I was going to add the same comment till I saw yours. Chow I think wanted people to think this as different than Shaolin Soccer which is why he stomped the ball..
I think a lot of viewers missed the detail that at the end, Steven Chow's character purposefully missed the Beast's head when giving that final 'palm' blow. Also, what caused the Beast to truly surrender was not his kung fu skills, but his mercy and humility when he said, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
I always worried about him actually teaching him the move; he’s such a jerk! I figure though, that you’d really have to learn humility and self discipline in order to obtain power that you won’t ever use to cause unnecessary harm.
@@pixxiespit Apparently it was Stephen Chow's direct answer (kinda like a 'screw you') to the other directors who were jealous of his popularity at the time. It's kind of mildly fourth wall breaking. XD
Fun fact, the Toad guy and the poor Pig Sty Alley villagers were actually played by real legendary martial artists and Shaolin monks, some of whom starred in famous Hong Kong martial arts movies from the 80's and worked with Bruce Lee himself. That scene when the landlady is in the car with the Axe gang leader and cracks her knuckles and flicks the tip of her nose is a homage to Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee is Stephen Chow's idol. Chow found every opportunity in his early movies to pay homage to Bruce. The landlord actually appeared in Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury portraying as a Japanese and insulted Bruce Lee outside a park.
Bad translation....they should of said sir or mister.. would have been the same meaning(and big brother doesn't necessarily have to be an older person...just a respectable polite way to address someone)
8:54 "Shang Chi - the ten rings" 21:23 "What a twist! I did not expect that - especially from the husband!" You should have, he was IN Shang Chi. Yuen Wah was Master Guang Bo, the old archer
He's also a veteran kung fu and wuxia flick actor. Not to mention his opening scene was him surviving a fall and a flower pot. The wife's screams were also a hint at the lion's roar, yet another staple of the wuxia genre.
He also used to be Bruce Lee's stunt double and trained at the China Drama Academy in Hong Kong, where Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung also trained to become so skilled.
About the Land Lady, it wasn't made clear in the first watch but when you look back again, she talks really harshly at her tenants but she does her best to be kind in her own way. Many of them were months due on rent and she doesn't evict them. The only eviction she did was so that when the Axe Gang comes again to ask for the three masters, they can feign ignorance and say they left so the gang would leave them alone + she knew the gang would come prepared this time to kill the three masters in cold blood so she asked them to leave to protect them. In my opinion, the fact that The Beggar didn't con the Protagonist was probably the biggest twist - he wasn't lying about the guy having great potential in Kung Fu, and sure enough, due to his training at a young age, he's developed a healing factor. The training wasn't complete so his chi flow didn't get completely developed that's why he didn't seem like someone who could win a fight in the beginning. But the knowledge and training was already lying dormant in him, as though it's waiting for an awakening - remember when he almost succumbed to the snake venom? The palm prints he left inside the traffic light holder were actually the Buddhist Palm.
"His sister?" .. I laughed so hard when said that. Just because she call him "Big Brother" doesn't mean he was her brother. Just a way of acknowledging him to be the boss or show respect. Basically to flatter him so to spare her life.
Its also a way to acknowledge those older than you. In the Asian culture they have this rule if someone is older than you even if by a few month you have to address according to age hierarchy, even though now they have become lackadaisical with that rule, now most younger generations call anyone who is older than by these titles if the were born a year and up before them. If they are born the same year they are a "friend", but they still speak formal with them, just it address them as bid sister or big brother.
,I guess because in west they call brother , Uncle or aunt only to their real ones. Otherwise they call other people by their names/ surnames. Mr. X, Y,Z and so on..
“Toad style” is a secret martial arts technique that is taught directly from the master to their favorite or most capable student. It’s usually associated with the villain. It’s commonly a technique used in Chinese wuxia stories.
This was Stephen Chow's follow up to Shaolin Soccer (which is worth watching). The scene where Chow's character stomped on the soccer ball was Chow telling his fans that there would be "no more soccer" films.
The worst thing about this movie is that there was never a sequel. Steven is an amazing film maker. Its such a shame we will never see a second Kung Fu Hustle 😢
HE DID THE SAME WITH HIS SHAOLIN SOCCER INSPITE OF HUGE PUBLIC DEMAND! SO MUCH SO THAT HE HAD TO PUT A SCENE SQUASHING THAT SOCCER BALL IN THIS MOVIE TO TELL ALL THOSE FANS JUST HOW MUCH HE HAS NO INTEREST IN MAKING A SECOND PART OF ANOTHER SHAOLIN SOCCER MOVIE! 😂😄😄😂
@@alypha737 ... What are you talking about 😂 hollywood thinking? "Just for money"? How about because it's a great movie and fans want more? It deserves a sequel. Now shush!
There are just so many trivia, fun facts, backstories and references in this movie that if you know more about it you'll appreciate this movie to another level. Since many of them are culturally/location specific, i'll just share some of the more "global / non cultural or location specific" ones you'll appreciate. 1. The action choreographers were Sammo Hung (Jackie Chan's big brother in the stunt world) and Yuen Woo-Ping (of The Matrix). 2. Sammo Hung pulled out early during production due to illness and Stephen Chow invited Yuen Woo-Ping to take over. When Chow explained to Yuen what he wanted, Yuen thought this was too ridiculous it would never work. 3. The actress who played the landlady was a bondgirl in a Roger Moore James Bond movie. 4. The actress who played the landlady is Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung's big sister in the stunt world. 5. The actress who played the landlady is a long retired actress and was not in the original cast. She was accompanying her friend to an audition and was sitting in the waiting room having a cigarette when Chow saw her and knew that was the landlady he wanted. Chow begged her to come out of retirement to take the role. She initially rejected him. 6. Stephen Chow was a massive Bruce Lee fan, he was once the president to a HK Bruce Lee fan club. 7. The coolie labourer, fairy tailor, landlord, landlady, and the beast are all real life martial artist who were famous for their skills from the early HK TV/movie days. 8. The outrageous/weird kungfu styles are all famous fictional kungfu moves from classical wushu novels and comics of the 60s, 70s, 80s. Only the landlord's style (TaiChi) is more real-world, but of course it's dramatised. 9. There were 3 major genres of KungFu choreographs in the movie. First there was the realistic and rooted one during the first fight scene where the labourer, fairy tailor, and noodle chef saved the day, this was Chow paying respect to real life martial artists. Then there was the fantastic night assassin and the final flying-down-from-the-sky move where Chow was paying homage to the early 50s 60s 70s HK martial art TV/films with lots of high fantasy moves. And finally there was the final brawl with lots of wire-works referencing the current Hollywood/HK collaboration productions like The Matrix. There are just too many to mention. Hope you have found more appreciation to this than just great laughs. =)
I've seen all these 'masters' in original kung fu films, but they are either so ubiquitous of character or I've just seen so many that I can't place them specifically. Pretty much a "I've seen them before in a kung fu film" kind of feel. Still, so epic to have so many on a fun project.
