Hey everyone. I'm still on vacation. It may take some time before I can reply to your comments/e-mails. If you enjoy this video and would like to support the channel to make more videos like this, please consider supporting us through Patreon.com/AccentedCinema. We update Patreon every week, and post exclusive short videos once every month.
I grew up with my grandparents who only speak Spanish. So naturally that meant a lot of Spanish TV. What's interesting is that they actually alot of Kung-fu films on Mexican television just dubbed over with Spanish. I was absolutely spoiled with kung fu films as kid and they have a special place in my heart because of it.
I always had a fascination for kung-fu films, mainly because of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, ever since I was a kid. I always thought it was all about the action when it come to these films, but this video specifies it for me, it's the practicality, the visceral, death defying stunts that old kung-fu films had that kept me fascinated even today. Modern action films are all about the hype, the clout, whereas the classics rely on physicality and sheer luck/will.
I agree regarding physical stunts, like physical special effects, bringing something extra to a film. That move in "Meals on Wheels" (8:22), where Benny Urquidez kicks out the candle flames, is subtle, but sooooooooo cool.
Yep Jackie and Bruce were my starting point in the late 90's. For me it's about the talent on screen that made those films so good, despite certain flaws. Most modern kung fu have much better production values, acting etc but lack that visceral action and stunts, that made it so good in the first place.
I go back to the late 70s & 80s and the all night Kung fu movie shows in Nottingham at the Classic cinema and the Coronet in London.Saw so many great Kung fu movies back then.CRYSTAL FIST, WARRIORS TWO, KNOCKABOUT, ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, DRUNKEN MASTER, SNAKE IN THE MONKEYS SHADOW, SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW, THE PRODIGAL SON,too many to mention.Bruce Lee,Jackie Chan,Billy Chong(such an underrated martial artist),Yuen Biao,Samo Hung,Flash Legs Tan, Hwang Jang Lee(Thunderfoot), Fu Sheng,Casanova Wong, Wang Tao,the late Philip Kao.So many brilliant martial arts movie stars.Great times,Great memories.
Accented cinemia is right about a lot of the things in his video except for one thing, fighting. Kun-fu has never been about fighting and it's not a real martial art that anyone uses to fight. Well not seriously. It's more about mysticism and magic, but it's not real and no one takes it seriously, especially in fighting. No one goes into any UFC or MMA tournament and uses actualy Kung-fu. They might claim a bandground in it, but then they proceed to not use any kung-fu, because it's not a real martial art.
I showed my buddy Gallants back when he wanted to learn more about Kung Fu Cinema. And after the film ended, he turned to me and said "I think I finally get why you love it so much. It's not about the fighting so much, as it is what the fighting says and means. It's the spirit of Martial Arts more than it just looking cool." I turned to him, nodded my head and said "I mean, the fighting's awesome, too! But I guess that's one way to interpret it..." EDIT: My buddy was sitting next to me. What, do you think he looked down at his shoes or something so we could talk about the movie? You guys make no frigging sense.
Thank you for reviewing this. These actors have been a crucial part of my childhood. And I'm so thankful that this film came out. It's almost like this was their rocky, if that makes any sense. Hope all is well with you, good sir
None of those things are dead. It just isn't mainstream anymore. And mech anime was never mainstream, lol. It's always been a niche thing, dunno how you can compare it to rock music which was mainstream, and westerns, which was like the first movies made and super influential on cinema, Mech anime cannot be compared to those other two. Lol. Better to use shonen fighting anime like dbz, but those are still pretty popular. Lol.
Thank you for this video. Tear’d up a bit while watching. The movie looks to be a great love letter to the golden age of Kung Fu films in Hong Kong. It’s true, these types of films (as well as Kung Fu in general) are dying in Hong Kong. There’s a tragedy in that. But the film helps us keep it alive. In any case, great content. Thank you!
"It’s true, these types of films (as well as Kung Fu in general) are dying in Hong Kong. There’s a tragedy in that." Well, yes, and also, no. It is indeed sad to see (almost) no room for the genre in Hong Kong these days, but at the same time, look at the massive and deeply pervasive changes those films had on Hollywood in particular, but also many other movie industries the world over. And as for HK cinema itself? Genres mostly fade out of view, but they never completely disappear, until they come back into style again. Look at the Westerns in Hollywood. They were ascendant for a long time, nearly disappeared for a while, and though they haven't risen to their old heights again (yet), there have been multiple hugely important and/or successful takes on the Western already this century. The Kung Fu/wuxia genre will be back, in time.
@@DrBunnyMedicinal I'm going to bring in something a little more political. With HK evidently becoming more integrated with China than ever before, I wonder what effect in the future for HK movie is going to be like as they will inevitably model themselves after China's censorship style.
@@smoadia85 The change-over in power and political systems from Britain being in charge to China being in charge, and the recentish acceleration of those changes is a not inconsiderable influence as well, yes. But it's also partly just a generational change in who is making films, why, and what/who they've been inspired and informed by.
It is a love letter. I grew up watching his movies. He was awesome! Growing up in asia and also growing up in a time where there were two distinct things I watched. The first was old lung fu movies. And the other was wwf. The art is still there. Its just a bit safer now. But if there was a well choreographed long take in a martial art movie. One single take. Thats all it would take to create the spark. One well done enough where two different fights are going on and the camera is moving between both fights. It can be done. And if done perfectly. Will be four elements coming together to fight. Air and water fighting with earth and fire. Both groups are equal and the fight is a stalemate. But its only a dream. Seeing fire fighting with water as earth and air clash between them. One fight oauses as another crosses their lines. Both look over to them and tempo change. Soon all four fighter merge again and split the fights. Earth now fighting water as air is powerless over fire. You can see each fighting styles flaws and its strengths. And from that moment they clash against each other. They continue to mix and match fighters all tiring each other out in an all out brawl of brawls now before finally collapsing and gasping for a moment to breath. And the scene ends. Yeah sorry if this was a weird comment. Its just a dream i had. Asian martial arts legends from the golden era. Each training a new champion. Each of them their own style. And through the masters fights the young champions carry on. Four schools. Each master a grudge with one another. And each student. Trying to be their best. But at what cost? The hiding the revenge plots. It call comes to a head when the students takes it too far. Im done… otherwise im gonna have this awesome kung fu movie idea and im gonna rethink it to death. So im done.
Audiences weren’t going to theaters to see actions performed, they were going to see actions REPRESENTED. Then we became used to it, representation of action became the status quo, became safer for stunt performers and (some) actors. It was “good enough” for most films. But just like the Fast and Furious franchise, where the cars and driving stunts stopped being “real”, the action movie stunts weren’t real either. I think that’s why Mad Max: Fury Road was such a hit, it had “REAL” stunts and driving, it felt more visceral. Is that what Donnie Yen is trying to do? Is he trying to hold on to the “realness” of action cinema?
do you realize that most people have no problem seeing a panda doing kungfu with his friends in a certain CGI movie? in fact many people love that franchise, so the realness that you describe there is just your biased confusion between good and bad action choreography, and certain other film making skills (camera work for example)
@@Napoleonic_S I would argue that KFP’s strengths came from its movements being somewhat more grounded, the animators practicing kung fu to better understand how to animate certain sequences. When fight scenes consist solely of jump cuts and massive scales, it can be hard to be fully invested in a scene or see individual fighting styles.
Love this so much, thank you for keeping the awareness of these movies alive. I’m ethnically Chinese but feel very detached from my culture, these help me feel like I have a chance to be reconciled with my roots.
You are only as detached as You choose to be. I grew up in the west as ethnically Chinese also, but my parents at least made me go Chinese school on weekends when I was young and we still speak Chinese at home, so I can speak my dialect of Chinese and basic speaking of other dialects. As for culture like music and movies and stuff, you just need to be into those stuff and consume it. If even foreigners can be super Kpop fans, then so can overseas Koreans. It's up to you to reattach yourself to your cultural roots if that is indeed what you want. If not, then you do you.
