Kung fu movie master Lau Kar-leung turns 72

It was on this day in 1936 that kung fu movie legend Lau Kar-leung entered the world. Although now semi-retired from the film industry with his last major credit on SEVEN SWORDS, Lau is still regarded as one of Hong Kong’s greatest action directors and a pioneer in the kung fu movie genre.

No single individual apart from Bruce Lee or Chang Cheh has had a larger impact on kung fu moviemaking than Lau. It was his tireless drive to perfection, his captivating adaptations of Shaolin legends, his ability to turn students like Alexander Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu into fighting superstars, his incredible fight work, and his continued energy and enthusiasm for sharing his love of kung fu with the world that makes Lau Sifu a living treasure.

In celebration of Lau’s 72nd birthday, I thought it would be fun to look back over his career through several videos.

Lau Family Martial Arts Demonstration
This rare video features a demonstration by Lau Kar-leung, his brother Lau Kar-wing, his adopted brother Gordon Liu, his nephew Lau Kar-yung, and wushu-trained actress Yeung Ching-ching, all of whom worked in the movie business. The video was posted by Franky Lau, a student of Lau’s student Mark Houghton.

Lau Kar-leung in NAZHA RESCUES HIS MOTHER
Lau shows off his swordplay skills in this very early 1960 fantasy wuxia film. The video was previously posted by Kung Fu Cinema editor Jean Lukitsh.

ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN
In this footage from director Chang Cheh’s groundbreaking wuxia hit, Lau (shown center screen at the beginning of the video) applies his skills to the swordplay genre, something he wasn’t known for but was still adept at.


Behind-the-scenes of LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES
Lau is shown action directing on the set of this Hammer Films/Shaw Brothers co-production along with its star David Chiang (on bullhorn). Lau was only the second Hong Kong action director, after Bruce Lee, to work on a Hollywood film. The narrator is a short-sighted git when he gives his prediction about the kung fu movie genre’s popularity.

Sammo Hung vs. Lau Kar-leung in PEDICAB DRIVER
Once rivals working at opposite studios, these two genre legends finally met onscreen in 1989 and the results were magic. Look how fast Lau was. Let it never be said that Lau couldn’t match the fast-paced Sammo Hung/Jackie Chan style of fighting blow for blow. Only bad thing is that the rights to this movie have so far not been able to be secured for a legitimate release on DVD.

DRUNKEN MONKEY
Lau was 66 when he directed and starred in this movie. While not up to the high standards of his work at Shaw Brothers two decades before, his performance still shows that he had not lost any of his energy.

CORRECTION: I had incorrectly identified the woman in the “Lau Family Martial Arts Demonstration” as Lau’s wife Mary Jean Reimer (aka Yung Jing-jing). It’s actually Yeung Ching-ching, a wushu-trained actress and one of the few women to be credited at action directors in Hong Kong.