THE STORY OF DRUNKEN MASTER (1979)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *naturalistic*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *sociological*

In 1978 Jackie Chan catapulted to worldwide fame thanks to his breakthrough hit DRUNKEN MASTER, in which his protagonist, despite initial reluctance, learns the "drunken fist" style of his master Beggar So (Simon Yuen) and so conquers his enemy.

Since this film-- also known as DRUNKEN FIST BOXING-- cast Yuen in a role with the same name and appearance, there's not much question that he was selected to coast on the fame of the Jackie Chan film. But maybe the producers feared some legal reprisal if they followed the template too closely, for there's only a minute or so of drunken boxing, and that comes at the very end, from a supporting character.

The main characters are a brother and sister, Chi Wai (Casanova Wong) and Gam Fa (Yeung Pan Pan, who are perpetually training under their aged master Beggar So. I think Chi runs a pawn shop while Gam performs an acrobatic act at a local saloon, so they don't have any heroic motives for their training. So is seen imbibing wine a few times but not teaching any drunk-fu. 

However, So has an enemy from an earlier encounter, a nasty martial arts master named Bill Chan. Chan wants to humiliate So by attacking his students, and one of Chan's pupils wants to get busy with Gam. So most of the film concerns a series of peripatetic conflicts, though not that many full-fledged battles. One comic scene, for example, involves Gam "accidentally" inflicting small injuries on her unwanted suitor. However, because the suitor has money, Gam's dick of a father encourages her to marry him. 

The meandering plot is of no consequence, and the only good fighter by my reckoning is the athletic Yeung Pan Pan. The actress never had a major breakout success in old-style kung fu films, but became somewhat better known in the Hong Kong "girls with guns" genre. The minute or so of drunk-fighting comes courtesy of a third So-student, Ah Chong, who drinks So's wine and briefly confounds Bill Chan in the big end-fight-- though Gam and Chi are the ones who earn the real victory. A couple of times fighters use weighted ribbons or belts as weapons, but there's no uncanny effect and so they register only as naturalistic.