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Best Drunken Master formula movie


paimeifist

Best “Drunken Master” formula flick?  

21 members have voted

  1. 1. Best “Drunken Master” formula flick?

    • Dance of the Drunk Mantis
      2
    • Knockabout
      8
    • Shaolin vs Lama
      0
    • Mystery of Chessboxing
      0
    • Daggers 8
      2
    • The Magnificent Butcher
      4
    • Hells Windstaff
      0
    • Hitman in the Hand of Buddha
      0
    • Crystal Fist
      2
    • Other
      3


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I tried to pick the films that have a big fan following in the genre for the poll - forgive me if I missed your favorite.
 

I’m sure I’m missing some popular ones, as there are a ton of flicks in this sub-genre, and many that are at least “solid.” 
 

For me, it’s gotta be Knockabout. No doubt it’s helped by having probably a bigger budget and a nice remastered version - but it’s so good all around. Humor that is actually funny, a decent enough story, and SPECTACULAR fights - and one of Yuen Biaos best starring roles, as well as a top tier performance from Lau Kar Wing who didn’t get enough time to shine in front of the camera…. But you know - everyone is awesome in it.

 

Whats the community think?

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I'm surprised that one of Jackie Chan's Drunken Master movies isn't on the list. They seemed to be one of the first movies that people think of when you mention "Drunken Master". 

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3 hours ago, DarthKato said:

I'm surprised that one of Jackie Chan's Drunken Master movies isn't on the list. They seemed to be one of the first movies that people think of when you mention "Drunken Master". 

I'm sure he meant films that followed the formula without being the film in question. And DM2 follows a different plot structure.

It's a hard choice, but I went with Magnificent Butcher for the sheer number of all-time classic fights it has, even though Knockabout and DOTDM have better pacing, anf HWS has a better finale.

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10 hours ago, DrNgor said:

I'm sure he meant films that followed the formula without being the film in question. And DM2 follows a different plot structure.

It's a hard choice, but I went with Magnificent Butcher for the sheer number of all-time classic fights it has, even though Knockabout and DOTDM have better pacing, anf HWS has a better finale.

Ah, okay. I see what you mean. 

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Knockabout for me.Great fights,performances and a well made film.Ashamed to say I still haven’t seen Shaolin vs Lama though.(waiting for a decent release)

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52 minutes ago, sym8 said:

Knockabout for me.Great fights,performances and a well made film.Ashamed to say I still haven’t seen Shaolin vs Lama though.(waiting for a decent release)

Shaolin vs Lama is awesome in many ways - but definitely feels more “hokey” compared to Knockabout in my opinion.

The Sun Jung Chi drunken monk character may be the coolest of the Sam Seed type characters of all these movies though!

Look forward to hearing your thoughts on it whenever you get around to seeing it.

 

Dance of the Drunk Mantis would probably be my runner-up after Knockabout though. Always dug that movie, its among my favorites of the genre as well.

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ShaOW!linDude

Knockabout for me. You can't beat the combo of Sammo and Biao for physical action and comedy. And hey! Monkey Style!!! Although I love the Magnificent Butcher, the finale gets played for too much comedy for my tastes. All in all, those are some tough movies to choose from.

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1 hour ago, DrNgor said:

So, who voted "Other" and what did you have in mind?

That’s me. I misunderstood what @paimeifistmeant and I wasn’t able to change it. lol 

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38 minutes ago, DarthKato said:

That’s me. I misunderstood what @paimeifistmeant and I wasn’t able to change it. lol 

Just type your choice here, so if there's a tie, we can refer to your post as a tie-breaker. :)

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3 hours ago, DrNgor said:

Just type your choice here, so if there's a tie, we can refer to your post as a tie-breaker. :)

Sounds good. I'll vote for "Knockabout". Its the only film I can remember watching on this list, but its been quite a while since I've seen it. I'm going to have to see about picking up another copy of it at some point and giving it another watch. 

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OpiumKungFuCracker
23 hours ago, DarthKato said:

I'm surprised that one of Jackie Chan's Drunken Master movies isn't on the list. They seemed to be one of the first movies that people think of when you mention "Drunken Master". 

Drunken master II will always be my go to when I’m thinking of drunken style 

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14 hours ago, OpiumKungFuCracker said:

Drunken master II will always be my go to when I’m thinking of drunken style 

I haven’t seen Drunken Master II yet, but I loved the first movie. Defiantly the gold standard that all other Drunken Master movies should be judged by.

