Everybody Loves Kung Fu Fighting!

Martial arts have become a staple of American action films. Almost every major action film of the last two decades has at least one big fight scene involving martial arts. Even the famed lightsaber battles in the "Star Wars" films were heavily influenced by the Japanese art of kendo (swordfighting).

The balletic grace and energy of martial arts make them a very cinematic choice of combat technique much more exciting than traditional boxing or streetfighting. It’s also fun to see an average-sized hero destroy a hulking brute using lightning-quick chops, kicks, punches and throws. To discover how martial arts became so crucial to American films, one must go back to the beginnings of their development, in early China.

Turning the "Martial" into "Art"

Martial arts were developed throughout China and the Far East during ancient times. They were not only a form of combat and self-defense, but also highly spiritual disciplines designed to help one’s inner being. Their use in entertainment can be traced back to the tradition of Chinese Opera — an exciting blend of drama, music, acrobatics and combat.

This art form first gained prominence in China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). After its fall, and following the rise to power of the Manchus, many actors and martial-arts masters fled to the southern parts of the country, spreading the tradition of Opera and the study of martial arts.

When Opera’s popularity began to decline in the early part of the 20th century, performers were forced to turn to the burgeoning Hong Kong film industry in order to make a living. In 1949, the Yin Yao Film Company began creating a series of films based on the life of Wong Fei Hung, a real-life Chinese martial artist and folk hero.

In all, 99 films were made in the series, which lasted until 1970. All of them starred former Peking Opera star Kwan Tak Hing as the heroic Wong, often with actor Shih Kien ("Enter the Dragon" [1973]) playing the villain. Bruce Lee’s father, Lee Hoi Chuen, also appeared in many of the films, usually cast as a village elder.

Rise of the Shaw Brothers

In 1970, Sir Run Run Shaw and his Shaw Brothers film company entered the martial-arts arena with a film called "Vengeance," starring David Chiang and Ti Lung. That same year, Raymond Chow, who had long served as Run Run Shaw’s second-in-command, left to form his own production company, Golden Harvest.

With David Chiang and Ti Lung as their top stars, the Shaw Brothers dominated Hong Kong filmmaking throughout the 1970s. Some of their more famous movies were "One-Armed Boxer" (1971), "Heroes Two" (1974), "Disciples of Shaolin" (1975) and a co-production with England’s Hammer Films, "The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires" (1974).

All of these films were huge hits throughout Asia and the Far East, but made little dent with American film audiences. It was actually Raymond Chow who became the first to show U.S. filmmakers how thrilling martial arts could be, thanks to his signing of the genre’s first international star Bruce Lee.

Enter the Dragon — Bruce Lee

Born in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee was the first big martial-arts film star. After starting out as a child actor in Hong Kong, Lee began to intensely study martial arts, eventually creating his own, called Jeet Kune Do (Way of the Intercepting Fist).

He returned to the U.S. to attend college, then moved to Hollywood and tried to break into acting, while also running a martial-arts studio with famous clients such as actor Steve McQueen ("Bullitt" [1968]) and basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Lee first gained fame playing Kato on the comic-book action TV series "The Green Hornet" (1966-67), giving American audiences a taste of his fighting prowess.

However, in 1971, frustrated by his relative lack of success in America, Lee returned to Hong Kong and signed a deal to make films with Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest. Thanks to "The Green Hornet," Lee was already a star in Hong Kong. His first film "Fists of Fury" (1971) smashed box-office records. More importantly, it became the first martial-arts film to become a hit in other parts of the world, including the U.S.

Lee followed that up by directing, choreographing and starring in "Return of the Dragon" (1972), which featured a climactic fight in the Coliseum in Rome against the reigning world middleweight karate champion, future action star Chuck Norris. His next film was supposed to be "Game of Death," which he started (and which featured his pupil Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). But Lee interrupted that film when Chow offered him the lead in a Hong Kong-American co-production entitled "Enter the Dragon" (1973).

The film, Lee’s first starring role in English, featured American actors John Saxon ("Wes Craven’s New Nightmare" [1994]) and Jim Kelly ("Black Belt Jones" [1974]). It was a smash hit throughout the world (although oddly not in Hong Kong) and established Lee as an international superstar.

Sadly, just as he was going back to work on "Game of Death," Lee suffered a cerebral edema triggered by an allergic reaction to medication and died on July 20, 1973. Ironically, his tragic death only served to heighten his legend. Lee and his films are as popular today as ever.

Imitators and Successors

After Bruce Lee’s death, Golden Harvest tried to keep his legend alive by turning out a number of films with Lee lookalikes or by reusing footage of Lee himself. Even "Game of Death" was finally finished by "Enter the Dragon" director Robert Clouse (with extra footage starring Tang Lung, a Lee lookalike) and released in 1978. Unfortunately, this film and others such as "Fist of Fury 2" (1975) starring Bruce Li, "Bruce the Superhero" (1984) starring Bruce Le, and "Game of Death 2" (1979) starring Tang Lung were pale imitations of the master’s work.

By the early 1980s, Golden Harvest had surpassed Shaw Brothers as the top movie studio in Hong Kong. At the same time, a new generation of artists began taking Hong Kong action films into new territories. Jackie Chan, a stuntman in "Enter the Dragon," used a winning combination of martial-arts flair and Buster Keaton-style comedy to succeed Lee as the biggest box-office star in Hong Kong.

Samo Hung, a chubby classmate of Chan’s at the Peking Opera Academy, also became a comedic action star and director in such films as "Warriors Two" (1978) and "Shanghai Express" (1987). Hung also appeared in "Enter the Dragon," getting beaten by Bruce Lee in the opening fight scene.



