Drunken Master (1978) User Reviews

Fantastic Fun

[no-skyline · 7/10 · 27 January 2006]

This is one of the quality films from Jackie's early years made the year after Snake in Eagles Shadow with much of the same cast and crew this built on the comedic style of Kung Fu action that Jackie was to make his own. Of the two films I actually prefer the earlier Snake in.... but its this later film that is more often considered Chan's earliest masterpiece.

This is a more traditional set kung-fu film than the later stunt fests that made his name. The fighting styles on show are unique, inventive and fascinating to watch. The showdowns are impressive and with no trick photography, CG or massive effects fueled blow outs and shows just how good a martial artist Jackie is. The comedy works well and Jackies on screen master is very funny and they spark well off each other as a team.

This is a really good old style kung fu flick fans of Jackies later work such as Rush Hour etc. may not find what their looking for here this is Jackie in one of his most pure kung fu movies. But for anyone who loves martial arts you must see this!! Great entertainment 7/10

More than what I expected! It really shows what Jackie Chan was capable of doing in films

[KineticSeoul · 8/10 · 17 August 2013]

Now I saw "Legend of Drunken Master" first which is a kung-fu film that blew my mind because of it's awesomeness. And since this film didn't seem all that notorious, I shunned this one sorta. Despite it being the film with Jackie Chan showing his drunken boxing and being kind of a pioneer of that style. I just wasn't expecting this film to be so darn entertaining. Sure, it doesn't have that much resources going for it. But Jackie did just about everything physically possible. And it really did pay off. I also wasn't expecting such high comedic moments even for a Jackie Chan film and I was wrong in every way. This film has all that trademark Jackie Chan elements and it's highly entertaining and humorous. Sure it is kind of cheesy but it actually works for a film like this. And for a Kung-fu flick from the 70's it seemed to be ahead of it's time. I was either smirking or laughing most of the way through while watching this amazing kung-fu film. The plot does seem a bit random at times and more bonding parts with Jackie Chan and the Drunken Master would have been cool. This is like the way better version of "The Karate Kid", comparing because it does have slight similarities. Except this film came first. The creativity in this is also top notch, especially when it comes to the fight sequences. This film was made during the prime of Jackie Chan and it does show what Jackie is capable physically and athletically. I saw this with English Dub and despite Jackie's British accent, it wasn't bad. "Drunken Master" is one of Jackie Chan's best.

8.4/10

Jackie is staggering.

[BA_Harrison · 8/10 · 29 June 2014]

Directed by legendary kung fu choreographer Yuen Woo-Ping, Drunken Master is considered by many martial arts fans to be one of the best films of Jackie Chan's career, but while it certainly displays the star's kung fu and acrobatic ability to great effect, and is a thoroughly enjoyable watch, I found the plot just a little too generic (and the comedy a little too broad) to rate it any higher than an 8 (I actually give it a 7.5, but I've rounded my score up for IMDb).

There really is very little going on here in terms of storyline, and what there is most seasoned fans of old school martial arts fans will have seen countless times before: a young upstart, Wong Fei-Hung (Chan), causes trouble in his local town and is sent by his disappointed father to train with a kung fu master, Beggar Su (Siu Tin Yuen). Beggar Su's techniques are harsh but very effective, so when an assassin named Thunderfoot (Hwang Jang Lee) is hired to kill Fei-Hung's father, the young man is able to step in and save the day.

Jackie Chan's comedic style is very much in evidence here, with buffoonery, slapstick action, and fart and poo gags, plus quite a few characters with peculiar facial features (a hairy mole, a red nose, drawn on freckles and goofy teeth), and the humour will not appeal to all (I nearly always struggle with Chinese comedy). Thankfully, the excellent fighting more than makes up for the silliness, with Jackie performing some mind-bogglingly amazing feats of physical prowess, making the absolute most of his Chinese Circus training. He leaps, he flips, he tumbles, he kicks, and he punches, performing snake style, monkey style and—of course—drunken style, all with incredible energy, speed and split second timing; it's absolutely breathtaking to behold.

