Fist of Legend

[chen zhen]

what kf style does the stuff jet li does in this movie recemple the most? ( except the scenes where he does this western boxing thing, LOL he looked funny jumping around like that!)
no, seriously.

[RENEGADE_MONK]

Wu Shu!!

[Lost_Disciple]

The style that he was SUPPOSED to be studying was My Johng.
I thought his jumping around was pathetic. My San Da friend can't sit around watching it without busting a gut. The worst thing, is that a lot of people think that is what the footwork for western boxing and kickboxing is supposed to look like.
.

Just some thoughts from an ignoramus.

[Black_Talon]

I'm not too sure, but one thing I do know....it's a da.mn good movie!

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[chen zhen]

whats my jhong or whatever you called it? never heard about it.
yeah, i know that the "footwork" :rolleyes: didnt look like western boxing, but it looked funny! ‰

[Yung Apprentice]

In the movie, there is a scene where Jet Li is fighting the guy he was raised with, the guy who was running the school, because that guy got jealous of him. In this one part of the fight scene Jet changes to a different stance, and starts hopping around similar to a boxer. Was that an actual style of KUng Fu? If so, which one?

[Chang Style Novice]

I interpreted that scene as a tribute to Bruce Lee, who incorporated a lot of boxing techs into his fighting, and who also made a movie version of the same story. Bruce's version is called The Chinese Connection.

[Yung Apprentice]

I thought it had something to do with Bruce Lee.

[chen zhen]

If Jet had started doing those chicken-like sounds that Bruce Lee did in his movies I would have been ROFL

[Kristoffer]

me too : )
it's a cool movie with some cool action.

[fmann]

Actually, one perspective is that the "neutral" stance that Li takes for most of the movie was to reflect the changes in MA that Li's character experienced from his travelling. Karate, western boxing, Muay Thai, etc. all influenced Li's character and through this experience, he adapts to his opponents to defeat them -- the neutral stance allows him to conceal what he's going to do. His opponents, however, stick to rigid forms of kung fu and karate and therefore, he can easily dominate them. The exception being the Japanese general, who can fight just like Li's character.

And the dubbed version of the movie is horrible, with incredible inaccuracies in translations. If you watch the subtitled version, there is some dialogue that clarifies these points.

[eviljungle]

Fmann that's a great point. I figured it's be a tribute to jeet kune do and bruce, and also reflective of the traditionalist caracter of Li's opponent.

Man what a great flick.:cool:

[cho]

That hopping is no doubt a tribute Bruce Lee.

also, going along with fmann, that fighting stance was with the movie's "old vs new" theme, like when Chen was doing jump rope and pushups.

I heard from somewhere, probably a website, that was how Chinese sparring was actually done, hopping back and forth.(??)

[TaoBoy]

Wasn't there a scene earlier in the movie where Jet fought a Western boxer? Then he used the same stance work he witnessed in that fight when fighting his fellow student?

It would be nice it it were a Bruce tribute!

[Yung Apprentice]

No, he didn't fight a western boxer, unless the movie I saw they edited it out.

[Chang Style Novice]

Maybe you're thinking of "Born To Defense" in which Jet Li's character does box a boxer. Lots of folks hate it, but I think it's kinda cool.

[MantisKungFu]

I'm trying to build up my kung fu movie collection. I have several Jet Li movies and a few Jackie Chan ones. My clear favorite is Jet Li's Fist of Legend. There are lots of fight scenes and they aren't filled with all that flying crap.

Are there any other movies that can compare to "Fist of Legend", especially by Jet Li? I would prefer newer movies (90's) because the quality is so much better, but I would even look for older ones.

Some movies I currently own:
-Once upon a time in china 1,2, and 3
-The Perfect Weapon
-Twin Warriors
-Fists of Fury
-Chinese Connection

[Jimbo]

In my opinion, there are a lot of movies that can compare to Fist of Legend; however we may have different tastes in kung fu movies. I tend to prefer ones made in the '70s and early '80s to the ones in the '90s or today. In fact, Fist of Legend has more of an early '80s feel to it than most of the other kung fu movies of the '90s.

My personal favorites, in no particular order:

The Victim (starring Liang Jia-ren and Sammo Hung).
The Kid from Kwangtung (starring Hwang Jang-lee).
Executioner from Shaolin (Chen Kuan-Tai).
Fist of the White Lotus (remake of "Executioner").
Drunken Master II (Jackie Chan, a '90s film).
Martial Club (a.k.a. Instructor of Death, with Gordon Liu).
Treasure Hunters (Gordon Liu and Fu Sheng).
Legendary Weapons of China.
Heroes of the East (a.k.a., Shaolin Challenges Ninja).
Shaolin Martial Arts (maybe the best mid-70s Shaolin epic).
The Prodigal Son (one of the best kung fu films, period).
The Invincible Armor (pretty good old-school storyline).