I watch this every year as one of my New Year's Eve marathon choices. It's literally one of my favorite films ever made. Also ... Shaolin Soccer ..........when? 8)
Yall didn't notice the goofy husband was played by the same actor as the village chief of Ta-lo in Shangchi, the old guy who mentored Katy in archery. Also in the early scene where Shangchi was pumping in his room, there was a Kung fu Hustle poster in his room. The Ten Rings was a homage to this movie, since the comic Ten Rings were originally actual rings, not bracelets.
Kung Fu Hustle is one of those movies that you could watch again and again. Great movie. Also watch Shaolin Soccer, you'll love it. Great story and all of the characters are amazing
When I saw this movie first time on TV, I was like 'Wowww who created this movie???👏👏👏 🙆♂️'. Really a very good entertaining film with a unique story of kungfu,love,gangs power,etc.
2:23 FYI, in many asian cultures, to call someone "big brother" or "big sister" is a sign of respect, and doesn't necessarily mean an actual familial relationship
Many consider one of the big translation "mistakes" in the English translation that you watched was the use of Helen of Troy and Paris as the true names of the landlord and landlady (in place of Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo of the original Chinese). Whilst both couples are in some sense doomed by their relationship, they really are quite different couples in nature. Truthfully though, there really is no easily recognisable Western pairing to this star-crossed couple from Chinese wuxia literature, which is why later English translations used Dragon Girl and Condor Hero in the subtitles, expecting Western audiences by this time to be much more informed (or at least curious) by this time. But then his film Shaolin Soccer of three years previously had been one of the first to really be successful amongst Western audiences, so some hesitation could be expected. The vignette where he squashed the kid's soccer ball was in fact his answer to the demand by Western audiences for a sequel to this highly popular movie. All of Stephen Chow's body of work is worth watching, including the stuff where he was just the director. There are lots of loving homages to classic wuxia laced throughout this movie.
The genius of the main character's arc is that he embodied the bully mindset that broke him as a child. His coping mechanism was to become his enemy. Which he later flips again by LOVING his enemy!
Ah, another showcase of the one thing that makes me love kung fu or martial art movies in general...the constant different approaches or school of thought forming or displaying new styles. Always makes me feel like I'm watching music or even watching different artist draw. Don't get me wrong, I like good stories no matter the genre...I just think that this little aspect is kind of a story in itself not really found anywhere else. Everything else usually will present a mirror or the other side of the coin instead of a multitude of divergence.
Always gotta love appreciation for this 👍 Just a few notes though, as someone else said, “big brother” was just a literal translation of the respectful term, “dage” The landlady wanted to evict the three masters because it was them the axe gang would be coming after, not the other residents But after they died they told everyone to leave so as not to take chances That’s also why there wasn’t anyone in the building when he blew it up with the palm move
Stephen Chow is one of the comedy genius in this era. Produce, direct, and star in many best selling movies in Chinese movie industry. Because of the quality of his movies, he is able to make unknown, or considered ugly actor/actress famous. Even many already famous actor/actress are willing to put funny/ugly makeup just to be able to star in his movies ❤
Thank you for this reaction. And like others have suggested before, if you would like to watch more Kung Fu comedies, another part of this series 'Shaolin Soccer' might be a good option.
The lady that got shot in the beginning is the crocodile gang leader's mistress or girlfriend, not the ax gang leader's sister. I was puzzled for a bit when you said, "his sister" but then I realised it's a cultural difference thing. In Chinese culture, "da ge" doesn't always literally mean older brother, it is also used as a respectful (but informal) and slightly friendly way to address an older male. The Korean analogue for it would be "oppa"; whilst the Japanese would say -kun.
Also the toad martial arts at the end is a reference to the wuxia genre (Chinese martial arts fantasy novels). When the couple introduced themselves as Yang Guo and Xiaolongnv, that too was a popular wuxia reference. There were many other references and clues hidden (the long nails and musician duo, the lion's roar, and many others). P.s. the hints for the couple's martial arts were given in their introduction scene because of her scream and the fact that he could be thrown off a building and not die (both of these are well known martial art skills in the wuxia genre).
Sorry sorry, just to add one more thing, you guys called this a "Kung Fu film", but in Chinese cinematography, we would consider this an "wuxia film" which are films inspired by the wuxia genre (i.e. heavy in fantasy). Whereas the "Kung Fu film" genre refers to martial arts films that are based in realism (e.g. donnie yen's movies).
