...
Team Evil Coach Hung (as Patrick Tse Yin)
Cecilia Cheung ...
Team Dragon Player #7
...
Team Dragon Player #11
Vincent Kok ...
Team Puma Leader
Hui Li ...
Banana Peel Girl
Yat-Fei Wong ...
...
Iron Shirt (Third Brother)
Chi Chung Lam ...
Light Weight Vest (Small Brother)
...
Lightning Hands (Fourth Brother)
Mei Lin Mo ...
Ming Ming Zhang ...
Little Hung
Pu Ye Dong ...
Little Fung
Edit

Storyline

After a fateful mistake costing his career, an ex-soccer player bum meets a shaolin kung fu student trying to spread the word of kung fu. The ex-soccer player helps reconcile with his five brothers, and teaches them soccer, adding shaolin kung fu as a twist. Written by ravedragon

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

You've never seen football like this See more »

Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sport

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for martial arts action and some thematic elements | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

|

Language:

|

Release Date:

11 March 2004 (Germany)  »

Also Known As:

Shaolin Soccer  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,352,456 (France) (23 August 2002)

Gross:

$488,872 (USA) (20 August 2004)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (DVD) | (original U.S. theatrical release)

Sound Mix:

| (US version)| (US version)

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Mui is the only character who can speak Mandarin. See more »

Quotes

Sing: Phone home like ET, Mui. You don't belong on Earth.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Outtakes are shown before the credits. See more »

Connections

Referenced in One Hit Wonderland: Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas (2012) See more »

Soundtracks

Wei do du zun
Arranged by Ying-Wah Wong
Lyrics by Albert Leung
Performed by Wei Zhao
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Great entertainment
6 January 2004 | by (Isle of Man, British Isles) – See all my reviews

Stephen Chow writes, directs and stars in probably his funniest and most accessible (to Western audiences, at least) film to date.

Sing (Chow) is trying to find a way to encourage his countrymen to re-embrace their Shaolin kung fu heritage. When he meets down-at-heel ex-soccer coach Fung (Ng), the pair hatch a plan to form a soccer team with Sing's Shaolin brothers. Unfortunately, these guys have lost their kung fu skills. Sing resolves to help his brothers regain their dignity, then lead them into a championship showdown with the seemingly unstoppable Evil Team. He also finds time to fall in love with Tai-Chi baker Mui (the usually lovely Vicki Zhao), who gets some of the funniest scenes in the movie.

As a non-Chinese speaker, my experience with Chow's previous films is patchy, his wordplay humour rarely making a decent transition to subtitles. The comedy here though is mostly physical, possibly even deliberately geared more towards a Western market. The plot - however clichéd - is a pleasing tale of underdogs made good, and the movie has a definite feelgood feel and uplifting ending. Even the CG is impressive and well used. It's the most entertaining movie I've seen in ages.

I was watching the Universe DVD. Subs are decent enough, without too many typos, and the 'making of' and other extras have English subs also.


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