What are your thoughts on Stephen Chow Sing Chi?

[sonnychibaidol]

This is most unusual for me to ask this, but considering that Stephen Chow Sing Chi has often used or at least made some reference to martial arts in his movies, I thought it appropriate to ask everyone here this question.

I will first give my thoughts. Stephen Chow Sing Chi has often admitted that he is an admirer of the late Bruce Lee. In fact, in some of his films, he has often made gestures that are imitations of Bruce Lee's gestures. What we should also note is that Stephen Chow Sing Chi has at times liked to use martial arts in some of his films. Even his first movie that brought him to fame, All For The Winner (In Chinese, the title literally reads: "Saint of Gamblers"), he already used this technique.

However, perhaps there is one very sad disclaimer regarding Stephen Chow Sing Chi. He has had a strong tendency in 99% of his movies to either use foul language in Cantonese or at least have others use it strongly. My own grandmother who speaks Cantonese well, absolutely cannot stand him for that reason. It is noteworthy, for those who are familiar with the Cantonese tongue, for Stephen Chow Sing Chi films to always use these 2 commonly used foul mouth terms:

1) "Puk Kai" which literally means "Fall on the street" but is used as a generic swear word either to express annoyance at a situation and also at a person whom one is annoyed at. It can be translated in the following ways: "Bastard", "Prick", "Son of a bitch", "Shit!", "Dickhead" and so forth.

2) "Hum Ka Chaan" which literally means: "Death to one's whole family". This is more extreme than "Puk Kai" but carries the same weight of swearing at either an annoying person or situation. Since it is more extreme by nature, it carries all of the above meanings of "Puk Kai" and others such as: "Asshole", "Motherfucker", "Fucking prick", "Dickhead" and so forth. In fact, it is not uncommon in Cantonese films, including Stephen Chow Sing Chi's, to use the terms "Puk Kai" and "Hum Ka Chaan" together to express extreme hatred or distaste towards a person or situation. In that case, it would be translated: "You motherfucking asshole" or even: "You fucking prick!".

Stephen Chow Sing Chi besides being named: "The King of nonsensical humour" (mo lei tau in Cantonese) can also be called: "The King of Foul-Mouthed Humour". However, notwithstanding, he is hilarious in spite of this and is worth the watch for pure entertainment.

[DeathFuMaster]

I like a few of his movies, the ones I have seen werent too bad on the swears(not that I care, but like you my grandma would). Royal Tramp I & II had alot of sexual stuff in them which can be funny if not overused. Overall I enjoy Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, and the above mentioned Royal Tramp films without worrying about the foul stuff, because to be honest in America you hear that stuff everyday at work, school, on tv, radio, etc. So It doesnt appeal to me but It doesnt bother me, but I will say that most of my movies are R or Unrated. Most comedies aren't as funny without that R rating(most Americans love that R rating). I have not seen any of his others but I am trying to get a hold of some more.

[doug maverick]

ill tell you wat richard pryor told eddie murphy to say to bill cosby, when cosby got on him about cursing: "have a coke and a smile and shut the fuck up." movie are a reflection of real life people curse in real life right? so to they can curse in movies s well.

[fabhui]

Chow Sing Chi = Genius

I think the fella is superb!!

[Tosh]

I think he's funny even if I miss the cultural obsenities, some peoples humor isn't meant for others, if your easily offended it's as easy as not watching it, I would never want to watch say a Cheech and Chong movie with my grandmother, that's what ratings are for.

[greenfan]

Chow Sing Chi = Genius

I think the fella is superb!!

Seconded. Also, I'm a fan of swearing, as long as it's used well.

[Guest Markgway]

Chow = Sometimes funny, but overrated. As an actor he's extremely limited.

1) "Puk Kai" which literally means "Fall on the street" but is used as a generic swear word either to express annoyance at a situation and also at a person whom one is annoyed at. It can be translated in the following ways: "Bastard", "Prick", "Son of a bitch", "Shit!", "Dickhead" and so forth.

I think a more accurate translation would be "drop dead". That's a very common profanity which even a non-Canmtonese speaker like myself has heard a thousand times. Jackie Chan has used it in films such as Dragons Forever and Police Story III. So I don't think Chow deserves too much criticism for it.

2) "Hum Ka Chaan" which literally means: "Death to one's whole family".

For some reason I always think of Anthony Wong saying that... lol

[MLee]

I did enjoy many of his earlier movies. Sometimes there would be some good comedy and some nicely choreographed action. King of Beggars is probably my fav movie of his.

[Guest I Like Elaine]

I'm a huge Stephen Chow fan. I have all his movies except 2 or 3 of his most obscure ones. With that out of the way, I don't think foul language in his movies is a big deal. Most people swear in real life. That's a fact. I have yet to meet someone who doesn't use foul language beyond anyone related to me. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but it's a fact. And I say this as someone who doesn't use foul language myself and it's considered "unusual". As to whether his movies would be better or worse without it, who knows? But it does make Stephen Chow cooler to some people, and a part of his onscreen persona.

[AlbertV]

I love Stephen Chow's films. He has that comic wit plus his experience with Wing Chun and Tae Kwon Do has him capable of doing fight scenes and he has worked with some greats as Corey Yuen, Yuen Woo-Ping to name a few. He's even worked with Donnie Yen, according to Bey Logan, they did a TV series together back in the 80's I think, Yen said that Chow was funny.

[The Dragon]

Well, he's pretty cool, but if he plays Kato in the upcoming Green Hornet full-camp, I'll forever be pissed. If you're doing a sendup of Lee's character, who was probably one of the best portrayed Asians on US TV in the 60's, you've got to keep it together.

Just my opinion.

[Joseph_Kuby]

My favorite CSC film is Sixty Million Dollar Man.

It's a crazy film that was written (and co-directed) by Wong Jing. With its no-holds-barred insanity, it strikes me as a PG version of Eternal Evil of Asia.

Granted, it's not his best film (God of Cookery) but it's a solid example of what made him big in Hong Kong.

[Fightingfist]

Seen god of cookery but found it boring, i like his other films loads of comedys haha and the swearing.

[KUNG FU BOB]

If you guys haven't seen FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE, check it out. It'a send-up of James Bond films and it's got good action and great comedy.

[kungfusamurai]

I enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer and that movie he did as the Monkey King, whatever the heck it was called. I don't really think his style of humour is consistently good, at least for my tastes. I still think Sammo really nailed the comedy right on the head.

[Tosh]

Seen god of cookery but found it boring, i like his other films loads of comedys haha and the swearing.

Maybe me and my friends were a bit drunk when we watched this but we laughed our asses off, the part where the guy bit into that pissing beef ball had us rollingXD

[Fightingfist]

Maybe me and my friends were a bit drunk when we watched this but we laughed our asses off, the part where the guy bit into that pissing beef ball had us rollingXD

Lol very different reactions

[Gaijin84]

I think Chow is fantastic, although I think he fell off a bit with CJ7. Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer and God of Cookery are movies I can watch over and over and still find funny each time. His comedies were kind of hit or miss in the early 90s, but I think he really got on a roll starting with From Beijing With Love.

I think Kung Fu Hustle is probably the best martial arts comedy I've seen to date. Yuen Wo Ping's choreography and Chow's humor were a great pairing.

[blueCobra]

Stephen Chow movies always make me laugh. Sometimes he recycles his jokes but that's ok because I still laugh even though I've seen the same thing in another one of his movies. I've also found out that the dubbed version of Shaolin Soccer is a great way to keep kids entertained for an hour and a half without getting bored yourself. Kung Fu Hustle and From Beijing With Love are my favorites.

[sonnychibaidol]

Stephen Chow Sing Chi deserves to be called by another name: "粗口王"-"The King of Foul-Mouths". In Cantonese, it reads as "Chou Hau Wong". This is because he cannot help himself using all manner of foul language in Cantonese and English as well, on screen.

[Omni Dragon]

Stephen Chow Sing Chi deserves to be called by another name: "粗口王"-"The King of Foul-Mouths". In Cantonese, it reads as "Chou Hau Wong". This is because he cannot help himself using all manner of foul language in Cantonese and English as well, on screen.

the line from Fight Back to School i the most remember is in English which is "Policeman understand yes,good understand f*ck"

[shapes]

Stephen Chow is a very clever fellow, I like most of his work, King of comedy, fight back to school, Shaolin soccer, kung fu , Tricky brains all great films.

his kung fu is quite good too ,God of Gamblers back to shanghai, king of beggars ect.

I’d love to see him play a totally serious role preferably hunchbacked like Tommy lee Bustin’ shapes, reckon he’d be brilliant!

I am glad to see the issue of swearing in HK films brought up at last.

Chow’s use of Cantonese swearing (very tame) is limited by the HK film censor or an unwritten code of practice, since there is no F--ck off lingo in any Hong Kong film, so they have yet to make a proper gangster film (IMO) as that is how all the Triad guys speak. the film would last about 30 mins if they let them speak how the really do , the only time I heard banned words was in a film called "lonely 15" when the Filipino guy said to his woman "Delay no more" this was a clever way of slipping in that foul expression, recently in M.I.3 Maggie Q lets out a foul mouth bit of lingo “Mou Lun yung” which means Fucking useless.. I am not sure if that bit was cut in the HK release

as her accent is far fro perfect.

One guy who is very clever at slipping in filthy language into his films is Wong Jing, he does this by using English, like in “HK playboys” he called Nat Chan “Lolanto” which if you broke it down in Cantonese means "Old F-cking out of date bloke". Or "Richard Billingham" (Lok chat bei lei hum)which means Suck my Dick and stuff like that,

Anyone got any other Cantonese movie foul mouth moments they can share?

[Omni Dragon]

the line from Fight Back to School i the most remember is in English which is "Policeman understand yes,good understand f*ck"

i just watchted fight back to school with my sister.

[sonnychibaidol]

One of the foul-mouthed scenes I most remember Chow Sing Chi for performing was in God of Gamblers II where he is singing a song expressing his disappointment and frustration over Ng Man Tat's character taking his date, played by Sharla Cheung Man, and concludes with the words in the song as: "Hum Ka Chaan-冚家鏟". The subtitles of my particular version translated it as: "Son-of-a-bitch". However, I would have translated it as: "Mother-fucker!" The funny part about this scene is that nearby is Wong Jing's character (clearly meant only as a cameo appearance) who has heard this profanity sung out, and comes out of the public toilet nearby, only to respond: "Are you calling for me?". Chow Sing Chi's character responds: "Yes, Good Morning."

When I saw that scene, I was bursting out in laughter.

Another funny scene in that film is towards the end, when one of the villains is incensed at both Chow Sing Chi and Andy Lau Tak Wah's characters, and yells out: "Lei Ge Puk Kai Hum Ka Chaan-你個仆街冚家鏟!". i.e "You fucking assholes!", only to lose his supernatural powers, and thus have Chow Sing Chi respond by saying: "Oh, now you have lost all your power, you have just cussed!"

Chow Sing Chi's character in Fight Back to School Part 1 uses both "Puk Kai-仆街" and "Hum Ka Chaan-冚家鏟", quite frequently.

[AlbertV]

I like the scene in From Beijing with Love where he learns he went to the wrong hotel and he ends up at the Five Star "Motel" and his reaction...

drops his bags and just says (in English)...shit!