JIMMY WANG YU GUNG FU

[daTOAD]

Sorry if i enrage some ,but Jimmy Wang Yu-dont get it. why man. why is this dude a legend? granted ive not really seen his early chang cheh flicks except for One Armed... and it was o.k. his choreo suuuuucked. waht little he did. i can picture him watching his stuntman do all the work while guzzling a hot beer. im no hater and i understand its all opinion, but somebody make me see why this guy is so praised. BTW One Armed Boxer 2 -classic, but nothing else ive seen from him measures up.

[the dirty tiger]

So watch some more of his films, there are over 100. They arent all classics, but nobody can make good films every time. Watch 'The Sword' and 'Return Of The Chinese Boxer' and 'Trail Of The Broken Blade' - if you still dont get it then I cant help you :lol

[daTOAD]

So watch some more of his films, there are over 100.

my belief is that the only thing you can lose in life is time.:lol
i have heard his early work is action packed though. if his Chang Cheh work doesnt get me i wont be got.

[jmungus]

well youre spot on.
wang yuk blows. no acting skills, no fighting skills, poor character. plain facts.
if i could go back in time and be a SB exec., i`d give all 'his' parts to yueh hua, or i`d try chan chun.

yet i only hate on him so passionately cuz so many of my co-fu-natics are like "wangster this, wangster that".
sometimes hes just straight up B.A.D. (corny and annoying i wanna give him a good beating), other times his presentation of stoicism and suppressed rage wrapped in a pocket of humbleness works quite well.

the wang yuk cult is larger than the mans actual performances.
his indie flick formula is sort of a blueprint for cult-kf-action-cinema.
some are pretty good, many are average, and of course theres some really sorry ones too.
needless to say, each and every single one of em would have been better with a different guy in jimmy`s role.
he`d cover his behind very well, casting/hiring skill and talent.
then again, his face would pop up in almost every fans`"early chop sock encounters", making some sort of impact no doubt.
and last but not least (lets be fair here)- a number of his movies are TRUE m.a./swordplay-classics!
maybe not exactly thx to jimmy`s qualities as an actor or screen fighter, but the flix are great and jimmy`s input would easily suffice, sometimes even show the very best of him.

[rdenn]

he may of not been the most skilled screenfighter but he made up for it in screen prescense and also wang yu didnt mess about in his movies and thats why he is so popular.

[daTOAD]

needless to say, each and every single one of em would have been better with a different guy in jimmy`s role.

:rollin
so true.

[morgoth]

Thank you Rdenn. Wang Yu is the man!!!! Nobody is better at making me believe they are in a really tough fight.

[the dirty tiger]

I always like Wang Yu, although not all his films are good I am always glad to see him on screen. He has a lot of charisma whether you like him or not. And the fact remains that he has made at least 10 good films. Furious Slaughter, Brave And The Evil, Two Cavaliers are also good. Oh, and Desperate Chase, Deadly Silver Spear, I like him anyway :eek

[Bruce Long]

Obviously you can't compare him to the subsequent crop of kung fu actors, but I think his work during the 1970's was much better than his Shaw contemporaries (Yueh Hua, Tsung Hua, Lo Lieh, etc.).

[Markgway]

His early films are the best.

When Wang Yu left Shaws he took the decision to stop acting and just play Wang Yu.

Most of his post-Shaws films are inferior (even the Golden Harvest ones).

[Chinatown Kid]

Even though Jimmy's techniques are crude and he's not much of a Martial Artist I do enjoy watching his basher style fights in movies like Tattooed Dragon, Screaming Tiger, and The Man From Hong Kong. He had a certain cool charisma and screen presence despite his lack of skill. If your looking for great technique he is not the one to watch, if you want to see a good pop'um in the nose brawl he is. ;)

[WHITETIGERNY]

Watch:

Chinese Professionals aka One-Armed Boxer

Beach of the War Gods

[luckystars]

For me he's the fighting* Michael Wong.

:lol

*waving arms and legs around.

[killer meteor]

I quite like Jimmy's work, especially as a director. His acting for some reason became wooden as time went on, but his Shaw work is good, and he is particualry impressive in Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman. His latter day appareance in Island Of Fire is effective, too

[chingdog]

Wang Yu is the first big male kung fu star. He just had that screen presence and he did make his fights look more real and hard hitting. I admit his technique is awful but that is because he wasn't a martial artist. The thing about him is that he was always fighting in real life and usually putting a hurting on someone. he did know how to street fight and he brought that into his films. he deserves credit for bringing martial arts movies into the 70's with a good fan base. I think he is a legendary ass beatin machine that made some good films.....he just doesn't look stylish doing it

[Markgway]

I quite like Jimmy's work, especially as a director. His acting for some reason became wooden as time went on, but his Shaw work is good, and he is particualry impressive in Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman.

