Their life legends, turbulent encounters, and the kung fu movie secrets that turned their hands into clouds and rain, have all followed the past into the cracks of time and cannot be fished out. The most flexible fat man in Hong Kong movies is no longer fat, Jackie Chan can no longer fight, and kung fu movies are getting old. There may be a mountain behind the mountain of Chinese Kung Fu movies, or there may be nothing at all. But each generation climbs the same mountain. In the future, it shouldn’t be Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan who will trek through mountains and rivers for Chinese-language kung fu films.
It is said that it was Sammo Hung who really brought the title of "Sing Ye" out of the circle.
Before Sammo Hung called out Star Master, although there were many people in the Hong Kong film industry calling him Star Master, from Eric Tsang in "The Banquet" to "Big Fool" Cheng Kuian, Stephen Chow was The most well-known title at the public level is Xingzi.
It wasn’t until Sammo Hung said to Stephen Chow at an industry gathering: "Xingzi, being called Big Brother can no longer represent your current status in the film industry. It’s better to be called 'Master Xing'!" With this actor Brother Tan stamped his seal, and the name Xing Ye came to fruition.
Sammo Hung is called Stephen Chow, and the weight is naturally different. When Wang Jing was filming "Big Shanghai", he once said that there were only two people who could stand the kneeling of Chow Yun-fat, one was his father Wang Tianlin, and the other It’s Sammo Hung.
When Sammo Hung was competing in kung fu with his idol Bruce Lee on the set, Star was still practicing iron sand palm on the oil pan at home with the encouragement of his idol. If Star’s mother hadn’t stopped it, the audience might have watched There is no more performance by the talented King of Comedy.
However, it is this Hong Kong film eldest brother who has stamped his seal on the star. Because of "Kung Fu", he and the star have a grudge past.
What is even more unexpected is that after "Kung Fu", there is no more Kung Fu.
In the past 20 years, apart from Sunglasses King's "The Grandmaster", the only two Kung Fu films that Chinese films have produced are "The Wolf" and "Slaying the Wolf" in which Sammo Hung participated and served as martial arts director. "Ip Man 2".
A king of comedy and a big brother of Hong Kong movies, they have different paths and difficulties, but in the intertwining and confrontation of fate, they both maintain the final dignity of Chinese Kung Fu movies.
From now on, the traffic’s beautiful slow motion rules everything.
And Sammo Hung and Sing Yee are also old. If Mr. Star keeps his promise, "Kung Fu" will probably be the last kung fu comedy starring Stephen Chow, who practiced martial arts when he was young.
Sammo Hung, who has lost weight recently, will most likely not be able to stand on the table and fight Donnie Yen for 300 rounds like in "Ip Man 2".
Not to mention Sammo Hung, 56-year-old Donnie Yen said last year that "Ip Man 4" was his last kung fu film.
Kung Fu emphasizes boxing and is afraid of young people, but where is the young people?
The eldest brother Sammo Hung in the Seven Little Fortunes was 68 years old, Jackie Chan was 66 years old, and the youngest Yuen Biao was 62 years old. Stephen Chow, 57 years old.
Kung Fu, two words, one horizontal and one vertical. It's a pity that behind the "kung fu" feud lies the ultimate fate of Hong Kong kung fu movies.
What is the truth about the feud between Sammo Hung and Lord Sing? Yuen Wah made the point
The first time Stephen Chow was called Mr. Xing was in "The Gambler" in 1990. Zuo Songxing, who he played, appeared at a critical moment and was called "Sister Ng" by Sandra Ng. "Xingye" arrived. "The Gambler" was a hit that year, earning 41 million at the box office, defeating Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung to become the box office champion that year.
More than ten years later, when Mr. Xing really became Mr. Xing, he did not expect that he and Sammo Hung would cause a public case about Hong Kong movies.
The original martial arts director of Star Master's "Kung Fu" was Sammo Hung. Legend has it that the two discussed the script over a meal, and Sammo Hung took one bite of Star Master. Finally, Stephen Chow sighed helplessly and said: Just call me Star Boy.
However, this collaboration was only a third of the way through. The fight between the Iron Fist, Wu Lang Bagua Stick and Tan Leg in the film was designed by Sammo Hung and was the result of the communication between Stephen Chow and Sammo Hung.
However, after everything was filmed, Stephen Chow only said, "This is not what I want."
Afterwards, Sammo Hung told the outside world that Stephen Chow had a bad temper, and also said that Stephen Chow just called him and told him not to go.
The golden sentence to complain about Xingye comes from this - "You can't just treat yourself as a human being and others as dogs."
