Shaolin Soccer (2001)

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

Director:

Stephen Chow

Writers:

Stephen Chow, Kan-Cheung Tsang (as Tsang Kan Cheong)

Stars:

Stephen Chow, Wei Zhao, Yat-Fei Wong

12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Chow	...	Mighty Steel Leg Sing
Man-Tat Ng	...	Golden Leg Fung (as Ng Mang Tat) (as Mang Tat Ng)
Wei Zhao	...	Mui (as Vicki Zhao)
Yin Tse	...	Team Evil Coach Hung (as Patrick Tse Yin)
Hui Li	...	Banana Peel Girl
Cecilia Cheung	...	Team Moustache Player 1
Karen Mok	...	Team Moustache Player 2
Vincent Kok	...	Team Puma Leader
Kai Man Tin	...	Iron Shirt Tin (Third Brother)
Yat-Fei Wong	...	Iron Head (First Brother) (as Wong Kai Yue)
Tze Chung Lam	...	Light Weight (Small Brother) (as Lam Tze Chung)
Kwok-Kwan Chan	...	Lightning Hands (Fourth Brother) (as Chan Kwon Kwan)
Mei Lin Mo	...	Hooking Leg (Second Brother)
Ming Ming Zhang	...	Little Hung
Pu Ye Dong	...	Little Fung

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.

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Plot Keywords:

shaolin | soccer | kung fu | martial arts | cult film | 

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Taglines:

You've never seen football like this

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for martial arts action and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

metrofilms.com [France] miramax.com [United States]

Country:

Hong Kong China

Language:

English Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

12 July 2001 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Shaolin Soccer

Filming Locations:

Shanghai, China

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$39,167, 4 April 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$488,872, 22 August 2004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$42,776,760, 22 August 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Star Overseas, Universe Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 102 min (DVD) 85 min (original U.S. theatrical release)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mui is the only character who can speak Mandarin.

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Quotes

Sing: You're beautiful! And a kung fu mahstah... You got it all!

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Crazy Credits

Outtakes are shown before the credits.

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Alternate Versions

For the US theatrical version, Chinese text that appears on objects in the film has been digitally altered so that it is in English, (examples: the "Shaolin Forever" sign, the Time Magazine ad.)

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Connections

Spoofs Enter the Dragon (1973)

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Soundtracks

Nan er zhi
(Mens' Courage)
Composed by Lowell Lo
Lyrics by Andy Lau
Performed by Andy Lau

User Reviews

brilliant film, shame about the cuts & dub

This film was seen as something of a surprise. Having only heard of Shaolin Soccer on the net, and seen a teaser for the film, I thought nothing more of it until given the opportunity to go and watch the UK release. My initial disappointment with the dubbing (I am a subtitle die-hard) was soon overcome with admiration of how far HK cinema has come. Imagine the FX expertise of the Matrix with the comedy of Jackie Chan fused into a somewhat generic football film. In a word, a brilliantly scripted and often funny film. Many moments are extremely funny, with the over-the-top storyline made famous by HK, and also the very touching moments with the acne-ridden baker girl/love interest as she is only accepted for what she is. It feels as if there is more to the love story in the original cut of the film, as the story occasionally skipped in places, like a bad DVD. But the overall story is not affected, it moves sedately at first, which is good, as the excessive use of Kung-fu and Football are shown in increasingly ridiculous stages. The final goal reminds me of Hot-Shot Hamish, for those that read the comics. Worth seeing, and I can't wait for the DVD - providing it has the original cut, and subtitles.