Wong Fei Hung: The Man & His Cinematic Depictions

[Omni Dragon]

I don't about you but when I think of the pre 70's Kung Fu I first think of Kwan Tak Hing as the righteous Wong Fei Hung.

http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/af130/jrcma/KTH.jpg

[SMK]

I don't about you but when I think of the pre 70's Kung Fu I first think of Kwan Tak Hing as the righteous Wong Fei Hung.

You're so right! His most memorable role for me, was of course in the ultra-classic film Magnificent Butcher.

[Omni Dragon]

That one of my favourite posters. I watched DREADNAUGHT & MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER recently & for a man almost 80 he was certainly doing some impressive moves.

It was great that HKL dvd of MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER has the original English dub it's because it an early HKL see the early & late HKL had the original English dub but the mid ones tend to have new English dubs which aren't as classic.

[kaleyboy]

Magnificent Butcher is indeed a classic. Special mention must go Yuen Woo Ping and the Yuen Clan for keeping the WFH character going. His dad did choreography on the B&W films, and he and his brothers also did stunt work. Later he directed the classics Drunken Master, Magnificent Butcher, Dreadnaught. And he came back to it by doing choreography on the Jet Li Once Upon A Time In China series. I wonder if he'll ever return to the character with a future film? Maybe bring WFH to a whole new generation.

[MG Lerox]

Magnificent Butcher rocks , too bad that Simon Yuen didn't live enough to play a role in it

[Omni Dragon]

Magnificent Butcher rocks , too bad that Simon Yuen didn't live enough to play a role in it

I bet they shot footage with him but that is lost but there is photos of him on the set I guess that's the closest will ever see.

[MG Lerox]

I bet they shot footage with him but that is lost but there is photos of him on the set I guess that's the closest will ever see.

If footage exist i would defenetly love to see it, Simon is great actor and he already worked on many Wong Fei Hung projects during '50s, so i guess that he draw huge experience in that part of Kung Fu cinema.

[mmacchia5]

yeah he also played him in Skyhawk with carter wong

[SMK]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogmq1avVyu0

I see that a 1949 Kwan Tak Hing movie was fan subbed, does anyone here have a copy of this film, and if so how did you like it?

I would love to get a copy of this, but $25 is a bit much right now, especially since I've been out of work since April.

The True Story of Wong Fei Hung Volume 1: Whip Extinguishes Candles

This is Part 1 of the classic Hong Kong film originally released in 1949 that pioneered the entire Wuxia film genre. Visionary Director Wu Pang cast Chinese Opera star Kwan Tak Hing in the role of the legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hung; a role that he was to hold for more than 40 years in over 100 film and TV productions.

In this film, grand disciples of the real life Wong Fei Hung were enlisted as consultants and background actors including notables Leung Wing Hang, Lau Cham, Yuen Wing Kwai, Poon Kwai Yat, and Chan Hon Chung. Other well known stars included: Walter Tso Tat Wah, Simon Yuen Siu Tin (father of action director Yuen Woo Ping), and Lee Lan (the first Miss Hong Kong on 1946).

The film contains some of the earliest recorded footage of traditional Hung Gar forms and fighting methods, performed by the most famous practitioners of the era. This is a "must-see" for martial arts fans, historians and kung fu practitioners of all styles.

For purchasing info, you can visit the site here.

TRAILER OF THE FILM WITH SUBTITLES

[kaleyboy]

It was uploaded over at ADC by someone called "FrankyLau". Maybe the same guy who subbed it?

[SMK]

It was uploaded over at ADC by someone called "FrankyLau". Maybe the same guy who subbed it?

Did you grab it then kaleyboy?

[Michael L.]

$25 for a fan sub with what looks like a TV station logo in it (can't tell on the netbook screen)? That doesn't sound like people covering costs to me... that sounds like a bootleg!

[kaleyboy]

Did you grab it then kaleyboy?

I did Ray and I've sent you a PM.

[kaleyboy]

$25 for a fan sub with what looks like a TV station logo in it (can't tell on the netbook screen)? That doesn't sound like people covering costs to me... that sounds like a bootleg!

As far as I'm aware, the HK TV broadcasts are the only known available sources of these old WFH movies (but I might be wrong). As for the price, well if he paid for translation, then that can cost as much as $250 - $350 per movie as most pro trnanslators charge by the word. I also heard he had a real Hung Gar Master watch the film to give him the correct names for all the stances & techniques used. So $25 might seem expensive, but I'm sure he's only charging enough to cover his outlay. I know from experiance, if you sell 10 copies of a fansub movie, then you're very lucky. Our average is between 5 - 10 copies max per project. I think the only project of ours that actually sold enough to pay for itself was To Kill A Mastermind.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Yes, what Kaleyboy said is true. Franky is a Hung Gar master himself, with his own school. He and an older, senior master were very meticulous about the translation to get it perfect. He is a really cool dude- not greedy at all. The high price was a cost covering act only. After he was out of the red, he put it on the site as a free DL himself. I believe he was going to sub more, but sadly, I don't think the response to the first one was what anyone had hoped for. Still, my fingers are crossed that he'll do another one. These films have never been officially released in any home video format, so we're lucky to see them at all. When I used to ask about them in my local Chinatown, the people would all laugh it off and say "Oh, those are old. No one cares about those." I'm glad no one over here said that about Chaplin classics or the 1933 KING KONG!