But this story is actually Rashomon.
Later, an insider revealed that Stephen Chow called Sammo Hung several times after Sammo Hung left, but Sammo Hung said that he had been bitten several times and needed to go to the hospital for treatment. In desperation, Stephen Chow had to call him Yuan Pingping top bag.
But Sammo Hung’s statement is: It was the hot summer at that time, and a few clips had just been filmed. Sammo Hung had already been bitten a lot, so he had to ask for leave from the crew and go to the hospital for treatment.
Although the two broke up on bad terms due to "Kung Fu", Stephen Chow still added Sammo Hung's name at the end of the movie and gave him the salary he deserved, without any penny. few.
At that time, someone asked Yuan Heping what he thought of Stephen Chow. He said, "I don't think Stephen Chow is that difficult to get along with. Everyone has different ideas. As a director, he must have his own ideas. The actor acted It’s not ideal. It’s normal for the director to ask for reshoots. I don’t think this request is too much, but it’s true that he has strict requirements for the actors’ acting.”
The one who really revealed the mystery may be Yuan Hua, another man who has followed Chinese kung fu movies all over the world -
"Actually, we can't tell who is the one between them. Who is right or wrong? Stephen Chow's ideas are very jumpy. Sometimes everyone agreed on a scene last night, but this morning Stephen Chow rejected it all. He even deleted the previous scenes and reshot them. It's okay once or twice. It often happens like this. How could Sammo Hung stand it? But Stephen Chow has a good grasp of the audience, he can clearly know what the audience wants to see and what they like to see."
The more important thing is this sentence - "Not everyone can be the second child."
Perhaps this is the most reasonable explanation for the Hong Kong film Rashomon.
Some people may ask, if Sammo Hung couldn’t bear it, Yuan Heping could?
But don’t forget how Yuan Heping, the world’s number one martial artist, came to be.
When I was filming "Once Upon a Time 2" with Tsui Hark, the old geek had as many ideas as the stars in the sky. Nine directors of photography were changed, and the filming lasted eight months. All Yuan Heping's requirements were met.
When filming "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with Ang Lee, Ang Lee asked Chow Yun-fat and Zhang Ziyi to fight on bamboo. Yuan Heping was so angry that he said this was just a literati's talk, but the result was a classic bamboo forest showdown.
When filming "The Grandmaster" with Wong Kar-wai, Wong Kar-wai found Ip Man's disciple Liang Shaohong and took him on with Yuen Woo-Ping before filming started. Liang Shaohong shook his head. "Have you ever seen a real fight? It's all done in one move. If you hit someone without hitting him, you will fall down in the next second." Yuan Heping asked back: "It's all done in one or two moves. Will you buy a ticket to watch it?" "Is it so noisy, the scene was still filmed, and Liang Shaohong also praised Yuan Heping as the best martial artist.
What Yuan Heping can tolerate, Sammo Hung cannot tolerate.
However, fate has its way. Later, when the media asked Sammo Hung, he said that he was ill at the time and the crew had no choice but to find someone to take over. Those past events were exaggerated by the media.
Gratitudes and resentments just fall into the Hong Kong Kung Fu world.
The people in the story say goodbye and each complete their final mission to create a Chinese Kung Fu film.
From "The Wolf" to "Ip Man 2", the "final battle" between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung
Sammo Hung once left that kung fu world.
After "Once Upon a Time in the West" in 1997, Sammo Hung stopped directing movies for 20 years. In the late 1990s, Hong Kong films encountered a cold wave. He changed his career to help banks collect cars, and earned a fortune from one car. 60 yuan.
CBS of the United States invited him to film a TV series, and the producer was Jackie Chan's old partner Tang Jili. He actually went there and filmed the TV series "The Dragon Crossing the River". The character's name is also very cool, called Longshanhu. American screenwriters probably think it’s cool to use twelve zodiac signs for names.
As soon as the results were broadcast, it was really fierce. The ratings ranked highest among wireless TV programs in the United States during the same time period.
Unfortunately, in the second season, CBS started acting like a monster. The talk show star Arsenio Hall suddenly became the protagonist, and the scene turned to focus on the Chinese actress Kelly Hu. Sammo Hung’s character was lying in the hospital in the end. Show off your power, how wonderful the series is.
Sure enough, the ratings plummeted in the second season. Sammo Hung and his wife Gao Lihong took a flight back to Hong Kong. From then on, he no longer competed in Hollywood like Jackie Chan. Hong Kong films were his niche.