Man I feel this. It's pretty common for us A/B/CBCs to feel detached from the culture of our motherland and HK Cinema is how I was able to feel close to it. Grabbing bootlegs of HK movies was how I kept what sometimes felt like a distant and sometimes alien culture close. These movies are sometimes the only common conversational topic I can converse with my parents. Art is beautiful that way.
I got to catch this at NYAFF in 2010, and it was so cool hearing from MC Jin and Bruce Leung how much of a passion project it was for them. Supposedly Andy Lau's company put up the budget for the movie!!
Even though this is a few years old, it has been one of my favorite martial arts film out of Hong Kong. It still resonates with me. MC Jin's closing song is pretty well done as well. Thanks for reviewing and providing commentary.
This channel is absolutely amazing, and gives many of us a much needed break from the rest of the internet, which is also no longer what it once was. Thank you, and have a great vacation, brother.
Another major contributing reason for the decline is the lack of dedication to the art. Bruce, Jacky, Sammo, Jet, Donnie etc.. all spent decades developing the physical skills needed to pull of those seemingly impossible moves. Very few performers in modern day Hong Kong cinema have that kind of background.
Sort of, I think there's also the thing where people got *hurt* doing this stuff. Like all the stunt actors all have some sort of really really serious injuries that they live with. And Gallants mentions this throughout the film.
@@dataphoenix8004 Jet is the best out of them at displaying graceful martial art moves on films due to his years of training in China for competitions (no sparring, just performing stances & moves).
The way you present your material is just so mind-blowing! I've found this channel like a week ago and can't help but watching every video. They really made me think more about the cinema and it's meaning. Thank you for your hard work!!
Back in 2015, as part of a writing workshop, I had a chance to learn from Frankie Tam - one of the screenwriters of this movie. He is a voracious reader and prolific learner. There are tons of novels/comic books/film-related resources at his office. He is able to remember and understand any field of study he recently comes across and talks about it like a pro. He can bring up promising characters + short stories whenever he wants to and present them in a riveting fashion. Most importantly, he said when he was younger he was discouraged by all his mentors/coursemates, saying he was no good for the industry. But he overcame all the setbacks with persistence and enthusiasm.
The three main characters are played by 陳官泰，梁小龍，陳惠敏 respectively, who have experience in tournaments and street fights in early 1970s. 陳惠敏 is said to be the last 雙花紅棍, a 紅棍 not only sponsored by one's own Triad organization also by the Dragon Head of two other Triad organizations.
Oh snap!! I saw this movie back when it was first released but could never remember the title!! Soooo happy to know what it was called! The same goes for the tokusatsu movie Zeiram, that I saw a decade and a half prior to Gallants after renting it on a random whim, but couldn't remember the title (which was spelled wrong on the original VHS)! I finally figured that one out too, last year! Stoked to pick up a bluray copy of Gallants now. Love your channel dude.
Thank you very much for this video essay. I grew up in Hong Kong as a gweilo from the early 1970s through to the 1990s - the golden age of Kung Fu in Hong Kong. I went to every film - no matter how good or bad. I didn't have to 'wait until I was older' to get it. I got it straight away, Kung Fu was a way of life, a spiritual and physical journey. Hard to explain if you haven't lived with it.
This movie is great and definitely feels like the last hurrah for the classic kung fu storyline. I know that Kung Fu Hustle gets talked a lot as the ultimate kung fu movie tribute but it doesn't come close to what Gallants does. There's a real sadness throughout the film cause just as the characters are getting old and being forgotten about so was the traditional kung fu genre. To me it is not only a great tribute to that genre but also it might be the last great one from it. Also bonus for casting Chen Kuan-Tai cause Chen Kuan-Tai is the fucking best.
That reminds me of Nerdwriter's video essay on the movie Logan (ruclips.net/video/pT75YHqlD9k/видео.html&ab_channel=Nerdwriter1) where he discusses an essay from Cawelti on how films change as genres "grow old": burlesque (self-parody), evocation of nostalgia, demythologization, and reaffirmation of myth. I think Kung Fu Hustle mainly falls within the "burlesque" description, while Gallants (like the movie Logan discussed in Nerdwriter's video essay) falls more under demythologization and ultimately reaffirmation.
Thank you for recommending this film. As a Westerner I don't know how I was exposed to foreign cinema but probably somewhere between Crouching Tiger HIdden Dragon or Rush Hour. I immediately realized how amazing Martial Arts movie were. I remember going into movie rental stores and going directly into the foreign section to find another movie like it going back to watch the old Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies. I will definitely watch this movie and relive that feeling of watching Martial arts movie. For me the story doesn't really matter its the cinematography that's amazing.
It would be fascinating to see a video about the 4 dragons of Hong Kong cinema! I've never heard of the term and I feel terrible for not knowing about one of them and would love to learn more!
Wow, I was thinking about this film the other week after I attended a martial arts film festival. Was lucky enough to see it on a very limited cinema run here in the UK a few years ago.
brings tears to my eyes,,,,I remember in New Zealand ,,,as a teenager running out of the Picture Theatre,,,doing jumping flying kicks,,,after watching these Chinese Kung Fu movies ,,back in the early 1970s,,, Kung Fu spread around the World because of these movies.. thank you ....All of you Old Kung Fu Fighters...we bow to you all.
I remember growing up watching Kung Fu films as a kid whenever I would visit my grandparents. I used to think that it was just about seeing these cool fight scenes. However, later on, I noticed the nuances about how the climax builds, the conflicts between characters, and how the tension built. It's a slow build that erupts like a volcano filling up with lava. It taught me something about story building.
Excellent work about "Gallants". I watched this movie in 2013 and I felt something behind it. It was more than a nostalgie. It was a subtle swan song of the old school Kung Fu genre as the old school followers know. That's why I thought this movie so unique and beautiful when I watched
Good stuff. While the Hong Kong style old-school kung fu movies are not in the spotlight, I believe that kung fu is never going to become irrelevant. It is already deeply intertwined with modern culture, loved and very much respected. Hope the genre can have a comeback in the near future!
JoBlo asked WTF happened to Jet Li as part of their WTF series. They stated that Li hated working with new talents that have no understanding of how to fight choreography work, and that was why he loved teaming up with Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom because Chan, a fellow peer, made it a compliment.
Reminds me of uncle Iroh/Gen. Iroh is retired but can still kick butt. He is also part of the White Lotus, a group of also old masters of bending and their own unique fighting styles. Iroh also has a teahouse.
The ending is almost saying, even if we lose and we die, we still hold on to what we truly believe in, what we love. We don't adapt what's core to our thing.
I remember this movie vividly. It was a bit of a sleeper hit that was sorta showing modern fascination with the "old days" and Kung Fu masters past their prime. Watching it the second time around was even better. I'm due for a third watch after what feels like 8 years
As an old timer who was watching the Golden Harvest and Shaw brothers Kung fu movies since the late 70's and had a collection of VHS tapes containing over 300 kung fu movies, I thank you for this video. I was unaware of it's existance and I look forward to watching and enjoying it in it's entirety. I grew up watching the stars of this movie. Chen Kuan Tai was a personal favorite of mine. In real life he was a tournament champion in HK and was a top student of the late great Master Chan Sau Chung known and respected throughout HK as the Monkey King because he taught Tai Shing Pek War Monkey Kung Fu. Chen Kuan Tai starred in the 1977 classic movie, Iron Monkey and I remember watching every move he did in slow motion over and over again as I would rewind the video tape to study the fighting scenes and try and memorize his movements and forms or Taolu, becuase I knew in real life those moves even though they were choreographed were real techniques taken from traditional Tai Shing Pek War. Back in the 80's I used to travel to NYC Chinatown almost every Sunday for Dim Sum and to buy the new Kung fu movie releases on VHS from the video stores vedors. I miss those days, ah simpler times.
I really enjoyed this video, thank you so much for that! It's heart breaking to see how the Hong Kong Kung Fu movie industry is struggling when competing against the modern hype. On that note, will you make a video on the young newcomer brothers Andy Le and Brian Le? They were key stuntmen in Shang Chi and Everything Everywhere all at once. They are the prime examples of Kung Fu nerds, that taught themselves through watching Kung Fu movies, making their own videos on youtube, learning other martial art styles around the world and finally working on the big stage.