The scene at 20:39 is her imitate Bruce Lee from the scene in his movie the way of the dragon where he goes to the main villain and since he doesn’t speak the same language he silently threatens him as seen here
There's a nice little Bruce Lee angle in this movie. The Landlord was one of the extras with Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon in 1973. The scene with the Landlady in the back seat of the car, was also a nod to Bruce Lee, with the silent fist, knuckle cracking, nose rubbing etc.
hints about the main character Singh is the one and subtlety showing his potentials: 1) when Singh 1st arrive to the village, he stepped on a soccer ball and DESTROYED it (it is also a tribute to his previous movie [shaolin soccer]), ever think a normal person can do the same? 2) during flashback, the beggar spotted kid Singh and pointed out he is special by stating the potentials of his body (ya the movie presents the beggar like a scammer to discredit his words during earlier on) 3) after the knife scene, the cobra-poisoned Singh managed to outrun the landlady, who is actually a top martial artist as we later learn (the looney toon comedy chase scene easily puts us not taking it seriously) 4) Singh managed to to clear his cobra poison using the "buddha palm" techniques he learnt when he is kid. i know it is debatable and never clearly explained, but in the kungfu genre fictions, there are common scenes that characters get rid of poisons using kungfu skills or chi-flow (so the movie is subtlety telling us, that Singh can expel the poison through directing chi-flow out of his fist palm attack, whether Singh himself realize or not) 5) from the metal structure of the traffic light, we can see Singh "buddha palm" actually quite powerful even at that stage, the metal platings were imprinted like polystyrene to Singh palm attacks (only at the end of the movie, we were shown truly how destructive his "buddha palm" chi-flow attack leaving palm prints on solid grounds / buildings) 6) and lastly Singh recovered his knife wounds and cobra bites so quick when he meets up with his friend as if nothing happened, showing he has, or newly awakened, his healing regeneration ability (so later when he got beaten up by the Beast, is not the first time he could heal up so quicky)
i was soooo much shocked to watch this kinda movie n kung fu soccer , i was in love with these two movies still in luv .... i always love dbz kinda and kung fu kinda shows but in india there was not much....
i am watching this movie since childhood and its been 19 years of kung fu hustle and i am near or above 100th times i watched it i stopped counting along time ago
I think one of the reason this movie is extremely popular apart from China unlike other movies because it’s essentially a super hero movie. And most people don’t get the ending, actually the whole movie is a dream of the main character, because you can see the man that sold books never grow old, and all the characters live in the town show up in the end, they are normal people. So the boy never learns Kungfu, this is his imagination of becoming a superhero. That’s why this movie has cartoonish style.
The part when beast start sweating & gets whacked on the jaw is what gets me, he can stop a speeding bullet yet couldn't intercept the hero's fist. That alone gave way he's now far overshadowed power scaling wise.
If you know anything about HK movies in the past, this movies actually has a lot of references to at least a dozen well-loved films. And with any Stephen Chow movies, there is usually more than one underlying story. All the Kung Fu in the movies are invented in the 50s and 60s
Stephen chows comedy is known as ‘mo lei tau’ or nonsensical comedy which mixes parody and slapstick style and makes references to pop culture. This film was a homage to all the old kung fu flicks in the 70s and 80s. Sadly, this would be his last film he starred and directed in that shows the peak of his style. His work afterwards has never been the same since.
This is one of my favourite films. I've watched dozens of reactions to it as well. I always wait for the part in the beginning when someone says "oh no, he's her brother" or "Oh no, his sister". Never fails.
In many Asian countries Big brother and Big sister are terms of respect for people that are older than you. Sometimes even just a year older. They’re not literally siblings.
I totally agree with Andrew's comment about the unassuming characters, like the landlady. The movie is crazy enough in the beginning, that when you see her shouting for the first time and the results are over-the-top, it doesn't make you feel like there's something special about her. She could be a background character that only briefly appears, and that is what's expected at first.
Shaolin Soccer by Stephen Chow is also great. The most recent Kung Fu comedy I can think of is Enter the Fat Dragon (2020) starring Donnie Yen, which is also solid.
What are some of the references? The Axe Gang is based on the real Axe Gang founded in 1921 in Shanghai around Japanese Occupation." The top hats you see on the gangsters is a reference to the hats in Gangs of New York (2002). Big Brother / Big Sister is an Asian culture calling. Chinese, Malay, Indians, we all use the same term to address someone older with respect. In this movie subtitle, Big Brother is literal translation from mandarin. Here in this movie, the lady is not the Axe gang's sister. 4:48 refers to Stephen Chow's other movie, Shaolin Soccer (2001) which again, is directed, produced, written, and acted as main character by Stephen Chow himself. He is done doing soccer + shaolin, so no more! When landlady "Yuen Qiu", did the hand gestures at 20:39 to the axe gang leader, this is exactly what Bruce Lee did in The Way of the Dragon (1972) /watch?v=BQZG1qZNxUA Can you feel the presence from the landlady? She portrayed such a strong aggressive aura. She is also a stuntwoman, well versed in martial arts. When Sing becomes "The One", that is obviously referring to Matrix (1999). The fight where Sing is swarmed and he kicked gangsters into the sky is referring to Matrix Reloaded (2003). Same as when the hero who specializes in kicks gets swarmed at 8:33. When Sing becomes "The One", he is wearing the same Bruce Lee outfit from Enter the Dragon (1973). You see this outfit worn by Jet Li too in Fearless (2006). The power of each of the characters in this movie are all references from classic hong kong martial art movies and chinese concepts : Coolie with the kicks - My Kung Fu 12 Kicks (1986) starring Bruce Leung (who is also The Beast in this movie) Donut with the staff - The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) Tailor with the rings - The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) The 2 musician assassins with sun glasses is reference to The Blues Brothers (1980) looks. The beggar who sells the buddha palm book for $10 is a reference to the same beggar character acted by Stephen Chow in King of Beggars (1992). Buddha's Palm is fictional from novels and also took reference from Buddha's Palm (1964) and the remake Buddha's Palm (1982). The buddha's palm is also a reference to Journey to the West storyline. You can see the adaptation in the movie directed by Stephen Chow, Journey to the West (2013), where the palm is as big as a continent!! The 2 assassins using zither instrument is reference to Deadful Melody (1994). The chinese literal translation of this title is "Six-Fingered Demon Musician". The landlady Lion's Roar is a reference from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (1978). The fierce landlady character is a reference from The House of 72 Tenants (1963) and (1973). The scenes at 3:39 landlady opening the window and 3:43 the tenant below complaining follows the classic movie scenes. The aggressive character of the landlady to her husband is a reference from The Lion Roars (2002), a comedy about a scholar with a very strict wife. When The Beast acknowledge the landlady and landlord at 24:31, he refers to them as the "Condor Heroes", which they did admit they are. These 2 characters are from the novel "Return of the Condor Heroes" and in movie Little Dragon Maiden (1983). The Beast, Toad style antagonist is a reference to the novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", with the same toad power, with the same title name adapted into a drama series released in 2017. The pigsty valley is reference to Kowloon Walled City, a lawless slum with bad inhumane conditions in Hong Kong (where you see in the beginning of the movie) and controlled by triads. History traced this city back to year 960. By 1990 the walled city contained 50,000 residents. It is demolished by 1994. The Shining (1980) reference just before 22:38. Spiderman reference at 20:59. Then before the tailor dies, he said : "What are you prepared to do?" is a reference to The Untouchables (1987) dying scene. In the ending after scene at 34:02, the floating "flower weapon" descending at the girl, is a reference to Forrest Gump (1994) ending scene with Tom Hanks and the floating feather. Shang-Chi movie took references from Kung Fu Hustle and also gave special thanks to Kung Fu Hustle in the credits. Watching Kung Fu Hustle (2004) is like watching the entire history of Hong Kong cinema. Anyone, especially those from Hong Kong, who can get the references will be extra blessed.
