Long fa wei

DRUNKEN DRAGON is a madcap Taiwanese comedy fantasy action film made in the same style as TAOISM DRUNKARD and SHAOLIN DRUNKARD. The insane opening sequence sees a trio of super-villains infiltrate a booby-trapped monastery in search of some mystical armour. These bad guys have to be seen to be believed: their ringleader is the ubiquitous Phillip Ko with an extendable metal palm; one of his men has a lit candle on his head which doubles as a flame thrower, while the third carries a deadly go-kart with spiked wheels that amputate limbs. The action scene in the monastery is indebted to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK before turning into a delightfully bizarre fight involving a crippled monk who rows a little boat with wheels. Add in amputation, computer noises on the soundtrack, and more than a little surrealism, and you have one arresting film opening.

Things slow down a little from this point in. The viewer is introduced to the bumbling hero character Doggy, but the supporting cast is more interesting. Former FIVE DEADLY VENOMS actor Chiang Seng plays Doggy's grandmother in drag, and is soon the focus of the villainous trio's search as she possesses the aforementioned armour. DRUNKEN DRAGON takes time out for plenty of lowbrow humour as Doggy encounters an old flame who has grown into a rather overweight young woman. Scenes of her running along are intercut with footage of a pig (!). Another stand-out scene is the ritual in which the good guys attempt to retrieve the missing soul of a comatose man. The elements of this ritual are absolutely crazy and it's one of the weirdest things I've ever witnessed, particularly when he's being dragged along the floor by the hook on his head.

Eventually Doggy is sent off on a path of revenge, at which point he joins forces with his crazy old uncle, played by an unrecognisable Kar-Yan Leung behind a mop of white hair. His uncle trains him to a Jean-Michel Jarre soundtrack and uses mallets to good effect, and then the scene is set for a traditionally violent climax that has flying guillotine style weapons and the like. There are also bizarre proto-cameras, implements, and a toy owl thrown into the mix. It's all very weird and, I have to say, thoroughly entertaining with it, even if you're not sure what's going on!

A film from Yuen Wo Ping's "disciple" not the Yuen clan as listed. Also the date of production seems to be in question as some list it as 1985 which would make sense considering the actors involved.

Directed and written by Chao Chung Hsing, the story revolves around three nasty villains' quest to retrieve the Seven Star Armor which will enable them to retrieve the sacred sword from a Taoist monastery. The film opens with them infiltrating the monastery with their special weapons. One villain runs around with a large lit candle on his bald head, when needed the candle shoots flames across the room. The other villain has a strange contraption that resembles two circular saw blades on an axle. He can turn these into a sort of deadly go-cart. The third, their leader, is a super fighter who wears a spring powered metal palm. It's hard to accurately describe but you get the picture, this is an absurd film and it knows it. They battle with a monk who zips around in a row boat on wheels. The evil trio learns that the armor is no longer in the temple. Cut to our hero, "Doggy" and his doctor/witchdoctor grandmother played by Venom actor Chiang Sheng in drag. They are waiting for Doggy's wife-to-be to arrive by boat. She turns out to be a fat woman named Tiger. Doggy is upset but she turns out to be a righteous Kung Fu fighter who immediately beats the stuffing out of an abusive husband and his gang. The movie focus on their comic relationship until Granny turns out to be wearing the 7 star Armor. This attracts the attention of the evil trio who attack Doggy and Granny. Granny sends Doggy to study Kung Fu with her training brother who has become an eccentric inventor since she spurned his amorous advances many years before. Tiger returns to her hometown "to get thin". The evil villains attack Granny with tragic consequences leading to Doggy vowing revenge and his crazy "Uncle" training him with mallets!

The script is very loose with the plot. The film makers seem to be much more interested in crazy visual gags and wacky fight scenes. The film starts with a very strange comedy scene involving a mechanical food cart that examines food to see if it's been touched by the waiter! If he's touched it the cart kills the waiter with an arrow! This has nothing to do with the rest of the film. The bride to be Tiger disappears after she leaves to get thin. Unfortunately she's one of the best things about the film. The actress moves really well for her size, better then some thin kung fu actresses. The action is intense and wacky. Well shot and edited, the numerous scenes will keep most kung fu fans happy as long as realism isn't a requirement. While not as visually surreal as Yuen films like Taoism Drunkard there's enough weirdness to keep up with those films. The fights are also rougher and bloodier then any of the Yuen films.

The print I saw was messed up with inconsistent color and part of a scene clearly missing. It's also been cropped to 16:9 so the shots are cut off on the edges. Apparently the people releasing these films don't want you to see the terrible original English subtitles that are burned into the prints. Unfortunately doing this ruins the action at times. Better then a TV print but annoying still.

Good fun, recommended.

A thrilling journey that makes use of masterful comedy along with a beautiful and creative martial arts choreography, adding an unique element to a genre that has become very formulaic through it's years, a brilliant, action-packed comedy that deserves to be recognized as martial arts master piece.