But he had no choice but to wait. In 2005, a new director named Wilson Yip approached him to play the villain. The action director was Donnie Yen, who emphasized close combat.
Donnie Yen’s request is just two words: really fight.
Throughout the movie, Donnie Yen mainly fought with two people, one was Wu Jing who was at the peak of his physical fitness, and the other was 53-year-old Sammo Hung.
When Wu Jing fought against Donnie Yen, Donnie Yen’s stick was a real stick and Wu Jing’s sword was a fake one. It was the most brutal fight Wu Jing had ever had since he started acting.
The final decisive battle is between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung.
Later, director Wilson Yip recalled this scene: In that scene, the fight between Brother Bao and Zi Dan was all done with real kung fu, and they both liked fist-to-flesh fighting scenes. When Jin Bao was filming movies in the early days, he was left with injuries all over his body due to his desperate fighting style. Brother Bao blocked Zi Dan's kick with his foot, which caused the old injury to recur and made it difficult to stand. Even so, Brother Bao still gritted his teeth. The filming of this fight scene was completed.
In the last scene, the big brother Tiger played by Sammo Hung exerts his strength and knocks the policeman played by Donnie Yen out of the glass, falling right into the car where his pregnant wife is sitting.
Since then, "The Strongest in the Universe" Donnie Yen has never lost to any opponent in the film.
This fight was so brilliant that the two later filmed the "Sequel" of "Slaying the Wolf" with different teams, but all the viewers wanted to see the two fight again.
In 2010, it was Wilson Yip who made this wish come true. This year, Sammo Hung, 58 years old, was invited by Wilson Yip to be the action director for "Ip Man 2".
After "Ip Man 2", there is another classic kung fu movie in Chinese movies - "The Grandmaster". In terms of the whole, "The Grandmaster" is naturally more brilliant, but in terms of individual duels, it is better at comparing. There is absolutely no scene in "The Grandmaster" that is more brilliant than the action scene in "Ip Man 2" - the tabletop showdown between Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung.
In the movie, Ip Man accepts the stick of incense challenge in a restaurant, and Master Hung personally controls the final level. The two fight inextricably. Under Sammo Hung’s action design, Hong Fist is powerful and Wing Chun is majestic. , until the incense is burned out, there is still no distinction.
This scene was filmed for 8 days.
The entire scene is taken from the "Forest of Swords" in ancient martial arts confrontations. Sammo Hung designed it based on plum blossom piles. Next to the round platform are multiple square wooden stools. Turned upside down and placed on the ground, Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung were standing on a round platform dueling.
Although there are wires to prevent falls caused by imbalance, the two actors are ultimately dueling on the table. A slight shake will cause the table to tremble. Each stool only has a few centimeters for the actors to stand on. , you may fall and get injured if you are not careful.
Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen, who were nearly 60 years old at the time, had a routine for eight days. The last scene, a series of boxing fights, was filmed in one shot and all real kung fu was performed. The staff on set were all dumbfounded when they saw it, as if Watch a real martial arts showdown, not to mention the audience watching the version on the big screen with sound effects.
Director Wilson Yip said after filming that this must be a classic action scene.
Wilson Yip is right. In the ten years since Chinese kung fu movies, there has never been such a wonderful real kung fu showdown.
Because this is the brilliance of real kung fu that uniquely belongs to Chinese kung fu movies.
For this action design alone, Sammo Hung is already worthy of being the Best Action Director at the 28th Academy Awards.
But the thrill of Sammo Hung's filming of "Ip Man 2" is not just that.
While filming the highlight of his fight with a foreign boxing champion, he was punched by British actor Darren Sahrawi, who was 23 years younger than him, and he fainted on the spot. After waking up, he tried to move his limbs and "felt it was nothing serious." Okay, then keep shooting.
The media praised him for being stronger as he gets older. He waved his hand: "I'm not a tough guy. Hundreds of people from the crew are waiting for me."
It doesn't matter how many hours the top actors of this era make countless people wait for them. The big brother in the film industry I was knocked unconscious. The first thing I did when I woke up was not to keep the crew waiting. After all, old-school filmmakers are better than old-school filmmakers.
Also in this scene, the Master Hong he played clung to the rope of the ring until he was beaten to death in the end, never letting go, and all the audience remembered Sammo Hung’s line—— "I can tolerate it for the sake of living, but I can't tolerate insulting Chinese martial arts."
Respect, of course, comes from Sammo Hung's identity, but it also comes from the punches and kicks of these veterans who came from the Hong Kong kung fu movie era in the 1970s. Jianghu definitely deserves this respect.
