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Kung Fu Hustle

  • 2004
  • R
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
160K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,100
347
Stephen Chow, Siu-Lung Leung, Qiu Yuen, and Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan in Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:44
2 Videos
99+ Photos
Buddy ComedyDark ComedyKung FuMartial ArtsParodyPeriod DramaSlapstickWuxiaActionComedy

In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.In Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.

  • Director
    • Stephen Chow
  • Writers
    • Stephen Chow
    • Kan-Cheung Tsang
    • Xin Huo
  • Stars
    • Stephen Chow
    • Wah Yuen
    • Qiu Yuen
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    160K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,100
    347
    • Director
      • Stephen Chow
    • Writers
      • Stephen Chow
      • Kan-Cheung Tsang
      • Xin Huo
    • Stars
      • Stephen Chow
      • Wah Yuen
      • Qiu Yuen
    • 499User reviews
    • 338Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 25 wins & 47 nominations total

    Videos2

    Kung Fu Hustle
    Trailer 1:44
    Kung Fu Hustle
    Streaming Passport to China
    Clip 4:35
    Streaming Passport to China
    Streaming Passport to China
    Clip 4:35
    Streaming Passport to China

    Photos172

    View Poster
    View Poster
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    + 166
    View Poster

    Top cast31

    Edit
    Stephen Chow
    Stephen Chow
    • Sing
    Wah Yuen
    Wah Yuen
    • Landlord
    Qiu Yuen
    Qiu Yuen
    • Landlady
    Siu-Lung Leung
    Siu-Lung Leung
    • The Beast
    Xiaogang Feng
    Xiaogang Feng
    • Crocodile Gang Boss
    • (as Feng Xiao Gang)
    Zhihua Dong
    Zhihua Dong
    • Donut
    • (as Zhi Hua Dong)
    Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan
    Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan
    • Brother Sum
    • (as Danny Chan)
    Tze-Chung Lam
    Tze-Chung Lam
    • Bone (Sing's Sidekick)
    • (as Lam Tze Chung)
    Kai-Man Tin
    Kai-Man Tin
    • Axe Gang Advisor
    Kang Xi Jia
    • Harpist #1
    Fung Hak-On
    Fung Hak-On
    • Harpist #2
    • (as Hark-On Fung)
    Shengyi Huang
    Shengyi Huang
    • Fong
    Suet Lam
    Suet Lam
    • Axe Gang Vice General
    Cheung-Yan Yuen
    Cheung-Yan Yuen
    • Beggar
    • (as Cheng Yan Yuen)
    Chi Ling Chiu
    Chi Ling Chiu
    • Tailor
    Xing Yu
    Xing Yu
    • Coolie
    Yibai Zhang
    • Inspector Chan
    • (as Zhang Yi Bai)
    Si Lu Ren
    • Suzie
    • Director
      • Stephen Chow
    • Writers
      • Stephen Chow
      • Kan-Cheung Tsang
      • Xin Huo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews499

    7.7159.5K
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    Featured reviews

    9baboos

    Fantastic

    This is one of the most richly imaginative, creative, downright enjoyable movies I've ever seen. I haven't enjoyed myself this much since Pulp Fiction.

    It took me a while to figure out who the hero was. First I thought it was the barber guy who got himself constantly smacked about by the landlady. I suppose it's because he looked so dim, he therefore had to be a kung fu master in disguise. I've read some of the other posts, and everyone seems to think the knife scene was the funniest. I didn't expect to come to this movie for a laugh, but the knife scene almost killed me. Luckily it was just me and my friend in the movie theatre, so I could let it all out.

    If you go to the movies to free your imagination, then this is the movie for you. Stay away from people who say it's far-fetched and unrealistic. If they want realism, they should go to the laundromat.
    9BraveHawk

    Visually Stunning & Just Plain Funny!

    Kung Fu Hustle was one of the most visually imaginative and unique movies I have seen in quite some time. Upon first viewing the trailer, I thought we would have another Kung Pow: Enter The Fist on our hands but, boy, was I wrong. Unlike Kung Pow, the jokes did not grow tired on me and the special effects were definitely top notch. The scene with the two assassins playing that stringed instrument (don't know the name of it) in such a way that it kills was incredible.

    Although there was not much to the story, it was not non-existent, either. There was a simple story happening which made sense for what we were watching. Even the jokes with the subtitles came across as funny, and from my experience, humor does not translate as easily as this movie would have you believe. It borrowed or spoofed a bit from Spider-Man and The Matrix as well, which was a bit unexpected for this film, initially. At least for me.

    To be honest, I could enjoy this movie without sound or subtitles, too. It was that appealing to the eye. It would be a good background movie for a party or poker game which could catch your eye at any moment and still hold your attention. It could also be great if you feel like a good comedy. I was entertained throughout and even though I was dead tired when I saw it in the theater, it held my interest all the way to the end. 9/10
    9lane-su

    The best comedy for this year. No super-hero.

    Before we went to see this movie we had heard about many good reviews of it. After spending approximate 100mins in the movie theater we were extremely satisfied and entertained. This movie is even better than we have expected. There were full of laughters almost from the beginning to the end in the theater.

