Shaolin Drunkard (1983) User Reviews

remarkable - if sometimes bewildering

[winner55 · 8/10 · 18 August 2006]

there's two things one has to get past to like this film - first, there's no 'drunken boxing' style here; second, the first half-hour of the film is so loopy, you may want to know what planet you just stepped onto.

this film is actually part of a tradition that has no comparison outside china - part magic show, part low-brow comedy, part juggling and acrobatics, part martial arts, part folk-lore - basically a kind of circus-entertainment that was lost to the west long ago.

part of what makes this hard to follow is that the traditions of magic in china, besides being simply different than those in the west, are also far more complex, since china has been civilized longer, and to a greater extent, than the west has yet achieved. all magic derives from formula; but china's traditional formulas are a little difficult to grasp - there are four magicians in this film, but it is unclear to this westerner why they can each perform certain magic and not others, and why they need to perform straight-out martial arts on occasion, despite their magic.

in any event, after a while, the characters grew on me and i came to like the show - and as the film progresses, there's more and more action, more rapidly paced; so after a while, the cultural differences ceased to matter.

one historic note; beginning with snake in eagle's shadow, yuen woo ping made a number of classic, realistically staged kung-fu comedies and tragedies, culminating in the thinly veiled family memoir, 'secret master' - less than a year after that film was made, this one appeared, and began a set of films spinning 180 degrees in another direction entirely, before yuen regrouped with the classic 'hero among heroes', or 'legend of the red dragon' as it has been retitled for recent u.s. re-release. most of the films of this mid-period are, to put it mildly, a bit off-the-wall, at least according to western standards, and it's not sure why yuen went down this route. most of them - including this one - are not to everyone's taste, even among martial-arts fans; but they're all worth seeing, at least once. they certainly show a different and remarkable - if sometimes bewildering - side to a many-faceted talent of martial arts film-making.

Hooray, Drunkard saves the Day!

[ChungMo · 7/10 · 2 January 2006]

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.

The Yuen clan reinvents the martial arts movie genre

[ckormos1 · 8/10 · 4 March 2017]

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.

Kung Fu Defies Gravity and Logic

[withnail-4 · 10/10 · 13 September 2001]

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.

Cheung-Yan Yuen's best drunken film

[RectalGORE · 5 March 2005]

I have just seen Drunken Shaolin, and I must admit that it's a very entertaining film.

The story is about the drunken guy and a young man (chuen yan yuen). The young man joins a contest whose winner will marry a beautiful girl, however , he finds out that the girl has an ugly spot on the right side of her face. Therefore, he escapes, and the girl doesn't give up so easily, she chases after him in order to get married with him. The girl's father meets an evil man and then all the fun begins.

The jokes are great, the cheese factor is maxed, the fights are well fought and there are also some funky monsters. Oh, I have almost forgotten, the old drunken man is silly and funny as hell, so far he is the funniest drunken man on this drunken trilogy staring Chuen Yan Yuen. I would like to recommend it every fan of cheesy kung fu movies who isn't afraid of watching movies that the average person won't usually watch. Highly Recommended!

There's weird, and then there's Shaolin Drunkard.

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 6/10 · 5 February 2024]

Went on a bit of a martial arts movie binge tonight as a reward for working a lot lately. I think I kind of saved the weakest of the three I watched for last, Shaolin Drunkard, but this was also the craziest and most experimental. In fact, it's one of the most fever-dream-heavy martial arts flicks I've seen in a good while. I probably haven't seen something quite this weird within the genre since The Boxer's Omen... that one came out the same year, and was admittedly much more gross. Shaolin Drunkard is more bizarre than it is disgusting.

Strangely, for a Yuen Woo-Ping film, the action doesn't really jump out as the best thing in the movie. I think Shaolin Drunkard kind of gets by owing to its oddest elements, but other than some pretty crazy quirks, there's not a whole lot to it, nor its action (which I guess is appropriately weird, I'd have to concede).

I feel like something like this deserves its status as a martial arts deep-cut. Die-hard fans will probably find themselves stumbling upon it eventually, and those who would find it to be way too much will probably live their lives blissfully unaware of its strange existence.

