Synopsis
Drunken Master (1978) is a Hong Kong martial arts comedy from director Yuen Woo-ping that you can watch online on iFILM. A young Jackie Chan plays Wong Fei-hung, the folk hero of legend — though here he is still a cocky, troublemaking brat whose own father has run out of patience with him.
As punishment, the boy is handed over to Uncle So, a boozy old beggar who happens to be a master of the bizarre Drunken Fist style. The training looks more like torture: hanging over a drop, hauling water buckets, bruises on top of bruises. Wong runs away, gets thrashed by a real assassin, then crawls back to his cruel teacher of his own accord. The fights play like acrobatic dance, where pain and laughter land in the same beat.
Along with Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, this film turned Chan into a star and set the template for kung fu comedy for decades. Yuen Woo-ping's choreography — he would later stage the fights in The Matrix — still feels more alive than any digital effect. To see where the screen Jackie really began, start here. Stream Drunken Master (1978) online on iFILM.
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