Kung fu Hustle is basically how a live action Anime should be made.
I've been saying that forever
With that much comedy, it’s gintoki for sure
Or ranma 1/2 for starters
No, you're wrong. The Fast and Furious franchise is a a live action shonen anime.
Kung Fu Hustle is a live action Loony Tunes cartoon.
And RRR
@@sharkbaiter678 but I can't believe these two barely laughed
kung fu hustle is just one of those movies that you could watch a million times and still enjoy every second of it
The RRR promax
there is a %10%
100% agree bro
@@prodigalfraudaddy naaa
@@prodigalfraudaddy haar baat mai rrr wale maa chudane ate hi hai bhaag😂😂😂😆
this movie and Shaolin Soccer were my childhood. Love these movies
I was going to add the same comment till I saw yours. Chow I think wanted people to think this as different than Shaolin Soccer which is why he stomped the ball..
same, out of the 2 shoalin soccer is my fave though, idk, it has something kung fu hustle doesn't, but both are amazing.
Guys let's tell them to watch Shaolin Soccer, it is too good to miss
Exactly
Up..
I think a lot of viewers missed the detail that at the end, Steven Chow's character purposefully missed the Beast's head when giving that final 'palm' blow. Also, what caused the Beast to truly surrender was not his kung fu skills, but his mercy and humility when he said, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you."
I always worried about him actually teaching him the move; he’s such a jerk!
I figure though, that you’d really have to learn humility and self discipline in order to obtain power that you won’t ever use to cause unnecessary harm.
@@pixxiespit Apparently it was Stephen Chow's direct answer (kinda like a 'screw you') to the other directors who were jealous of his popularity at the time. It's kind of mildly fourth wall breaking. XD
@@daisychong3488 😂 that's dope lol
True
@@daisychong3488Nah thats just straight up petty and dope😂😂. Love it
Fun fact, the Toad guy and the poor Pig Sty Alley villagers were actually played by real legendary martial artists and Shaolin monks, some of whom starred in famous Hong Kong martial arts movies from the 80's and worked with Bruce Lee himself. That scene when the landlady is in the car with the Axe gang leader and cracks her knuckles and flicks the tip of her nose is a homage to Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee is Stephen Chow's idol. Chow found every opportunity in his early movies to pay homage to Bruce. The landlord actually appeared in Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury portraying as a Japanese and insulted Bruce Lee outside a park.
I thought I recognized that fist action ...
Some movie makes money
Some movie wins Oscar
But some rare movie make memories
Childhood love 💕
And your movies make me more skinny
@@mobiebrand8864😂😂
True❤
@@mobiebrand8864haha 😅😂
lol 21:08 "What are you going to do?"...... "Why don't you speak Chinese???"... GET me on the floor everytime... :D
Mandarin and Cantonese is different, he don’t understand
Quick thing, I'm fairly certain that calling someone "big brother" in Hong Kong can just be a term of respect toward an older man.
That applies to other countries in East and Southeast Asia too.
You can also call someone big sister, uncle, and auntie out of respect or call someone little brother or sister out endearment.
Bad translation....they should of said sir or mister.. would have been the same meaning(and big brother doesn't necessarily have to be an older person...just a respectable polite way to address someone)
In sardar udam, main character was calling half dead people brother and sister, American reviewer said " They killed his whole family "🤣😂
Or for higher position man.
Every reaction channel re-watching Stephen Chow movies at the same time is tight.
Yeah but these two barely laughed, I'm annoyed they didn't laugh at the knife scene
Yeah this is like the 3rd one I've came across... Wtf is going on?
@@Tenchi707 Maybe people who don't watch anime are not familiar with this type of comedy. This has been my type of comedy ever since I was a kid.
8:54 "Shang Chi - the ten rings"
21:23 "What a twist! I did not expect that - especially from the husband!"
You should have, he was IN Shang Chi. Yuen Wah was Master Guang Bo, the old archer
He's also a veteran kung fu and wuxia flick actor. Not to mention his opening scene was him surviving a fall and a flower pot. The wife's screams were also a hint at the lion's roar, yet another staple of the wuxia genre.
Damn , I remember now 🤣
He also used to be Bruce Lee's stunt double and trained at the China Drama Academy in Hong Kong, where Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung also trained to become so skilled.