Naturally, Beggar Su and Thunderfoot are no slouches in the chop socky department either, the old drunken beggar pulling off some very cool moves against a baddie called The Stick King (Hsia Hsu) and Thunderfoot more than living up to his title: with his technique 30% hands and 70% legs, Hwang Jang Lee is given plenty of opportunity to show off his legendary kicking skills. Also very impressive in her small role as Wong Fei Hung's auntie is Linda Lin Ying: I don't know much about her, but the one fight scene she shares with Jackie is quite stunning—her flexibility and leg control made my jaw drop (I must check out some of the other titles in her filmography—Dance of the Drunk Mantis also stars Hwang Jang Lee, so that would seem like an obvious place to start).

The film that propelled Jackie to stardom

[AwesomeWolf · 10/10 · 6 January 2005]

I am not very familiar with the true story of Wong Fei Hung. I've read about him before, and from memory, he was an exceptional martial artist (he practiced Hung-Gar) and became a folk-hero to the people of China, much like his father, Wong Kei Ying. So there is the true story, and then there is the 200 or so movies made about him. 'Drunken Master' is one of these.

I haven't seen most of those 200 movies, except for the Drunken Master movies, Jet Li's 'Once Upon a Time in China' series, and 'Iron Monkey'. The 'Once Upon a Time in China' movies and 'Iron Monkey' may be somewhat over-the-top wu xia movies, but they portray Wong Fei Hung as a serious hero. 'Drunken Master' features a very different take on the character.

Jackie Chan's Wong Fei Hung is a rebellious trouble-maker. His father, Wong Kei Ying, has given up on disciplining him, and sends him to his uncle, So Hai, the master of drunken boxing, hoping that a year of training with So Hai will sort Fei Hung out. Fei doesn't seem to learn his lesson until a chance encounter with Thunderfoot (Hwang Jang Lee)...

Story-wise, it is a bit of a standard kung-fu plot. However, in a documentary on Jackie Chan (I can't remember the name, I know that as of this review, it isn't listed on IMDb, but it was shown on SBS in 2003), 'Drunken Master' was mentioned as his breakthrough hit that nearly killed his career: Apparently Chinese viewers were insulted by Jackie's portrayal of Wong Fei Hung and nearly boycotted him when he was just gaining fame as an actor.

Onto more important matters. Like kung-fu. 'Drunken Master' is one of the kung-fu classics. Boosted by the presence of martial-arts star Hwang Jang Lee, this pretty much made or solidified the careers of Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo Ping (in his directorial debut). 'Drunken Master' features some very well choreographed fights and training scenes. 'Drunken Master' is very funny too, and is one of two movies I know where a young main-character gets beaten by an older middle-aged lady (which is always funny, more movies need a scene like this) - the other movie is Battlefield Baseball.

As a matter of interest for Jackie Chan fans: 'Drunken Master' signaled the end of Jackie Chan's work with director Wei Lo. Yay. In fact, the Columbia Tristar DVD release of 'Drunken Master' includes audio commentary by experts on Hong Kong cinema. I will check that out sometime, but it sounds like it would appeal to fans of kung-fu movies. Some more trivia - the latest release doesn't have the complete Cantonese sound track, and so the English dub is used where the Cantonese track is incomplete.

'Drunken Master' features awesome kung-fu scenes, and has some interesting historical perspectives. Ah, kung-fu movies and history, some of my favourite hobbies together at last - 10/10, a must see for any fans of Jackie Chan or kung-fu movies, 'Drunken Master' is kung-fu perfection.

not only lives up to legend, it creates it

[winner55 · 9/10 · 29 June 2006]

It is said that this is the film that made Jackie Chan a star, but that isn't really true, since Snake in Eagle's Shadow actually had a bigger impact at the time, and allowed Chan to make this film. One way we know this is that there are some two dozen films made in the late '70s- early'80's designed to imitate Snake in Eagle's Shadow, and only a couple imitate this film. By the time Drunken Master had become legendary world-wide, the chop-socky cycle (to which it still belongs, to an extent) had passed into history, and Chan himself had abandoned historical 'fu films for contemporary comedy-thrillers.

