Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

A butterfly flies across the ocean and leaps over steep and majestic mountains.

The camera gradually moved away, and the overall outline of the mountain appeared, turning into the word "Kung Fu".

This opening is unique and creative, fully demonstrating the height and momentum of the mountain of "Kung Fu".

There was immediate warm applause in the huge screening room.

Considering Yang Ye's status as a Kung Fu master, many people believe that Yang Ye was using this shot to tell the world that he was the pinnacle of Kung Fu.

"Who else?"

The leader of the Crocodile Gang makes a grand appearance.

"Such a beautiful woman was arrested by you just because she spit on the ground. Is there still the law?"

Feng Xiaogang was very domineering when he first appeared, but he was quickly killed by the Axe Gang.

The camera then came to Pig Cage Walled City, the prototype of which was obviously Kowloon Walled City.

Twenty years ago, Yang Ye emerged from Kowloon Walled City and walked into the world.

Now everyone knows why this movie is said to be autobiographical for Yang Ye.

But for some reason, the Kowloon Walled City is clearly in Hong Kong, but Yang Ye did not shoot on location in Hong Kong, but went to Shanghai to build a building that is not quite there.

In the next shot, Yang Ye himself did not appear immediately, but instead showed the various aspects of the residents of the walled city.

The three characters, Kuliqiang, Youzhagui and the tailor, were introduced inadvertently, and it was hinted that they were skilled in kung fu.

When the water outage incident happened and the landlady appeared on the stage, many viewers couldn't help but smile knowingly.

Because the shot where the landlady pushes open the window and appears is exactly the same as the shot where the landlady appears in "Seventy-two Tenants" filmed by Zhuying Studio in 1963.

Yuan Qiu even copied the expression, except that the original version was holding a toothbrush, while Yuan Qiu was holding a cigarette.

At this premiere, all the people present were professionals, and their common characteristic was that they watched a lot of films.

The movie "Seventy-two Tenants" is very famous, and various versions have been derived in later generations. Naturally, all the Chinese filmmakers here have seen it.

The following sentence, "Starting from tomorrow, there will be water outages on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and intermittent water outages on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays," reminded many people of the terrible water shortage in Hong Kong that year.

This water shortage happened decades ago, but for many Hong Kong people, it is deeply engraved in their memories.

Moreover, the Hong Kong media deliberately mentioned the East China flood two years ago.

Then, Yang Ye finally appeared. His character this time was different from before.
In the past, he was always super awesome and beat everything.

This time, it was a gangster who went to Zhulong City to cheat and defraud people in order to collect protection fees. He didn't have any skills at all.

Despite this, no one felt uncomfortable.

As everyone knows, this is an autobiographical film, telling the story of Yang Ye before his debut, so it is normal that he doesn't know Kung Fu for the time being.

Yang Ye collected protection money in Zhulong City, which aroused public anger. Yang Ye asked for help and accidentally called the Axe Gang.

The plot of "Kung Fu" is just like the mountains at the beginning of the movie, there is always a mountain higher than the one you are on.

The Crocodile Gang destroyed the police station, the Axe Gang destroyed the Crocodile Gang, and the three great masters of the Walled City destroyed the Axe Gang...

The order in which these three masters appeared was also regular, with the martial arts of Twelve-Way Tan Leg, Hong Family Iron Wire Fist, and Wulang Bagua Stick increasing in sequence.

After the three masters beat up the Axe Gang, Tiancan and Dican appeared.

The order in which Heaven and Earth kill people is easy first and then difficult.

When killing Twelve Road Tan Legs, the camera was extremely freehand.

The melodious sound of the piano turned into invisible energy, inadvertently cutting off a bunch of branches and leaves behind Kuliqiang.

Kuli Qiang didn't notice it and continued walking. The sound of the piano cut off another bucket on the roof.

A cat jumped down from the roof, and its shadow on the wall suddenly broke into two, and a pool of blood splashed on the wall.

When the piano sound cut off the street lights, Kuliqiang finally reacted.

But it was too late, he turned around and his head fell to the ground.

It was clearly a bloody and brutal murder, but it was filmed so poetically. This brilliant technique amazed many viewers.

The head fell to the ground before the Twelve-Way Elastic Kick was even used. So what about the Hong family Iron Wire Fist?

When killing Hong Jia's Iron Wire Fist, the sound of the piano became more concrete.

The sound of the piano turned into a precious sword that could cut off the iron ring on the tailor's wrist and cut deep marks on the millstone.

The powerful sound waves can even send a millstone weighing hundreds of pounds flying.

The tailor barely managed a few moves but was soon defeated.

Wulang Bagua Stick comes to the rescue.

The sky full of sword shadows and flying red tasseled spears were dazzling and breathtaking.

Fried dough sticks once had the upper hand, but ultimately failed.

There is always a mountain higher than the one you have on the other. The landlord takes action and uses his Tai Chi to defeat everyone, making them feel as helpless as a weakling.

Tiancan and Dican refused to admit defeat and used their ultimate move.