Another beautiful essay as usual. My uncle introduced us to the martial arts genre, and I've loved it since. I think you've really captured why we love these movies, that it isn't just about the action: it's about heart, it's about the passion, the visceral hardship one must undergo to learn a discipline, and overcoming yourself (your biggest opponent) than your physical opponent.
I'm really enjoyed this video. I always will love and appreciate the old days of Kung Fu movies; I was born in 1976 and literally grew up during the 80's on Jackie Chan being my favorite Marial Artist in Cinema. Bruce Lee will always be the greatest, but Jackie made me laugh as well, so he won 1st place for me. Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Yuen Boa, Cynthia Rothrock, Sho Kosugi, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Michael Dudikoff, Jeff Speakman, I loved them all!! And will never forget any of them!!
I grew up watching kung fu flims, and this was a beautiful reminder and homage to the genre. Thanks you for reminding me why I loved kung fu in the first place
This is a rare flawless RUclips recommendation that I liked entirely. I need to see this movie now. It is an reverence for those whom entertained us with those classic movies and It seems a beautiful dying flame indeed for the purity of the genre... Thank you for this video essay. I've learned a lot with it.
i've just watched it... it made me cry, saw it because you recommended it, but also made me think about "The Paper Tigers", came back to see the essay once again after seeing it, and besides your analisys, i watched it as a martial artist too, and i must put stress in the "it made me cry" sentence, nowadays everything is for the ring, or the octagon, if it doesn't fit the ufc it's a made believe martial art and i dont believe that, martial arts are a spiritual journey where the traditions of hundreds of wars were fought to pass the ancient knowledge of fighting without a gun, i once heard a master say: "people lived and died by these techniques", and i abide by the "no practice for fitness" rule, thank you for showing me the way to this hidden gem of a movie
I really miss the old Kung Fu movies, they had an amazing following in my time and me and my family members still talk fondly about them. We used to all get together, eat Chinese takeout 🤣🤣and enjoy Kung Fu cinema on Saturday. I still love them, they are so much better than today's standard movies.
Nice breakdown. I've always had a soft spot for HK fighting films. Watched Bruce Lee's films when they came out and have always dipped back in from time to time. Once Upon a Time in China and Kung Fu Hustle are two I particularly love. I'll try to see this film. You make it sound like something I would enjoy very much.
Thank you for your video essay! Back in 2011 I was a volunteer to the HK film awards ceremony. I was cheering as loud as I could while Gallant was announced the Best Picture!
I think he meant the actor physical skill pushing the human body what it can do, rather than relying on a stuntman to do the moves or completely digital
That ending nearly brought a tear to my eye. It's very relatable and very classic kung fu film for the main character to try his best, fail, but for this failure to make the film even more meaningful. I think this is a more human perspective in films which doesn't get as much attention in big blockbusters, because the big 3 media companies believe audiences only want to see protagonists who are all-powerful and always ultimately triumphant. Yet success and failure are both ephemeral, and it is the meanings we find that make life worthwhile
I used to g to Chinatown with my father to watch Kung fu movies at an old theater called the Music Palace. Your knowledge of the genre and its history is so refreshing! Thanks for the knowledge!
Came to comment that your transition to the sponsor message was great! It made me laugh and makes it seamless and less intrusive than other videos Great job!!
Glad to see Gordon Lam taking his talent as a director. Use to watch him in his early acting career in TVB shows and my favorite movies (Election, Mad Detective, Sparrow, etc.).
"how age and injury affect old fighters. and the stars as well" excellent point. I am aging with these stars having grown up and practiced their moves and fight styles. At 65 years of age, I have aged somewhat into retiring from martial arts and now pursing roller, inline and ice skating. Sure, it is hard to get rid of my three punching bags, but seeing this review pumps me up as much as getting ready for the 1980s Times Square kung fu movies theater experience. My blood pressure goes up seeing some of favorite aging stars move on the screen in their present respective ages. Pressure that motivates me to keep my body moving. Thanks so much for this review. I miss the magazine in the eighties called Martial Arts movies. This review excellently keeps up that magazine's tradition.
I am fortunate for having been born during the age of the golden era of Kung Fu films. I have never missed a Jackie Chan movie when it was being shown here in the Philippines. Bruce Lee, Jackie, Samo Hung, even Jet Li---they were my martial arts hero. With little money back then, I would copy their stretching regimen, knowing that one day I would learn proper martial arts. And I did. I immersed myself in all different types of fighting styles--Karate, Aikido, Judo, Won Hwa Do, Arnis, Kenpo, Jeet Kune Do. I became a martial artist largely due to these masters of old. Kudos to you for making this video. You have a new sub because of it.
from a Chinese american, thanks for your video essays. It helps me fully appreciate Asian cinema. I grew up watching these films and have a greater fondness for them.
Thank you for this video. It came as a random recommendation and it got me wanting to know about this film. I tend to watch a lot of the older and some of the newer films from China, Japan, and Korea. They are also what got me more interested in the cultures and history of those places. I quite enjoyed this video thank you for sharing it.
Mr. Yang Zhang. Sir, you are amazing! thank you for bringing these quality videos! I've been your fans since youtube recommended your first ever video to me randomly, and i must say, you've kept the video quality top notch and even improved it! I'm sorry i can't support you on Patreon yet. But i sure as hell will stay for years to come! From a big fan, Alan.
Professionally written wonderfully produced. and finally well narrated. You are right I did miss this title in my movie library. Will get on with the movie binge. Kudos to a well-produced channel.
Astounding video once again. I feel like we live in such a fast-paced life now-a-days that’s it’s hard for us to just sit and enjoy things rather than consuming a lot of content. And the fact that “you’ll understand when you’re older” really hits home. Growing up in an Asian community in Malaysia, my parents would always say the aforementioned quote when I was growing up (being a brat and not understanding things). Now that I’m somewhat older than before at the age of 28, I definitely understood the hardship and changes that the older generations saw and recognised. Overall, thanks for another great video Accented Cinema.
I watched Gallants as soon as it was available to rent at my local video store that had import films. I even rented Tom Yum Goong on VCD from there. I completely forgot that the rapper Jin is in Gallants. I still remember him blowing up on 106th & Park.
Fascinating insight into a movie that has passed me by but I'll definitely check out now. I'm clearly falling into the Old Guard camp as I grew up watching HK cinema and now lament it's demise... I do love that its influence can still be felt around the world from the USA's Martial Club to India's Vidyut Jammwal to our very own Scott Adkins. All huge fans of HK cinema and keen to continue flying its flag in whatever form. We can only hope that the current trend for movie martial arts around the world re-ignites in HK, politics notwithstanding... 💪
What a great video essay, and what a great film too! I just started diving my toes into Hong Kong cinema and found this brilliant film. I loved it, even tho I didn't grow up watching these Hong Kong cinema (so no Kung Fu films either) and I don't recognize the actors I connected so much with the film. Also, the hand-to-hand combat is so refreshing for someone like me that is sick and tired of Hollywood action.
Now I understand why Yuen Wah said these words to Andy Le, the founder of Martial Club channel, "You have to do it. If you do it, then we can bring it(the essence of golden era HK kungfu films) back"
I'm really feeling this video bro. I'm doing my first martial arts short right now. I looked at a lot of Corey Yuen directed scenes from the 80s in preparation. I'll mix my own style in, but one cannot deny that 80s Honk Kong martial arts action might be the best the world has ever seen.