Man I haven't recognised him till now, damn
About the Land Lady, it wasn't made clear in the first watch but when you look back again, she talks really harshly at her tenants but she does her best to be kind in her own way.
Many of them were months due on rent and she doesn't evict them. The only eviction she did was so that when the Axe Gang comes again to ask for the three masters, they can feign ignorance and say they left so the gang would leave them alone + she knew the gang would come prepared this time to kill the three masters in cold blood so she asked them to leave to protect them.
In my opinion, the fact that The Beggar didn't con the Protagonist was probably the biggest twist - he wasn't lying about the guy having great potential in Kung Fu, and sure enough, due to his training at a young age, he's developed a healing factor. The training wasn't complete so his chi flow didn't get completely developed that's why he didn't seem like someone who could win a fight in the beginning. But the knowledge and training was already lying dormant in him, as though it's waiting for an awakening - remember when he almost succumbed to the snake venom? The palm prints he left inside the traffic light holder were actually the Buddhist Palm.
Great call 👌🏻
"His sister?" .. I laughed so hard when said that. Just because she call him "Big Brother" doesn't mean he was her brother. Just a way of acknowledging him to be the boss or show respect. Basically to flatter him so to spare her life.
Lol I cringed when she said that
bro not everyone understand the chinese culture
@@Neuvari Every Gangster in India is also called as Bhai (Brother)
Its also a way to acknowledge those older than you. In the Asian culture they have this rule if someone is older than you even if by a few month you have to address according to age hierarchy, even though now they have become lackadaisical with that rule, now most younger generations call anyone who is older than by these titles if the were born a year and up before them. If they are born the same year they are a "friend", but they still speak formal with them, just it address them as bid sister or big brother.
,I guess because in west they call brother , Uncle or aunt only to their real ones. Otherwise they call other people by their names/ surnames. Mr. X, Y,Z and so on..
‘Kung Fu Hustle’ was one of the first movies I remember watching on DVD and Omg it was such an LSD Trip of a movie. Also, very funny!
“Toad style” is a secret martial arts technique that is taught directly from the master to their favorite or most capable student. It’s usually associated with the villain. It’s commonly a technique used in Chinese wuxia stories.
Kunlun Sects Toad Style is always One Taught One cause its so rare and powerful like the 18 dragon palm
Is it a technique or a whole martial arts style? I'm confused
@@AzureTank776 Its an Internal Style Most famously used by Ouyang Feng in the condor hero series
Toads are also one of the famous Five Vermin. Not exactly the best aspect to base a martial art around.
No matter how many times you watch this movie it's still feels amazing. Nostalgia
The happy ending made me cry ... wish one day I also can make up the mistakes I had done in the past.
Nice comment, u can by being great from now on😊
This was Stephen Chow's follow up to Shaolin Soccer (which is worth watching). The scene where Chow's character stomped on the soccer ball was Chow telling his fans that there would be "no more soccer" films.
The flattening of the soccer ball was an indication this is not a sequel to his prior movie, Shaolin Soccer, which is also very good.
The worst thing about this movie is that there was never a sequel. Steven is an amazing film maker. Its such a shame we will never see a second Kung Fu Hustle 😢
Very soon sequal coming
HE DID THE SAME WITH HIS SHAOLIN SOCCER INSPITE OF HUGE PUBLIC DEMAND! SO MUCH SO THAT HE HAD TO PUT A SCENE SQUASHING THAT SOCCER BALL IN THIS MOVIE TO TELL ALL THOSE FANS JUST HOW MUCH HE HAS NO INTEREST IN MAKING A SECOND PART OF ANOTHER SHAOLIN SOCCER MOVIE! 😂😄😄😂
why would there be asequel the story is finished. yall with your hollywood thinking. who needs a stupid sequel just for money.
@@alypha737 ... What are you talking about 😂 hollywood thinking? "Just for money"? How about because it's a great movie and fans want more? It deserves a sequel. Now shush!
Doesn't need it
There are just so many trivia, fun facts, backstories and references in this movie that if you know more about it you'll appreciate this movie to another level. Since many of them are culturally/location specific, i'll just share some of the more "global / non cultural or location specific" ones you'll appreciate.
1. The action choreographers were Sammo Hung (Jackie Chan's big brother in the stunt world) and Yuen Woo-Ping (of The Matrix).
2. Sammo Hung pulled out early during production due to illness and Stephen Chow invited Yuen Woo-Ping to take over. When Chow explained to Yuen what he wanted, Yuen thought this was too ridiculous it would never work.
3. The actress who played the landlady was a bondgirl in a Roger Moore James Bond movie.
4. The actress who played the landlady is Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung's big sister in the stunt world.
5. The actress who played the landlady is a long retired actress and was not in the original cast. She was accompanying her friend to an audition and was sitting in the waiting room having a cigarette when Chow saw her and knew that was the landlady he wanted. Chow begged her to come out of retirement to take the role. She initially rejected him.
6. Stephen Chow was a massive Bruce Lee fan, he was once the president to a HK Bruce Lee fan club.
7. The coolie labourer, fairy tailor, landlord, landlady, and the beast are all real life martial artist who were famous for their skills from the early HK TV/movie days.
8. The outrageous/weird kungfu styles are all famous fictional kungfu moves from classical wushu novels and comics of the 60s, 70s, 80s. Only the landlord's style (TaiChi) is more real-world, but of course it's dramatised.
9. There were 3 major genres of KungFu choreographs in the movie. First there was the realistic and rooted one during the first fight scene where the labourer, fairy tailor, and noodle chef saved the day, this was Chow paying respect to real life martial artists. Then there was the fantastic night assassin and the final flying-down-from-the-sky move where Chow was paying homage to the early 50s 60s 70s HK martial art TV/films with lots of high fantasy moves. And finally there was the final brawl with lots of wire-works referencing the current Hollywood/HK collaboration productions like The Matrix.
