Linbeymusol
Wonderful character development!
Greenes
Please don't spend money on this.
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
ckormos1
By 1983 everything that could be done in a martial arts movie had been done a thousand times. As the genre was about to be pronounced dead a few creative geniuses like John Woo, Jackie Chan, and the Yuen clan reinvented it. This movie is sometimes called "Miracle Fighters 2". It is not a sequel but a continuation of the creativity of the Yuen clan.Though they were geniuses in martial arts also they used practical effects to reinvent the genre. (A practical effect is a special effect produced physically and this was the only way to do it back then.) In this movie they used illusions that real stage magicians used, such as the ring trick at the end, and greatly elaborated. Rings were often used as weapons in martial arts movies and I hate them because they are not real weapons and mostly ineffective. The Venoms used rings but they were mostly acrobatic props. Here, the Yuens start with the genuine stage magician linking rings trick and raised it exponentially plus made an effective martial arts weapon.They were also geniuses in the ancient Chinese art of puppetry. The wire work of lifting fighters into the air had been done for decades but the real creativity came with applying puppetry to the props too.Chinese also knew all about fireworks and the Yuens used plenty of chemical reactions in their effects.Some might say there was not enough fighting in this movie. Yes, there was less than usual for a typical martial arts movie. In my opinion, it didn't need any more fighting, quality beats quantity. I rate this 8 out of 10 and it has my highest recommendation.
tstanitis
Shaolin Drunkard is a great 80's Kung Fu movie. From the sound effects to the special effects, this one entertains the entire time. I only have one complaint; I can't find the original Chinese version. The voice-over isn't terrible (probably makes it funnier), but it would be interesting to see with sub titles. Probably not a Spoiler, but some of my favorite scenes include: The opening scene where the drunkard walks up a wall and sticks a straw into it and makes wine flow out. The toy monkey on a string that pees poison into the guards pipe resulting in a cool looking red smoke. The magic battle with the street performer. One guy uses "the devils mirror" and a needle to extract poison out of a bystander's back tumor.The Poison Toad The fire-breathing Kung Fu puppet The pyramid wine drinking contestThe whole movie is just craziness. It will blow your mind. If you can find this film, buy it and enjoy over and over again.
Chung Mo
Absolutely bizarre. This film wastes no time getting started and never really lets up. Lots of magic kung fu. Lots of crude silly 80's HK humor. Over the top acting, insane set design, lots of puppets and a giant poisonous frog! The filming is fast and cheap so some of the editing and continuity is haphazard. The martial arts are silly most of the time but the last big fight scene is very good in it's own weird way. If you like films with some sort of serious subtext then run fast from this one. Nothing is serious here. At one point early on, the Drunkard sinks into the stone floor until his feet are by his face! No explanation on what's going on or why he's doing it! If you can't stand a film this weird, you've been warned.The same team did Taoism Drunkard and Young Taoism Fighter. All recommended.
withnail-4
From the same people who made DRUNKEN WU TANG, and featuring some of the same characters, this is early 80s Hong Kong Kung fu, with blood-drinking demons, giant frogs, flaming fists, giant fire-breathing puppets, and a very surreal mumenchanz-like butt mask Kung Fu fight. Back flips and mayhem, a giant toad with glowing eyes and a tongue that stretches across the room and breaks a table, and a gruesome "walk on the nails" scene. whew.At one point, the bad says: "Ha Ha Ha!!! I'm evil!!!"Rat Face(the Drunken Toaist) drinks and fights with gusto, takes a sand shower, and always manages to survive to drink again.If you like wilfully weird (Lewis Carroll, Salvador Dali, Luis Bunuel) check this one out.