The two of them plucked the strings of the zither, and a powerful sound wave was emitted. Dozens of evil spirits wearing armor and holding knives with hideous faces came one after another, with an astonishing momentum.

But he was blown to ashes by the landlady's lion roar.

After the storm, the sky and the earth were devastated, and only one person was left with a pair of underpants.

After this battle, Hong Kong's martial arts films entered a realm never before achieved.

In the audience, Xu Ke looked at the big screen and fell into deep thought.

……

"The peerless master is right here!"

"It seems that only the ultimate killer, Fire Cloud Evil God, could have such a murderous aura."

"Could this aura be the one that was once known as the Condor Heroes..."

"Yang Guo!"

"Little Dragon Girl!"

When the landlord and the landlady said their names, some people who were very familiar to Yang Ye, such as Liu Xiaoqing and Liu Xiaoli, were stunned.

Yang Ye once jokingly told Liu Xiaoli that his grandfather's name was a household name and well-known throughout the country.

Liu Xiaoli thought Yang Ye was from a famous family, so she asked him what his grandfather's name was.

Yang Ye said seriously, his name is Yang Guo.

Liu Xiaoli almost laughed out loud at that time, but she just thought that Yang Ye refused to say it, and even teased him whether his grandmother was called Xiaolongnu.

Yang Ye also admitted that it was true.

Now that she had watched the movie, she suddenly realized that what Yang Ye said back then might have been true.

……

The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Fire Cloud Evil God are different.

Kung Fu masters advance through four levels, one level at a time.

The first level is the Crocodile Gang and the Axe Gang, who rely on their certain military strength to act tyrannically.

They... thought they were masters!

The second stage is the Twelve-Way Springing Kick, Hong Family Iron Wire Fist, Wulang Bagua Stick, Heaven and Earth, and The Return of the Condor Heroes.

They are all very self-aware and know that there are always people better than them, so they usually hide themselves and do not easily reveal their identities.

They... know they are not experts!
The third level is the Fire Cloud Evil God. He also hides his identity, but only because he has no rivals in this world.

How lonely and empty it is to be invincible!

So he was admitted to a mental hospital.

When he learned that there was another peerless master in the world, he immediately came out and killed the opponent by any means necessary.

He... knew he was an expert! The casino battle was escalated again, and when the battle reached its climax, the entire casino was razed to the ground.

The Fire Cloud Evil God had the upper hand, but was defeated by the loud trumpet of The Return of the Condor Heroes.

But he was insidious and cunning. He pretended to admit defeat and launched a sneak attack.

When the situation was at a stalemate, a fourth-level master finally showed up.

The protagonist played by Yang Ye, when he was still a little boy, met an old beggar on the road one day, who said that he was a martial arts genius rarely seen in a century.

He also said that after he opened his Ren and Du meridians he would be able to fly into the sky, and then he sold him a secret book of "Tathagata Palm" for ten yuan.

After practicing it several times, the boy naively thought that he had really mastered peerless martial arts.

One day, he saw a group of hooligans snatching a little girl's lollipop. He decided to use his magical powers to punish evil and maintain world peace.

As a result, his Tathagata Palm was just a fake trick and was completely useless. Not only was he beaten up, but someone also urinated on his head.

But in fact, he is really a martial arts genius rarely seen in a century. Every time he is injured, he recovers quickly, but he can't remember what happened.

He... doesn't know that he is a master!
……

From the moment "Kung Fu" began to be screened, professionals and film lovers at the scene discovered that the film paid tribute to various classic Chinese and foreign films at all times.

The scene where the Axe Gang gathers together to dance comes from the classic Hollywood musical "West Side Story" from the 1960s.

The camera then came to Pig Stable Village, and the landlady's appearance was from the classic movie "Seventy-two Tenants" from the 1960s.

When Fried Donkey died, he said "With great power comes great responsibility", which comes from "Spider-Man".

Spider-Man was born in 1962, and various versions of animation have been filmed over the past thirty years.

A few years ago, under the leadership of Yang Ye, Cameron and Tom Cruise were asked to create a live-action version of "Spider-Man", which was very popular.

Therefore, this famous line has long been known to everyone.

When Fried Dough died, he suddenly said something in English: "What are you prepared to do."

The landlord also complained: "Old ghost, you'd better speak Chinese!"

This sentence comes from the Hollywood movie "The Untouchables" and is also the last sentence Sean Connery said before his death in the movie.

The action of the landlady waving her fist at Brother Chen comes from Bruce Lee's classic action movie "Way of the Dragon".

The dark clouds over the Abnormal Human Research Center are from the Hollywood movie "Ghostbusters".

When the protagonist rescued the Fire Cloud Evil God, a large amount of blood suddenly gushed out at the end of the corridor. This scene comes from "The Shining", implying that releasing the Fire Cloud Evil God will result in a river of blood.

Not to mention the various elements of Jin Yong's novels and "Tathagata Palm", even the soundtrack when the Axe Gang was calling for reinforcements came from Tim Burton's version of "Batman".

As for the heroine in the movie, the pure mute girl, she was inspired by the blind girl in Chaplin's masterpiece "City Lights".

