+7
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)
This film starts like a parody of martial arts films - a clash between two kung fu masters with threats to destroy each other's styles. Super cheesy. We then see some fighting at a kung fu school with terrible, ridiculous comedy sound effects (mixed wayyy too loud - not sure if this is a function of the age of the print or is in the original. Whatever it is, it's distracting.) This all made me think "what is this trash??"
That changed quickly thanks to the star, Jackie Chan, in one of his earliest parts. Chan plays Chien Fu, an orphan adopted by a kung fu school that works as a janitor. He is viciously abused by the temporary leader of the school and used as a punching bag for students. His only friend is the cook, Ah-Wu, who takes pity on him, and appears sympathetic. Fu meets an old beggar in the street, Pai Cheng-tien (played by the director's father, Yuen Siu-tien), and befriends him by sort-of defending him in a fight and offering him a place to sleep and food. It turns out that Cheng-tien is a kung fu master, one of the last surviving ones teaching the Snake style. He teaches Fu first, to defend himself, and then ultimately, the Snake style. That style comes into conflict with the tiger style, and a fairly straightforward mentorship/good v. evil plot emerges. That's all fine on paper, as far as it goes.
In reality, it is so much more, mainly due to a key decision by the creative team, after failed attempts to make Chan the next Bruce Lee, to make this a comedy martial arts film, rather than a serious one. This proves to be, bad sound effects notwithstanding, pure genius. Chan and the rest of the cast are hysterical, never taking the absurd premises of the rivalry between kung fu schools seriously, and finally leading to the brilliant turn of Chan adding "cat's claw" to his style, a form of fighting that involves him pouncing like a little kitty cat while pretending to make an incredible kitty cat growling sound that you just have to hear to believe.
But Chan is not just funny, he's genuinely sympathetic and believable as a hapless janitor regularly getting mercilessly bullied. Chan exudes a lovely humility that, combined with the decision not to take himself seriously, makes it so easy to root for him. Additionally, Siu-tien is a delight as the humble yet brilliant old master, training Fu in kung fu with a blend of nonchalance and focus that makes for fun montages (and a far FAR more convincing arc than the more dour and so much less fun Chocolate...)
As great as all of the above is, none of it works without Chan's electric physicality. He is unbelievably talented - a pure acrobat. Some of his sequences were as fresh and agile as anything I've seen from Astaire. Chan is nothing short of breathtaking. You can't take your eyes off him as he performs one insane feat after another in quick succession. It's no wonder he became such a huge star.
There are other fun parts of the film. A Jesus doppleganger Christian missionary (obviously dubbed) walking around unconvincingly attempting to convert folks before turning out to be a kung fu master. And then there's Chinese Adam Driver! I took a screenshot but can't figure out how to upload here, but he's a dead ringer! In all, so many laughs. A tremendously entertaining, rollicking ride. In case any confusion somehow lingers: I loved it.
A final word on an earlier point. Because it placed in the top 100 countdown, I watched Enter the Dragon earlier this year. It was ridiculous, racist, misogynist, self-serious trash. Even the marital arts sequences weren't that impressive. Chan was soooo much more entertaining and fun. It's not even close. I can't wait to dig into the rest of Chan's films. Easily my #1 so far.
Last edited by rbrayer; 04-23-21 at 08:02 PM.