CrazyFrog
08-22-2008, 12:57 AM
Legend of a Fighter (1982)
Directed by Yuen Woo Ping
Cast: Leung Kar Yan, Yasuaki Kurata, Phillip Ko Fei, Yuen Yat Chor, Lee Ka Ting, Fung Fung, Fung Hark On, Lau Hok Nin
Synopsis:
Most of you have seen or heard of this movie. It is based on the story of Fok Yuen Gap, a real-life practitioner of martial arts. his story has been told different times: once as Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury and the other as Jet Li's Fist of Legend, a permutation on a permutation. Then there was Fearless, another portrait of Fok Yuen Gap by Jet Li; clearly this story has a lot of mileage! The basic story is that Yuen Gap wanted to be trained in his father's style but his father had other ideas for him and instead wanted him to be a scholar. His father hires a teacher, who surreptitiously teaches him kung fu. The story is part myth and part biography but makes for a iconic Chinese character who became popular for his stance against foreign influence in China. Legend of a Fighter gives a gripping story of this man's development through his father and his teacher to break the chains on both time-honored tradition in kung-fu and China's demoralized populace.
Review:
I'll make no bones about it, this is my favorite kung-fu movie right now. I think it is an outstanding portrait of a man who constantly had to battle a strong-willed father, bullies, and the concept of kung-fu as being the hereditary right of families to teach. It really transcends a lot of typical kung-fu cliches by instilling the story into a family drama, with a father surrogate in the form of Yuen Gap's teacher.
Another element that makes this movie stellar is the powerhouse performances by the two leads: Leung Kar Yan as Fok Yuen Gap and Yasuaki Kurata as Chiang Seng-Ho. This, I think is the performance of Leung Kar Yan's career. A lot of kung fu movies have very little emotional spectrum. It usually goes from grief to anger and that's about it (maybe a little blind rage every so often). But Beardy really shows a lot of emotion in this role, from pride to righteous anger to disappointment and confusion. He fights back tears at one point and it was the first time in a kung-fu movie where I had to do the same. He invested a lot into this role and it shows. Mr. Kurata is stunning as Chiang Seng-Ho, a Japanese sent to discover the Fok style of kung-fu by posing as a sickly teacher. He takes to the young Yuen Gap and becomes his teacher and even a father figure, as Yuen gap's own father is more concerned with the propriety of his family's name than Yuen Gap. I think Kurata gave this role the nobility and grace it deserved. He plays a character who is duplicitous yet has standards and compassion that transcend nations or cultures. In Japan, I believe they would say his character embraces the true spirit of budo.
The topper are the action sequences and this is where both Yuen Woo Ping and his cast really come together well on this one. Beardy's skill in mimicry dissolves into a performance that I would call one of his top three, a fluid combination of martial arts that is not purely kung-fu as he battles opponents of different styles and arts. His confidence and poise is just fantastic and he even gets some good kicks in that he wasn't doubled for! And I think this may be Yasuaki Kurata's premier performance, a bit understated compared to some other movies he's been in, but if anyone disagrees, please let me know which movie he does better than this one. Hi agility, kicks and strength are at their peak in this dynamic performance. Why do I think this guy is so under-appreciated? He is one of the best action stars in HK history. It could be a bit of a cultural thing, but this man is the ****.. Yuen Woo Ping has got some of his trademark stuff going on here, including goofy kung-fu bits, forced perspectives, and a flair for complex sequences that are deliciously intricate. One of my favorites from him.
Some of the other reasons I feel this movie is a masterpiece are the strong cast, including a great performance by Phillip Ko Fei as Yuen Gap's stubborn, proud father. His forms are looking pretty good in here and he has a nice fight in the beginning sequence. He also is great as a gruff father who realizes his mistake later on when Yuen Gap develops into a man. Yuen Yat Chor is good as the slightly goofy teenage Yuen Gap, a ne'er do well that wants his father's approval but is not initially cut out for rigorous kung-fu training. The several opponents are suitably nasty, including Lee Ka Ting as Yasada Junior, a judo champion who comes looking for Yuen Gap to best him. His aggressive demeanor contrast nicely with Yuen Gap's composed style. SPOILER***** And his defeat sets in motion a reunion that manages to demonstrate the frustrations of Chinese people with their Japanese aggressors while also handling the central relationship of this movie between a student who must learn to transcend boundaries and teacher who must fight for his nation's honor.*****END.
I can no think of too many flaws other than my Bonzai DVD is getting a little worn and I wish the perspective could be tweaked a bit. It is without any hesitation that I think this is the best kung fu movie I have seen and one of the best movies from this period of Asian cinema.
Five out of five stars
Don't know if I want to compare this to the other Fok Yuen Gap movies as I like almost all of them but for now, this one is the clincher! Anyone care to disagree?