I recently picked up Slice of Death, which, although nothing is flashy, is a well-made late '70s Shaw Brothers Shaolin film with David Chiang and Lo Lieh. Not very realistic of course, but entertaining, and not really any flying around. I really like the movies that feature "iron body" or "invincible chi kung" type villains.
Jim

[Hai_To]

If you like Jet Li, the Fong Sai Yuk movies are good. Though it does have a lot of "wire-fu".

Last Hurrah for Chivalry by John Woo, starring Wei Pai of the Venoms, is excellent.

Like Jimbo said, Prodigal Son is one of the best martial arts movies out there.

As for Jackie Chan, The Young Master (his directorial debut) is a fantastic film.

As for the classic Shaw Brothers flicks:

Shaolin Challenges Ninja - my all time favorite

5 Deadly Venoms - a true classic

Crippled Avengers - "I don't want to kill a woman or a child. So, lets cut her legs off and his arms off." Only in Shaw Brothers flicks can you have such a plot device.

Shaolin Rescuers (aka Avenging Warriors of Shaolin) - the end of the movies has one of the best fight scenes of all time

Master Killer - everyone should own this one

Kid with the Golden Arms - great flick

[MantisKungFu]

Thanks guys, keep up all these suggestions!

I've heard about The Prodigal Son being a great flick. Who is in this movie? When was it made? Would the local blockbuster have it you think? Thanks!

[Hai_To]

Prodigal Son was made in 1980. It was directed by Sammo Hung and starred Yuen Biao. The main characters do Wing Chun (good guys) and Southern Praying Mantis (bad guy).

[Jimbo]

I might also mention that the movie Wheels on Meals has what is perhaps the best non-period one-on-one fight scene ever filmed; Jackie Chan vs. Benny "the jet" Urquidez.

Dragons FOrever, like Wheels on Meals, also stars Jackie, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao, and Benny Urquidez, but is not quite as well-made. It still has a slam-bang final battle in a drug factory.

Master Killer, as mentioned in an above post, is a must.

If you can find it, THe Lady is the Boss is excellent and a modern-day remake of My Young Auntie, starring Liu Chia-Liang.

The New Kids in Town is a movie with a lot of boring crap in it, but the final fight is well worth it: Liu Chia-Liang vs. Eurasion kickboxer Eddie Maher.

I would highly recommend Sammo Hung's The Pedicab Driver. The major fighting villain is Billy Chow, who also played General Fujita in Fist of Legend.

Jim

[Chang Style Novice]

Personally, I prefer "Dragons Forever" to "Wheels on Meals" as a whole, but admit that the Benny/Jackie fight in "Wheels on Meals" is superior.

And I second the recommendations for
"Prodigal Son"
"The Victim"
"Pedicab Driver" (especially for the Liu Chia Liang/Sammo Hung fight)
"Master Killer"
"Drunken Master 2"
"5 Deadly Venoms"
"Kid With the Golden Arms"

and will add

"Five Fingers of Death" (also known as King Boxer and Iron Fist)
"Mad Monkey Kungfu"
"Knockabout" (another great Yuen Biao/Sammo Hung/Liu Chia Liang show)
"Eastern Condors"
"Legend of the Wolf" (aka The New Big Boss)
"Legend of a Fighter"
"Spooky Encounters"
"Spooky Encounters II"
and with a caveat that only the last fight is really worth it
"Skinny Tiger Fat Dragon" (Liu Shia Liang and Sammo Hung rematch with double knives instead of long poles)


and will also recommend

"Game of Death", a severly underrated Bruce Lee flick. There's more to it than the last half hour, really. I think it's got the best fighting of any of his pictures.

Most everything already mentioned that I haven't seconded I simply haven't been able to see. Looks like they've got good taste to me.

[Shaolindynasty]

Master killer is the best kungfu movie of all time!

for Bruce Lee get Return of the dragon(way of the dragon) that's his best

Most of Jackie Chan's movies rule especially Young Master.

I have allot of movies, I prefer the ones where they go to shaolin, learn some special technique leave and get revenge. The training sequences in these movies usually rock.

[Ky-Fi]

I didn't really care for Fist of Legend---too much speeded-up camera and wires for my liking, so my tastes may be different than others.