There are just too many to mention. Hope you have found more appreciation to this than just great laughs. =)
I've seen all these 'masters' in original kung fu films, but they are either so ubiquitous of character or I've just seen so many that I can't place them specifically. Pretty much a "I've seen them before in a kung fu film" kind of feel. Still, so epic to have so many on a fun project.
You nail it all bro👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Stephen Chow is a brilliant filmmaker whose talent has mostly been slept upon
Love it! This movie is a classic! So good! And so was your reaction and discussion. Thanks for sharing! :)
I watch this every year as one of my New Year's Eve marathon choices. It's literally one of my favorite films ever made. Also ... Shaolin Soccer ..........when? 8)
Yall didn't notice the goofy husband was played by the same actor as the village chief of Ta-lo in Shangchi, the old guy who mentored Katy in archery. Also in the early scene where Shangchi was pumping in his room, there was a Kung fu Hustle poster in his room. The Ten Rings was a homage to this movie, since the comic Ten Rings were originally actual rings, not bracelets.
I love the part where childhood first love is simple and pure. The reunion is touching.
Honestly one of the best movies of it's kind I've ever seen...
Kung Fu Hustle is one of those movies that you could watch again and again. Great movie. Also watch Shaolin Soccer, you'll love it. Great story and all of the characters are amazing
When I saw this movie first time on TV, I was like 'Wowww who created this movie???👏👏👏 🙆♂️'. Really a very good entertaining film with a unique story of kungfu,love,gangs power,etc.
love stephon chow. love this film. a modern classic
2:23 FYI, in many asian cultures, to call someone "big brother" or "big sister" is a sign of respect, and doesn't necessarily mean an actual familial relationship
Many consider one of the big translation "mistakes" in the English translation that you watched was the use of Helen of Troy and Paris as the true names of the landlord and landlady (in place of Xiao Long Nu and Yang Guo of the original Chinese). Whilst both couples are in some sense doomed by their relationship, they really are quite different couples in nature. Truthfully though, there really is no easily recognisable Western pairing to this star-crossed couple from Chinese wuxia literature, which is why later English translations used Dragon Girl and Condor Hero in the subtitles, expecting Western audiences by this time to be much more informed (or at least curious) by this time.
But then his film Shaolin Soccer of three years previously had been one of the first to really be successful amongst Western audiences, so some hesitation could be expected. The vignette where he squashed the kid's soccer ball was in fact his answer to the demand by Western audiences for a sequel to this highly popular movie. All of Stephen Chow's body of work is worth watching, including the stuff where he was just the director.
There are lots of loving homages to classic wuxia laced throughout this movie.
The genius of the main character's arc is that he embodied the bully mindset that broke him as a child.
His coping mechanism was to become his enemy.
Which he later flips again by LOVING his enemy!
That’s not his sister at 2:44 lol……in Asia people call each other sometimes brother and sister like in a way giving respect to one another 😂
This movie is so famous in India. One of Favorite movie of our childhood. We often watched it on Set Max 💗
stephen chow is an underrated goat
I love it when Steph is on for reactions .... this was so much fun to watch!!!!!
Steph's expression is so cute throughout the whole movie ❤️❤️❤️
Always good to see more people watch Kung Fu Hustle!
Ah, another showcase of the one thing that makes me love kung fu or martial art movies in general...the constant different approaches or school of thought forming or displaying new styles. Always makes me feel like I'm watching music or even watching different artist draw. Don't get me wrong, I like good stories no matter the genre...I just think that this little aspect is kind of a story in itself not really found anywhere else. Everything else usually will present a mirror or the other side of the coin instead of a multitude of divergence.
I would love if the MCU could get Stephen Chow to play in that sandbox.
KUNG FU HUSTLE's poster was appeared in SHANG-CHI
That does make wonder how he'd handle something like a Deadpool movie.
This is my favourite movie . I have watch it so many times.
This was a movie u can watch and watch and watch. It was classic fun action emotional all in movie😂 gald i have stephen chow as my childhood memories.
Just waiting for its Sequel. One of the greatest movie of all time.
Always gotta love appreciation for this 👍
Just a few notes though, as someone else said, “big brother” was just a literal translation of the respectful term, “dage”
The landlady wanted to evict the three masters because it was them the axe gang would be coming after, not the other residents
But after they died they told everyone to leave so as not to take chances
That’s also why there wasn’t anyone in the building when he blew it up with the palm move
This OST of this movie is next level . It’s just 🔥🔥🔥
Drunken master 1 and 2 reaction next please 👌🏻
Jackie Chan at his best ✨
Behind the scenes in post credit scene are fantastic as well 💯
This movie is more famous in india than china
Stephen Chow is one of the comedy genius in this era. Produce, direct, and star in many best selling movies in Chinese movie industry. Because of the quality of his movies, he is able to make unknown, or considered ugly actor/actress famous. Even many already famous actor/actress are willing to put funny/ugly makeup just to be able to star in his movies ❤
Definitely agree with Andrew, this is one of my favorite films of all time. I even cry now at some moments lol
Thank you for this reaction. And like others have suggested before, if you would like to watch more Kung Fu comedies, another part of this series 'Shaolin Soccer' might be a good option.
Omg i got tears in my eyes... WT an elevation and emotion simply watching again when i grown makes me so eye pleasing...😢🥺🤧
When China makes better movies than Hollywood
No , this is hk style like Bruce lee ,not china
Covid smell😂
@@MrDreamdon李小龙也是广东佛山人你懂个屁
@@龚术李小龍出生於美國三藩市然後於香港喇沙中學讀書，在香港發跡，成名於香港電影，亦有歐亞混血兒，我覺得你才懂個屁，想叨光的話走遠點😅
@@chocoluvluv 所以他是美国人后裔？你想说什么？香港人是哪国人？？嗯？你肯定会说英国是吧，因为你跪久了，现在赶紧去英国还能参加光复英国的运动😂
Great film, such a classic.