The most agile fat man in Hong Kong movies can no longer be beaten, and kung fu movies are getting old
But this is also the last time that this "grandmaster" of Hong Kong movies will make such a bright statement on the big screen. of light.
In the final analysis, this is the fate of kung fu movies.
Some people say that Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung promoted the golden age of Hong Kong kung fu films. To be more precise, the era also chose this pair of dragon and tiger brothers.
Beginning with "Fist of Fury" in the 1970s, Chinese-language kung fu movies have portrayed Chen Zhen, an angry kung fu hero, in order to break the cultural sign of the "sick man of East Asia." Bruce Lee used Kung Fu to open up a new genre outlet.
From the absence of kung fu movies after the death of Bruce Lee to the rise of Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, comedy was integrated into kung fu movies. Later, Tsui Hark injected the feelings of family and country into the "Once Upon a Time" series, and Ang Lee in the kung fu martial arts movies. Reflecting on Chinese human ethics, Stephen Chow recreates kung fu comedy.
Since the new century, the "Slaying the Wolf" and "Ip Man" series have brought their final glory. Although the Seven Little Fortunes of the year were not all available, they were never absent, giving the Hong Kong-style kung fu legend a powerful inheritance.
The era they lived in was a time of explosive development of Hong Kong kung fu films, and it was also the most vigorous stage of Hong Kong film creation. Under the giant screen of the era, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun-fat and Stephen Chow were known as "double actors". "Monday Sing" are considered to be the men who best represent Hong Kong films, and Sammo Hung's films have become the shining icon that cannot be missed during the golden era of Hong Kong kung fu films.
When the tide comes, it will push people to the forefront. When the tide goes away, individuals will naturally follow the ebb.
But it is precisely under the influence of these old and strong Kung Fu masters that Hong Kong Kung Fu films, which are in fragile and adversity situations, can bottom out again and again and never stop breathing.
Sammo Hung’s last self-directed and self-acted action drama was "My Grandpa the Agent".
Old friends Shi Tian, ??Mai Jia, and Tsui Hark formed a spectator group to help out. During the break in filming, Sammo Hung sat like this with a few old friends who were guest stars. They either chatted or said nothing, just looked up at the sky and "enjoyed the air."
Thirty years ago, the "New Arts City", "Jiahe" and "Garbo" companies they represented were golden signs that everyone knew, and together they accounted for half of the golden age of Hong Kong films.
But now, Sammo Hung feels that they are all as old as himself.
Don’t talk about them, Andy Lau, who worked with him in the "Lucky Star" series and was a prostitute in those years, came to guest star.
Andy is also old.
Sammo Hung is no longer the "most flexible fat man in the Chinese film industry", but plays a slow-moving Alzheimer's patient, recalling his past glory in front of an old military uniform covered with medals.
But at the climax of the movie, in order to save people, the forgetful and confused old man regained his energy. He went into battle alone and defeated all the gangs by himself. His fat body still contained agility and agility. explosive force.
But in reality, Sammo Hung is old after all. This kind of oldness first means that he cannot understand this era.
Back then, he gradually realized that he was losing control of the set. There are more and more late actors in the crew. "I announced 10 o'clock in the morning. He didn't arrive until 12 o'clock. It was 4 o'clock after putting on makeup. He told you to leave at 5:30."
It wasn't back then. Like this.
Sammo Hung was once filming a movie in the Philippines. During a scene, he jumped from a mountain of more than 20 meters and injured his knee. Sammo Hung waved his hand: Keep shooting. He asked the prop team to set up a track, with Yuan Biao walking beside him. He was pushed by the staff to slide on the track, swinging his arms and pretending to walk. In this way, the rest of the scene was filmed, and the filming was completed smoothly.
But at that time, no one regarded this as a great "deeds of professionalism."
Since he first joined the set at the age of 12, Sammo Hung saw filmmakers like this: "Desperate and serious."
No matter big or small, everyone has an attitude about what your position is, what your responsibilities are, and how you treat this career. "
Jackie Chan also began to be confused about this era. "If I make a movie full of special effects, the audience will not like it at all. They have long been accustomed to watching me perform in person. Dangerous move, I have been kidnapped by myself. ”
“Because this is a Jackie Chan movie. ”
However, with the prevailing traffic and technological iteration, Jackie Chan’s movies are no longer popular.