    Stephen Chow displays his talent as both a director and an actor. It maintains the previous Chow's style and humor as in other movies, such as "Xi Ju Zhi Wang" and "Xing Yun Yi Tiao Long", while those CGIs were not expected. In Chow's movie, what the Chinese people like is that it says no to super heroes. It just tells the stories of ordinary people, particularly those people leading insignificant and unsuccessful lives.

    Several characters in this movie were played by popular Kung-Fu stars, in the 1980's - 1990's in China. Stephen Chow shows respects to them, as the way he respects Bruce Lee.

    Above all, Kung-Fu Hustle is a movie with great hilarity, stunning CGI effects, fantastic Kung-Fu, and the lives of ordinary people. I give it 9 out of 10. Highly recommended!

    Now this movie is in theaters in Europe and North America. The recent comments have shown a good sign already.Best wishes to Stephen Chow! Hope western people like this movie as well.
    10jive-3

    Freaking fantastic.

    Goodness me, what a fantastic movie. Caught the world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and the entire theater laughed until they cried. Amazingly directed, HILARIOUSLY funny, it blends a 1930s gangster stylishness into a Hong Kong kung fu movie to astonishing results. Who would've thought you could top Shaolin Soccer? Not me, until I saw this movie. Stephen Chow pulled it off. Chow's comedic timing gets better and better with every movie he makes, and while his films are depending more and more on CGI these days, and makes this movie much more a fantasy kung fu film than a traditional one, it hardly detracts from the enjoyable experience. Make it your mission to see this film - it will be one of the most entertaining you ever see. I can't remember the last film I enjoyed myself in more. My eyes still hurt from wiping away tears of laughter. Seriously.
    10hturunen

    Hollywood can never achieve this!

    In my opinion this is the best Chinese comedy kung fu movie yet to be made. I'm not very familiar with the previous work of the director Stephen Chow except for Shaolin Soccer but this flick has everything to entertain any movie fan.

    Both the humor and the drama made me weep like a small girl, even thou I'm a guy almost at my 30's. The impressive camera techniques and the story sure made this a phenomenal viewing experience.

    Sorry Jet Li & Jackie Chan - None of the Hollywood movies has ever touched me like this movie did. I recommend this movie to be watched with friends in order to share the feeling of joy and laughter. We'll be waiting for a sequel - don't let us down!

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    Related interests

    Steve Martin and John Candy in Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
    Buddy Comedy
    Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sian Clifford in Fleabag (2016)
    Dark Comedy
    Donnie Yen in Ip Man 3 (2015)
    Kung Fu
    Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon (1973)
    Martial Arts
    Bill Pullman, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Daphne Zuniga, and Lorene Yarnell Jansson in Spaceballs (1987)
    Parody
    Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)
    Period Drama
    Leslie Nielsen in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
    Slapstick
    Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
    Wuxia
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Bruce Lee Tribute: When the Landlady is seated between the Boss and his assistant, she faces the boss, and mimics the gestures Bruce Lee used while also facing a crime boss in Return of the Dragon. She wags her finger at him, then closes both fists, then just the right (while knuckles cracking can be heard), she jerks her head up, and the boss nods he understands, then she thumbs her nose, exactly like Bruce Lee.
    • Goofs
      When Coolie takes on the Axe Gang alone, before the tailor joins in, an Axe Gang member takes a perfect unblocked swing at Coolie's back, realizes that Coolie can't block it, and runs away.
    • Quotes

      Barber: Why don't you train us to be top fighters... and we'll avenge them!

      Landlady: Becoming a top fighter takes time, unless you're a natural-born kung-fu genius, and they're 1 in a million.

      Barber: [Does martial arts routine] It's obvious I'm the one.

      Landlady: [immediately punches him in the face] Don't think so.

    • Alternate versions
      The version released in Spain took a few artistic licenses when it was dubbed. Giving each character a different accent from each region of Spain or from other parts of the world.
      • Sing has a Madrid accent and also the street slang.
      • His partner has Catalan accent.
      • The landlord and his wife have an Andalusian accent.
      • The Ax Gang Vice General has an Argentine accent.
      • The Crocodile Gang Boss has a Mexican accent.
      • Donut has the accent of a Chinese person trying to speak in Spanish.
      • The Two Harpist have a French accent.
      • The Beast has an Italian accent.
      • And some neighbors of "Pig Sty Alley" have a Galician accent.
      After its theatrical release in Spain, the dubbing turned the film into a cult classic, among some groups thanks to the funny dubbing that, although it varied some jokes or added of its own, did not change the story. However, he also obtained his group of detractors who consider that the dubbing completely ruined the film.
    • Connections
      Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Sahara/Eros/Kung Fu Hustle/Winter Solstice/Mondovino (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Zhi Yao Wei Ni Huo Yi Tian
      Composed by Liu Jie Chang

      Lyrics by Lin Huang Kun

      Performed by Huang Sheng Yi

      Arranged by Ying-Wah Wong (as Raymond Wong)

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    FAQ21

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 22, 2005 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Hong Kong
      • China
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Sony Pictures (United States)
    • Languages
      • Mandarin
      • Cantonese
    • Also known as
      • Kung Fusión
    • Filming locations
      • Shanghai, China
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia
      • Huayi Brothers Media
      • Taihe Film Investment Co. Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $20,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $17,108,591
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $269,225
      • Apr 10, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $104,882,445
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 39m(99 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1
      • 2.35 : 1

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