Member BedrockBrendan Posted August 6, 2017 Member Share Posted August 6, 2017 Just trying to get a general discussion of fight choreography going here (if there is already such a thread and missed it, my apologies). What styles of fight choreography and action directors people prefer from the Shaw Brothers films? Also any particular period of filming appeal to you more in this respect? Any pet peeves? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member reason108 Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 LKL films. That says it all for me as far as favorites go. It is nice when real martial arts styles are shown. Not a fan of the older, wavy arm stuff. I will watch it, but it doesn't impress me. I would rate it - LKL (directed) then the Chang Cheh films (with the LKL and Venoms era) and then pretty much any other Shaws action choreography after that. But, sometimes there might be a single film that ranks right up there with some of the LKL stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Gaijin84 Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 11 hours ago, reason108 said: LKL films. That says it all for me as far as favorites go. It is nice when real martial arts styles are shown. Not a fan of the older, wavy arm stuff. I will watch it, but it doesn't impress me. I would rate it - LKL (directed) then the Chang Cheh films (with the LKL and Venoms era) and then pretty much any other Shaws action choreography after that. But, sometimes there might be a single film that ranks right up there with some of the LKL stuff. 100% agree - starts and ends with LKL. Tong Kai is pretty good too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 There's some great action set pieces in from this iconic studio. One small gripe I have with some of the action, is can often look like there's barely any contact between opponents. Like the fighters are playing a game of tag, rather than having a full on fight. Often the stuntmen’s reaction can be more intense, than the hit they've just received on screen. It's one thing I feel Golden Harvest didn’t do, there action was often more hard hitting and full on. There's some stunning, intricate and very creative fights from SB action directors. It's just some of it looks a little too light and flowery for my tastes. The basher may have had some basic looking repetitive looking fights. Yet they often captured a desperate struggle between two guys, who looked like they actually-wanted to fight/kill each other. I need to see more of the Shaw Brother filmography/choreography really, just to have better and wider informed opinion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 I agree with @reason108 and @Gaijin84 few could choreograph fast and fluid, slick shapes like Lau Kar Leung. I could be wrong here, but from what I've seen and remember, Shaw's seemed to lack super kicker style action, which I've often thought was a bit strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Gaijin84 Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Silver and Gold Dragon said: I could be wrong here, but from what I've seen and remember, Shaw's seemed to lack super kicker style action, which I've often thought was a bit strange. Sun Chien had some good scenes, but I wouldn't put any in the super kicker realm though - that was South Korea's sweet spot with the taekwondo emphasis Edited August 7, 2017 by Gaijin84 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted August 7, 2017 Member Share Posted August 7, 2017 Yes of course there are exceptions, but Shaw's choreography from what I've seen seems to have a surprising lack of high kicking action. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Gaijin84 Posted August 11, 2017 Member Share Posted August 11, 2017 Not meaning to sidetrack the topic, but one thing I've always wondered... did LKL and Yuen Woo-ping ever cross paths? Was there any kind of rivalry between the two families/camps in terms of choreography styles and techniques? Most collaborations were as LKL director/action director and YWP as actor, but never both as crew. Maybe the timing was just off? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Skeleton Claw Posted August 12, 2017 Member Share Posted August 12, 2017 (edited) Agree with LKL having the bet fight choreography at Shaws hands down. That said, his films aside from the action tended to be hit or miss, with a increasing reliance on comedy. In my own perfect world, I would've had LKL choreograph the films of Sun Chung. Despite his lower output, Sun Chung made better FILMS, all around. The only area he was lacking was in the intricacy of his fight scenes. Not taking away anything from Chung's go to fight man, Tang Chia, but I think no one would argue that his specialty were weapons, not the hand-to-hand stuff. Imagine LKL teaming up with his old partner on stuff like Avenging Eagle, Kung Fu Instructor, TKAM, etc? It would've made those classics even more enduring IMO. Edited August 12, 2017 by Skeleton Claw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member massa_yoda Posted August 12, 2017 Member Share Posted August 12, 2017 1 hour ago, Skeleton Claw said: Imagine LKL teaming up with his old partner on stuff like Avenging Eagle, Kung Fu Instructor, TKAM, etc? It would've made those classics even more enduring IMO. The human race wouldn't be able to handle that. It wouldn't be fair to other movies. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member sym8 Posted September 24, 2017 Member Share Posted September 24, 2017 (edited) I think you can't really top Lau Kar Leung and Chang Cheh but I do recommend some of John Law Ma films,Especially five superfighters and monkey Kung fu they are just fight filled goodness.the one gripe I have is towards the end of the Shaw Brothers period it was all about wires and severe uncranking which for me ruined what went before. Edited September 24, 2017 by sym8 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member goldenarm Posted September 26, 2017 Member Share Posted September 26, 2017 On 9/24/2017 at 6:30 PM, sym8 said: I think you can't really top Lau Kar Leung and Chang Cheh but I do recommend some of John Law Ma films,Especially five superfighters and monkey Kung fu they are just fight filled goodness.the one gripe I have is towards the end of the Shaw Brothers period it was all about wires and severe uncranking which for me ruined what went before. Hsu Hsia did the fight choregography for Five Superfighters and Ching Siu Tung did Monkey Kung Fu I believe. Ching Siu Tung did a bunch of choreography for period TVB dramas during the 80's. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted October 25, 2017 Member Share Posted October 25, 2017 On 7/8/2017 at 10:06 PM, Silver and Gold Dragon said: I could be wrong here, but from what I've seen and remember, Shaw's seemed to lack super kicker style action, which I've often thought was a bit strange. Tony Tam, often featured in the Venoms flicks was a phenomenal kicker. And though not a Shaw regular as such, Tony Leung Siu Hung was also a kicking genius, most notable in the above mentioned Five Super Fighters and Monkey Kung Fu. I would also say that while Hsiao Hou was more known for his acrobatics, he had a solid kicking regime at the level of someone like Yuen Biao. Also, as already mentioned, Sun Chien. But yeah, Shaws were not known for their kickers, that is true. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted October 25, 2017 Member Share Posted October 25, 2017 5 hours ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said: Tony Tam, often featured in the Venoms flicks was a phenomenal kicker. And though not a Shaw regular as such, Tony Leung Siu Hung was also a kicking genius, most notable in the above mentioned Five Super Fighters and Monkey Kung Fu. I would also say that while Hsiao Hou was more known for his acrobatics, he had a solid kicking regime at the level of someone like Yuen Biao. Also, as already mentioned, Sun Chien. But yeah, Shaws were not known for their kickers, that is true. Another notable kicking performance was Kwon Young-Moon in Return to the 36th Chamber. I remember he dealt out some nice kicks in it (when not using the staff) and even loved where he gives Wei Pai a kick, sends him flying, and points to his foot and says (dubbed English line) "This my friend, is your justice!" Just a shame that Chang Il-Do, who is also a noted Taekwondo/Tang Soo Do stylist, was wasted in it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Cognoscente Posted May 18, 2021 Member Share Posted May 18, 2021 On 8/7/2017 at 9:12 PM, Gaijin84 said: Sun Chien had some good scenes, but I wouldn't put any in the super kicker realm though - that was South Korea's sweet spot with the taekwondo emphasis Dorian "Flash Legs" Tan was the exception to the rule. He was more of a boot-master than even John Liu, whose left kicks were sorely lacking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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