Fearless Hyena (1979) - Opinions?

[chenzen]

What are your guy"s thought on Jackie Chan's 1979 film Fearless Hyena?I just watched it for the first time recently on Amazon instant video and I freaking loved it. I loved the comedy elements and it seemed like the action was non-stop not to mention The choreography was superb.

[Keung]

Most people would say Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master are Jackie's best old school flicks, but I think Fearless Hyena tops them both in every aspect.

[mpm74]

I love all three of those flicks.

Another good one is Dragon Fist. It's non-comedy, but it's one of those must-see early JC flicks.

[massa_yoda]

Fearless Hyena is one of my favs. It's also one of the first old school Jackie movies I ever saw!

[Killer Meteor]

Fearless Hyena is flawed but interesting. That dub kills it.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I guess I've seen too many Godfrey Ho dubs but I thought it was passable. Good flick. Jackie was at his best when he had a high caliber villain.

[andy338]

It was one of the first JC movies that I saw too so i've always had a soft spot for it, i'd actually rate it as good as DM & SITES and i've often thought it strange that it doesn't seem to get as much credit as those two films.

[makone]

I like the movie but hate the English dub

[sifu iron perm]

I was 8yrs old when I saw this, rented it and dubbed it like many of the movies we rented. I loved it..great action..james tien was cool but eagle han gave me nightmares..8 out of 10.

[DragonClaws]

I rented this with Spiritual Kung Fu and really enjoyed it. Really loved the fight Chan has with the Eagle Hans spear wielding cohorts.

Most of the old Lo Wei/JC film's had the same dub jobs. Anyone know why Fearless Hyena had a slightly different dub?.

[Keung]

I really like the dub. There's certainly worse out there.

[KenHashibe]

I own the Cantonese version of this movie and it's fantastic. I've seen this movie many times and the fight choreography never ceases to amaze me. There's such a wide variety of weapons and styles used so the movie never seems redundant. I'm not necessarily impressed by the comedy, but this movie is still extremely entertaining. I'm surprised no one has made a thread for this movie before. I loved it, but I think I liked SiTES more.

As for the English dub, it certainly takes away from the enjoyment of the film, but then again, there are some pretty funny lines, especially the ones said by Eagle Han. It doesn't appear that he can say one line of dialogue naturally.

[DragonClaws]

I did find the dub job annoying in places especially when Chan's character is pretending to wail, cry and laugh in the final fight.

[sym8]

For me this is when Jackie begins to come into his own in terms of fight choreography.As good as his performances are in DM and SITES it’s here that we start to get a glimpse of where his choreography is going.Great entertainment and supporting cast and Jackie shows Lo Wei how it should have been done.

[paimeifist]

I watched Fearless Hyena in celebration of Jackie Chans birthday.

Is it Jackies best film? No. Does it have effective comedy, or a new or interesting plot? Also no.

But the choreography and fighting is amazing. Not repetitive at all, plenty of variation, a mix of weapons and hand to hand, and some okay slap stick. Fearless Hyena is a good movie, and one of the better kung fu comedies out there, although it doesn't stand among the very best. Everything about the movie is at least on par with the majority of other similar films, except the fighting blows most of them out of the water, making this one a damn good movie to me!

 

 

[Liersi]

The latest 88 Films release of The Fearless Hyena (1979) was on the menu last night. It had been decades since I'd seen it. The film starts with baddy Ren Shiguan (good timing and superb aggression in his movements) eagle clawing the life out of some poor souls, probably for the same reasons the rain falls: they practice the wrong kind of kung fu, and that's the way of the world in kung fu land. Of course there are more poor souls from that particular brand of rival kung fu, so the harvest isn't over. One of those remaining faithfuls is Jackie Chan's granddad (James Tien), who looks just old enough to bis his big brother. But he's wise and grey, and his kung fu is good. Little does Jackie know. He goofs off all day and skips practice. Here the tone shifts.

