1960s: Height of Kong Ku Film
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| Yu Hai Yu Gong Yuan |
From 1965, tired of making old-style films, many directors began to make some new films. In 1966, Hong Kong action directors Zhang Che and Hu Jinquan (King Hu or Swordsman) separately made the films Du Bi Xia and Da Zui Xia (Come Drink With Me) for the Shaw Brothers. These two films helped Zhang and Hu develop a high status in the film circle.
Zhang Che liked to represent power and force, so his films are overflowing with violent imagery and stirring individualistic heroism; every action in his film is real, strong, bold, and unrestrained.
Hu's films are different, as they include a historical feeling and ideology, like the films Xia Nv and Kong Shan Lling Yu (Raining in the Mountain), which combines traditional Chinese scenery with fight scenes. Moreover, in 1975, Xia Nv became the first Chinese film to win a major prize (the synthetic technology prize) at the Cannes (France) film festival, the most renowned film festival in the world.
Hu Jinquan and Zhang Che made significant contribution to the development of kung fu film, and cultivated many famous actor and directors such as Xu Feng, Di Long, Li XiuXian, Wu Yusen (John Woo), Yuan Heping, Liu Jialiang, and so on.
1970s: Li Xiaolong 's Times
From 1970 to the mid 1970's, kung fu film strode into the Bruce Lee Era, with films like Tang Shan Da XionG (The Big Boss), Jing Wu Men (Fist of Fury), Long Zheng Hu Dou (Enter theDragon), and Meng Long Guo Jiang (Way of the Dragon), as well as his unfinished Si Wang You Xi.
Besides being high box office hits in Hong Kong, Li's films also became the first Hong Kong films to enter the international market. Hence, a hot Chinese kung fu wind swept the whole world.
Late 1970s---Early 1980s: Two Genres Appeared
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| Shao Lin San Shi Liu Fang |
In 1978, Yuan Heping directed the film She Xing Diao Shou (Snake in the Eagle's Shadow), and cast Jackie Chan as the leading actor. They introduced humor into the fighting and plot, and initiate a kind of new genre -- kung fu comedy. Moreover, another Yuan Heping and Jackie Chan film, Zui Quan (Drunken Master), became a classic in kung fu film history.
In the same year, Liu Jialiang's film, Shao Lin San Shi Liu Fang, made a great coup, with its massive depiction of shamans exercising martial arts.
1980s: New Kung Fu Film Grow Up
By the juncture of the 1970's and the 1980's, the output of Hong Kong and Taiwan kung fu films had decreased greatly. Fortunately, at such a critical moment, in 1979, Xu Ke (Hark Tsui) shot his first kong fu film, "Die Bian" (The Butterfly Murders), which refreshed the film circle and also started the history of Hong Kong movie's new tide.
In 1981, the film Shao Lin Si (ShaolinTemple), directed by Zhang Xinyan, was innovative and significant in film history. It was the very first movie to use specialized martial arts athletes as actors and martial arts instructors. The use of steel wires, spring beds, stand-ins, and many other such stunts were abandoned.
Shao Lin Si had a high box office success in Hong Kong, and initiated a generation's crave for kung fu. The giant kung fu star Li Lianjie (Jet Li) first got fame from this film.
In 1984, Xu Ke directed Shu Shan (Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain), in which Xu created a magical world, with the massive application of new technology and modern electronic music. Shu Shan made a great killing at the box office and created a new model for kung fu film.
During this period, Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao, and many other directors' works, like Police Story and Project A, further paved a new road for kung fu films.