Stunt doubles

[Jonny]

Does anybody know how often stunt doubles are used in 70s Kung fu movies.. for doing the acrobatic stuff.. flips & back flips..I know Phillip Kwok is one who could do it all.. but I wonder how often Don Wong Tao, Bruce Lee, chi kuan Tai who I’m watching now in, the master.. at the start of the movie, he’s doing somersaults .. it just got me thinking.. is that really him doing that or a double.. do any of you know who does it all? Everything you see in a movie.. haven’t noticed Wong Tao using a stunt double or, like I said.. Phillip Kwok.. always wondered about this.. so thought I’d ask the best people there is to ask. Like I’ve said before... I thought my knowledge of Kung  fu was good, before I came on here 😄 thanks 

Edited July 28, 2020 by Jonny

[KenHashibe]

56 minutes ago, Jonny said:

Does anybody know how often stunt doubles are used in 70s Kung fu movies.. for doing the acrobatic stuff.. flips & back flips..I know Phillip Kwok is one who could do it all.. but I wonder how often Don Wong Tao, Bruce Lee, chi kuan Tai who I’m watching now in, the master.. at the start of the movie, he’s doing somersaults .. it just got me thinking.. is that really him doing that or a double.. do any of you know who does it all? Everything you see in a movie.. haven’t noticed Wong Tao using a stunt double or, like I said.. Phillip Kwok.. always wondered about this.. so thought I’d ask the best people there is to ask. Like I’ve said before... I thought my knowledge of Kung  fu was good, before I came on here 😄 thanks 

To answer your first question, I’d say somewhat often. It just depends how capable the stars are. Some stars can do it all. Philip Kwok is a shining example, and I don’t think I’ve seen Yuen Biao using a double.

For your second question, I think it may be Yuen Tak doubling in The Master. He’s famous for his flips and is the film’s lead.

I feel like during the 70’s specifically, Yuen Biao was the king of doubles. His skill level is incredibly high, and he did a lot of doubling in films choreographed by Yuen Woo Ping and Sammo Hung. He has doubled for Jackie Chan, Kim Tai Chung, John Liu, Wilson Tong, “Beardy” Leung Kar Yan, Lau Kar Wing, Wei Pai, and many others in the 70’s alone. In the 80’s, he also doubled Sammo Hung, Cynthia Rothrock and Frankie Chan. And Jet Li in Once Upon a Time in China in 1991.

There are certainly others who have done a lot of doubling (Yuen Wah did Bruce Lee’s flips, and Chin Kar Lok is legendary throughout the 80’s), but I think Yuen Biao did the most in the 70’s.

 

Edited July 28, 2020 by KenHashibe

[Jonny]

That’s interesting.. I knew yuen Biao was very skilled.. but I wasn’t aware he was the double for all those names you listed..every movie I’ve seen him in, he’s impressed me.. He was superb in Knockabout & the prodigal son.. but I know he had small parts in death duel of Kung fu , invincible armor & Hand of death... so I’m guessing he was used as a double in those movies too.. I’ve always been fascinated with what these guys can do.. I find myself pausing movies on some of the stunts to see if it’s them doing it .. I know John Liu used a stunt double quite a bit. Thanks for your interesting reply. 

Edited July 28, 2020 by Jonny

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

I read that Yuen Wah was doing most of the acrobatic stuff for Ti Lung in Chu Yuan movies, I don't remember the source though. Can anyone confirm this?

[morpheus]

On 7/28/2020 at 7:46 PM, Chu Liu Hsiang said:

I read that Yuen Wah was doing most of the acrobatic stuff for Ti Lung in Chu Yuan movies, I don't remember the source though. Can anyone confirm this?

I know he did some stunt work in Magic Blade.  There are some other films starring Ti Lung that Yuen Wah is credited for appearing as well, but as an actor.  It could possibly be that Yuen also did stunts for those films as well.  Perhaps tall stuntmen were not as readily available but Yuen Wah is listed at about 5'8" while Ti Lung was about 6'.  Fairly substantial difference in height.

[Asmo]

1 hour ago, morpheus said:

I know he did some stunt work in Magic Blade.  There are some other films starring Ti Lung that Yuen Wah is credited for appearing as well, but as an actor.  It could possibly be that Yuen also did stunts for those films as well.  Perhaps tall stuntmen were not as readily available but Yuen Wah is listed at about 5'8" while Ti Lung was about 6'.  Fairly substantial difference in height.

True. But perhaps even in the 1970s they had a way of filming that obscured the height difference.

[morpheus]

1 hour ago, Asmo said:

True. But perhaps even in the 1970s they had a way of filming that obscured the height difference.

That's the only thing I could think of as well.  Camera angles, rear shot close ups, not having other actors on the same plane.

Edited November 22, 2020 by morpheus

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

Brad Allan (5'4") doubled for Ron Smoorenburg (6'2") in Who Am I? and few people noticed. In all th robes and wigs and twirling around, no one's gonna notice if Yuen Wah is a tad shorter than Ti Lung.

[morpheus]

3 minutes ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said:

Brad Allan (5'4") doubled for Ron Smoorenburg (6'2") in Who Am I? and few people noticed. In all th robes and wigs and twirling around, no one's gonna notice if Yuen Wah is a tad shorter than Ti Lung.

Some people do...though I'm not one of them.

[Chu Liu Hsiang]

3 hours ago, morpheus said:

Some people do...though I'm not one of them.

I'm not very sherlock in spotting doubles either. Actually I mostly notice them when females are doubled by males, in shots from behind. I guess it's the different shoulder width and posture that makes it obvious, even when the face is not visible. 

[Asmo]

Not from the 1970s of course, but Ridley Tsui doubled for Sammo at a point or two in Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon, and it's filmed in such a way that even something like that isn't blindly obvious either IMO.