It should be noted that the idea of making a film based on the early years of Wong Fei Hong was not original to Chan; at roughly the same time this film was being made, well-known martial arts choreographer Liu Chia Leung made a straight (non-comic) version of the story (without drunken boxing) over at Shaw Brothers, Challenge of the Masters, with Gordon Liu as Wong Fei Hung.

The defining moment for the Chan-Yuen version of the film is the use of Drunken Boxing. There is no real evidence that the historical Wong Fei Hung was a master of this style; his more famous innovations involved the development of the shadowless hand technique and the no-shadow kick. Interestingly, in order to highlight Chan's use of Drunken Boxing, these other two techniques, better identified with Wong, are assigned in the film to the villain, "Thunderlegs" played by Hwang Jen Lee.

At any rate, it would not be clear that one could consider this a Wong Fei Hung film at all - if it weren't for the fact that this film effectively redefined the Wong legend, so that it has since become pro-forma to assume that Wong was a bit wild in his youth. (Just to set that record straight, Wong was actually extremely studious, and recognized as a real child-prodigy in the martial arts, winning his first major public duel at the age of thirteen.) Drunken Master is solid martial arts entertainment. There are decided weaknesses in the plot and over-all staging of the film, but these can easily be ignored, as the film thrusts us along with kung fu and comedy to the grand final fight at the end. It must also be noted that these characters - even the villain - are well acted and quite likable and familiar, and thus add a credibility to the film. And Yuen's direction is also very professional and a couple notches above the average for a Hong Kong genre film of the time.

Lives up to its own legend, and well-worth the viewing.

Jackie Chan's finest hour

[mashood_khanuk · 3 December 2004]

This for me is Jackie Chan's finest, and is the film which propelled him to super stardom in Hong Kong. Whilst other martial artists were trying to be the new Bruce Lee, Jackie did something different. Why replace the irreplaceable when you could do something completely different? What Jackie did was introduce slapstick into the Kung Fu formula, the rest as they say is history.

Jackie stars as Freddy Wong aka (Fong Sai Yuk) depending upon which dub you watch. A juvenile delinquent with a penchant for feeling up immediate female members of his family. His father, fed up of his delinquency hires Sam Seed aka The Drunken Master to teach him some discipline as well as his secret fighting style. Naturally the two get off on the wrong foot but learn to respect each other as the film goes on whilst of course getting into the obligatory scrapes and japes. There is of course a villain of the piece in this case its the Tae Kwan Do master Hwang Jan Lee as the underworld assassin "Thunderfoot" who in real life was just as badass as he is in the film.

So it's all pretty derivative then? Well yes and no. There is a genuine rapport between Jackie and Yu Su Tien as pupil and teacher. The martial arts is brilliantly choreographed and inventive (the scene in the restaurant is probably my favourite) and the whole thing has a "joie de vivre". Watching it, it seems to me that the actors had a ball making the film. Which is just as well as I had a ball watching it.

Get drunk with this Kung Fu comedy...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 15 August 2012]

Being a fan of Jackie Chan and never having seen "Drunken Master" before 2012 is sacrilege, I know, but I just never gotten around to it, not even with all the high praises for this 1978 movie.

Well, I finally got around to watch it and it was with some expectation and anticipation to it. Was it worth it? Well, yeah it was, but at the same time it wasn't all that I had expected.

The story was fun and well-thought through, about Wong Fei-Hung who is a rascal, dishonoring his father who is a Kung Fu master. As a punishment he is to train with his uncle who is said to be ruthless and mean. The young Fei-Hung is in for some rough training, but eventually comes to see the meaning of the tough training.

"Drunken Master" is more of a comedy (or Comedy Fu, if you will) than it is an actual Kung Fu movie. There is a lot of slapstick comedy in this movie, as is to be expected from a Chan movie. But it also shows off the grace, dexterity and skills of Jackie Chan quite well. However, for the Kung Fu, well it was fun to watch, lots of great movies and funny situations, but wow it was so horribly staged that it was painful to watch at times. It just lacked that natural flow to it, to make it seem realistic and natural. I am not saying that it wasn't enjoyable, far from it, just don't expect it to be all that and a bucket of chicken, because it was really staged from start till end.