4:26 Kinda unrelated, but to the guy behind Accented Cinema, you can use the typing method 双拼/Double Pinyin to type in Chinese a little faster. This video on BiliBili goes over it pretty well, (called '双拼这点东西，up居然讲了十分钟--十分钟了解双拼到底是啥') but basically, 双拼 allows for every possible 母音 + 韵母 combination to be typed with only two keystrokes, since every key represents up to one 母音 as well as up to two 韵母. For example, to type '面' on Microsoft's 双拼 layout, you first type 'M' for the 母音 of '面', and then you press 'M' again for the 韵母 because the 'M' key also corresponds to the 韵母 '-ian'. The four-letter sound 'mian' is typed by using only two keystrokes. On the regular 拼音 keyboard, you have to press 'M', 'I', 'A', and 'N', where as using 双拼, you only need to press 'M' twice. The computer will know whether to type the 母音 or 韵母 of a certain key, because since every character is typed by two keystrokes, the computer just has to check whether your keystroke is the first or second in order ('啊' is typed 'oa' ; The 'o' key serves as an empty first keystroke for characters without a 母音). Sorry if this was a little long, but I just think more people on the Chinese internet ought to know about more optimized layouts like 双拼. Yes, other layouts like 五笔 and 双拼's optimized cousin 自然码辅码 can be faster in typing speed, but 双拼 (esp. Microsoft's layout) is easiest to learn for those who already know 拼音.
All of your videos are great.... my favorites that I keep thinking about and replaying in my head are your Nezha Reborn... and your How to Tell a Joke... but really... THANK YOU FOR THIS ONE! I'm going to go see the movie now!
This is why I buy so many old school flicks. The talent the unbelievablly impossible things that martial artists did make the movies so much more exciting and enjoyable than the modern offerings.
It's cool when movies are self-aware to their genres. Gallants reminds me of LOGAN where it's a commentary about how the old heroes just cant keep up with new talent due to age making them less spry and injuries making it difficult to do what was once easy.
Personally I would love to see an emergence of Hollywood action/fighting films that are in the same spirit as these old hong kong classics. From what I've seen, many of the stunt doubles that work in Hollywood are actually incredibly skilled in acrobatics and fighting, if anything they seem like they are forced to slow things down in the movies. I'd like it if a director tried making movies that hired the stunt doubles in lead roles. Side note, I also think it's impressive how few cuts the action scenes in these old movies had. I think the whole culture of filming in china and hk is or at least was taken a lot more seriously than in many Hollywood studios.
lmfaooo my old martial arts school actually turned from a martial arts school into a cardio kickboxing gym before my instructor quit. im surprised i never heard of this movie..but jeezus did that hit close to home
I think it also is expressing the inevitability of age. As related to me from Bob Bremer (Bruce Lee student,) Bruce said; " fighting is for young men. When Bob asked him what he will do when he is 60? Bob said Bruce said; " no 60 year old will ever beat me!" Now that I am two years away from 60 I totally get it. Once I was an exceptional athlete in many sports, went into Martial arts Jeet Kune do, kick boxing, boxing mma, etc... 35 years ago. At 50 my body started seriously breaking down. Now I think about eternal things. Now my children easily outshine me athletically and i struggle just to do basic things without pain! I heard a saying once; " God made young men strong because they are unwise, and he allowed old men to become weak because they have gained wisdom." I totally get it!
I met Kuan Tai Chen and Gordon Liu in amsterdam back in 2010 at a gong fu workshop. Very nice persons. Very down to earth You would forget they were huge superstars and legends after a few minutes talking with them.
As someone who has always held a deep love for Kung Fu cinema I find Gallants and Rigor Mortis to be two very special films. It is also heart breaking to me that both of those movies along with Haofeng Xu's work aren't more widely respected and appreciated. The genre in China has been limping along for so long now with only a trickle of quality projects coming forth. There seems to be such a feeling of need for CGI and other effects that the heart of what is needed is lost in the production. Jackie Chan's stunts were a special thing, really they only added a different seasoning to Kung Fu Cinema and more than anything represented his brand. They are not a necessity. Good Kung Fu movies need very little in the way of effects. Hell, they really don't even NEED a good story but it is definitely best if they have one. The action and the meaning behind it, the story within the action its self THAT is what is important. I long for a revitalization of the desire to make that kind of movie on a large scale. This can be done both safely and economically but it has to be supported by both the people making the product and the public that must consume to support future projects both with their money and their mouths. I believe that it is not too late and can still be done. What I fear is the aging of the people with the experience necessary to support, inspire and even participate in future projects to push the genre back on track. Lau Kar-leung's (Liu Chia-liang) death in 2013 hit me hard. I didn't know the man personally or anyone affiliated with him for that matter but my heart dropped in my chest when I heard the news. He meant about as much to me as any idol can to someone. He was and still is my favorite Action Director/Choreographer and one of my favorite on screen action performers. He possessed a wealth of knowledge and was fundamentally important to creating the real Kung Fu movie genre as we know it. How many more people like him can we loose before the art that is Kung Fu movie making becomes lost? I fear that the genre that is still limping along will die if its not nursed back to health soon. We need to stop accepting the band-aids being slapped on it (CGI and other modern effects) and demand real treatment and care for it. We must ask for and support real examples of the genre.
I will forever love 70s and 80s martial art,it will forever will be in my heart..I'm 31 and still till this day practicing hung gar..a 1000s year old legendary martial style from the south shaolin l.
Made me tear up. Amazon has a bunch of old classics and I had a month where I watched as many as I could and this movies message really resonated with me just now. It’s so sad to see the state of kung fu movies but I’m glad people are still trying.
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!! I've been dying to see a film like this! I can't wait to watch it. I watched a VERY similar movie to this called "Paper Tigers" with a similar concept. Unfortunately the movie wound up being a total piece of s*** which was massively disappointing and heartbreaking since the concept was so solid. Videos like THIS (and basically ALL of your content. Lol) are the reason I am GLAD I subscribed to this channel. Question where can I find this film? Thanks again.
Wow man you managed to articulate so well why we get so fascinated with those golden age movies, thank you for that! I'm definitely watching this very soon!
Thank you so much for shedding light onto Hong Kong Kung Fu action cinema, the genre I grew up with and the thing that defined my entire life then and now. ❤️✊🏽
Hey everyone. I'm still on vacation. It may take some time before I can reply to your comments/e-mails.
If you enjoy this video and would like to support the channel to make more videos like this, please consider supporting us through Patreon.com/AccentedCinema. We update Patreon every week, and post exclusive short videos once every month.
Hopefully the vacation is going well, and you're either doing cool shit or chillin hardcore.
Hey, Yang! I've wanted to know for years what is the outro song you use?
Have you seen the movie Papertigers? It's a quite recent independent kung fu comedy, with a bit similar premise
Please review Lake Changjin, the Korean War film made recently in Mainland China
@Accented Cinema do you know where this movie can be watched? It's not available on anything streaming. Is it on DVD/Blu-ray?
I grew up with my grandparents who only speak Spanish. So naturally that meant a lot of Spanish TV. What's interesting is that they actually alot of Kung-fu films on Mexican television just dubbed over with Spanish. I was absolutely spoiled with kung fu films as kid and they have a special place in my heart because of it.
I always had a fascination for kung-fu films, mainly because of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, ever since I was a kid. I always thought it was all about the action when it come to these films, but this video specifies it for me, it's the practicality, the visceral, death defying stunts that old kung-fu films had that kept me fascinated even today. Modern action films are all about the hype, the clout, whereas the classics rely on physicality and sheer luck/will.
I agree regarding physical stunts, like physical special effects, bringing something extra to a film. That move in "Meals on Wheels" (8:22), where Benny Urquidez kicks out the candle flames, is subtle, but sooooooooo cool.
Yep Jackie and Bruce were my starting point in the late 90's. For me it's about the talent on screen that made those films so good, despite certain flaws. Most modern kung fu have much better production values, acting etc but lack that visceral action and stunts, that made it so good in the first place.