I'll list some of my favorites, and these are all available on widescreen DVD so you can see all of the action:

Shaolin Master Killer
Five Deadly Venoms
Killer Army
Last Hurrah for Chivalry
Dirty Ho
Fist of the White Lotus

I'm not that big a fan of the Golden Harvest comedies, but Sammo Hung's "Odd Couple" has some truly amazing weapons scenes.

Also, Crash Cinema has a couple old-school independant films available on widescreen DVD that are really fun:

The Magnificent
Mask of Death
Prodigal Boxer (AKA Kung Fu-Punch of Death)

I think you can get these for under $10.

[RENEGADE_MONK]

MantisKungFu ,

Try these and I guarantee you will be satisfied these are mostly old school/traditional films with alot of excellent fighting scenes/choreography. In no particulair order just depends on availability.


Jade Claw...Star Billy Chong fights against a guy doing phoenix Eye fists Sam Seed has a small role. Chong learns Eagle Claw to fight against Phoenix eys " This is a sleeper movie" if you see it get it

The Loot aka The Bloody Tatoo....star Ko Fei aka Phillip Kao
Plot evolves around a treasure map that is scribed on a womans back hence the name bloody tatoo . Must have in your collection

Fistful of Talons... Star Billy Chong .... Typical storyline fight against the Manchus directed by Robert Tai.....5 deadly Venoms, Kid with the Golden Arms during the ending fight scene it looks like an Eagle or Perigrin Falcon is actually ripped apart.

Militant Eagle

Kung Fu Genious....Star Cliff Lok.....revolves around a guy that learns kungfu or onther persons style while he fights them he fights against Wislon Tong, who played the Mantis fighter in the Victim. anothet very good one

South Shaolin Master aka the Heroes Mighty Fists....Revolves aound a rebel who hides out on a Red Boat..plenty of fight scenes and all of them are good.

Secret Master aka Legend of a Fighter.....Stars Phillip Kao, Leung Kar[The Bearded Maestro] Yan...Directed by Yuen Woo Ping Chang Style had this in his list, Leung kar Yan plays Kao Fei's"Phillip Kao'" son that he refuses to teach kungfu instead he wants him to becom a scholar, so he "Phillip Kao" hires a Japanese teacher to teach is son, Instead the teacher "Kurata San" who played the Japanese Girls father in Fists of Legend teaches Leung Kar Yan kungfu along with his education. GET THIS ONE..... GET IT GET IT GET IT!!!

Also since no one mentioned this one
Magnificent Butcher...Sammo and Yuen Biao ....CLASSIC!

[Chang Style Novice]

...and don't forget the classic series of pictures featuring thalidomide-damaged fighters, "Tiny Fists of Tai Chi" "Flippers of Fury" and the upcoming "Seal in Penguin's Shadow"!

:D :D :D :D :D :D

[meltdawn]

Don't forget TAI CHI MASTER!!!

Tai Chi and Tai Chi 2

Revenge of the Tai Chi Master (excellent chicken style)

Shaolin versus Wudang

Shaolin Wooden Men

Spiritual Kung Fu (horrible movie, great fighting at the end)

Wing Chun

[Silumkid]

Melty, I hear you got my mirror. Can't wait to see it! :D


On to the subject at hand...forgive me if I am repeating any.

Prodigal Son
Dreadnaught (this is the movie they copied shot-for-shot in the Batman movie where Robin does his laundry)
Pantyhose Heroes (in my opinion, some of Sammo's best fights)
Wheels on Meals
Dragons Forever
Story of Riki-Oh (WAY over the top, but fun)
Righting Wrongs
Eastern Condors
Master Killer


Just a few to get ya started....

[Crimson Phoenix]

Yeah, Prodigal Son and Deadnought kicked ass!!
Also, for old school movies the Magnificient Butcher (crazy fight scenes!), Iron Monkey, and since I love Liu Chai Liang (Lau Kar Leung): Drunken Master 2, Martial Arts of Shaolin...
There are so many!!

[TaoBoy]

Must-haves:

- Drunken Master
- The Young Master
- Tai Chi Master

[Fu Jau]

Haye you seen Fearless Hyena?Its a Low Wei, with Jackie Chan (so young!) . Its pretty funny, theres a bit where Jackie has to fight a "sex maniac" so he fights him in drag. Also theres a bit where he is doing this amazing exersize where hes hanging upside dowm facing a plank, pushes himself away from it, folds in half and hits the plank with his back. Its worth it just to see that bit.