Glad you watched it in the original language, the dubbed version doesn’t do the jokes justice
I always wished the last scene all the books would become movies. Brilliant movie. Can't count how many times I have watched this
Speaking of Shang-Chi, did you recognize the landlord appeared as one of the Ta Lo warriors in Shang-Chi & the Legend of the Ten Rings?
Watch Shaolin Soccer next. Its as funny as good as this Kung Fu Hustle movie.
Stephen Chow also made Shaolin Soccer and the main character
The lady that got shot in the beginning is the crocodile gang leader's mistress or girlfriend, not the ax gang leader's sister. I was puzzled for a bit when you said, "his sister" but then I realised it's a cultural difference thing. In Chinese culture, "da ge" doesn't always literally mean older brother, it is also used as a respectful (but informal) and slightly friendly way to address an older male. The Korean analogue for it would be "oppa"; whilst the Japanese would say -kun.
Also the toad martial arts at the end is a reference to the wuxia genre (Chinese martial arts fantasy novels). When the couple introduced themselves as Yang Guo and Xiaolongnv, that too was a popular wuxia reference. There were many other references and clues hidden (the long nails and musician duo, the lion's roar, and many others).
P.s. the hints for the couple's martial arts were given in their introduction scene because of her scream and the fact that he could be thrown off a building and not die (both of these are well known martial art skills in the wuxia genre).
Sorry sorry, just to add one more thing, you guys called this a "Kung Fu film", but in Chinese cinematography, we would consider this an "wuxia film" which are films inspired by the wuxia genre (i.e. heavy in fantasy). Whereas the "Kung Fu film" genre refers to martial arts films that are based in realism (e.g. donnie yen's movies).
One of my favorite movie ever 🔥🔥😍this movie reminds me childhood days 🥺🥺
I wasn’t going to watch this whole video since I haven’t seen the movie, but I was so mesmerized by Steph’s whole look I finished the whole thing!
The scene at 20:39 is her imitate Bruce Lee from the scene in his movie the way of the dragon where he goes to the main villain and since he doesn’t speak the same language he silently threatens him as seen here
I NEED MORE STEPHEN CHOW REACTIONS 😭
I practice the Axe gang dances very often it's awesome.
you wont believe how many times ive watched this movie when i was young. chow is HK's version of adam sandler.
Stephen Chow is one of the greatest action heroes of all time
Only Stephen chow can make such great anime style movie, with every human touch and emotions.
There's a nice little Bruce Lee angle in this movie. The Landlord was one of the extras with Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon in 1973. The scene with the Landlady in the back seat of the car, was also a nod to Bruce Lee, with the silent fist, knuckle cracking, nose rubbing etc.
loved Steph's reactions!!!! just gold!!!
Finished watching Jaby's brother react to Shaolin Soccer now I'm watching this! Thanks for the reaction!
Stephen Chow is an artist from how he is able to give birth to such an amazing genre which is sort of a satire to all sorts of others genre
They did their own stuntman..
That's why this movie is still great even without using special effects..
Kung fu hustle was ahead of it's timeline😂
hints about the main character Singh is the one and subtlety showing his potentials:
1) when Singh 1st arrive to the village, he stepped on a soccer ball and DESTROYED it (it is also a tribute to his previous movie [shaolin soccer]), ever think a normal person can do the same?
2) during flashback, the beggar spotted kid Singh and pointed out he is special by stating the potentials of his body (ya the movie presents the beggar like a scammer to discredit his words during earlier on)
3) after the knife scene, the cobra-poisoned Singh managed to outrun the landlady, who is actually a top martial artist as we later learn (the looney toon comedy chase scene easily puts us not taking it seriously)
4) Singh managed to to clear his cobra poison using the "buddha palm" techniques he learnt when he is kid. i know it is debatable and never clearly explained, but in the kungfu genre fictions, there are common scenes that characters get rid of poisons using kungfu skills or chi-flow (so the movie is subtlety telling us, that Singh can expel the poison through directing chi-flow out of his fist palm attack, whether Singh himself realize or not)
5) from the metal structure of the traffic light, we can see Singh "buddha palm" actually quite powerful even at that stage, the metal platings were imprinted like polystyrene to Singh palm attacks (only at the end of the movie, we were shown truly how destructive his "buddha palm" chi-flow attack leaving palm prints on solid grounds / buildings)
6) and lastly Singh recovered his knife wounds and cobra bites so quick when he meets up with his friend as if nothing happened, showing he has, or newly awakened, his healing regeneration ability (so later when he got beaten up by the Beast, is not the first time he could heal up so quicky)
Nice pun 'Thats one way to de feet your enemy' lol
Steph Expression in whole movies was Priceless 🤣🤣🤣
most fun and entertaining movies i hv watched in my childhood....Kungfu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer
i was soooo much shocked to watch this kinda movie n kung fu soccer , i was in love with these two movies still in luv .... i always love dbz kinda and kung fu kinda shows but in india there was not much....
This movie is very famous in India and our childhood memories are with this 👍
You guys got the best review of all the reaction videos 🥰
i am watching this movie since childhood and its been 19 years of kung fu hustle and i am near or above 100th times i watched it i stopped counting along time ago
I think one of the reason this movie is extremely popular apart from China unlike other movies because it’s essentially a super hero movie. And most people don’t get the ending, actually the whole movie is a dream of the main character, because you can see the man that sold books never grow old, and all the characters live in the town show up in the end, they are normal people. So the boy never learns Kungfu, this is his imagination of becoming a superhero. That’s why this movie has cartoonish style.
Hmmm.... nice take
That husband of the landlady is the old man master guong bo from shang chi
this movie is masterpiece i haven't seen a great movie overall action ever better than this one.
The part when beast start sweating & gets whacked on the jaw is what gets me, he can stop a speeding bullet yet couldn't intercept the hero's fist. That alone gave way he's now far overshadowed power scaling wise.
The ritual dancing before a kill. "Big brother" is just a polite expression to address the male counterpart. They are not really siblings!