Maybe the Japanese director Kimiyoshi Yasuda demanded more of him than some other directors (himself included)? IIRC, the film's assistant director Hsu Tseng Hung directed a couple of Wang's best Shaw films.

[W Hong]

my belief is that the only thing you can lose in life is time. I have heard his early work is action packed though. if his Chang Cheh work doesnt get me i wont be got.

I'd suggest you watch "Golden Swallow"(AKA "The Girl with the Thunderbolt Kick") to change that opinion about JWY movies directed by CC.

but I think his work during the 1970's was much better than his Shaw contemporaries (Yueh Hua, Tsung Hua, Lo Lieh, etc.).

What about some other Shaw contemporaries, like Chen Kuan Tai, David Chiang, etc.? I know that "MasterOTFG" is one of Jimmy's best, but I remember not really liking "Beach of the War Gods". I do feel lucky, however, to have seen the Rainbow/Tai Seng VHS version back then. I was also lucky enough to have seen "Zatoichi VS. the One Armed Swordsman" in a theatre(!), but it was a few years ago. It was shown during The Asian Film Festival at SF's 4 Star Theatre. I forgot if "Z Vs. TOAS" was good, but I remember it being a mostly dark print. that screening might have been right before a Non-bootleg DVD was finally released, if that was true. It also seems kind of hard to know if a lot of Jimmy's 1970's movies were good or not anyway. There only seems to be a few of his '70's movies on DVD. For now, what's available for REgion 1 or 3, non-bootleg, are only "MasterOTFG", "The Chinese Boxer", and a few others.

[vengeanceofhumanlanterns]

I think Jimmy Wang Yu was extremely cool with his 'style" ...in all departments of film making. He also kicked ass in the Shintaro Katsu film, Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman. The man was an excellent actor... hence he was in a Zatoichi film.

[stormybman]

I don't know if you guys are aware of this, Jimmy Wang Yu, when he left the Shaws, part of his agreement was to never work in Hong Kong again. That would explain his surliness in each subsequent role. It was almost like going through the paces for him. Didn't help either a Chinese guy at GH studios stole his alternative plans, becoming the ' King of Kung Fu ".
Wang Yu's contribution to the genre was every bit as significant as others who gain more praise. His ideas were fresh, innovative, ground breaking, and although not a Martial Artist himself, he had the insight to hire great choreographers, the Lau Brothers, for most of his better material. Check the background.
How would you feel if the place YOU became a star, didn't allow you to earn your living any longer? Such is life with the Triads.
One more thing, his onscreen fighting suffered at most times, however, his off screen rep. was that he'd kick your a@#! And many times he proved that fact over and over. That's no rumor!
;)

[moongirl6]

I first started watching Jimmy's films for everybody except Jimmy. First, I wanted to see Lung Fei, then I'd watch anything with Shan Mao or Tin Yau...then suddenly I realized that the one thing all these great films I was loving had in common was Jimmy. He's not the flashiest martial artist, but he has a lot of subtle charisma and a lot of creative talent. I love his direction in Beach of the War Gods and One Armed Boxer & MOFG, I think it's brilliant. And I love the little surprising things he throws into his films--like the way his character in MOFG can jump onto the wall--it's fantastical, but not outrageously so, it's just enough to be really cool. But most of all, he comes across as really believable. Someone, somewhere, on some site (unfortunately I don't remember where) was giving a review of Furious Slaughter, and said it best: "I don't know if one person can really fight off forty men, but when I see Jimmy do it, I believe that he can."

[Iron_Jinon]

interestingly although in many his movies hate toward japanese is displayed,most of jimmys martial arts skills come from shotokan karate.

[Elvis Mantis]

Mostly I'd have to repeat what others have said about him on this thread. When he is in a movie, you believe he is in a fight. He has screen presence and charisma. His movies are always good, often great. His movie fighting skills are just that--same as any other actor who is in a kung fu movie. I enjoy watching shapes as much as the next guy, but that ain't real fighting anyway.