……

When the protagonist grew up to be a young man, he became a lazy, swindler and fraudster.

One day, he met a mute girl selling ice cream on the street, and he recognized her instantly.

At that moment, he was extremely panicked.

He didn't want the mute girl to see that the hero in her mind had turned into a rogue.

"What are you looking at? I've never seen people eat without paying!"

He took the ice cream and ran away. It seemed like he was eating and free, but in fact, he was really... running away.

He believes that being a good person will not end well, and he wants to join the underworld, but he is always bullied because he is not ruthless enough.

He knew where his problem lay, and he decided to cut off the cause and effect himself.

"Robbery, where is the money?"

He took out a knife, grabbed the mute girl by the collar, and roared in a timid manner: "Where is it? Tell me! What are you looking at? Do you look down on me?"

He pushed the mute girl to the ground, grabbed her, and threatened her with a knife: "I will kill without blinking an eye, where is it, tell me!"

He opened the cabinet, threw a box on the ground, looted a handful of coins and a few bottles of soda, and prepared to run away.

The mute girl picked up the box and said to him in sign language: "Have you forgotten? You saved me!"

The mute girl opened the box and found a lollipop inside.

His memories suddenly came flooding back: "Let go of that girl..."

The mute girl handed him the lollipop with a smile. He felt so ashamed that he broke down.

He knocked the lollipop away and fled again!
……

He doesn't like himself now. Deep down in his heart, he is always a young man with a strong sense of justice.

When the beggar told him that the task of punishing evil and maintaining world peace would be given to him, he naively agreed.

Speaking of which, the plot of "Kung Fu" is a bit similar to "The Promise". The origin of the story is a childhood deception, but "Kung Fu" is much more sophisticated.

The protagonist of "The Promise" is "You ruined my chance to be a good person", and since then he has started to do evil and take revenge on the world crazily.

As for the protagonist of "Kung Fu", no matter what bad things he does, at the last moment, his conscience will always prevail.

Because he will always remember that when he was deceived, humiliated and ashamed, there was a little girl who treated him gently.

In the end, he decided to give back to the world gently.

At the last moment, he protected the Condor Heroes, but was brutally beaten to death by the Fire Cloud Evil God.

Fortunately, he was equipped with the "Tathagata Palm" and possessed super recovery ability. Not only did the Fire Cloud Evil God not kill him, but he also accidentally opened up his Ren and Du meridians, allowing him to break out of his cocoon and become a butterfly, soaring into the sky.

At this point, all the foreshadowings laid at the beginning of the movie have been retracted, and the ultimate showdown with the Fire Cloud Evil God has officially begun.

Because Yang Ye's version of "Kung Fu" was filmed at an earlier time, some of the tributes in the movie became original.

For example, the line said by the landlady, "It's raining, go home and collect the clothes", is obviously a replica of "A Chinese Odyssey".

However, since "A Chinese Odyssey" has not yet been released, this has become an ordinary line.

The biggest tribute is the final battle in the movie, which is clearly an imitation of "The Matrix".

Where is the line between homage and plagiarism?

If you like someone, then his so-called plagiarism is a sincere tribute.

If you don't like someone, then his so-called tribute is just shameless plagiarism.

For example, Guo Jingming's novels are very similar to Japanese light novels, which is shameless plagiarism.

Jin Yong's novels often copy various plots from Alexandre Dumas, which is a tribute to the master.

The problem with "Kung Fu" is that there are too many tributes, and of course fans of the stars think it's great.

Hollywood fans at the time denounced the film as plagiarism because the final fight scene was too similar to "The Matrix".

So when "Kung Fu" was first released, it didn't have a very good reputation. The headline in the media at the time was:
"Kung Fu" won the box office but lost in reputation!
"A World Without Thieves" earns tears, while "Kung Fu" only earns money!

……

When Yang Ye was filming "Kung Fu", "The Matrix" had not yet been released, so this problem naturally did not exist.

The audience at the scene was shocked by the creative fighting scene.
When the Fire Cloud Evil God used the Toad Skill to push Yang Ye into the sky, he really flew into the sky.

Above the clouds, the majestic and magnificent appearance of the Buddha appeared.

He used a palm technique that dropped from the sky, and his whole body turned into a ball of flame, falling rapidly from the sky like a meteor.

The clothes on his body were all burned by the flames, even his hair was burned clean.

The huge impact force created a huge palm print on the ground.

The Fire Cloud Evil God could not bear the terrifying palm power and shouted, "Surrender!"

Yang Ye rolled over, showed mercy, and landed aside.

At this time, the camera gave him a close-up. His hair was gone and he turned into a monk with his hands clasped together, looking solemn and dignified.

Zhou Xingchi's original version was a tribute to Bruce Lee, and the look used here is Bruce Lee's look in "Enter the Dragon".

Yang Ye's achievements have long surpassed Bruce Lee. He paid tribute to his first movie "Shaolin Temple" eighteen years ago!
In an instant, many audience members at the scene recalled their youth, tears streaming down their cheeks, and filled with emotion! (End of this chapter)