I go back to the late 70s & 80s and the all night Kung fu movie shows in Nottingham at the Classic cinema and the Coronet in London.Saw so many great Kung fu movies back then.CRYSTAL FIST, WARRIORS TWO, KNOCKABOUT, ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, DRUNKEN MASTER, SNAKE IN THE MONKEYS SHADOW, SNAKE IN THE EAGLES SHADOW, THE PRODIGAL SON,too many to mention.Bruce Lee,Jackie Chan,Billy Chong(such an underrated martial artist),Yuen Biao,Samo Hung,Flash Legs Tan, Hwang Jang Lee(Thunderfoot), Fu Sheng,Casanova Wong, Wang Tao,the late Philip Kao.So many brilliant martial arts movie stars.Great times,Great memories.
Accented cinemia is right about a lot of the things in his video except for one thing, fighting. Kun-fu has never been about fighting and it's not a real martial art that anyone uses to fight. Well not seriously. It's more about mysticism and magic, but it's not real and no one takes it seriously, especially in fighting. No one goes into any UFC or MMA tournament and uses actualy Kung-fu. They might claim a bandground in it, but then they proceed to not use any kung-fu, because it's not a real martial art.
I miss them too, and I share your sentiment towards the old Kung Fu films.
BABE WAKE UP NEW ACCENTED CINEMA UPLOAD
Why you screaming in an empty apartment?
@@vubu313 e... EMPTY?!?!
Lol, just read this
I don't think I've ever been so nostalgic, so bitter, yet so hopeful at the end of a movie review before. Well done.
I showed my buddy Gallants back when he wanted to learn more about Kung Fu Cinema. And after the film ended, he turned to me and said "I think I finally get why you love it so much. It's not about the fighting so much, as it is what the fighting says and means. It's the spirit of Martial Arts more than it just looking cool."
I turned to him, nodded my head and said "I mean, the fighting's awesome, too! But I guess that's one way to interpret it..."
EDIT: My buddy was sitting next to me. What, do you think he looked down at his shoes or something so we could talk about the movie? You guys make no frigging sense.
😆😆😆
LMAO
He turned to you did he. How cliche.
Dudes testing out his creative writing prose in RUclips comments.
and then I clapped. I was in the room
Thank you for reviewing this. These actors have been a crucial part of my childhood. And I'm so thankful that this film came out. It's almost like this was their rocky, if that makes any sense. Hope all is well with you, good sir
Martial arts movies is like westerns, mech anime, and rock music. Even if people say it's dead it took quite awhile to die
And will soon be reborn in a Martial Arts-Western-Mech Anime-Rock Musical.
@@euansmith3699 That would be G Gundam
None of those things are dead. It just isn't mainstream anymore. And mech anime was never mainstream, lol. It's always been a niche thing, dunno how you can compare it to rock music which was mainstream, and westerns, which was like the first movies made and super influential on cinema,
Mech anime cannot be compared to those other two. Lol. Better to use shonen fighting anime like dbz, but those are still pretty popular. Lol.
@@ex0duzz I think mech anime was pretty mainstream in its country of origin what with the giant gundam statue and all
@@euansmith3699 XD
Thank you for this video. Tear’d up a bit while watching. The movie looks to be a great love letter to the golden age of Kung Fu films in Hong Kong. It’s true, these types of films (as well as Kung Fu in general) are dying in Hong Kong. There’s a tragedy in that. But the film helps us keep it alive. In any case, great content. Thank you!
"It’s true, these types of films (as well as Kung Fu in general) are dying in Hong Kong. There’s a tragedy in that."
Well, yes, and also, no. It is indeed sad to see (almost) no room for the genre in Hong Kong these days, but at the same time, look at the massive and deeply pervasive changes those films had on Hollywood in particular, but also many other movie industries the world over.
And as for HK cinema itself? Genres mostly fade out of view, but they never completely disappear, until they come back into style again. Look at the Westerns in Hollywood. They were ascendant for a long time, nearly disappeared for a while, and though they haven't risen to their old heights again (yet), there have been multiple hugely important and/or successful takes on the Western already this century.
The Kung Fu/wuxia genre will be back, in time.
@@DrBunnyMedicinal I'm going to bring in something a little more political.
With HK evidently becoming more integrated with China than ever before, I wonder what effect in the future for HK movie is going to be like as they will inevitably model themselves after China's censorship style.
@@smoadia85 The change-over in power and political systems from Britain being in charge to China being in charge, and the recentish acceleration of those changes is a not inconsiderable influence as well, yes. But it's also partly just a generational change in who is making films, why, and what/who they've been inspired and informed by.
It is a love letter. I grew up watching his movies. He was awesome! Growing up in asia and also growing up in a time where there were two distinct things I watched. The first was old lung fu movies. And the other was wwf.
The art is still there. Its just a bit safer now. But if there was a well choreographed long take in a martial art movie. One single take. Thats all it would take to create the spark. One well done enough where two different fights are going on and the camera is moving between both fights. It can be done. And if done perfectly. Will be four elements coming together to fight. Air and water fighting with earth and fire. Both groups are equal and the fight is a stalemate.
But its only a dream. Seeing fire fighting with water as earth and air clash between them. One fight oauses as another crosses their lines. Both look over to them and tempo change. Soon all four fighter merge again and split the fights. Earth now fighting water as air is powerless over fire.
You can see each fighting styles flaws and its strengths. And from that moment they clash against each other. They continue to mix and match fighters all tiring each other out in an all out brawl of brawls now before finally collapsing and gasping for a moment to breath. And the scene ends.
Yeah sorry if this was a weird comment. Its just a dream i had. Asian martial arts legends from the golden era. Each training a new champion. Each of them their own style. And through the masters fights the young champions carry on. Four schools. Each master a grudge with one another. And each student. Trying to be their best. But at what cost? The hiding the revenge plots. It call comes to a head when the students takes it too far.
Im done… otherwise im gonna have this awesome kung fu movie idea and im gonna rethink it to death. So im done.
well, fantasy wuxia is thriving though, especially with pretty boy/girl characters.
Audiences weren’t going to theaters to see actions performed, they were going to see actions REPRESENTED. Then we became used to it, representation of action became the status quo, became safer for stunt performers and (some) actors.
It was “good enough” for most films. But just like the Fast and Furious franchise, where the cars and driving stunts stopped being “real”, the action movie stunts weren’t real either. I think that’s why Mad Max: Fury Road was such a hit, it had “REAL” stunts and driving, it felt more visceral.
Is that what Donnie Yen is trying to do? Is he trying to hold on to the “realness” of action cinema?
do you realize that most people have no problem seeing a panda doing kungfu with his friends in a certain CGI movie? in fact many people love that franchise, so the realness that you describe there is just your biased confusion between good and bad action choreography, and certain other film making skills (camera work for example)
@@Napoleonic_S I would argue that KFP’s strengths came from its movements being somewhat more grounded, the animators practicing kung fu to better understand how to animate certain sequences. When fight scenes consist solely of jump cuts and massive scales, it can be hard to be fully invested in a scene or see individual fighting styles.
Real driving? They drove streight in a streight line
Fury Road wasn't a real hit. Barely got his money back in theaters.
KFP was also based directly on a real world style. But none of animatirs practiced that style.
Love this so much, thank you for keeping the awareness of these movies alive. I’m ethnically Chinese but feel very detached from my culture, these help me feel like I have a chance to be reconciled with my roots.
But what do you mean by reconcile with your roots?
You are only as detached as You choose to be. I grew up in the west as ethnically Chinese also, but my parents at least made me go Chinese school on weekends when I was young and we still speak Chinese at home, so I can speak my dialect of Chinese and basic speaking of other dialects.
As for culture like music and movies and stuff, you just need to be into those stuff and consume it. If even foreigners can be super Kpop fans, then so can overseas Koreans. It's up to you to reattach yourself to your cultural roots if that is indeed what you want. If not, then you do you.
@@ex0duzz thanks for the lecture Internet stranger
@@_Wai_Wai_ feel a sense of belonging
Man I feel this. It's pretty common for us A/B/CBCs to feel detached from the culture of our motherland and HK Cinema is how I was able to feel close to it. Grabbing bootlegs of HK movies was how I kept what sometimes felt like a distant and sometimes alien culture close. These movies are sometimes the only common conversational topic I can converse with my parents. Art is beautiful that way.