This Jackie Chan movie is a definite must have in any DVD collection of any Jackie Chan fan, just don't do the mistake that I did that compare this movie with the movies from the last two decades.

I got a Sony DVD release of the movie from Amazon, and despite playing the original Cantonese language track, it kept changing between Cantonese and some seriously doubtful English dubbing. The dubbing was so bad it was beyond belief, they were even doing racial, stereotypical slur at the dubbing - it was just horrible. Luckily the DVD was in Cantonese most of the time, but when it changed to English dub (by its own will) it was just painful to listen to. These movies are meant to be watched with the original language track. English dubbing always has, and always will, be a horrible experience.

And the ending of the movie, well I was stunned at that. It just ended immediately after the final showdown. It was the most abrupt and sudden ending to any movie that I have ever witnessed.

I wish I could fight Drunken fist Style.

[Baker-63 · 10/10 · 5 August 2007]

This movie is easily one of Jackie's best, even if it is one of his first roles where he plays a significant part. The fighting was amazing, and the training sessions with the red nosed master were funny as hell. I don't see Jackie complaining as much as he did as his character, but that didn't hurt it too bad.

The only thing I didn't like about this movie was in the English dub, they refer Wong Fei-Hung as "Freddy Hung". Seriously, Freddy?! That doesn't even sound like a name a martial artist would have! The kid that got his father knocked down also kind of irked me, as his voice sounded like it was being done by a older guy trying to imitate a kids voice. It just doesn't work.

The movie also had some kind of annoying sound effects, as was accustomed to older kung-fu movies. That loud whip-cracking noise whenever someone threw a blow, or got it blocked or hit someone. And there was also that wind cutting noise whenever someone threw a strike or moved their hands or feet. Besides these little annoyances, this was a great movie.

I actually tried to see if there were teachers that could teach me Drunken Boxing, but I found out the style can take many years to learn as it requires much former training in previous martial arts.

bruce lee meets the three stooges...

[tripperM · 7/10 · 24 January 2001]

i have seen other jackie chan movies and have been glued to the wonderful choreography of the fights and laughed at his henny youngman-type humour but this is by far the BEST jc movie. i would have to say it's one of the best all around kung fu movies, too.

there is LOTS of humour, LOTS of shtick, and of course LOTS and LOTS of kung fu... crane kung fu, snake kung fu, tiger kung fu- i didn't know there were so many types of kung fu! seeing jc go through the "disciplines" is painful to watch, and auntie is cool! she makes sailor moon look like a power puff girl. this chick kicks a** with so much grace and style - and not a hair out of place! great, fun, popcorn-popin' movie.

Two Thumbs Up, and Kicking the Crap Out of You, Like a Drunk...

[thomas-hardcastle-2 · 9/10 · 31 May 2008]

What a wonderful film. This film has to rank amongst Chan's ultimate. There are so many incredible fights in this film, that you will certainly feel you're getting your money's worth.

The action is entertaining and beautiful. The comedy is rich and memorable.

I love the different factors that make a Hong Kong movie what it is. One of these factors is the quick zoom out from a shocked face, to the completed action. My favourite of these is in the restaurant, when Yuen Woo Ping's father laughs, then stops, as a fist comes into shot. The punch is blocked, and the camera zooms out, for the rest of the moves in the take. It's wonderful to watch, as it adds personality to the film, and tells you, "I'm from seventies Hong Kong, and I'm not gonna change for you!" Overall, one of my favourite films, and definitely one of Jackie's best.

Poor Story, Amazing Choreography, Good Martial Art Movie

[auberus · 6/10 · 4 December 2000]

Drunken Master was the title of this movie when I first saw it 12 years ago. As a movie fanatic I think every type of Movie can be interesting. The Hong Kong Movie Industry has produced Masterpieces from a design, a choreography and a physical performance point of view. Drunken Master (Zui quan) may be considered as one of these very good movies. The story is a very classic (poor) one and the acting is not the best ever from a western view point but is very "Chinese" (almost like a drama play), however and as I stated the choreography and the physical skills of Jacky Chan are amazing. The extraordinary fighting scenes (90% of the movie) make this movie worth watching and probably one of the 10 legendary "Kun-Fu" movies made so far.

