Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)

An orphan who has been raised at a kung fu school, where he is treated as little more than a dogsbody and practice target for the students, has a life-changing experience after helping an old peripatetic beggar.

Director:

Woo-Ping Yuen

Writers:

Chi Yuan Hsi, Huo An Hsi

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Siu Tin Yuen, Jung-Lee Hwang

Cast

Credited cast:
Jackie Chan	...	Chien Fu (as Lung Cheng)
Siu Tin Yuen	...	Grandmaster Pai Cheng-Tien (as Hsiao-Tien Yuan)
Jung-Lee Hwang	...	Lord Sheng Kuan (as Cheng-Li Huang)
Dean Shek	...	Teacher Li (as Tien Shih)
Roy Horan	...	Russian
Hark-On Fung	...	Snake Fist School Master
Lung Chan	...	Substitute Instructor
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tien Lung Chen	...	Three Provinces Champ
Yao Lin Chen	...	Master Hung (Hung Wei School)
Kam Cheung	...	Ah Kwai, Magistrate's son (as Kam Chiang)
Hsia Chien
Chi Ling Chiu	...	Mr. Liang - brick-breaking demo
Hsia Hsu	...	Su Chen
Chiang Wang
Gam Yam	...	Chang, The Cook

Storyline

Chien Fu (Jackie Chan) is a boy who is used as a janitor at his kung fu school. Fu can't fight and is always getting bullied by the teachers and pupils. One day, an old man helps Fu train in an art of kung fu called the "Snake's Fist". Fu doesn't get bullied again. Then Fu creates his own style and mixes it with the Snake's Fist. His style is based on the movement and actions of a cat. One day, the old man is in trouble by a man who does "The Eagle's Claw", and Fu helps the old man.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | beggar | kung fu | fight | martial arts | 

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

November 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Eagle's Shadow

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seasonal Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Like most movies released in Hong Kong during that time, its original soundtrack is dubbed in Mandarin, not Cantonese. The Cantonese soundtrack was dubbed several years later when Cantonese became the predominant language used in the Hong Kong movies in the 1980s.

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Goofs

About 53 minutes in , while training, as a snake would to pluck eggs from the nest, Jackie misses placing one of the eggs safely into the old mans basket, but neither break character and just keep on going.

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Quotes

Lord Sheng Kuan: [Pai's cover has been blown and Sheng Kuan has him cornered] Pai Cheng-Tien, needn't run. You can't escape from me now!
Grandmaster Pai Cheng-Tien: Sheng Kuan Yuen... don't you believe that your Eagle Claw can beat everyone, it's not quite that invincible.
Lord Sheng Kuan: [chuckles wickedly] Our two techniques... for many years have been rivals. But today though, we'll see the end of yours.
Grandmaster Pai Cheng-Tien: Hmmph! Well don't you be too sure! I'm not scared of you! I'm ready to fight you, right now!
Lord Sheng Kuan: Good! But it's gonna be your last fight for sure!
[...]

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Alternate Versions

The UK version is cut to remove the Cat/Cobra fight as it contravenes the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Hilarious Movie Deaths (2013)

User Reviews

One of the best of the pure Kung-fu movies

This along with Drunken Master I (not Drunken Master II which was released in the US as Legend of Drunken Master, which is good but not great) have to be the best of the pure Kung-fu genre. This is just one great fight scene after another. The choreography is breathtaking, especially for two scenes: one where Jackie slides rags under the school master's feet, and the other where the old man doesnt allow Jackie to take his bowl. This is the original Kill Bill, just pure thrilling action. The story is so not a factor that I wont even mention it.

Jackie's Hong Kong movies are a class apart. Hollywood spoiled the martial arts genre. The new Jackie Chan movies and Jet Li etc are insufferable because of Hollywood overdoing things. I dont think there will be action as exhilarating as Hong Kong kung-fu ever again... sadly, technology takes away beautiful things. I'll end with a paraphrase of Roger Ebert's on talent: When you see anyone doing something difficult and making it look easy and *a joy*, you feel enhanced. It is a victory for the human side over the enemies of laziness and timidity.