I wanted to thank you, Accented Cinema, for your work in keeping this genre relevant too!
I got to catch this at NYAFF in 2010, and it was so cool hearing from MC Jin and Bruce Leung how much of a passion project it was for them. Supposedly Andy Lau's company put up the budget for the movie!!
Even though this is a few years old, it has been one of my favorite martial arts film out of Hong Kong. It still resonates with me. MC Jin's closing song is pretty well done as well. Thanks for reviewing and providing commentary.
This channel is absolutely amazing, and gives many of us a much needed break from the rest of the internet, which is also no longer what it once was.
Thank you, and have a great vacation, brother.
Another major contributing reason for the decline is the lack of dedication to the art. Bruce, Jacky, Sammo, Jet, Donnie etc.. all spent decades developing the physical skills needed to pull of those seemingly impossible moves. Very few performers in modern day Hong Kong cinema have that kind of background.
A good point, this!
Sort of, I think there's also the thing where people got *hurt* doing this stuff. Like all the stunt actors all have some sort of really really serious injuries that they live with. And Gallants mentions this throughout the film.
Jet is the less athletic of that group but has the largest pr telling he is the best LOL
@@dataphoenix8004 jackie
@@dataphoenix8004 Jet is the best out of them at displaying graceful martial art moves on films due to his years of training in China for competitions (no sparring, just performing stances & moves).
The way you present your material is just so mind-blowing! I've found this channel like a week ago and can't help but watching every video. They really made me think more about the cinema and it's meaning. Thank you for your hard work!!
Back in 2015, as part of a writing workshop, I had a chance to learn from Frankie Tam - one of the screenwriters of this movie. He is a voracious reader and prolific learner. There are tons of novels/comic books/film-related resources at his office. He is able to remember and understand any field of study he recently comes across and talks about it like a pro. He can bring up promising characters + short stories whenever he wants to and present them in a riveting fashion. Most importantly, he said when he was younger he was discouraged by all his mentors/coursemates, saying he was no good for the industry. But he overcame all the setbacks with persistence and enthusiasm.
The three main characters are played by 陳官泰，梁小龍，陳惠敏 respectively, who have experience in tournaments and street fights in early 1970s. 陳惠敏 is said to be the last 雙花紅棍, a 紅棍 not only sponsored by one's own Triad organization also by the Dragon Head of two other Triad organizations.
Oh snap!! I saw this movie back when it was first released but could never remember the title!! Soooo happy to know what it was called! The same goes for the tokusatsu movie Zeiram, that I saw a decade and a half prior to Gallants after renting it on a random whim, but couldn't remember the title (which was spelled wrong on the original VHS)! I finally figured that one out too, last year! Stoked to pick up a bluray copy of Gallants now. Love your channel dude.
Thank you very much for this video essay. I grew up in Hong Kong as a gweilo from the early 1970s through to the 1990s - the golden age of Kung Fu in Hong Kong. I went to every film - no matter how good or bad. I didn't have to 'wait until I was older' to get it. I got it straight away, Kung Fu was a way of life, a spiritual and physical journey. Hard to explain if you haven't lived with it.
This movie is great and definitely feels like the last hurrah for the classic kung fu storyline. I know that Kung Fu Hustle gets talked a lot as the ultimate kung fu movie tribute but it doesn't come close to what Gallants does.
There's a real sadness throughout the film cause just as the characters are getting old and being forgotten about so was the traditional kung fu genre.
To me it is not only a great tribute to that genre but also it might be the last great one from it.
Also bonus for casting Chen Kuan-Tai cause Chen Kuan-Tai is the fucking best.
That reminds me of Nerdwriter's video essay on the movie Logan (ruclips.net/video/pT75YHqlD9k/видео.html&ab_channel=Nerdwriter1) where he discusses an essay from Cawelti on how films change as genres "grow old": burlesque (self-parody), evocation of nostalgia, demythologization, and reaffirmation of myth. I think Kung Fu Hustle mainly falls within the "burlesque" description, while Gallants (like the movie Logan discussed in Nerdwriter's video essay) falls more under demythologization and ultimately reaffirmation.
@@DanielKRui Lol
Thank you for recommending this film. As a Westerner I don't know how I was exposed to foreign cinema but probably somewhere between Crouching Tiger HIdden Dragon or Rush Hour. I immediately realized how amazing Martial Arts movie were. I remember going into movie rental stores and going directly into the foreign section to find another movie like it going back to watch the old Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies. I will definitely watch this movie and relive that feeling of watching Martial arts movie. For me the story doesn't really matter its the cinematography that's amazing.
It would be fascinating to see a video about the 4 dragons of Hong Kong cinema! I've never heard of the term and I feel terrible for not knowing about one of them and would love to learn more!
Wow, I was thinking about this film the other week after I attended a martial arts film festival.
Was lucky enough to see it on a very limited cinema run here in the UK a few years ago.
brings tears to my eyes,,,,I remember in New Zealand ,,,as a teenager running out of the Picture Theatre,,,doing jumping flying kicks,,,after watching these Chinese Kung Fu movies ,,back in the early 1970s,,, Kung Fu spread around the World because of these movies.. thank you ....All of you Old Kung Fu Fighters...we bow to you all.
One best decisions I made in the last 4 years was subscribing to this channel. Can’t wait to watch this film!
I remember growing up watching Kung Fu films as a kid whenever I would visit my grandparents. I used to think that it was just about seeing these cool fight scenes. However, later on, I noticed the nuances about how the climax builds, the conflicts between characters, and how the tension built. It's a slow build that erupts like a volcano filling up with lava. It taught me something about story building.
I remember this one. The soundtrack and the theme song was super awesome
Excellent work about "Gallants". I watched this movie in 2013 and I felt something behind it. It was more than a nostalgie. It was a subtle swan song of the old school Kung Fu genre as the old school followers know.
That's why I thought this movie so unique and beautiful when I watched
Good stuff. While the Hong Kong style old-school kung fu movies are not in the spotlight, I believe that kung fu is never going to become irrelevant. It is already deeply intertwined with modern culture, loved and very much respected. Hope the genre can have a comeback in the near future!
JoBlo asked WTF happened to Jet Li as part of their WTF series. They stated that Li hated working with new talents that have no understanding of how to fight choreography work, and that was why he loved teaming up with Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom because Chan, a fellow peer, made it a compliment.
Reminds me of uncle Iroh/Gen. Iroh is retired but can still kick butt. He is also part of the White Lotus, a group of also old masters of bending and their own unique fighting styles. Iroh also has a teahouse.
The ending is almost saying, even if we lose and we die, we still hold on to what we truly believe in, what we love. We don't adapt what's core to our thing.
I remember this movie vividly.
It was a bit of a sleeper hit that was sorta showing modern fascination with the "old days" and Kung Fu masters past their prime.
Watching it the second time around was even better.
I'm due for a third watch after what feels like 8 years
As an old timer who was watching the Golden Harvest and Shaw brothers Kung fu movies since the late 70's and had a collection of VHS tapes containing over 300 kung fu movies, I thank you for this video. I was unaware of it's existance and I look forward to watching and enjoying it in it's entirety. I grew up watching the stars of this movie. Chen Kuan Tai was a personal favorite of mine. In real life he was a tournament champion in HK and was a top student of the late great Master Chan Sau Chung known and respected throughout HK as the Monkey King because he taught Tai Shing Pek War Monkey Kung Fu. Chen Kuan Tai starred in the 1977 classic movie, Iron Monkey and I remember watching every move he did in slow motion over and over again as I would rewind the video tape to study the fighting scenes and try and memorize his movements and forms or Taolu, becuase I knew in real life those moves even though they were choreographed were real techniques taken from traditional Tai Shing Pek War. Back in the 80's I used to travel to NYC Chinatown almost every Sunday for Dim Sum and to buy the new Kung fu movie releases on VHS from the video stores vedors. I miss those days, ah simpler times.
