Final month, I noticed a bunch of flicks on the Criterion Channel that caught my eye. They had been starring an actor named Sammo Hung, a man whom I had heard about in my martial arts film love, however I used to be embarrassed that I had solely seen just a few of them. Nicely, I sat down and spent a month watching these movies, and I obtained obsessive about the motion and with him as an actor. At present, I wished to deliver you a few of my favorites. Let’s dive in.
1. Japanese Condors (1987)
This film seems like Sammo principally watched The Soiled Dozen and Rambo, stated “maintain my beer,” after which made a film extra insane than each. He performs a convicted soldier main a bunch of different scumbags on a suicide mission in Vietnam. And it rocks. The script is principally an excuse to get from one jaw-droppingly harmful stunt to the subsequent.
2. The Prodigal Son (1981)
This film accommodates an ideal character arc. A spoiled wealthy child (Yuen Biao) thinks he is a kung fu grasp as a result of his dad pays individuals to lose to him. Then he will get his ass handed to him for actual and has to be taught from the bottom up. Sammo directs and performs one of many masters, and he fills each body with a few of the most genuine combating ever filmed.
3. Venture A (1983)
Okay, so that is technically a Jackie Chan film, however Sammo’s fingerprints are throughout it. He co-directed and co-stars because the lovable rogue Fei. That is the “Three Dragons” (Sammo, Jackie, Yuen Biao) on the absolute peak of their powers. The chemistry is off the charts.
4. Ip Man 2 (2010)
Yeah, it is a Donnie Yen film. However Sammo choreographs the fights and steals the present because the rival grasp, Hung Chun-nam. His table-top combat in opposition to Donnie is an all-timer, a chess match between two legends.
5. Wheels on Meals (1984)
The Three Dragons go to Barcelona in a fish-out-of-water action-comedy that’s firing on all cylinders. Sammo directs and performs the goofy private-eye sidekick. The entire thing is mild, enjoyable, and an absolute blast to observe, after which it ends with what is perhaps the only biggest one-on-one combat ever filmed: Jackie Chan vs. Benny “The Jet” Urquidez. Sammo knew precisely what he had with these two and simply let the cameras roll.
Summing It Up
I do know I must see extra of his films, however these are those that had been instantly accessible to me and that made me so enthusiastic about searching for out others. Criterion has a bunch I have never watched, so I’m digging into them now, and I can firmly say they’ve a few of the most gorgeous motion I’ve ever witnessed, even in comparison with Jackie Chan films.Let me know what you assume I ought to watch within the feedback.