[dezhen2001]

man, i can't believe i missed this thread! (wheres Tae Li, it's another Jet one :D)

I agree Fearless Heyena is one of my favourite Jackie movies... the training scenes are astonishing! I like the scene where he gets beat up just before he learns the wire fist :D He really gets done over so well :D Also the scene when he fights the 3 guys with the halberds... they really get close!

I love all the Jackie movies from the late 70's right thru till around the early 90's (DM2), then they start to go a little down... my favourites are the police story and project A series'

Well, so much for Jet :D

david

[Hau Tien]

Well.. the person who posted this thread is "MantisKungFu", so I'll have to put out Thundering Mantis as my recommendation... of course, the others listed are very good, too... especially Master Killer. Enjoyed that one a lot.

[Helicopter]

No one mentioned "Mr Vampire"

The best Chinese film ever! Absolutely hilarious.
An absolute MUST!!

(Other than that anything with Gordon Liu and/or drunken style. So if you have to have 90's Jet Li "Last hero in China" fits the bill. which I actually enjoy, but don't tell anyone. )

[jethro]

I think that he is using a form of chinese boxing, not his wushu, a lot of straight, hard punches. It looks so much much different than all of jet's other movies, but it is probably his best, which is saying that his abilities are endless.

[gfx]

He was supposed to be a student of Huo Yuan Jia, so he technically would be doing MiZongQuan ( also called MiZhongYi ).

but he's actually doing movie fu

[Chief Fox]

Many things in that movie are in tribute to Bruce Lee including the footwork that Jet Li used. Bruce used the same footwork in "Return Of The Dragon" When he fought Chuck Norris.

[HtownShaolinBum]

Everyone knows this classic jet Li flick, featuring some of my favorite of Jet's fights. Everyone also knows what a crappy release it has in the U.S. Fullscreen, edited for american audiences and our small brains, no Chinese language feature, no special features, IT SUCKS!!!

What I DON'T know is what happened to the uncut 2 disc version that was supposed to come out from Dragon Dynasty.

On their website, under the coming soon section, it listed this as having a December 2007 release. If you check the site NOW, they don't even make mention of the movie, ANYWHERE!!! Are they no longer releasing it? What happened?

[doug maverick]

why don't you email bey logan and ask him. his dragon dynasty email is on the site.

[jethro]

Yeah it sucks. We just have to wait patiently and hope it comes out.

[mickey]

Greetings,

I remember that Quentin Tarantino had Fist of Legend in his Rolling Thunder video collection. I think it was dubbed in English and had the original score, as opposed to that B.S. score in the Western release. I think that print disappeared about as soon as it came out.


mickey

[HtownShaolinBum]

Greetings,

I remember that Quentin Tarantino had Fist of Legend in his Rolling Thunder video collection. I think it was dubbed in English and had the original score, as opposed to that B.S. score in the Western release. I think that print disappeared about as soon as it came out.


mickey


Quentin Tarantino can kiss my butt, I don't want his crappy dubbed version anyway. There have to be original prints of this movie out there. I want to see it in chinese, uncut, and I guess with the original soundtrack(I didn't even know that the version I have was re-scored), AND FREAKIN' WIDESCREEN!!!

Either Dragon Dynasty is planning something special for this release, or they just straight up lost the rights to it.

[Errant108]

Quentin Tarantino is evil incarnate.

[冠木侍]

While we wait, I managed to see a VCD copy of the original movie as it was intended some time ago. There are three languages spoken throughout the movie at various times (some more than others). They are Chinese (Cantonese), Japanese and English. There is also a dubbed Mandarin track as well for those who are more comfortable with that dialect. The original soundtrack is not bad. Kind of wants to make you get up and start shadow boxing and jump around IMO.

[Foiling Fist]

This film was done without special effects or wires. Most of the actors also trained in Martial Arts, not just fighting for the movies.

This was done as another making of the character behind Fist of Fury that Bruce Lee starred in. This film, although good for its time, lacked any depth, and the fighting was choreographed to show simple basic fighting methods.

Fist of Legend’s star was from JingWu (Chin Woo, Jing Mo), and studied Traditional Chinese Martial Arts, Bruce Lee never did, and dedicated a tombstone to the death of TCMA. Jet Li has an extensive background in TCMA.

The only exposure that Bruce Lee had to TCMA and Jing Mo, was the private match from Jing Mo member Grandmaster Wong Jack Man, resulting in Lee’s later death.