Looking to be entertained? You've found the right flick.

[ElijahCSkuggs · 9/10 · 31 December 2008]

Heading into Shaolin Drunkard I was under the impression that there would be no movie that could even come close to Drunken Master 2 in terms of being an awesome martial art movie and being funny. So, I went into this with pretty low expectations. Low and behold within minutes I'm smiling, and finding myself damned entertained with this off-the-wall kickass flick.

Story revolves around a young man who's on the search for a virgin bride, and a drunk guard whose trying to track down an evil magician who broke out while he was supposed to be on duty. Throw in a masculine grandma, a wise-crackin street magician, oodles of awesome magic tricks, inventive fight scenes and an awesome evil toad.

Out of the dozen or so classic martial arts movies I've seen, I've got to rate Shaolin Drunkard up there with the best ones. This flick managed to keep me entertained consistently at a high level. If you enjoy whacky humor and creative martial arts craziness, this is a must see.

dig that funky puppetry!

[secrective · 10/10 · 16 June 2003]

wow! kung fu with lots of puppets, magic, and wine! excellent movie with plenty of comedy. only reccomended to those who love silly ghost/monster movies like Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind. watch for the elaborate domino jail scene, or the thief using a puppet to steal a key. also check out taoism drunkard (0085628), which appears to be the sequel or the same people working on it anyways.

A truly crazy Hong Kong action comedy

[Leofwine_draca · 8/10 · 4 January 2017]

This completely outrageous martial arts comedy is unlike anything ever before filmed, a non-stop and pacy outing combining tons of comedy, men in drag, loads of special effects, and more crazy nonsense than you can shake a stick at. It's certainly a memorable viewing experience and one of those films you can enjoy over and over again. The movie picks up the reins of the '80s Hong Kong craze for wizardry, monsters, and bodily deformity, wrapping it up in an age-old tale of two innocents fighting against the forces of darkness.

The result is an almost constant stream of martial arts action - superbly choreographed by one of the masters, Yuen Woo Ping, whose choreography is up there with John Woo and Enzo G. Castellari (the final fight with the steel rings of death is excellent stuff) - and lots of comedy, ranging from cultural jokes to silly humour to slapstick, often varying in between, and outrageous over-the-top acting and dubbing. Where else do characters gloatingly shout "I'm evil!"? The acting is tongue-in-cheek, therefore fitting the style and atmosphere of the film well, with kudos especially going to the guy playing Rat-Face, complete with buck teeth and a goofy face. The good guys are clumsy yet funny, the women are beautiful and the bad guys dastardly. Where this film scores and becomes a classic is in the fantastic elements of the plot.

Monsters, magic, and bizarre antics combine in an unholy union to provide some completely outrageous material. Amongst other things, the film offers people wall-climbing, disappearing into each other, hiding in tiny boxes, shrinking, and fighting each other using the burning palm technique. Then there's a memorable toad monster, a blood-thirsty vampire, a fire-breathing puppet, and some grossness involving a face scraping and a walk-on-nails that goes gruesomely wrong. These factors combine to make this a breathless, hilarious, and utterly engaging action comedy, with everything gelling together superbly.

Gotta See This One

[tstanitis · 9/10 · 28 March 2008]

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 contest

The whole movie is just craziness. It will blow your mind. If you can find this film, buy it and enjoy over and over again.

classic

[acreppinstp · 9/10 · 12 March 2019]

We used to call this movie rabbit teeth 25 years ago when we were kids because we didn't know the title of the movie was. Watch for yourself. Action ,Comdey There is no boring part of the movie.

Yuen clan strike again

[gorytus-20672 · 10/10 · 22 April 2021]

Apr 2021

One of the 4 Yuen Clan films from the early 80s, and they are all equally as excellent as each other for me, the others being "Drunken Tai Chi, Taoism Drunkard and Miracle Fighters".

All 4 have to be seen to be believed, they are all so inventive and amazing and funny with it.

They all star Yuen Cheung Yan, Yuen Shun Yee and Yuen Yat Chor.

Sit back and enjoy

10 out of 10.