I thought he was called Freddy

[ericstevenson · 8/10 · 26 July 2018]

I was interested in watching this film because it's a part of the most entries in any film series ever. According to Guinness World Records and Wikipedia, Wong Fei Hung has had more films than any other series in history. It's weird, because Wong Fei Hung was in fact a real person and not a fictional character. It's kind of hard to make a film series about a real person. Anyway, this movie was quite fun. You have to remember that it's part comedy.

A lot of the action is so goofy and over the top you know it's not meant to be taken seriously. Why was Jackie Chan's name spelled "Jackey"? Whatever, he's a very talented and charismatic actor. I can always appreciate someone who is bilingual. They don't really get that much into the drunken stuff until the last third of the movie or so. I'm glad they focus on it so much. ***

Uneven experience with moments of brilliance

[Vartiainen · 6/10 · 19 August 2020]

Drunken Master stars Jackie Chan as Wong Fei-hung, an impetuous and arrogant yet goodhearted young martial artist and Yuen Siu-Tin as Beggar So, Fei-hung's teacher and the master of Drunken Fist Style. Fei-hung is sent away by his father after one disgrace too many, but he's then taken under the wing of So and taught the true meaning of kung fu as well the secret teachings of The Eight Drunken Immortals.

The film is rather episodic in nature. There is a red line running throughout it all, but there are many scenes that have no connection to the plot at all. Rather they're just Fei-hung messing around, getting into trouble and fighting his way out of it. Or getting his ass handed to him, as it sometimes goes.

The best part of this film are those fight, easily. Young Jackie Chan is already at the top of his game and as a result every single fight scene in this film is superb. Every fight scene this film have would receive praise in a modern film.

That being said, it is very episodic, which impacts the storytelling. You don't get to know the characters as well as you'd hope. You almost get the feeling like this is an adaptation. Like you're halfway expected to know these characters already so not as much explanation is needed. Which makes the film feel a tad detached.

Still, I did enjoy it. Its story wasn't the greatest, but it had cool fight scenes, fun characters and good comedy. Recommended.

"Let me tell you, my drunk gods don't mess around!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 25 April 2019]

Coming direct to you from the Three Stooges School of Inebriated Martial Arts is this film - "Drunken Master", which I understand is the picture that catapulted Jackie Chan to the heights of kung fu and movie stardom. Granted, the film has some exceptional martial arts choreography, but at the same time, that might be one of the movie's downsides, as it's so deliberate and precise that it makes the fighting look fake. No question as to Jackie's athleticism, as the acrobatics and stamina required to pull off so many of the stunts is nothing short of exceptional. Story wise, it's a lot of the same with these Seventies era kung fu flicks, though I'm no expert in these matters, and merely take one in every now and then to gain some perspective on the genre. I got a kick out of some of the character names like Rat, the Iron-Headed Bullet and the King of Bamboo, along with some of the martial art moves taught by Beggar So (Siu Tin Yuen) to Wong Fei-Hung (Chan). My favorite was 'fat old woman on toilet'; try erasing that mental picture from your head. Mostly, the silliness of it all took me out of the picture which accounts for my low score, but if you're a Jackie Chan fan, you probably owe it to yourself to check this one out. Best to keep in mind Beggar So's advice to Wong Fei-Hung though - "It looks real enough, yet it isn't".

Jackie Chan's finest hour

[mashood_khanuk · 8 December 2004]

This for me is Jackie Chan's finest, and is the film which propelled him to super stardom in Hong Kong. Whilst other martial artists were trying to be the new Bruce Lee, Jackie did something different. Why replace the irreplaceable when you could do something completely different? What Jackie did was introduce slapstick into the Kung Fu formula, the rest as they say is history.

Jackie stars as Freddy Wong aka (Wong Fei Hung) depending upon which dub you watch. A juvenile delinquent with a penchant for feeling up immediate female members of his family. His father, fed up of his delinquency hires Sam Seed aka The Drunken Master to teach him some discipline as well as his secret fighting style. Naturally the two get off on the wrong foot but learn to respect each other as the film goes on whilst of course getting into the obligatory scrapes and japes. There is of course a villain of the piece in this case its the Tae Kwan Do master Hwang Jan Lee as the underworld assassin "Thunderfoot" who in real life was just as badass as he is in the film.