It's odd how Jackie was already sure of what he wanted to do here. I didn't remember that at all. After the very serious opening, Ren Shiguan et al disappear until the last third, and the film is all funny fu. There's nothing serious, fast, aggressive or powerful about any of the fighting. Every punch and kick, every twist and twirl is played for laughs, only that Jackie's much better at it than his peers. In anyone else's hands this would have been a dire affair, one of those painfully unfunny copycats where you're just begging for some action. But here a lot of is actually inspired and funny. Dean Shek's dialect had me laughing out loud. The fight with the three stooges had me in stitches. It's so comic book-like that it felt entirely modern. I still think Jackie didn't quite get the mixture right yet in this one. The baddie needs to disappear almost completely to make way for the fun, so when seriousness hits, it feels at odds with the rest. Like the comedy is some kind of filler to keep people in their seats, because they didn't have time to shoot more serious action. Jackie would go on to mix the funny into the actual fights instead of making it a side show, and I generally prefer that. Sure, have a fun fight here and there, but give me some fighting, not just play-fighting. Jackie is an extremely gifted mover here, but he's tasked with very little speed, snap and power. The complexity is all in the service of playful fun, and not serious fighting. The finale's good, but that, too, is not very high on complex exchanges. There's the tactical changing of styles on Jackie's part, but Ren Shiguan does none of that. And even Jackie is mostly relying on confusion and surprise, more than technique, to overcome his opponent. Here at least we get power and aggression, which make the action satisfying. There's none of the fast, intricate fencing and power fu Sammo was doing at the time. Jackie alone, without any counterweight, was yet to find his groove.

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

17 hours ago, Liersi said:

The latest 88 Films release of The Fearless Hyena (1979) was on the menu last night. It had been decades since I'd seen it. The film starts with baddy Ren Shiguan (good timing and superb aggression in his movements) eagle clawing the life out of some poor souls, probably for the same reasons the rain falls: they practice the wrong kind of kung fu, and that's the way of the world in kung fu land. Of course there are more poor souls from that particular brand of rival kung fu, so the harvest isn't over. One of those remaining faithfuls is Jackie Chan's granddad (James Tien), who looks just old enough to bis his big brother. But he's wise and grey, and his kung fu is good. Little does Jackie know. He goofs off all day and skips practice. Here the tone shifts.

It's odd how Jackie was already sure of what he wanted to do here. I didn't remember that at all. After the very serious opening, Ren Shiguan et al disappear until the last third, and the film is all funny fu. There's nothing serious, fast, aggressive or powerful about any of the fighting. Every punch and kick, every twist and twirl is played for laughs, only that Jackie's much better at it than his peers. In anyone else's hands this would have been a dire affair, one of those painfully unfunny copycats where you're just begging for some action. But here a lot of is actually inspired and funny. Dean Shek's dialect had me laughing out loud. The fight with the three stooges had me in stitches. It's so comic book-like that it felt entirely modern. I still think Jackie didn't quite get the mixture right yet in this one. The baddie needs to disappear almost completely to make way for the fun, so when seriousness hits, it feels at odds with the rest. Like the comedy is some kind of filler to keep people in their seats, because they didn't have time to shoot more serious action. Jackie would go on to mix the funny into the actual fights instead of making it a side show, and I generally prefer that. Sure, have a fun fight here and there, but give me some fighting, not just play-fighting. Jackie is an extremely gifted mover here, but he's tasked with very little speed, snap and power. The complexity is all in the service of playful fun, and not serious fighting. The finale's good, but that, too, is not very high on complex exchanges. There's the tactical changing of styles on Jackie's part, but Ren Shiguan does none of that. And even Jackie is mostly relying on confusion and surprise, more than technique, to overcome his opponent. Here at least we get power and aggression, which make the action satisfying. There's none of the fast, intricate fencing and power fu Sammo was doing at the time. Jackie alone, without any counterweight, was yet to find his groove.

I think there was a deliberate effort to show Jackie with no undercranking. I may be wrong, but it seems like a gimmick like Bruce Lee's fights having long shots and long takes to prove he did everything. I remember watching stuff after these first like Young Master and Project A and thought that they were doing quicker cuts or more rehearsing, but it was just camera tricks! As far as speed goes, Jackie was no Bruce Lee. As far as charisma goes, Bruce was no Jackie Chan. 

[Liersi]

6 hours ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said:

I think there was a deliberate effort to show Jackie with no undercranking. I may be wrong, but it seems like a gimmick like Bruce Lee's fights having long shots and long takes to prove he did everything. I remember watching stuff after these first like Young Master and Project A and thought that they were doing quicker cuts or more rehearsing, but it was just camera tricks! As far as speed goes, Jackie was no Bruce Lee. As far as charisma goes, Bruce was no Jackie Chan. 