For me, Jimmy is the one guy who's crude film fighting skills don't bother me a bit. He puts so many other factors into his roles. Now, David Chiang, on the other hand......:rolleyes:

[WhiteTiger1]

You need to know all his movie's to totally judge his acting and his presence on screen. I myself liked mainly his old school kung fu classics.
Here's a link for you of all his accomplishments.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911093/
Chinese Boxer
Return of the Chinese Boxer
The One Armed Swordsmen
Rage of the Master
Blood of the Dragon
The Silver Spear- not his best movie!! But watched it anyway because of the name. And it had Jimmy Wang Yu...
Shanghai 13
The Great Hunter
Just to name a few of my favorites..:cool:

[Endsang]

I am ashamed to say that I don't have a single movie with Wang Yu yet (Millionaire's Express doesn't count). I've heard his martial arts abilities are somewhat limited, but I really WANT to like him so which of his movies (name one, please) would be a natural starting point for me? (decent kung fu, strong story and presence).

[Iron_Jinon]

hmm...one-armed swordsman(return of..which is even better than part#1),invincible sword,golden swallow,one armed boxer,magnificent trio&master of the flying guillotine are at least risk-free picks if you can accept thing kung-fu is not as flashy as in venom flicks...Clip of "sword of the swords" looks like jimmys finest but have to see whole movie before judging.
and flicks I cannot really recommend are chinese boxer(&sequel),tattooed dragon,one armed swordsman against nine killers,one armed swordsmen,a man called tight,seaman#7.
^those are worth picking if you see on 2nd shop for some€,but not worth wasting time and money in ordering them.

[Endsang]

Well I'm pretty much a shapes freak, so I'll need a strong story to salvate the movie. :)
How about The Assassin? Isn't that based on the same story as Hero too?

[WhiteTiger1]

Well I'm pretty much a shapes freak, so I'll need a strong story to salivate the movie. :)
How about The Assassin? Isn't that based on the same story as Hero too?
Start with Blood of the Dragon if you like old school...It has the same type of feel to it as some of Shaw movies.
The Great Hunter is a very underrated movie that you may enjoy.
Rage of the Master has a good story, plus it has the Axe Gang.Great Chop Chop movie.
One Armed Swordsman 1 and 2 was ok!!But I Liked the 3rd one Triple Irons the best, which did not have Jimmy Wang Yu. It starred David Chiang and Ti Lung :D
P/S Assassin is worth watching or adding to your collection. I need to watch this one, it's been a while.

[The Dragon]

Jimmy Wang Yu is an acquired taste. His films are tremendously formula-matic.:p There are memorable pieces, as well as true chop sockey fare, however, we do have him to thank for the tournament film. No one did them better...

[ironfistedmonk]

I have a real problem with Jimmy Wang Yu, I just don't like him, he can't act and contrary to many others opinions I think he has zero charisma and no screen presence whatsoever. But I have to hold my hands up and say he has made some really entertaining movies, in fact Master of the Flying Guillotine is one of the greatest of all time IMO. The guy always poses me a dilemma, I want to like him, I like some of his films but I just can't get into the Jimmy Wang Yu loving.

[gravedigger666]

I think Onearmed Swordsman is overrated a lot,I found it almost boring in fact.Jimmys acting was not top-notch in that,I wonder why it got cult status.
However Golden Swallow is worth every good word ever said about it and more.After seeing it world did not feel same I also noticed if you are so called good guy it gives excuse to slaugher hundreds and ignore suffering of local people.Sadly movies like that not made anymore:(

[The Dragon]

If I were to recommend a Jimmy Wang Yu film for someone's first viewing of his material, the film would be The Assassin, simply because it depicts action the way audiences at that time, craved... Simple as that. I do feel once he was bannished to Taiwan, the budgets for his productions got cheaper and more so. When the money doesn't back a product, it's hard to give the audiences gloss.

[Bruce Long]

I think if I were to recommend a single one of his films, it would be One Armed Boxer (which has recently been released on VCD).

[Endsang]

I've seen all the "essential" Jimmy Wang Yu films now, and my definite favorite is One Armed Swordsman. The Assassin had some great drama moments and an amazing finale. Soul of the Sword is another good JWY film, mainly for Tien Feng, while The Chinese Boxer didn't do that much for me. I probably should have watched it before King Boxer.

[gravedigger666]

I think if I were to recommend a single one of his films, it would be One Armed Boxer (which has recently been released on VCD).
that I have not seen but did read it`s really weird movie+good too.

[The Dragon]

Yeah. The cast of characters in The One Armed Boxer make it as interesting as anything. I get a good laugh out of the dialogue each viewing, however, there are standout scenes as well.

One of my faves, when Jimmy Wang Yu puts the Japs arm in the mill gear!;) The expression of pain on the guys face is a riot!XD