So it's all pretty derivative then? Well yes and no. There is a genuine rapport between Jackie and Yu Su Tien as pupil and teacher. The martial arts is brilliantly choreographed and inventive (the scene in the restaurant is probably my favourite) and the whole thing has a "joie de vivre". Watching it, it seems to me that the actors had a ball making the film. Which is just as well as I had a ball watching it.

Early classic for Jackie

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 5 July 2016]

This early, classic effort from Jackie Chan is a film impossible to dislike. Like most of his early work, it's a comedy-cum-kung fu movie with near constant action and never a boring moment. The plot is lightweight stuff which allows for plenty of fighting techniques and all kinds of stunts and incredible manoeuvres that have to be seen to be believed. Beautifully shot, with skilled performers, and choreographed by the masterful Yuen Woo-ping, DRUNKEN MASTER is the epitome of Hong Kong martial arts comedy and a real masterpiece.

Jackie Chan takes on the role of the rebellious, somewhat cocky student who finds himself caught up in fights wherever he goes. Whether he's attempting to score a date with a hot chick or helping in the fight against a robber, he always comes off the worse in the eyes of his father, the man who helped train him. Disgusted by his son's dishonourable activities, the father banishes Jackie to the care of his bizarre uncle, Sam the Seed. Sam is an elderly gentleman who has perfected the art of the "eight drunk gods". But before Jackie can learn any of this, he's put through some of the most rigorous and impressive training techniques yet. All manner of balancing stunts, incredible press-ups and strenuous exercises follow. The finale concerns Jackie learning the art of drunken fighting and going up against an assassin hired to kill his own father.

Despite the predictable plot this is entertainment that never lets up. Chan is on top form here, his skills as both an actor and acrobat coming to light in the often superhumanly fast and strong moves that he pulls. Chan is supported by a skilled cast, not least Siu Tien Yuen who excels as Sam the Seed, a real oddity of a character who you end up loving. Then there are the familiar martial arts turning up to take turns fighting Chan. Hwang Jang Lee takes the role of a cold, skilled assassin who goes gunning for Chan whilst minor heavies include Casanova Wong and Bolo Yeung, the latter playing the part of a chef named Gorilla!

The comedy is plentiful in this movie and most of it is in the childish, slapstick style that the Chinese enjoy. But where the film scores most is in the various fights, which mix visual jokes and japes with genuinely skilled martial arts to great effect. My favourite scene is where Chan takes on a guy with an iron head and ends up beating him senseless with a mallet - hilarious stuff. Other battles to watch out for include the extended bout with a guy who calls himself Lord of the Sticks and the fight in the restaurant with Bolo Yeung's HUGE bad guy Gorilla.

Of course the best is saved for last and there's a long, taut, sweaty and exciting showdown between Chan and the assassin, which really puts both artists through their paces and is edge of the seat stuff. The non-stop action, funny comedy and skilled performers make DRUNKEN MASTER a Hong Kong classic for any collection.

Forget Wax On, Wax Off. Try Drink & Fight!

[WalkdenEntertainment · 9/10 · 24 March 2019]

Wong Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) is a cheeky young student who knows how to fight and stand up for himself. But after a public situation gone poorly, Wong is punished by his father. Wong will now be trained and disciplined by a man named, Beggar So (Siu Tin Yuen). Beggar So is a master of "Drunken Martial Arts" and Beggar begins to train Wong in a way he believes will correct Wong's path in life.

I personally have always been a huge fan of Jackie Chan films (especially from the 90's). I recently discovered this film had been remastered (thanks to Umbrella Entertainment) and I must personally confess, this film has been on my watch list for many years.

As a plot, I enjoyed this movie as all it does is follow a simple formula. Our leading character Wong (Jackie Chan) will generally start a conversation or some sort of trouble, and shortly after the situation will result in humorous fight scenes (aka Kung Fu). The method of storytelling is A, B, A, B until the credits roll.

