Drunken Master II
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| Drunken Master II | |
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 Drunken Master II DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Lau Kar-Leung |
| Produced by | Edward Tang Eric Tsang |
| Written by | Edward Tang Tong Man-Ming Yun Kai-Chi |
| Starring | Jackie Chan Ti Lung Anita Mui Lau Kar-Leung Felix Wong |
| Distributed by | Golden Harvest |
| Release date(s) | 1994 (Hong Kong) |
| Running time | 102 min. |
| Language | Cantonese |
| Budget | $2,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Drunken Master II (Jui Kuen II) is a martial arts film directed by Lau Kar-Leung and starring Jackie Chan as Wong Fei Hung, a legendary Chinese folk hero. The film was originally released in Hong Kong in 1994. After Chan became an established star in the United States, it was dubbed into English and released there in 2000 under the title Legend of Drunken Master.
Although it is the sequel to Drunken Master (1978), it bears some differences from the original.
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[edit] Synopsis
The story concerns the misadventures of Wong Fei Hung as he accidentally becomes involved with the affairs of the British consul who is smuggling ancient Chinese artifacts out of the country. Wong Fei Hung battles the henchmen of the consul using the Zui Quan ("Drunken Boxing") style of martial arts. An added twist is that Wong Fei Hung becomes more a more powerful fighter by consuming alcohol.
The film ends with a fight scene lasting over 10 minutes against Ken Lo, who was one of Jackie Chan's bodyguards. The fight has been lauded as one of the most intense and technically astute scenes in movie history. It has been compared (favorably) to Chan's fights against kickboxer Benny Urquidez in Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever.
[edit] US version
Of all the films in Chan's back-catalogue that received North American theatrical distribution, Drunken Master II was tampered with the least. Apart from the title change to Legend of Drunken Master, English dubbing (Chan dubbed himself), and a new musical score, only 35 seconds of film were cut. This was from the concluding scene in the Hong Kong print, which involved the comic after-effects of Chan's alcohol consumption. The scene was considered in bad taste by the American distributor, Dimension (a subsidiary of Miramax).
[edit] Critical reception
The Dimension release of The Legend of Drunken Master received strong reviews from North American critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently holds a 78% approval rating, with an 89% approval rating among the 'Cream of the Crop'.[1]
Roger Ebert, writing in the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of a possible four:
"When I did a seminar at the Hawaii Film Festival several years ago, comparing the physical comedy of Chan and Buster Keaton, martial arts fans brought in their bootleg Hong Kong laser discs of this film and told me that I had to see the final 20-minute fight sequence. They were correct. Coming at the end of a film filled with jaw-dropping action scenes, this extended virtuoso effort sets some kind of benchmark: It may not be possible to film a better fight scene."[2]
. In Entertainment Weekly, Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film an A- grade and wrote:
"A half dozen years after its Asian release, and over two decades after the original Drunken Master made Jackie Chan a star in Hong Kong, The Legend of Drunken Master may be the most kick-ass demonstration yet, for the majority of American moviegoers, of what the fuss is all about: To many aficionados (who know the video as Drunken Master II), this 1994 favorite, remastered and dubbed in "classic" bad Chinese-accented English, showcases Chan in his impish glory, dazzling in his ability to make serious, complicated fighting look like devil-may-care fun."[3]
James Berardinelli was one of the less fervent reviewers:
"The Legend of Drunken Master is pretty typical Hong Kong Chan fare - five superior action sequences with a lot of failed comedy and mindless drivel padding out the running length. Most of the expository and character-building scenes fall into one of three categories: (1) inane, (2) incomprehensible, or (3) dull. The tone is also wildly inconsistent. Some sequences are laced with slapstick comedy while others are acutely uncomfortable as a result of torture and the nearly-abusive disciplining of a grown child by a parent. (Differences in culture make the latter seem more incongruous to American viewers than to Chinese movie-goers.) So it's up to the action to redeem the film - a feat it succeeds at, at least to a point."[4]
[edit] Box office
Drunken Master II was an enormous success in Hong Kong, grossing HK$40,971,484 during its theatrical run. The success was somewhat surprising, considering reports of tension on the set between Chan and Lau Kar Leung, and that the 90s kung fu-vogue had more-or-less passed.
Six years later, Drunken Master II was released in 1,345 North American theatres under the title, The Legend of Drunken Master. This slightly re-edited version received rave reviews, but it made only US$3,845,278 ($2,865 per screen) in its opening weekend, on its way to a US$11,555,430 total.
[edit] Trivia
- In the last scene, Jackie falls onto a pile of hot coals. According to his biography, I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, those were real embers; he refused to use any special effects or substitutes.