Directed by Yuen Woo Ping
Cast: Leung Kar Yan, Yasuaki Kurata, Phillip Ko Fei, Yuen Yat Chor, Lee Ka Ting, Fung Fung, Fung Hark On, Lau Hok Nin
Synopsis:
Most of you have seen or heard of this movie. It is based on the story of Fok Yuen Gap, a real-life practitioner of martial arts. his story has been told different times: once as Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury and the other as Jet Li's Fist of Legend, a permutation on a permutation. Then there was Fearless, another portrait of Fok Yuen Gap by Jet Li; clearly this story has a lot of mileage! The basic story is that Yuen Gap wanted to be trained in his father's style but his father had other ideas for him and instead wanted him to be a scholar. His father hires a teacher, who surreptitiously teaches him kung fu. The story is part myth and part biography but makes for a iconic Chinese character who became popular for his stance against foreign influence in China. Legend of a Fighter gives a gripping story of this man's development through his father and his teacher to break the chains on both time-honored tradition in kung-fu and China's demoralized populace.
Review:
I'll make no bones about it, this is my favorite kung-fu movie right now. I think it is an outstanding portrait of a man who constantly had to battle a strong-willed father, bullies, and the concept of kung-fu as being the hereditary right of families to teach. It really transcends a lot of typical kung-fu cliches by instilling the story into a family drama, with a father surrogate in the form of Yuen Gap's teacher.
Another element that makes this movie stellar is the powerhouse performances by the two leads: Leung Kar Yan as Fok Yuen Gap and Yasuaki Kurata as Chiang Seng-Ho. This, I think is the performance of Leung Kar Yan's career. A lot of kung fu movies have very little emotional spectrum. It usually goes from grief to anger and that's about it (maybe a little blind rage every so often). But Beardy really shows a lot of emotion in this role, from pride to righteous anger to disappointment and confusion. He fights back tears at one point and it was the first time in a kung-fu movie where I had to do the same. He invested a lot into this role and it shows. Mr. Kurata is stunning as Chiang Seng-Ho, a Japanese sent to discover the Fok style of kung-fu by posing as a sickly teacher. He takes to the young Yuen Gap and becomes his teacher and even a father figure, as Yuen gap's own father is more concerned with the propriety of his family's name than Yuen Gap. I think Kurata gave this role the nobility and grace it deserved. He plays a character who is duplicitous yet has standards and compassion that transcend nations or cultures. In Japan, I believe they would say his character embraces the true spirit of budo.
The topper are the action sequences and this is where both Yuen Woo Ping and his cast really come together well on this one. Beardy's skill in mimicry dissolves into a performance that I would call one of his top three, a fluid combination of martial arts that is not purely kung-fu as he battles opponents of different styles and arts. His confidence and poise is just fantastic and he even gets some good kicks in that he wasn't doubled for! And I think this may be Yasuaki Kurata's premier performance, a bit understated compared to some other movies he's been in, but if anyone disagrees, please let me know which movie he does better than this one. Hi agility, kicks and strength are at their peak in this dynamic performance. Why do I think this guy is so under-appreciated? He is one of the best action stars in HK history. It could be a bit of a cultural thing, but this man is the ****.. Yuen Woo Ping has got some of his trademark stuff going on here, including goofy kung-fu bits, forced perspectives, and a flair for complex sequences that are deliciously intricate. One of my favorites from him.
Some of the other reasons I feel this movie is a masterpiece are the strong cast, including a great performance by Phillip Ko Fei as Yuen Gap's stubborn, proud father. His forms are looking pretty good in here and he has a nice fight in the beginning sequence. He also is great as a gruff father who realizes his mistake later on when Yuen Gap develops into a man. Yuen Yat Chor is good as the slightly goofy teenage Yuen Gap, a ne'er do well that wants his father's approval but is not initially cut out for rigorous kung-fu training. The several opponents are suitably nasty, including Lee Ka Ting as Yasada Junior, a judo champion who comes looking for Yuen Gap to best him. His aggressive demeanor contrast nicely with Yuen Gap's composed style. SPOILER***** And his defeat sets in motion a reunion that manages to demonstrate the frustrations of Chinese people with their Japanese aggressors while also handling the central relationship of this movie between a student who must learn to transcend boundaries and teacher who must fight for his nation's honor.*****END.
I can no think of too many flaws other than my Bonzai DVD is getting a little worn and I wish the perspective could be tweaked a bit. It is without any hesitation that I think this is the best kung fu movie I have seen and one of the best movies from this period of Asian cinema.
Five out of five stars
Don't know if I want to compare this to the other Fok Yuen Gap movies as I like almost all of them but for now, this one is the clincher! Anyone care to disagree?