[Michael L.]

I don't know... I can produce a video and retail it for $20 in the magic industry and turn a profit with way more costs going into than that. He might be better off giving them away (or selling them for cheap) and asking for donations to cover the rest for a number of reasons (including legal ones).

I don't know about the laws in Hong Kong or Taiwan, but I know that copying things in the US with a network logo is just asking for trouble and looking like you are trying to profit just invites the wrath of the networks. I have a few examples, but I can't really talk about them since I'm not supposed to know about them!

[kaleyboy]

I don't know... I can produce a video and retail it for $20 in the magic industry and turn a profit with way more costs going into than that.

Well my response would be: Please do so. I'd love to see movies like this get official releases.

Sadly, not many people are willing to take the risk, so it's left to fans to undertake these things.

[SMK]

Well my response would be: Please do so. I'd love to see movies like this get official releases.

Sadly, not many people are willing to take the risk, so it's left to fans to undertake these things.

I must say, if it was not for the fans creating these FAN SUBBED releases, I am pretty sure we would NEVER be able to see these movies and understand what exactly is going on, if not for the addition of the English subs!

There are still HUNDREDS of old martial arts movies that are only available in RAW format. No English subs, no potential releases in sight.

I look forward to each of these movies getting the ol' "FANSUB" treatment.

[Michael L.]

If I do it, I have to buy the rights to the film, still get it translated, add in the subs and maybe a dub. And it isn't like I can retail them for $50 because I bought the rights... at least, not and sell any! But if I have the rights and can prove it then I could sell it on Amazon on a per disc arrangement. Maybe I'll look into it; I have other things on my plate right now.

My point is, still, that a $25 looks like someone who is trying to profit (especially if they are advertising) and that is inviting trouble! If the legal owners come down on them, it doesn't matter if they actually made money or not.

[kaleyboy]

I'd be highly surprised if the rights holders go after a one-man fansubbing outfit, when the latest hollywood blockbusters are on torrent sites. But I get the point your making. But maybe you can also see mine: at least the guy charging $25 subbed it and made it available. If we had to depend on official releases, we'd still be waiting for it. Like you yourself said, you have other things on your plate. Of course that's fair enough, you can choose to work on whatever project you like, but the guy went for it and did it. I respect that.

[Michael L.]

So I did some quick research on some Chinese sites and there are several old Wong Fei Hong movies available on VCD (I think I found about half a dozen), which makes sense as they are short and will fit on a CD. I'm going to look into finding the company that put them out and maybe something will happen but I am trying to put together two other fairly major projects right now and I'm a pretty small outfit. On the flip side, if AnimEigo can find an audience and stay in business for as long as it has, I have to think that busting out Kwan Tak Hing movies is worthwhile....

It all depends on their response and the numbers. I'll admit that all of my international business deals so far have ended up being tremendous pains in the... anyway, I'm still willing to give this a try.

[kaleyboy]

Are your current projects under wraps or can you tell us what they are? Also, any previous projects of yours I should check out?

[Michael L.]

I do work for hire, mainly promotional stuff. Previous projects I have released myself or through a partnership are all pretty much for magicians, so unless you are a magician or a fan of old time radio (or both) it probably isn't for you. The on the horizon stuff needs to be kept under wraps for now, too, for a variety of reasons but most of that is going to be for teachers and parents. So that only leaves Flying DVDs Of Death, which everyone should watch only at their own risk and understand that it is an ultra-low budget tongue in cheek affair. I'm afraid I use all the production budget on that to pay Jeff (mainly in 20 ounce bottles of Dr. Pepper).

[Jadedragon61]

Like a lotta guys nowadays, I mostly remember Kwan Tak Hing from Magnificent Butcher (where he was impressive - what about that rock-solid horse, and those finger push ups?).

I recently saw a bunch of clips of his early movies (one with Shek Kin as villain!) and they were very cool. KTH was indeed one, maybe THE, earliest true martial artist to get on screen.

Many years ago, I think it was in Inside Kung Fu, there was a feature article on him. I remember he mentioned that, of all things, he was an "old west" buff! There were some photos of him in cowboy get-up. I also remember that he was an expert with the bull-whip.

[Michael L.]

I was thinking that too, so I'm glad you confirmed my memories!