That's a very interesting observation, and plausible. With The Young Master coming up I'll pay attention to this. It could be about comedy timing, where certain movements or antics don't work or flow well with either undercranking or the angles and editing they otherwise use to make action look faster. The interesting thing about TFH for me was how heavily Jackie leaned into the comedy, and that doesn't work without showing certain things that slow down the action. The respective finales in TFH and Dragon Lord are notable because they pit different rhythms against each other: Ren Shiguan and Whang In Sik are fast and direct, fists and feet to the body. In terms of occupied space, they are very compact and economical, fighting to a quick, snappy beat. Jackie occupies the entire room, moving around them to a more leisurely beat.

[JackieRome]

Looked like dress rehearsals for The Young Master (much better). Everything seems poorer, the story leaks everywhere, but there are some great intuitions of the genius who is Jackie Chan, he was superior in everything in those years: Choreography, movements, slapstick comedy. it had yet to blossom but the fighting style is sublime. Beautiful restoration for the 88films edition. Vote: 6.8/10

[ukrevrend]

On 8/20/2020 at 6:52 PM, JackieRome said:

Looked like dress rehearsals for The Young Master (much better). Everything seems poorer, the story leaks everywhere, but there are some great intuitions of the genius who is Jackie Chan, he was superior in everything in those years: Choreography, movements, slapstick comedy. it had yet to blossom but the fighting style is sublime. Beautiful restoration for the 88films edition. Vote: 6.8/10

I decided to revisit this one after reading your comments @JackieRome and I totally agree, only Jackie had the full package when it came to good Comedy Fu! His slapstick is on point and with perfect timing. His acting ability was way ahead of the rest of the comedy fu players and with the added bonus of Yen Shi-Kwan throwing a few shapes, i'm glad I revisited this classic!

3/5

Bless

[JackieRome]

1 hour ago, ukrevrend said:

I decided to revisit this one after reading your comments @JackieRome and I totally agree, only Jackie had the full package when it came to good Comedy Fu! His slapstick is on point and with perfect timing. His acting ability was way ahead of the rest of the comedy fu players and with the added bonus of Yen Shi-Kwan throwing a few shapes, i'm glad I revisited this classic!

3/5

Bless

I am very pleased. The beauty of art is to realize that you are facing a personality that will have a future. It is self-evident to see how his movements both in combat and in comedy were out of the ordinary, all the others were ridiculous imitators. This same film with another actor would have been unwatchable. Jackie was a pioneer in taking comedy and action to an incredible level, then the last few years of her career are pretty much ruining everything ... but that's another story.

Edited August 21, 2020 by JackieRome

[Cognoscente]

On 11/2/2014 at 11:39 PM, Keung said:

Most people would say Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master are Jackie's best old school flicks, but I think Fearless Hyena tops them both in every aspect.

Fearless Hyena is proof that Jackie choreographs himself better than Yuen Woo-Ping does. It's only the footage preservation that initially wasn't in the movie's favour versus those two Seasonal flicks.

[Drunken Monk]

Revoke my Kung Fu Fandom membership card if you will but I don't love this one. The action is fantastic but everything outside of the action feels a little bit of a chore to sit through. It's 80% comedy and, for me, none of the comedy hits. It doesn't have the goofy charm Yuen Woo Ping movies had back in the late 70's. Rather than goofy, it feels stupid.
Luckily, we're treated to enough action to keep the film afloat. Jackie's choreography is stellar here. A bit too gimmicky at times (the "pot" fight doesn't hit for me at all) but, for the most part, it's very enjoyable. Then, of course, it ramps up towards the end and makes way for a incredible finale.
I'd still take both Drunken Master and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow over this one. The Fearless Hyena just suffers from Jackie's lack of experience I think. Although, I will say one thing: Yen Shi Kwan's look in this one is flawless.

[WangYu]

@Drunken Monk in that case you can revoke my kung fu fandom membership card as well. I don’t like any of the kung fu comedies of the mid 70s to early 80s! I appreciate the inventiveness and acrobatics but that is basically all.

Give me the likes of “the chinese boxer” any day! 👹

[DrNgor]

8 minutes ago, WangYu said:

I don’t like any of the kung fu comedies of the mid 70s to early 80s! I appreciate the inventiveness and acrobatics but that is basically all.

Give me the likes of “the chinese boxer” any day!

We need to put you in a cage with @ShaOW!linDude and shake it a little and see what happens.