The film, Fist of Legend; was about honour and respect. When Wong Jack Man went to shake Bruce Lee’s hand at the beginning of the match, as is always done; Lee attacked his eyes instead; changing this competition to a deadly assault. Bruce Lee knew nothing about respect or honour.

Exceptional interviews with actors and director on DVD.

Shows what is in common at the highest level of Martial Arts.

There were Japanese Martial Artists and many Japanese actors in a Chinese film about the Japanese occupation. This is due to the well rounded approach of the film, showing both the bad and good in nationalistic movements.

This has many other lessons about ending prejudice, and fighting it in a manner that stops it, rather than generating a backlash reaction.

This is not to say that the different styles should join schools, rather respect each other, and learn from every encounter. To adapt, rather than stonewall, or being dogmatic; is using intelligence and heart.

When Chen is arrested and placed on trial for allegedly murdering Akutagawa; several "witnesses" provide false and conflicting accounts of the murder. The court refuses to accept testimony from any Chinese defense witnesses claiming bias towards Chen. Mitsuko arrives and testifies that Chen is innocent because he spent the night with her, and the court accepts her false testimony because she is Japanese.

Chen is exonerated, but his apparent relationship with Mitsuko ruins his reputation, as the Chinese view it as an act of treachery. Huo Ting'en and the senior Jingwu members demand that Chen either leaves Mitsuko or leaves the school, and Huo uses the opportunity to settle his personal vendetta against Chen by challenging Chen to a fight. Chen defeats Huo

One of the best films ever made, a literary and Martial Arts classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiNIucEKPm4

[ShaolinDan]

OK, this time you've gone too far. I love this movie. Your misinformation has no place here. :mad: :p

[Fa Xing]

This film was done without special effects or wires. Most of the actors also trained in Martial Arts, not just fighting for the movies.

This was done as another making of the character behind Fist of Fury that Bruce Lee starred in. This film, although good for its time, lacked any depth, and the fighting was choreographed to show simple basic fighting methods.

Fist of Legend’s star was from JingWu (Chin Woo, Jing Mo), and studied Traditional Chinese Martial Arts, Bruce Lee never did, and dedicated a tombstone to the death of TCMA. Jet Li has an extensive background in TCMA.

The only exposure that Bruce Lee had to TCMA and Jing Mo, was the private match from Jing Mo member Grandmaster Wong Jack Man, resulting in Lee’s later death.

The film, Fist of Legend; was about honour and respect. When Wong Jack Man went to shake Bruce Lee’s hand at the beginning of the match, as is always done; Lee attacked his eyes instead; changing this competition to a deadly assault. Bruce Lee knew nothing about respect or honour.

Exceptional interviews with actors and director on DVD.

Shows what is in common at the highest level of Martial Arts.

There were Japanese Martial Artists and many Japanese actors in a Chinese film about the Japanese occupation. This is due to the well rounded approach of the film, showing both the bad and good in nationalistic movements.

This has many other lessons about ending prejudice, and fighting it in a manner that stops it, rather than generating a backlash reaction.

This is not to say that the different styles should join schools, rather respect each other, and learn from every encounter. To adapt, rather than stonewall, or being dogmatic; is using intelligence and heart.

When Chen is arrested and placed on trial for allegedly murdering Akutagawa; several "witnesses" provide false and conflicting accounts of the murder. The court refuses to accept testimony from any Chinese defense witnesses claiming bias towards Chen. Mitsuko arrives and testifies that Chen is innocent because he spent the night with her, and the court accepts her false testimony because she is Japanese.

Chen is exonerated, but his apparent relationship with Mitsuko ruins his reputation, as the Chinese view it as an act of treachery. Huo Ting'en and the senior Jingwu members demand that Chen either leaves Mitsuko or leaves the school, and Huo uses the opportunity to settle his personal vendetta against Chen by challenging Chen to a fight. Chen defeats Huo

One of the best films ever made, a literary and Martial Arts classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiNIucEKPm4

Most of this is utter bull****!

[doug maverick]

please take all trolling back up to the kung fu forum where it belongs.

[ShaolinDan]

Post-merge-post: Guess you all know by now that the Dragon Dynasty two disc release came out. Were you satisfied?

[Stickgrappler]

Continuing my Jet Li theme in honor of his 51st bday this past Saturday, I made some animated GIFs from his Fist of Legend.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JErHVq7F7H0/U1iZXvcId3I/AAAAAAAAGBk/jUxT-h-4M4g/s1600/FistOfLegend-01-400-sg.gif

4 more here:

http://www.stickgrappler.net/2014/04/jet-li-fist-of-legend-gif-set-1.html

Enjoy!