World of the Drunken Master

Do you have to be drunk to fight the drunken style? No pun intended, but it is called acting, yes? Another martial arts/kung fu movie from Joseph Kuo - also set in the past and also having quite a few fights going on. I watched a lot of movies that are similar to this one, most were made under the Shaw Brothers banner though.

Still a few things may have aged in a certain way that nowadays may not seem practical or up to date anymore. The fighting and stunts is one of those things. There is under cranking going on as it is called (speeding up the fights so they do not look to stale), but even so the movie might not work as great for some as it does for others. You have to have some love for the movies and how they were made. And the insanity of them all. Introducing characters last minute just to have them fight our good main guy(s) for example ... just go with the flow and all that.

A Hong Kong classic of old. A true depiction of what the 1970's HK Martial Art Gung fu films were all about (Kung fu as pronounced in Mandarin, Northern China and pronounced Gung fu in Cantonese, Southern China).

There were 4-5 films made on the Drunken fighting style and this one was non stop action. There is a fair bit of dialogue throughout the film but the fight action makes for about 70% of the whole film...it never lets up! The acting is good, except for the drunken parts, and the comedy is adequately amusing. Its a romp along bit of fun at a hectic speed and it delivers. Its a Martial Art film and that is precisely what you get!

Two weekends ago I stumbled across a little store in Brooklyn that housed a treasure trove of old and new Kung Fu movies on DVD. Upon entering and looking around like I'd entered a library filled with secret tombs and scrolls, I put the proprietor to the test expecting him to come up short with the ancient titles I presented him with, but he simply smiled knowing and deftly moved from isle to isle to present me with the titles I'd inquired about.

"Hmmmmf! Good Kung-Fu!!"

I returned a week later and smiled slyly as I asked "Do you have World Of The Drunken Master?" To which my smile was again returned knowingly as he retorted "We just got that in" For $7.00 bucks I went home and relived old 42nd st. movie theatre days of Kung-Fu dreams and high nights as all of the dialogue and fight choreography came back to me with each scene.

Not one of the better of the Kung-Fu movies of this golden era, as most of the fight scenes are not all that good compared to today's standards, but this is made up for in the story, the memorable dialogue and the nostalgia it conjures. Ahh...but remember...I said "Most" of the fight scenes are not all that good.

The real treat of this classic is what happens after you hear "Master! Sweet Premium!!" followed by the uncorking sound of a wine jug, the gurgle of it's contents and the theme music indicating a staggering ballet of whup ass is on the way.

Or simply when you hear that theme music in general followed by the antagonist's mixed cry of awe and loathing as he exclaims "The Drunkard Style!" And then comes the description of each move as you're getting your butt handed to you...

"Royal Guest Gets Drunk!!" / "Drinking The Fairy Wine!" / "Riding The Ti-ger!" / " And this one's Drink All You Can!!...."

"This Is The Drunkard Technique!!!"

Ahhhh...! The joy of Hong Kong Cinema! "Now, Now...No need to disagree! Why quibble my friend, huh? Come....let's have a drink!

Simon Yuen does a few moves before the opening credits and then disappears from the movie. The two drunken masters in this movie are Mark Lung and Jack Lung. Li Yi-Min also plays a younger version of one of them. The two men who love sweet premium wine and the girl who ferments it have reunited because they were both sent letters to be at this place. Most of the movie then takes place in flashback but it is easy to follow.

The next time I watch this movie I plan to use a stopwatch and calculate the time spent fighting compared to the run time of the movie. There are a few movies that have almost 60% action but this movie seemed to exceed that. I actually felt worn out just from watching the fights. The action was relentless and almost non-stop. More remarkable was the quality of the action. The reason for that was the action director, Yuen Cheung-Yan, from the legendary clan and son of Simon Yuen from the first scene.

This movie has my highest recommendation for anyone who wants to watch an action packed movie.

What a awfully wonderful film - I bought the DVD very cheap and have seen it several times with friends, drinking the sweet premium and practicing the Drunken Style afterwards, and using the dialogue wherever possible. It's probably a lot more classy than I imagine, but it's very dated and let down by the dialogue. But it goes on and on, with lots of fighting, and the DVD has an excellent trailer (complete with spelling mistake). Lots of fighting, nothing too horrible; it should be a poignant and touching tale, but I'm usually too drunk to really care! Watch it, but all in good fun!