If you know anything about HK movies in the past, this movies actually has a lot of references to at least a dozen well-loved films. And with any Stephen Chow movies, there is usually more than one underlying story. All the Kung Fu in the movies are invented in the 50s and 60s
Stephen chows comedy is known as ‘mo lei tau’ or nonsensical comedy which mixes parody and slapstick style and makes references to pop culture. This film was a homage to all the old kung fu flicks in the 70s and 80s. Sadly, this would be his last film he starred and directed in that shows the peak of his style. His work afterwards has never been the same since.
This movie always comes as a double-feature with Shaolin Soccer. Can't wait for the next reaction!
The girl maybe understood 20% but her reactions were ok!!
I watched Kung Pow, then Kung Fu Hustle and then Shaolin Soccer.
Kung Fu Hustle was my fav
Probably the best landlady in some aspect. Imagine, you still didn't get kicked out for not paying rent for more than 5 month.
One of my favorite movies
This is one of my favourite films. I've watched dozens of reactions to it as well.
I always wait for the part in the beginning when someone says "oh no, he's her brother" or "Oh no, his sister". Never fails.
In many Asian countries Big brother and Big sister are terms of respect for people that are older than you. Sometimes even just a year older. They’re not literally siblings.
Till now I am waiting for part 2..
Same bhai
I totally agree with Andrew's comment about the unassuming characters, like the landlady. The movie is crazy enough in the beginning, that when you see her shouting for the first time and the results are over-the-top, it doesn't make you feel like there's something special about her. She could be a background character that only briefly appears, and that is what's expected at first.
Shaolin Soccer by Stephen Chow is also great. The most recent Kung Fu comedy I can think of is Enter the Fat Dragon (2020) starring Donnie Yen, which is also solid.
The Landlady of Pig Sty Alley is the MVP of this movie.
Childhood movie 🎥 love it ❤...
"Toad style is immensely strong and immune to nearly any weapon. When it's properly used, it's almost invincible."
What are some of the references?
The Axe Gang is based on the real Axe Gang founded in 1921 in Shanghai around Japanese Occupation."
The top hats you see on the gangsters is a reference to the hats in Gangs of New York (2002).
Big Brother / Big Sister is an Asian culture calling. Chinese, Malay, Indians, we all use the same term to address someone older with respect. In this movie subtitle, Big Brother is literal translation from mandarin. Here in this movie, the lady is not the Axe gang's sister.
4:48 refers to Stephen Chow's other movie, Shaolin Soccer (2001) which again, is directed, produced, written, and acted as main character by Stephen Chow himself. He is done doing soccer + shaolin, so no more!
When landlady "Yuen Qiu", did the hand gestures at 20:39 to the axe gang leader, this is exactly what Bruce Lee did in The Way of the Dragon (1972)
/watch?v=BQZG1qZNxUA
Can you feel the presence from the landlady? She portrayed such a strong aggressive aura. She is also a stuntwoman, well versed in martial arts.
When Sing becomes "The One", that is obviously referring to Matrix (1999).
The fight where Sing is swarmed and he kicked gangsters into the sky is referring to Matrix Reloaded (2003). Same as when the hero who specializes in kicks gets swarmed at 8:33.
When Sing becomes "The One", he is wearing the same Bruce Lee outfit from Enter the Dragon (1973). You see this outfit worn by Jet Li too in Fearless (2006).
The power of each of the characters in this movie are all references from classic hong kong martial art movies and chinese concepts :
Coolie with the kicks - My Kung Fu 12 Kicks (1986) starring Bruce Leung (who is also The Beast in this movie)
Donut with the staff - The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
Tailor with the rings - The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
The 2 musician assassins with sun glasses is reference to The Blues Brothers (1980) looks.
The beggar who sells the buddha palm book for $10 is a reference to the same beggar character acted by Stephen Chow in King of Beggars (1992).
Buddha's Palm is fictional from novels and also took reference from Buddha's Palm (1964) and the remake Buddha's Palm (1982).
The buddha's palm is also a reference to Journey to the West storyline. You can see the adaptation in the movie directed by Stephen Chow, Journey to the West (2013), where the palm is as big as a continent!!
The 2 assassins using zither instrument is reference to Deadful Melody (1994). The chinese literal translation of this title is "Six-Fingered Demon Musician".
The landlady Lion's Roar is a reference from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (1978).
The fierce landlady character is a reference from The House of 72 Tenants (1963) and (1973). The scenes at 3:39 landlady opening the window and 3:43 the tenant below complaining follows the classic movie scenes.
The aggressive character of the landlady to her husband is a reference from The Lion Roars (2002), a comedy about a scholar with a very strict wife.
When The Beast acknowledge the landlady and landlord at 24:31, he refers to them as the "Condor Heroes", which they did admit they are. These 2 characters are from the novel "Return of the Condor Heroes" and in movie Little Dragon Maiden (1983).
The Beast, Toad style antagonist is a reference to the novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", with the same toad power, with the same title name adapted into a drama series released in 2017.
The pigsty valley is reference to Kowloon Walled City, a lawless slum with bad inhumane conditions in Hong Kong (where you see in the beginning of the movie) and controlled by triads. History traced this city back to year 960. By 1990 the walled city contained 50,000 residents. It is demolished by 1994.
The Shining (1980) reference just before 22:38.
Spiderman reference at 20:59.
Then before the tailor dies, he said : "What are you prepared to do?" is a reference to The Untouchables (1987) dying scene.
In the ending after scene at 34:02, the floating "flower weapon" descending at the girl, is a reference to Forrest Gump (1994) ending scene with Tom Hanks and the floating feather.
Shang-Chi movie took references from Kung Fu Hustle and also gave special thanks to Kung Fu Hustle in the credits.
Watching Kung Fu Hustle (2004) is like watching the entire history of Hong Kong cinema. Anyone, especially those from Hong Kong, who can get the references will be extra blessed.