it has been such a long time since a show had me in stitches. Steven Chow did to kungfu what he did to football in Shaolin Soccer. i searched and did not find any threads on this. has it not been released yet, or is the movie not as fun for a western audience who might not appreciate the many references to the old wuxia serials from hong kong?
I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s been getting a lot of publicity in Japan (Shaolin Soccer was a big hit here, as well). I’m debating whether to see it in the theater or wait for the video release. Looks fun.
I saw it at a screening in December, and I liked it a lot. I’ve seen several Steven Chow movies now and they’ve made me a fan of his. I’m not sure it would be a major crossover hit in America because it’s going to seem extremely weird and silly to people unfamiliar with the genre (or expecting something like Crouching Tiger or House of Flying Daggers). It’s too bad that American audiences are frequently reluctant to try something new, because Kung Fu Hustle is a lot of fun. I’ll see it again when it gets released Columbia/Tri-Star is supposed to release it here in the next few months, but I can’t find the exact date.
yes, the movie is great fun. i’d watched it in the cinemas if only to have even more people to share the laughter with. even though they are different genres, i am curious how someone who appreciates Crouching Tiger will react to the show, so i may have to wait a few months before i ask the question again.
ok. so how is it?
bump card - go directly to top of page, do not pass the stickies, do not feed the hamsters.
It is opening everywhere two weeks from now, I believe.
oh :o
Loved it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a kung fu flick make me laugh so much I was gasping.
It has made it on my top 5 martial art flick list
1- Azumi
2- Fist of Legen
3- Kung Fu Hustle
4- House of Flying Daggers
5- Hero
I believe I saw an ad that said it’s out in New York and LA, and will be released in the rest of the country on the 22nd, or thereabouts.
And this American will be willing to go see it.
I saw a sneak preview last week here in Seattle.
It took a few minutes before the audience warmed up to it; the film’s structure is decidedly unfamiliar to someone who knows only Western movies. The first couple of minutes are almost entirely free of obvious jokes, and then the bad guys segue into… well, you’ll just have to see it. The point is, there was some nervous giggling for a few minutes, with the audience trying to get a handle on the movie’s tone, and asking themselves if these are the jokes? no, wait, is that one? umm…
Of course, by the ten-minute mark, things had cleared up considerably. At the end, there was even some applause.
I’d have to guess that the average moviegoer isn’t going to get half of what Chow is doing in terms of referencing old martial-arts flicks (I’d be surprised if more than two or three people besides me recognized Yuen Wah on sight, for example), but the rest of the material is broad enough that you don’t need the background.
It was especially nice to see that the releasing studio (Sony, IIRC) apparently hasn’t really messed with the movie the way Miramax did with Shaolin Soccer. There are plenty of moments in Kung Fu Hustle that I’m sure will mystify the American audience but that seemed quite familiar to someone who’s seen a lot of Hong Kong movies; it was good that the studio elected to stay mostly hands-off and leave this stuff in, for better or worse.
Thumbs up. Go see it.
How is it compared to Kung Pow? Any ideas?
They are even remotely the same kind of movie.
i didn’t like the trailers at all, they’re poorly done and contains spoilers of a sort.
personally, not only is the movie fun, it is awe inspiring to watch childhood heroes from the tv serials and comic books come alive on screen. i recognised all of the kung fu secret arts, and the one with the zither turned out to be just like i had envisioned it.
i don’t know what they did to the american version of Shaolin Soccer, but this movie is closer to it than Crouching Tiger.
Most of the supporting cast - the ones who know kung-fu - they’re old time stars from old wuxia movies.
Excellent film, and really, really funny if you can grasp all the jokes, and the bits where they make fun of themselves. But as shijinn said, people without pretty extensive exposure to the wuxia culture would probably not be able to appreciate the film in its entirety. It’s very much a spoof as well as tribute, not unlike Kill Bill.
The ‘secret arts’ all appear to be fused versions of the classic ones, though, except for that main final superpowerful secret one.
This film is very funny. It really harks back to the classic Hong Kong martial arts comedies that this city is famous for, and which I think are even better cultural indicators than their serious counterparts.
This one really catches the spirit and the fun of its brethren, and adds to it modern special effects. You will likely be howling right away starting from the first scenes.
There are a couple of scenes that some people find a bit gruesome, until they realize that they see much worse in the average Tom & Jerry cartoon.