MoMA Curator on Lau Kar-Leung Grandmaster of Kung Fu Films

August 30, 2018 7:34 PM

...no one compares to Lau Kar-leung (1937–2013) as a purist of the genre and the Kung Fu form What makes a true kung fu film? Many directors and actors have been associated with the Kung Fu genre, Hong Kong cinema’s most unique creation, but no one compares to Lau Kar-leung (1937–2013) as a purist of the genre and the Kung Fu form. Associate curator La Frances Hui explores the history of the Kung Fu films, the actors and filmmakers associated with the genre like Bruce Lee, Gordon Liu, and Jackie Chan, and why Lau Kar-leung has been hailed as the grandmaster of kung fu films.
posted by MovableBookLady (11 comments total)

That's a wonderful mini-doc!

For those interested in the wuxia side of things, this MeFi post from 2016 has you covered.
posted by gwint at 7:38 PM on August 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

I have to just give a quick shout out for Kung Fu Hustle, a film I love so much that, in my own heart, it eclipses even Bruce Lee’s oeuvre.
posted by darkstar at 8:30 PM on August 30, 2018 [5 favorites]

Er, I guess to put that into context: Kung Fu Hustle pays homage to the traditional kung fu genre and cinematic legends and qualities (like xia heroism), while subverting them in a loving, respectful way.

God I love that movie.
posted by darkstar at 8:40 PM on August 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

This is quality! When she says "there is nowhere for the actor to hide" - spot on.
posted by panhopticon at 9:21 PM on August 30, 2018 [2 favorites]

The movies mentioned in the video:

Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
My Young Auntie (1981)
Mad Monkey Kung Fu (1979)
Martial Club (1981)
Challenge of the Masters (1976)
Come Drink With Me (1966)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
A Touch of Zen (1971)
Dragon Inn (1967)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
The Story of Wong Fei Hung (1949)
King of the Lion Dance (1957)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Game of Death (1978)
Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
One-Armed Swordsman (1967)
The Way of the Dragon (1972)
Drunken Master II (1994)
Police Story (1985)
Dirty Ho (1979)
Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
posted by eye of newt at 9:22 PM on August 30, 2018 [4 favorites]

I'm really curious about My Young Auntie now.
posted by thecjm at 9:55 PM on August 30, 2018 [1 favorite]

My Young Auntie is really fun, (here's the trailer) not quite Lau Kar-Leung's best work, even in comedic terms, but well worth watching (in my opinion of course).

If it's the more gender bending aspect that catches attention, it's often clever but maybe promises a bit more than it fully delivers in the end since the "young auntie" is largely left out of the climatic battle. That said, the fights she is involved in are great and make up the bulk of the film, showing her as more than a match for almost any situation or men. The masquerade ball is particularly enjoyable making reference to western heroes and fighting styles in unusual manner.

I'll give a shout out to Dirty Ho as my favorite for having fight/training scenes that define the story and are amusing and skillful in equal measures. But that's just a slight preference over a number of the other movies that I like almost as much.

Oh, it might be helpful to know that Lau Kar-Leung is also known as Liu Chia-Liang if you're searching for him. The latter name, for example, is how Letterboxd and IMDb primarily reference him.
posted by gusottertrout at 10:41 PM on August 30, 2018 [3 favorites]

This genre is pretty much the only reason we keep paying Netflix these days.

Good short doc, thanks.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:39 AM on August 31, 2018

This was great. Previously, I hadn't really caught some of the distinctions between "kung fu movies" and the more general "martial arts movies", so that was particularly interesting for me.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:15 AM on August 31, 2018

I'm willing to allow that Master of the Flying Guillotine is a "martial arts movie" (a hugely influential one) rather than a "kung fu movie." But where's Iron Monkey? It even has a young Wong Fei Hung in it!
posted by SPrintF at 7:47 AM on August 31, 2018

Lau Kar-Leung had a very long and interesting career. The movies he directed in the 70’s and 80’s are definitely among the best the Kung Fu genre has to offer. He was also an able performer in front of the camera. Drunken Master II shows him giving Jackie Chan a run for his money in the very first fight scene (a movie from which Jackie Chan fired him midway through to take over directing himself; Chan was kind of notorious for this at this stage of his career).
posted by Eikonaut at 1:44 PM on August 31, 2018