Needless to say, the biggest highlight of this film was the action by Jackie Chan. The style and humour by Jackie Chan is something I can't say I've seen in films before, even in today's films. The stunts and action here are real. This film was also completed before actor's started using wires or visual effects. I found myself at countless times during this film feeling impressed by Jackie Chan's ability as an actor, fighter and his ability to deliver funny jokes along the way. It's no wonder the film managed to return again with a sequel in 1994.

Overall, this would have to be one of my top 5 favourite Jackie Chan films. Drunken Master delivered a new style of Kung Fu which is great to see remastered on Bluray. There are many elements present here including action, humour and an easy plot, but its biggest draw card is naturally the fight scenes which are incredibly entertaining. As the credits rolled all I could say was "Wow, Jackie Chan is such a legend".

8.7/10 Walkden Entertainment

great scenes

[ken_mohnkern · 7/10 · 15 November 1998]

Just enough plot to take Jackie from one fight to the next. Several scenes you have to rewind and see again, and some of his training methods you've got to try yourself to see exactly how painful they must be. Except for miserable white-on-white subtitles (but who needs to know what they're saying, anyway?), it's a great flick.

Oh my God its Jackie Chan

[freemantle_uk · 8/10 · 21 June 2009]

Drunken Master, the film that made Jackie Chan a star. The first major martial arts film since the great Enter the Dragon.

Set in Hong Kong, Freddie Wong (Jackie Chan) is a skilled material artists, but a young man who often gets in trouble, fighting with his instructor, flirting with a young woman and beating up a young thug. His father a kung-fu school owner tries to install discipline on his son but fails, so recruits the services of So Chan (Siu Tien Yuen), a notorious instructor who forces Freddie into a tough regime. Freddie even attempts to run away from So Chan, but ends up running into Thunderleg (Jang Lee Hwang), a skilled assassin and insults Freddie's father and his teaching techniques. After that Freddie goes back to So Chan and demanded to work hard with material arts, and learn So Chan's techniques. The two even form a friendship and work together whilst fighting.

After the unfortunate death of Bruce Lee, Hong Kong cinema entered into the brief period of Bruceploitation where lookalikes attempted to make martial arts films, many failed. Jackie Chan did martial arts very differently, he made them comic, and the fights in Drunken Master were slapstick in nature. Some are very comical, but they are all well done and exciting to watch. Like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan is a skilled Martial Artist and possibly the man closest to him in the film world in skill terms. Like any film they is a villain in the piece, Thunderleg who gives Jackie Chan a good challenge at the end. That scene in itself is worth watching. The plot is pretty simple, but who cares? Its still stronger then some of what Hollywood can product.

The major problem with the film is some of dubbing. I hate dubbing and the fact that when the characters do speak in English they sound American, not Chinese. Also some of the humour is not to my taste.

But Drunken Master is a worthy film for Martial Arts fans, especially during the golden period of the 70s.

Strange but still a great Chan!

[Super Bob · 7/10 · 11 October 2001]

I'm sorry about my other review for this title. My review was actually for the film DRUNKEN WUTANG. Anyway... I recently won this film on DVD and, well, what a film! While of course not as good as the later THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER, this film is still funny! I love hearing the wooshing of the wind and slam of the punches. It was very funny! This film answers the question of how Wong Fei Hung (here called Freddy) learned Drunken Boxing. From his uncle, Sam Seed! This is a very great film, and I recommend to all film viewers (except for the picky ones) and a must-see for all Jackie Chan fans!

Watch out for those excruciating crunches and the amazing one leg squat. I love this childhood fav film of mine.

[Fella_shibby · 9/10 · 1 July 2016]

I first saw this in the mid 80s on a vhs. Then again so many times that I lost the count. Revisited it recently with my kids on a dvd which I own. The fight scenes r incredible. I can't really see anyone watching these films for the plot. So forget the plot n enjoy the creative drunken fight sequences. The fight happens in broad daylight n the background is lush green meadows n the mountain side areas. The training too is very inventive n excruciating. I tried those crunches when I was a teen n I even tried the walnut breaking method.

Drunken Master influenced many future HK films, with one official sequel n so many unofficial sequels n spin offs.

