Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

One of the biggest classics of martial arts cinema, the film that started a new subgenre in kung fu cinema , the comedy kung fu cinema and the breakthrough fim for its star, the legendary Jackie Chan... Directed by the legendary Yuen Woo Ping and co-starred by his father Yuen Siu Tien, playing his eternal role as the old beggar drunken master, this film is an example of how a perfect kung fu movie should be made, from the badass opening sequence with Jackie training with a red background behind him , accompanied by a catchy music until the final epic final fight against the great Hwang Jang Lee , the film is a succession of outstanding and very original martial arts sequences accompanied by great doses of humour ..Although that Lau Kar Leung already had used this formula in his directorial debut "The spiritual Boxer" made three years before, however, it was this film the one that gave a new direction to Hong Kong kung fu movies becoming in an instant classic.. MASTERPIECE

There's "old school" and then there's "OLD SCHOOL", and this is pure chop-socky Spaghetti Eastern film making at its best. Fans of the old Golden Harvest/Shaw Brothers films will find all the proper clichés included, but there is enough original plotting, fight choreography and actual acting going on here to distinguish it from the 999 other films the Shaws released during the same period. Add the charm, humor, and likability of Jackie Chan into the mix, and you've got the perfect "Kung Fu Theater" experience. I've watched a reasonable number of kung fu flicks (enough to qualify as a fan, not enough to qualify as a devoted fanatic), and the plot to this one strikes me as reasonably fresh; instead of using classic "vengeance", "rebellion" or "gangster" motifs, "Snake" revolves around Jackie's growth as a man and as a fighter as he tries to help and protect a friend who Jackie doesn't know is the last master of a nearly extinct style of Kung Fu. It's a nice change of pace that allows elements of humor and friendship into the relationship between Chan's character and his teacher. And somehow the humor in this one works even for a Western sensibility - the director, fight director and the stunt men and the actors manage to include some involving, funny, moments in Chan's training that nevertheless impress. Plus, you've can't have an old school Kung Fu film without montages of the hero training in the secret forms and techniques of his style accompanied by the Chinese equivalent to the theme music from "Rocky", and "Snake" delivers these. Newer viewers may dismiss Chan (now in his 40-50s) in favor of someone like Jaa or Li, and because of the emphasis nowadays on humor and acrobatics; but "Snake" shows that Chan in his prime was in AWESOME shape. It's a real pleasure to watch him go at it. There is genuine artistry at work here. And the scene where Chan discovers/invents the missing application that fixes the weakness in the Snake style is well done (for this kind of movie). So if you like old school Kung Fu movies, seek this one out; and if you are a fan of Jackie Chan, seek this one out. I liked it a lot, and bought it on VHS - if I can find it somewhere on DVD for a reasonable price, I will probably buy it again.

Action choreographer and legendary martial arts director Yuen Woo Ping directed this early and important film of Jackie Chan's career in 1978. This film made Jackie a star in almost one night, and more was to come in form of Drunken Master very soon, and history tells the rest. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow stars the sympathetic old man Siu Tien Yuen as the master of Snake style in kung fu. There's also a "rival" style called Eagle style and these two styles compete together for students and power in the field of martial arts world. Jackie plays a poor and orphan youngster who gets to do nothing but wash floors in the Eagle school and occasionally, he is also used as a human "punchbag" in the training. Soon he gets enough and meets by accident the old man who eventually teaches Jackie the secrets of his Snake fighting style. The fights are indeed fantastic and they include also the magnificent kicks of the legendary taekwondo master Jang Lee Hwang, who plays the main villain in this film. The last fight between Jackie and Hwang is very long and full of adrenalin as these two masters of their own art fight for life. Also the training scenes are very memorable and look painful! It isn't easy to become a master of martial arts. There's plenty of fights in this film and that's about all this film is about and why it's been done in the first place; the dialogue and screenplay are very shallow and often meaningless and there's also some irritating use of music which tries to make the film more entertaining and funny to watch, but of course this was meant to be a comedy kung fu flick like Drunken Master and many others. Still the film could have some depth and even message in it like many Bruce Lee films definitely have. But as far as one is interested in excellent martial arts fights and excitement, films like Snake in the Eagle's Shadow are highly recommended, because there are no better substitutes in this field. If you prefer (as I do) more serious and dark martial art films, then I recommend Ronny Yu's Bride With White Hair and Tsui Hark's Blade, for instance. I just don't like the often stupid humor in HK films and that's why I don't appreciate Snake as highly as I wanted to. If you want to see a comic kung fu film with the young and incredible Jackie Chan, then this film is worth buying or renting, and even I think I'll keep this in my collection because of the fact that in its own genre, this is almost unbeatable and thus a classic; the problem is the genre (comical kung fu) isn't among my favorites. 7/10