I really enjoyed this video, thank you so much for that! It's heart breaking to see how the Hong Kong Kung Fu movie industry is struggling when competing against the modern hype. On that note, will you make a video on the young newcomer brothers Andy Le and Brian Le? They were key stuntmen in Shang Chi and Everything Everywhere all at once. They are the prime examples of Kung Fu nerds, that taught themselves through watching Kung Fu movies, making their own videos on youtube, learning other martial art styles around the world and finally working on the big stage.
Another beautiful essay as usual. My uncle introduced us to the martial arts genre, and I've loved it since. I think you've really captured why we love these movies, that it isn't just about the action: it's about heart, it's about the passion, the visceral hardship one must undergo to learn a discipline, and overcoming yourself (your biggest opponent) than your physical opponent.
I'm really enjoyed this video. I always will love and appreciate the old days of Kung Fu movies; I was born in 1976 and literally grew up during the 80's on Jackie Chan being my favorite Marial Artist in Cinema. Bruce Lee will always be the greatest, but Jackie made me laugh as well, so he won 1st place for me. Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Yuen Boa, Cynthia Rothrock, Sho Kosugi, Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Michael Dudikoff, Jeff Speakman, I loved them all!! And will never forget any of them!!
I love how you put your own emotions in these video essays. Thank you!
Fun fact :Bruce Leung is also a dedicated Gorju Ryu Karate practitioner (related to White Crane and Incense Shop style Kungfu).
I grew up watching kung fu flims, and this was a beautiful reminder and homage to the genre. Thanks you for reminding me why I loved kung fu in the first place
This is a rare flawless RUclips recommendation that I liked entirely. I need to see this movie now. It is an reverence for those whom entertained us with those classic movies and It seems a beautiful dying flame indeed for the purity of the genre... Thank you for this video essay. I've learned a lot with it.
i've just watched it... it made me cry, saw it because you recommended it, but also made me think about "The Paper Tigers", came back to see the essay once again after seeing it, and besides your analisys, i watched it as a martial artist too, and i must put stress in the "it made me cry" sentence, nowadays everything is for the ring, or the octagon, if it doesn't fit the ufc it's a made believe martial art and i dont believe that, martial arts are a spiritual journey where the traditions of hundreds of wars were fought to pass the ancient knowledge of fighting without a gun, i once heard a master say: "people lived and died by these techniques", and i abide by the "no practice for fitness" rule, thank you for showing me the way to this hidden gem of a movie
I really miss the old Kung Fu movies, they had an amazing following in my time and me and my family members still talk fondly about them. We used to all get together, eat Chinese takeout 🤣🤣and enjoy Kung Fu cinema on Saturday. I still love them, they are so much better than today's standard movies.
Nice breakdown. I've always had a soft spot for HK fighting films. Watched Bruce Lee's films when they came out and have always dipped back in from time to time. Once Upon a Time in China and Kung Fu Hustle are two I particularly love. I'll try to see this film. You make it sound like something I would enjoy very much.
Dude. Thank you so much. You are the only film historian capable of making me cry.
Thank you for your video essay! Back in 2011 I was a volunteer to the HK film awards ceremony. I was cheering as loud as I could while Gallant was announced the Best Picture!
8:17 "It lacks the challenge"
CG ARTISTS WHO are overworked to the bone to render the greatest shots w eyes glowing: *REAL SHIT*
I think he meant the actor physical skill pushing the human body what it can do, rather than relying on a stuntman to do the moves or completely digital
That ending nearly brought a tear to my eye. It's very relatable and very classic kung fu film for the main character to try his best, fail, but for this failure to make the film even more meaningful. I think this is a more human perspective in films which doesn't get as much attention in big blockbusters, because the big 3 media companies believe audiences only want to see protagonists who are all-powerful and always ultimately triumphant. Yet success and failure are both ephemeral, and it is the meanings we find that make life worthwhile
I used to g to Chinatown with my father to watch Kung fu movies at an old theater called the Music Palace. Your knowledge of the genre and its history is so refreshing! Thanks for the knowledge!
Came to comment that your transition to the sponsor message was great! It made me laugh and makes it seamless and less intrusive than other videos
Great job!!
This channel is a golden mine for people who are interested in movies, especially HK ones
Glad to see Gordon Lam taking his talent as a director. Use to watch him in his early acting career in TVB shows and my favorite movies (Election, Mad Detective, Sparrow, etc.).
"how age and injury affect old fighters. and the stars as well" excellent point. I am aging with these stars having grown up and practiced their moves and fight styles. At 65 years of age, I have aged somewhat into retiring from martial arts and now pursing roller, inline and ice skating.
Sure, it is hard to get rid of my three punching bags, but seeing this review pumps me up as much as getting ready for the 1980s Times Square kung fu movies theater experience. My blood pressure goes up seeing some of favorite aging stars move on the screen in their present respective ages. Pressure that motivates me to keep my body moving.
Thanks so much for this review. I miss the magazine in the eighties called Martial Arts movies. This review excellently keeps up that magazine's tradition.
I am fortunate for having been born during the age of the golden era of Kung Fu films. I have never missed a Jackie Chan movie when it was being shown here in the Philippines. Bruce Lee, Jackie, Samo Hung, even Jet Li---they were my martial arts hero. With little money back then, I would copy their stretching regimen, knowing that one day I would learn proper martial arts. And I did. I immersed myself in all different types of fighting styles--Karate, Aikido, Judo, Won Hwa Do, Arnis, Kenpo, Jeet Kune Do. I became a martial artist largely due to these masters of old. Kudos to you for making this video. You have a new sub because of it.
from a Chinese american, thanks for your video essays. It helps me fully appreciate Asian cinema. I grew up watching these films and have a greater fondness for them.
Thank you for this video. It came as a random recommendation and it got me wanting to know about this film. I tend to watch a lot of the older and some of the newer films from China, Japan, and Korea. They are also what got me more interested in the cultures and history of those places.
I quite enjoyed this video thank you for sharing it.
Mr. Yang Zhang.
Sir, you are amazing!
thank you for bringing these quality videos!
I've been your fans since youtube recommended your first ever video to me randomly, and i must say, you've kept the video quality top notch and even improved it!
I'm sorry i can't support you on Patreon yet. But i sure as hell will stay for years to come!
From a big fan,
Alan.
Man I learn about so many cool movies because of you. Thank you for posting these video essays. Some of my favorite videos to watch on youtube
When you mentioned BEAST I'm totally sold. Kung Fu Hustle is one of my favorite movies
Professionally written wonderfully produced. and finally well narrated. You are right I did miss this title in my movie library. Will get on with the movie binge. Kudos to a well-produced channel.
Astounding video once again. I feel like we live in such a fast-paced life now-a-days that’s it’s hard for us to just sit and enjoy things rather than consuming a lot of content. And the fact that “you’ll understand when you’re older” really hits home. Growing up in an Asian community in Malaysia, my parents would always say the aforementioned quote when I was growing up (being a brat and not understanding things). Now that I’m somewhat older than before at the age of 28, I definitely understood the hardship and changes that the older generations saw and recognised.
Overall, thanks for another great video Accented Cinema.
Thank you for featuring so many wonderful Kung Fu films. You are a shining beacon and voice for so many fans ❤️
This was a really fun movie. Always great to see the old stars.
I watched Gallants as soon as it was available to rent at my local video store that had import films. I even rented Tom Yum Goong on VCD from there. I completely forgot that the rapper Jin is in Gallants. I still remember him blowing up on 106th & Park.
More videos like this!!! What a rollercoaster of emotions.
Fascinating insight into a movie that has passed me by but I'll definitely check out now. I'm clearly falling into the Old Guard camp as I grew up watching HK cinema and now lament it's demise... I do love that its influence can still be felt around the world from the USA's Martial Club to India's Vidyut Jammwal to our very own Scott Adkins. All huge fans of HK cinema and keen to continue flying its flag in whatever form. We can only hope that the current trend for movie martial arts around the world re-ignites in HK, politics notwithstanding... 💪
Always looking forward to your fantastic videos
I've been going on and on about this underrated gem. One of the best that i've seen and it kills me that barely anyone has seen it
Love your vids great to have on in the background very informational.