In front of these visual spectacles, the scene in the kung fu movie where two people stand on the table and fight back and forth seems It's so old-fashioned and powerless. Jackie Chan knew in his heart: "Many things made by high technology are better than ours. Now I am the only idiot who is still making such life-threatening things, but I don't have time to learn those high technologies. ”
As for Sammo Hung, due to repeated injuries during filming, an old leg injury recurred a few years ago. Sammo Hung had no strength to hold his grandson. In 2017, he had a knee problem and was forced to undergo surgery. Since then, he has followed the doctor’s advice and never Using a wheelchair instead of walking.
Times have passed, but Sammo Hung still refuses to give up. “The resources God has given you, if you can move, speak, and think, just do your best, right?” If so, why did God give you these things? "
But after thinking about it, he said that he might retire in three to five years.
He once told the media that many years ago, I wanted to photograph a group of old people under the overpass. We play chess together at three o'clock every afternoon. We only stay together at this time, and we separate at five or six o'clock every day. Suddenly one day, you know that one of them has left.
For him, this kind of friend is like Wu Ma.
This kind of friend has been working together, filming together, drinking together, and making trouble together. "Now that everyone is older, it's over, and they're all gone one by one. "
There is a saying in the old Jianghu, "If you never forget it, there will be an echo. With one breath, light a lamp, and if there is a lamp, there will be someone." When Ip Man got old, he found Bruce Lee, and Kung Fu became a successor.
The Seven Little Fortunes were brought into the industry by Sammo Hung. After Bruce Lee passed away, they formed the Hung Family Class and the Starting Family Class. It was these people who filled the gap in Chinese kung fu films after Bruce Lee's death and pushed Hong Kong kung fu films to the forefront. Reaching a new peak. Chinese kung fu movies have a successor.
But now, when I have time, I go to the market to buy vegetables and meat every day, and cook a hearty meal for my family. . Kung Fu, I can’t beat it.
Where is the Descendant?
Let alone the Descendants, they are almost gone.
They are spoiled by Hollywood superhero movies. Young people no longer have the patience to sit in the theater and watch those punches and kicks.
Sammo Hung once pessimistically predicted, “There will never be a new generation of kung fu superstars. ”
Most of today’s martial arts scenes involve more than a dozen turns at every turn, with no action, only slow motion. But the new generation of audiences enjoy watching their idols.
Jackie Chan said , he is not old, as long as the audience wants to watch, he can still fight.
However, the era that belongs to him and Sammo Hung is already old.
The martial arts world of Hong Kong movies. The curtain is coming to an end. The sound of the Kung Fu movie has already been finalized.
Sammo Hung once said: "In the past, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and I drove to the top of the mountain with a huge music box and lay down on it. I felt so good listening to music on the grass, and then I caught a cold when I got back, the wind was blowing! This is how we are, our friendship since childhood. I think it would be interesting to write and make a movie about our story. ”
Kung Fu movies have a fist and a shadowless foot. Over the past few decades, Kung Fu movies have achieved the reputation of a master and the profit of Hong Kong movies, but they have also blown out the light of Kung Fu movie inheritance in the iteration of the audience. Who I don’t know if Kung Fu superstars like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung will be born in the turmoil of the times.
Their life legends, fateful encounters, and the secrets of Kung Fu movies that turn their hands into clouds and rain. I followed the past and entered the gap of time, unable to catch. The most flexible fat man in Hong Kong movies is no longer fat, Jackie Chan can no longer fight, and kung fu movies are getting old.
In Wong Kar-Wai's memory, when Sammo Hung was the action designer for "Ashes of Time", he casually contributed a classic line while looking at the scene - "Do you think there is something behind the mountain? It's still the same desert. , it’s still another mountain. Don’t climb it!”
There may still be a mountain behind the mountain of Chinese Kung Fu movies, or there may be nothing. But each generation climbs the same mountain. In the future, it should not be Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan who will trek through mountains and rivers for Chinese kung fu movies.
I don’t know who will do this hard work. Anyway, they are not popular traffic people.
Let’s leave the story of the future to the young people. Let’s go back to the beginning of the story -
When the Seven Little Fortunes first appeared on the stage, the naughty children failed to perform. The three-legged cat kung fu was running around all over the stage, making the audience burst into laughter. Yu Zhanyuan was so frightened in the audience that he wiped his hands in cold sweat.
When it was time for Yuan Biao to come on stage, the naughty kid fell asleep backstage. Senior brother Yuan Long was talking nonsense to the audience: "The spies came to report that it is freezing tonight. The enemy has gone home to eat and sleep, and we have also left."
When Yuan Biao woke up, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung The audience has dispersed. It's like having a kung fu dream in sixty years.
If you really want to make a movie about Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, you might as well use this as the beginning or end of the story.