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Drunken Monk

The Magnificent Butcher may be my favourite kung fu film of all time so I had to choose that one. So many good films listed but The Magnificent Butcher delivers on all fronts.

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Frank Bolte
On 3/23/2023 at 3:16 PM, Drunken Monk said:

The Magnificent Butcher may be my favourite kung fu film of all time so I had to choose that one. So many good films listed but The Magnificent Butcher delivers on all fronts.

co-signing this!

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ChillyChong

Does Snake in the monkeys shadow meet that demand?I have seen it just once and don`t remember lot except wilson tong was bad in positive way  so voted dance of drunk mantis

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5 hours ago, ChillyChong said:

Does Snake in the monkeys shadow meet that demand?I have seen it just once and don`t remember lot except wilson tong was bad in positive way  so voted dance of drunk mantis

Yeah, Snake in the Monkeys Shadow fits the mold - I don’t think it’s regarded as a great Fu movie though, and don’t consider it as such myself either so I left it out - BUT - you could totally vote other and comment whatever you want!

 

Dance of the Drunk Mantis is awesome.

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Beardys Feather
21 hours ago, paimeifist said:

Yeah, Snake in the Monkeys Shadow fits the mold - I don’t think it’s regarded as a great Fu movie though, and don’t consider it as such myself either so I left it out - BUT - you could totally vote other and comment whatever you want! 

First time heard that! It was my impression that it's one of the most-loved in the genre! Great film! 

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10 hours ago, Beardys Feather said:

First time heard that! It was my impression that it's one of the most-loved in the genre! Great film! 

I agree, to me it's definitely a classic.

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Voted Knockabout but Dance of Drunken Mantis would be a close second, I think the fact that DOTDM doesn't have a great release is the only real difference for me. I've found in the last few years i'm enjoying films even more because of the new blu rays, Dreadnaught is a case in point I used to think it was ok but love the Eureka release.

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Although Knockabout is clearly the favorite here, I like most of the other films got at least 2 votes. A few didn't get any, but I liked how there is a general variety of opinions and tastes when it comes to Drunken Master/SITES clones.

About Knockabout, said The Martial Artist's Guide to Hong Kong Films:

Quote

KNOCKABOUT.
Stars: Yuen Biao, Leung Kar Yun, Sammo Hung, Lau Kar Wing. Director: Sammo Hung. Action: Sammo. MA rating: 5 (highest possible)

A late 1970s ground breaking and nearly perfect kung fu comedy and masterpiece that marked a zenith not only in martial arts cinema, but also in the movie fighting careers of every member of this super cast in which everyone shows high skills, speed, creativity and precision. They are so good here, that the martial arts seems effortless and fun, and seamlessly woven into the comedy. In his first starring role, a young Yuen Biao is in his absolute prime, with tae kwon do-style kicks (best kicking he has ever done), monkey style, choy lay fut, and various other southern Chinese animal styles. Leung Kar Yan is an amusing foil (a good role) and uses a rolling fist hybrid style that is meant to be comedic. Lau Kar Wing (brother of Lau Kar Leung) puts on a tremendous technically-correct fighting clinic (watch for hung gar and wing chun based moves). To top off, Sammo adds to the finale with wing chun and monkey. Easily one of the top five martial arts films ever made.

 

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Jizzmaster Jerry

I guess Shaolin vs Lama is my fav of the ones listed.  But it doesn’t remind me of Drunken Master.

I go with Sleeping Fist.  

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On 4/15/2023 at 1:35 AM, Jizzmaster Jerry said:

I guess Shaolin vs Lama is my fav of the ones listed.  But it doesn’t remind me of Drunken Master.

The plot contours are extremely similar: the hero is an arrogant martial artist; he loses to an old kung fu master; he starts training with that master; he gets defeated by the main villain (who's a superkicker); he has to learn a new style in order to defeat the villain.

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Jizzmaster Jerry
11 hours ago, DrNgor said:

The plot contours are extremely similar: the hero is an arrogant martial artist; he loses to an old kung fu master; he starts training with that master; he gets defeated by the main villain (who's a superkicker); he has to learn a new style in order to defeat the villain.

That does sound similar.  I guess it’s just the feel.  The biggest difference is the hero.  Lo Rei and Jackie are complete opposites in their personalities.  One’s humble hero, and Jackie, he’s just a little shit and I don’t like him.  Another huge difference is that I’ve always considered SvL a Shaolin movie.  And DM has its own unique story.  There’s a lot of other big differences, because they are completely different movies.  But they are more similar than I realized.  The only similarity I could think of before is that they both had masters that were strict but funny badass guys.  

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