The 36 Crazy Fists (1977)

A young man decides to learn Kung Fu to avenge the death of his father, a peaceful shopkeeper who was murdered by Manchurian gangsters for not paying protection money. At first he is ... See full summary »

Director:

Chi-Hwa Chen

Writer:

On Szeto (screenplay)

Stars:

Siu-Hung Leung, Kar-Yung Lau, Shi-Kwan Yen

Cast

Credited cast:
Siu-Hung Leung	...	Wong Tai-Kwang (as Hsiung Kuang)
Kar-Yung Lau	...	Shan Ho Kuan (as Jimmy Liu)
Shi-Kwan Yen
Feng Ku	...	Master Hsi Tak
Michelle Yim	...	Wong Wai Chi (as Hsueh Mi)
Paul Chun	...	Chu Shan Feng / Monk
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lau Chan	...	Official
Chok Chow Cheung
Cheng Chiang	...	Drunkard
Hark-On Fung	...	Tai Kuang's opponent (as Ko-An Feng)
Ti Hsieh
Wen Tai Li	...	Twitching Abbott
Han-Yuan Ma
Sha-Li Pai	...	Monk
Kwai Shan	...	Head Thug

Storyline

A young man decides to learn Kung Fu to avenge the death of his father, a peaceful shopkeeper who was murdered by Manchurian gangsters for not paying protection money. At first he is rejected by his teachers because he is weak, but through persistence, and some help from other students and a mysterious drunk, he learns the skills he needs to avenge his father.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher hits a student | kung fu | republican era china | bully | monastery | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

27 May 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jackie and the 36 Crazy Fists

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Enterprise Corporation

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the opening scene of the story, two men in grey suits and black hats rescue a young man from being beaten by a gang. They take him home to his sister's house. One of the men has had his head shaved between the two scenes, although they are meant to follow on directly.

User Reviews

Some half-decent choreography and that's about it

36 CRAZY FISTS is one of those cheap and cheerful kung fu efforts that were all the rage in the '70s. This one is a lot poorer than most, with an absolutely bottom dollar budget that means we only get a handful of different sets and actors throughout the movie. Most of it takes place in a field someplace where guys fight for what seems like an age. As well as the bad production values, this one suffers from an absolutely appalling dubbing job (one of those jobs by the 'Cockney boys'), rubbish editing, even worse acting and a director whose idea of comedy is to speed the film up and have his characters speaking gobbledegook.

In fact I reckon this film would be totally forgotten about today (and with good reason), if it wasn't for the participation of Jackie Chan. There are dubious claims that he helped out with the direction and fight choreography here, although he's uncredited for both; personally I can believe the latter but am not so sure about the former! To be fair, the fights aren't too bad, and in particular the extended final bout is a good one – lengthy, hard-hitting, against one of those white-haired supervillains so beloved of the genre.

Although some of the cast are familiar – including the master guy and Fung Hark-On as a typical thug – for the most part they're undistinguished. Kuang Hsiung is just another Chan or Lee imitator. The plot is the worst part of the film, a simple, boring amalgamation of all the themes that were popular in '70s period kung fu flicks, from drunken beggars who turn out to be kung fu masters, to the evil clans, the Buddha-praising monks and the pretty girls (one of whom strips off for a cheesy/sleazy topless bedroom moment).

Sadly it all feels false and by-the-by and you never really understand the main character's motivations. Worse still, there's little excitement to be had from the seen-it-all-before feel of the film, and there's nothing here which hasn't been done better elsewhere. 36 CRAZY FISTS is one to avoid, unless you're a real completionist.