Hong Kong martial arts cinema: Jackie Chan on inventing his Drunken Master kung fu moves – ‘I held my breath when I was punching’
- When it was released in 1978, Drunken Master started a new trend for kung fu comedies and made Jackie Chan a star across all of Asia
- ‘I held my breath when I was punching – that made me feel very dizzy, like I was drunk,’ he said in a 1998 interview
Chan portrayed Cantonese hero Wong Fei-hung as a naughty student who learns a style of kung fu that can only be performed while drinking. The film paired him with Yuen’s father Yuen Siu-tien, a veteran actor and martial arts instructor who had often appeared in the classic Wong Fei-hung films featuring Kwan Tak-hing.
Before these two films, Chan had been directed by Lo Wei (the director of Bruce Lee’s The Big Boss and Fist of Fury ), who had been trying to turn him into a clone of Lee. Drunken Master established the cheeky image that stuck with Chan for most of his career.
Drunken kung fu does really exist – moves using lurching movements and falling have been incorporated into Shaolin kung fu, for instance – although it is not a style in its own right, and does not actually involve alcohol. But the drunken kung fu in Drunken Master was invented by Chan and Yuen.
In a 1998 interview, Chan told this writer how Drunken Master came about.
What prompted your move into comedy kung fu?