Meanwhile, director John Woo took action films in a different direction, developing a unique, operatic style of violent gunplay in such films as "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "The Killer" (1989) and "Hard Boiled" (1992), all starring Chow Yun-Fat. Producer/director Tsui Hark combined old-fashioned elements of Peking Opera with modern special effects techniques to make such dazzling films as "Peking Opera Blues" (1986), "A Chinese Ghost Story" (1987) and "Once upon a Time in China" (1991). The latter film featured rising star Jet Li ("Lethal Weapon 4" [1998]), who also portrayed a legendary martial-arts master in "The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk" (1993).

In addition, many women rose to prominence as high-kicking stars in this new wave of martial-arts films. Actresses like Maggie Cheung ("Dragon Gate Inn" [1992]), Brigitte Lin ("The Bride With White Hair" [also 1992]), Anita Mui ("The Heroic Trio" [1993]) and Michelle Yeoh ("Wing Chun" [1994], directed by "The Matrix" fight choreographer Yeun Wo Ping) gained fame for their beauty and athleticism.

American Heroes

Bruce Lee’s impact on international action films was not lost on American filmmakers. While Hong Kong trained a new generation of martial-arts stars to build on Lee’s success, several American action stars emerged to broaden martial arts’ appeal for U.S. audiences.

The first real American martial-arts star was Chuck Norris. The world middleweight karate champion from 1968-74, this Oklahoma native made his film debut waging a titanic battle against Bruce Lee in "Return of the Dragon." After a few supporting roles in low-budget films, Norris made his breakthrough with "Good Guys Wear Black" (1978). He played a Vietnam vet forced to use his martial-arts skills to protect himself and his family from renegade government agents.

Norris then starred in the sequel "Force of One" (1979). He became one of the top action stars of the 1980s with such films as "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1983), "Missing in Action" (1984) and "Delta Force" (1986). In 1993, Norris turned to TV, producing and starring in the long-running adventure series "Walker, Texas Ranger."

In 1988, a former security expert and martial-arts instructor named Steven Seagal hit America’s movie screens with a bang in "Above the Law," based on a story he’d written himself. The film was a box-office hit and established the tall, menacing Seagal as the next big American martial-arts star.

He followed with a string of successes, including "Hard to Kill" (1989), "Out for Justice" (1991) and his biggest hit, "Under Siege" (1992), co-starring Academy AwardTM winner Tommy Lee Jones ("The Fugitive" [1993]). Seagal then made his directing debut with "On Deadly Ground" (1994). He also had a key supporting role in the 1996 action thriller "Executive Decision," starring Kurt Russell ("Soldier" [1998]).

At about the same time that Seagal was establishing himself as an action star, another high-kicking martial artist was making a splash. Jean-Claude Van Damme, a former European middleweight karate champion from Belgium, moved to the U.S. in 1981, hoping to be a film star. After teaching martial arts for several years and acting in some low-budget films, he finally broke through in 1988 with "Bloodsport." The film, about a fight-to-the-death martial-arts tournament, allowed Van Damme to show off his fighting prowess and made him an instant success.

Known for his high-flying kicks, Van Damme went on to star in such action hits as "Kickboxer" (1989), "Universal Soldier" (1992), "Hard Target" (1993) and "Timecop" (1994). Several of his more recent films have been directed by Hong Kong directors, such as Ringo Lam ("Maximum Risk" [1996]) and Tsui Hark ("Double Team" [1997]).

American Influences

While action stars like Norris, Seagal and Van Damme established their own brand of martial-arts mayhem, Hong Kong films were creating a devoted cult of American filmgoers. Their elegant brand of fighting and action choreography (which often involved the actors bouncing and flying around on wires, as opposed to the American’s reliance on more straightforward, realistic stunt work) began to have major influences on young American filmmakers.

Hong Kong influences can readily be seen in the works of such directors as Sam Raimi (the slapstick fights in "Army of Darkness" [1993]), the wild camerawork in "The Quick and the Dead" [1994], John Carpenter (his film "Big Trouble in Little China" [1986] was the first major attempt to capture the style and tone of the great 1980s Hong Kong fantasy martial-arts films) and Robert Rodriguez (the operatic gunplay in "Desperado" [1996] was heavily inspired by the films of John Woo).

In recent years, these influences have only intensified. The return of Hong Kong to China in 1997 caused many major talents to move to the U.S. and begin working in American films. John Woo directed the John Travolta hits "Broken Arrow" (1996) and "Face/Off" (1997). Tsui Hark directed Jean-Claude Van Damme in "Double Team" (1997) and "Knock Off" (1998). Michelle Yeoh became a "Bond Girl" in the 1997 James Bond action/adventure "Tomorrow Never Dies." Chow Yun Fat starred with Oscar® winner Mira Sorvino in "The Replacement Killers" (1998).

Jet Li appeared as the lead villain opposing Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon 4" (1998). In 1998, Samo Hung took American TV by storm with his police action series "Martial Law," co-starring Arsenio Hall ("Coming to America" [1988]). And Jackie Chan, after years of trying, finally broke through to American audiences with "Rush Hour" (1996), teaming with comedian Chris Tucker ("The Fifth Element" [1997]) in one of the year’s top-grossing films.

Continuing the Kharma

As Hong Kong actors and filmmakers continue to work in America, films like "The Matrix" will be able to combine their artistic influences with our advanced technology to create more spectacular stunts and stories, giving audiences new and wilder experiences. This combination of Eastern and Western philosophies is sure to result in further cross-pollenization, transcendence of genres (martial arts with science fiction, action with mysticism) that will keep the art form fresh and invigorating.

Artwork & Photography © 1999 Warner Bros - U.S., Canada, Bahamas & Bermuda; © 1999 Village Roadshow Films (BVI) Limited - All other territories. Essay Content © 1999 Warner Home Video