Kongfu Film

The year of 2005 is the centennial of Chinese film. In 1905, China shot its first film, Ding jun shan (Mount Dingjun), which was also considered as China's first gongfu (kungfu) film by some people.

In the 1970s, China's famous gongfu star Li Xiaolong (Bruce Lee) shocked the film circle, earning China's gongfu film worldwide recognition.

1920s-1950s: Early Stage

In 1928, the first golden age of Chinese film, Zheng Zhengqiu shot the film Huo shao hong lian Si (Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery), which was adapted from a popular novel and raised a new tide of gongfu films. Until 1930, 18 sequels were shot.

Most Kung Fu films during that period were adapted from novels about gods and spirits and relied on stage-limited, artificial, inauthentic elements informed by the supernatural the characters were often sword sorcerers who threw magic darts and possessed special powers in the palms of their hands.

When talking about Kung Fu film, the Wong Fei Hung films have to be mentioned. Wong Fei Hung was a famous martial artist and doctor of the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and early Republic of China (1911-1949). Although Wong died in 1924, he is lovingly remembered as a legendary folk hero largely because of the success of the Cantonese films that have maintained the legend.

Between 1949 and 1997, at least 100 Wong Fei Hung films were produced. They rejected the fantastic, stage-driven elements of the earlier martial arts films in favor of proper martial arts forms, genuine weapons, and authentic Chinese styles.

During the 1950s, the Hong Kong and Taiwan film industries established two kinds of Kung Fu films. One were adaptations of the heroic stories that happened late in the Qing Dynasty and early in the Republic of China (Wong Fei Hong movies as the representatives), and the other "gods and ghosts" Kung Fu films.

1960s: Height

In 1965, in the film Yu hai yu gong yuan (Lofty Waters Verdant Bow), the martial art instructor was first listed and became as indispensable member of the production team. Yu hai yu gong yuan was seen as a landmark for gongfu film, as the movie ushered in the genre's golden age.

From 1965, tired of making old-style films, many directors began to make some new films. In 1966, Hong Kong action directors Cheh Chang and King Hu (King Hu or Swordsman) separately made the films Du bi xia and Da zui xia (Come Drink With Me) for the Shaw Brothers. These two films helped Chang and Hu develop a high status in the film circle.

Cheh Chang liked to represent power and force, so his films are overflowing with violent imagery and stirring individualistic heroism; every action in his film is real, strong, bold, and unrestrained.

Hu's films are different, as they include a historical feeling and ideology, like the films Xia nü and Kong shan ling yu (Raining in the Mountain), which combines traditional Chinese scenery with fight scenes. Moreover, in 1975, Xia nü became the first Chinese film to win a major prize (the synthetic technology prize) at the Cannes (France) film festival, the most renowned film festival in the world.

Hu and Chang made significant contribution to the development of Kung Fu film, and cultivated many famous actor and directors such as Xu Feng, Di Long, Danny Li, John Woo, Woo-ping Yuen, Chia-Liang Liu, and so on.

1970s: Bruce Lee's Times

From 1970 to the mid 1970's, gongfu film strode into the Bruce Lee Era, with films like Tang shan da xiong (The Big Boss), Jing wu men (Fist of Fury), Long zheng hu dou (Enter theDragon), and Meng long guo jiang (Way of the Dragon), as well as his unfinished The Game of Death.

Besides being high box office hits in Hong Kong, Lee's films also became the first Hong Kong films to enter the international market. Hence, a hot Chinese gongfu wind swept the whole world.

Late 1970s -Early 1980s: Two Genres Appeared

After Bruce Lee's death in 1973, Hong Kong and Taiwan Kung Fu films struggled for a while but were later successfully revitalized by the introduction of humor that seemed more appropriate for contemporary comedies than for period epics.

In 1978, Woo-ping Yuen directed the film She xing diao shou (Snake in the Eagle's Shadow), and cast Jackie Chan as the leading actor. They introduced humor into the fighting and plot, and initiate a kind of new genre --Kung Fu comedy.

Moreover, another Woo-ping Yuen and Jackie Chan film, Zui quan (Drunken Master), became a classic in Kung Fu film history.

In the same year, Chia-Liang Liu's film, Shao lin san shi liu fang, made a great coup, with its massive depiction of shamans exercising martial arts.

1980s: New Kung Fu Film

By the juncture of the 1970's and the 1980's, the output of Hong Kong and Taiwan Kung Fu films had decreased greatly. Fortunately, at such a critical moment, in 1979, Hark Tsui shot his first gongfu film, Die bian (The Butterfly Murders), which refreshed the film circle and also started the history of Hong Kong movie's new tide.

In 1981, the film Shaolin Si (Shaolin Temple), directed by Xinyan Zhang, was innovative and significant in film history. It was the very first movie to use specialized martial arts athletes as actors and martial arts instructors. The use of steel wires, spring beds, stand-ins, and many other such stunts were abandoned.

Shaolin Si had a high box office success in Hong Kong, and initiated a generation's crave for gongfu. The giant gongfu star Jet Li first got fame from this film.

In 1984, Hark Tsui directed Shu shan (Zu Warriors From the Magic Mountain), in which Xu created a magical world, with the massive application of new technology and modern electronic music. Shu shan made a great killing at the box office and created a new model for gongfu film.

During this period, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, and many other directors' works, like Police Story and Project A, further paved a new road for Kung Fu films.

Kung Fu Film on the Mainland

From 1949, Chinese mainland did not shoot any Kung Fu films until director Zhang Huaxun's 1980 film Shen mi de da fo (Mystical Buddha), which opened a new window for mainland film. Since then, Kung Fu film has been popular in the mainland, although for at least the first 10 years it was still far behind the Hong Kong and Taiwan films.

The only mainland Kung Fu film that can be called a classic is director He Ping's Shuangqi Zhen dao ke (The Swordsman in Double-Flag Town, 1990), which is still considered the best mainland gongfu film.

1990s: Kung Fu Film in a Free Style

Entering the 1990s, the ancient costume film regained the audience's attention. In 1990, Hark Tsui and Sui-Tung Ching's Xiao ao jiang hu, Hark Tsui's Wong Fei Hung, and Sui-Tung Ching's Qian nü you hun, as well as Xu Ke, Sui-Tung Ching, and Huimin Li's Dragon Inn became the representative works in this period. These films usually have powerful and unconstrained fighting and rich imagination.

21st Century: Chinese Gongfu Conquering the World

In the new century, following the success of films, like Enter The Matrix, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, and Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), China's Kung Fu film began to use a new way to conquer the world.

In 2002, Zhang Yimou's Ying xiong (Hero) and Shi mian mai fu (House of Flying Daggers) made a miracle in both China and America's box offices, while at the same time bringing a visionary revolution to gongfu film.

In 2004, Stephen Chow blended old Shanghai movies' tradition and cartoons elements into his film Kong Fu Hustle, which brought the gongfu comedy in to a postmodern period.

The huge successes of Kung Fu film have attracted many big domestic directors into this hot wave: Chen Kaige's Wu ji, Feng Xiaogang's Ye yan (Evening Banquet), Kar Wai Wong's The Grand Master, Stanley Tong's Shen hua (Myth), and Yu Rentai's Huo Yuanjia.

Poster of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon