Martial Arts Spoofs

There are a lot of martial arts comedies, but, these are the ones that stand out, in my mind.
I think these are some tasty picks, but I welcome yours.


The Human Tornado

The film-

See here.

The history-

This.

...ahahahahahaaa!!!




Drunken Master

The film-

My favorite Jackie Chan movie.
I think his funniest.
Can't be described, and one clip won't do it, you've really got to see it.

The history-

I mentioned he got his start in Bruce Lee pics, right?


Project A

The film-

The Project As, and the Police Stories, are the mega-superhuman life-at-risk stunt spectaculars that have solidified Jackie Chan's reputation.

The Project As are funnier, while the Police Stories are almost pure action, with humor sauce sprinkled on.

These are the ones you always see clips of whenever they do anything that's "career highlights", of Jackie Chan.

The history-

"The Incredibly Strange Film Show", did an episode on Jackie back in the day; that's how I first found out about him.

Then, a couple years later, Quentin Tarantino showed him off at an MTV Movie Awards, and that's sorta when he busted through into the mainstream of American consciousness.


Police Story

The film-

See above.

The history-

N/A


Project A Part II

The film-

Well, this entry is gonna be a bit boring, if I "ditto", my way through these...how about another clip?

The history-

Police Story 2

The film-

Double-ditto the Project A review.

The history-

Man, look at those crazy bastards go...jaw dropping.

Police Story 3: Supercop

The film-

Released stateside as just "Supercop", this is where he broke through over here.

Not quite as impressive as 2, but still some really good stuff in this one.

The history-

Saw this one at the theater.


Police Story 4: First Strike

The film-

Released here as just "First Strike", as you can see from the poster there.

Eh, it's okay, I think he peaked at Police Story 2.

The history-

N/A


Riki-Oh: The Story Of Ricky

The film-

Kung-Fu meets Troma.
(Well, not by Troma, but you get my meaning)

Holy shit, why don't I own this?
And how did I go so long in life not knowing this fucking existed?
This is totally early 90's Harry Hembock stuff.
This is totally my fucking movie!
This is exactly what I'd make with some money, and some people.
Well...as a first outing, to get it out of my system...

The history-





Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters

The film-

Ah, speaking of our old pals at Troma, they did make this!

Or, more precisely, they comically overdubbed the voices in an old karate picture with hilarious results.

This baby had me pissing myself long before MST3K finally hit the scene.

(Singing)
"And you'll ride the bologna-ponah! In an epic film from Troma!!".

The history-

Scrambled Cinemax.


Kung Pow: Enter The Fist

The film-

Man, you either love this, or hate it with a purple passion.

I have not seen any grey area with the reaction to this.

In case you somehow missed it, Steve Oedekerk dubs an old kung-fu picture, and inserts himself in along with some CGI live-action Tex Avery cartoon weirdness.

Another one you just have to see.

The history-

Cable.


Shaolin Soccer

The film-

Haven't seen this one, but it was the first actual Hong-Kong flick (as far as I know) to mix in CGI elements.

The history-

Here's a trailer.





Kung-Fu Hustle

The film-

Stephen Chow's followup to "Shaolin", and really ups the special effects ante, and...it's almost as weird in its way as "Kung Pow".

No...it's weirder.

And, because of the language/culture barrier, you're never entirely sure how much of it's deliberate....

Well, naturally, my emotions are mixed about martial arts comedies going from the real stuff that Jackie did, to CGI...but...the computer genie is out of the bottle, ain't it?
No going back, may as well move ahead, and see where we go.

The history-




Up next, Harry Potter!