Dated and shallow, still one of a kind

[michelickx · 6/10 · 2 March 2019]

The coreography and stunts carry the film, the jokes and plot don't matter too much as they lack any form of depth. Watch if you're interested in martial arts or acrobatics.

masterpiece of kung fu

[AnsonTomato · 10/10 · 5 September 2016]

after watch the movie, impress by the Drunken Fist pattern very much. i tried to search Drunken Fist history in internet and even want to learn the pattern. based on the internet information, seems there never been really have any Drunken fist or Drunken master in Chinese history.

all the pattern perform by jackie chan in the movie, probably design by the movie kung fu design team/stunt and jackie chan.

the action design, fight pattern, original pattern design, hard to find any nowadays movie can compare.

jackie chan perform many action style in this movie very well and very impressive. one of the best kung fu movie.

One of Jackie's greatest achievements.

[Digory · 7/10 · 11 June 2009]

The fights may look robotic in a way and the comedy is sometimes overacted but this stunt actually brought this movie into recognition.

A young Jackie Chan displays his skills here fluidly and his cheeky character is well played. The story fits well with the character, although it is nothing new even at that time and somewhat redundant if you come to your senses, that is if you can. This film barely gives you time to think as one fighting scene leads to another and the next thing you know you're already watching the final fight.

Yuen Woo Ping makes alibis for every action sequence by having Fei Hung walk into situations and starting a fight. It's not a deduction in my criteria, in fact I find it amusing how come up with these things.

The characters in the film are in no way uninteresting either. From the supporting actors to the main cast they deliver the effect that is needed for a particular scene. The only problem I had with this was that Fei Hung's aunt should have played a bigger role in Fei Hung's lessons. Maybe she could have made an appearance at the climax.

Jackie really showed a lot of promise in this movie and look at him during the 80's and 90's. It's just sad to see him doing mediocre-rated movies nowadays.

110 minutes of acrobatic physicality that is mindless, heartless, and without a story

[c-blauvelt · 5/10 · 13 April 2006]

The film that made Jackie Chan a star, Yuen Wo-Ping's "Drunken Master" constitutes a departure from previous Hong Kong cinema with its intensely comedic elements, while paying tribute to more ancient Chinese cultural traditions. The movie has very little plot relying instead on Jackie Chan's low-brow, Three Stooges-esquire comedic timing, and his acrobatic ability.

It begins with an action scene and really doesn't let up until the very end of the film. The plot concerns a feckless kung fu student (Chan) whose father forces him to study the fighting style of the Eight Drunken Gods. Of course, this means that Jackie fights his many opponents acting as if he is drunk. His physical comedy is impressive, such as his drunken stagger, his slapstick demeanor, and his acrobatic artistry is breathtaking. Chan was raised in the Peking opera, where he learned acrobatics and dancing in addition to the martial arts. This gives his fighting style a unique fluidity, as he tumbles, falls, and leaps out of the way of opponent's blows rather than confronting them head on, fist-to-fist. Most of the movie is really just him using his acrobatics to escape from superior enemies rather than actually fighting them. As impressive physically as this is, few fights actually seem to have any resolution, meaning that the fights do little to advance the narrative, functioning similarly to Busby Berkeley show-stoppers in his 1930 musicals.

Most of Chan's comedy is low humor, involving bodily functions, vomiting, hitting other people a la the Three Stooges, drunkenness, and harassing the opposite sex. The action scenes become monumentally repetitive, having a mind-numbing effect on the viewer by the time you reach the end of the movie. The acting is distorted and exaggerated for comedic effect, but becomes shamelessly boring when combined with the redundant action scenes. The only reason why I give this movie a 5 is for Chan's acrobatic ability. Really, that is the only thing going for this movie, since Yuen Wo-Ping doesn't concentrate at all on mastering the film's formal qualities. The editing is choppy with poor coverage of the individual scenes. Clearly all the fight scenes were edited in camera, so the emphasis is more on the choreography of the fights rather than the filming of them, making them seem rather static and lifeless actually. The movie fails in its formal, textual qualities, so its only draw is Jackie Chan's childish humor and acrobatics.