What a great video essay, and what a great film too! I just started diving my toes into Hong Kong cinema and found this brilliant film. I loved it, even tho I didn't grow up watching these Hong Kong cinema (so no Kung Fu films either) and I don't recognize the actors I connected so much with the film. Also, the hand-to-hand combat is so refreshing for someone like me that is sick and tired of Hollywood action.
The theme and content of this video is dear and close to me. Again, congrats for making such a good work. This video is... nice, very nice.
I stopped midway, I'm gonna return to the video but only after watching the movie. Dude, you got me so intrigued
Now I understand why Yuen Wah said these words to Andy Le, the founder of Martial Club channel, "You have to do it. If you do it, then we can bring it(the essence of golden era HK kungfu films) back"
I'm really feeling this video bro. I'm doing my first martial arts short right now. I looked at a lot of Corey Yuen directed scenes from the 80s in preparation. I'll mix my own style in, but one cannot deny that 80s Honk Kong martial arts action might be the best the world has ever seen.
4:26 Kinda unrelated, but to the guy behind Accented Cinema, you can use the typing method 双拼/Double Pinyin to type in Chinese a little faster. This video on BiliBili goes over it pretty well, (called '双拼这点东西，up居然讲了十分钟--十分钟了解双拼到底是啥') but basically, 双拼 allows for every possible 母音 + 韵母 combination to be typed with only two keystrokes, since every key represents up to one 母音 as well as up to two 韵母.
For example, to type '面' on Microsoft's 双拼 layout, you first type 'M' for the 母音 of '面', and then you press 'M' again for the 韵母 because the 'M' key also corresponds to the 韵母 '-ian'. The four-letter sound 'mian' is typed by using only two keystrokes. On the regular 拼音 keyboard, you have to press 'M', 'I', 'A', and 'N', where as using 双拼, you only need to press 'M' twice.
The computer will know whether to type the 母音 or 韵母 of a certain key, because since every character is typed by two keystrokes, the computer just has to check whether your keystroke is the first or second in order ('啊' is typed 'oa' ; The 'o' key serves as an empty first keystroke for characters without a 母音).
Sorry if this was a little long, but I just think more people on the Chinese internet ought to know about more optimized layouts like 双拼. Yes, other layouts like 五笔 and 双拼's optimized cousin 自然码辅码 can be faster in typing speed, but 双拼 (esp. Microsoft's layout) is easiest to learn for those who already know 拼音.
All of your videos are great.... my favorites that I keep thinking about and replaying in my head are your Nezha Reborn... and your How to Tell a Joke... but really... THANK YOU FOR THIS ONE! I'm going to go see the movie now!
This is why I buy so many old school flicks. The talent the unbelievablly impossible things that martial artists did make the movies so much more exciting and enjoyable than the modern offerings.
It's cool when movies are self-aware to their genres. Gallants reminds me of LOGAN where it's a commentary about how the old heroes just cant keep up with new talent due to age making them less spry and injuries making it difficult to do what was once easy.
Beautiful work guys!. You've got yourself a subscriber!
Personally I would love to see an emergence of Hollywood action/fighting films that are in the same spirit as these old hong kong classics. From what I've seen, many of the stunt doubles that work in Hollywood are actually incredibly skilled in acrobatics and fighting, if anything they seem like they are forced to slow things down in the movies. I'd like it if a director tried making movies that hired the stunt doubles in lead roles. Side note, I also think it's impressive how few cuts the action scenes in these old movies had. I think the whole culture of filming in china and hk is or at least was taken a lot more seriously than in many Hollywood studios.
lmfaooo my old martial arts school actually turned from a martial arts school into a cardio kickboxing gym before my instructor quit. im surprised i never heard of this movie..but jeezus did that hit close to home
I enjoyed this video more than a little. Your analysis of the theme seemed complete and well thought out. Thank you.
I think it also is expressing the inevitability of age. As related to me from Bob Bremer (Bruce Lee student,) Bruce said; " fighting is for young men. When Bob asked him what he will do when he is 60? Bob said Bruce said; " no 60 year old will ever beat me!" Now that I am two years away from 60 I totally get it. Once I was an exceptional athlete in many sports, went into Martial arts Jeet Kune do, kick boxing, boxing mma, etc... 35 years ago. At 50 my body started seriously breaking down. Now I think about eternal things. Now my children easily outshine me athletically and i struggle just to do basic things without pain! I heard a saying once; " God made young men strong because they are unwise, and he allowed old men to become weak because they have gained wisdom." I totally get it!
I met Kuan Tai Chen and Gordon Liu in amsterdam back in 2010 at a gong fu workshop.
Very nice persons. Very down to earth
You would forget they were huge superstars and legends after a few minutes talking with them.
I always love watching your videos, keep it up!
As someone who has always held a deep love for Kung Fu cinema I find Gallants and Rigor Mortis to be two very special films. It is also heart breaking to me that both of those movies along with Haofeng Xu's work aren't more widely respected and appreciated.
The genre in China has been limping along for so long now with only a trickle of quality projects coming forth. There seems to be such a feeling of need for CGI and other effects that the heart of what is needed is lost in the production.
Jackie Chan's stunts were a special thing, really they only added a different seasoning to Kung Fu Cinema and more than anything represented his brand. They are not a necessity. Good Kung Fu movies need very little in the way of effects. Hell, they really don't even NEED a good story but it is definitely best if they have one. The action and the meaning behind it, the story within the action its self THAT is what is important. I long for a revitalization of the desire to make that kind of movie on a large scale. This can be done both safely and economically but it has to be supported by both the people making the product and the public that must consume to support future projects both with their money and their mouths.
I believe that it is not too late and can still be done. What I fear is the aging of the people with the experience necessary to support, inspire and even participate in future projects to push the genre back on track.
Lau Kar-leung's (Liu Chia-liang) death in 2013 hit me hard. I didn't know the man personally or anyone affiliated with him for that matter but my heart dropped in my chest when I heard the news. He meant about as much to me as any idol can to someone. He was and still is my favorite Action Director/Choreographer and one of my favorite on screen action performers. He possessed a wealth of knowledge and was fundamentally important to creating the real Kung Fu movie genre as we know it. How many more people like him can we loose before the art that is Kung Fu movie making becomes lost?
I fear that the genre that is still limping along will die if its not nursed back to health soon. We need to stop accepting the band-aids being slapped on it (CGI and other modern effects) and demand real treatment and care for it. We must ask for and support real examples of the genre.
In short: "Kung-fu cinema needed to die, so it can reborn again.
Great video, AC! Greetings from Brazil! HAHAHAHA
Im loving the meta commentary on the Film History of Kung Fu.
Never heard of Gallants. Will need to look for it some time.
I will forever love 70s and 80s martial art,it will forever will be in my heart..I'm 31 and still till this day practicing hung gar..a 1000s year old legendary martial style from the south shaolin l.
Made me tear up. Amazon has a bunch of old classics and I had a month where I watched as many as I could and this movies message really resonated with me just now. It’s so sad to see the state of kung fu movies but I’m glad people are still trying.
The king has returned
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!!!! I've been dying to see a film like this! I can't wait to watch it. I watched a VERY similar movie to this called "Paper Tigers" with a similar concept. Unfortunately the movie wound up being a total piece of s*** which was massively disappointing and heartbreaking since the concept was so solid. Videos like THIS (and basically ALL of your content. Lol) are the reason I am GLAD I subscribed to this channel. Question where can I find this film? Thanks again.
Wow! Socrates and Pluto would be proud of the philosophical impute dedicated to this video! Good job 👍
Wow man you managed to articulate so well why we get so fascinated with those golden age movies, thank you for that!
I'm definitely watching this very soon!
Glad I was recommended this channel. This movie looks like a good watch 👍🏼
also Leung (Wong You-nam) is super cute
Agreed
Thank you so much for shedding light onto Hong Kong Kung Fu action cinema, the genre I grew up with and the thing that defined my entire life then and now. ❤️✊🏽