Wing Chun (film)
| Wing Chun | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Yuen Woo-ping |
| Produced by | Yuen Woo-ping |
| Written by | Elsa Tang |
| Starring |
Michelle Yeoh Yen Chi-tan Waise Lee Cheng Pei-pei |
| Music by | Yen Chi-tan |
| Cinematography | Pin Bing Lee |
| Distributed by | Century Pacific |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese |
Wing Chun (Chinese: 詠春) is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts action drama film produced and directed by Yuen Woo-ping, starring Michelle Yeoh and Yen Chi-tan. The film was preceded by a 1994 television series of the same name.
Plot
Wing Chun is a talented kung fu practitioner who lives in a mountain village with her father, sister, and aunt. Out of all the villagers, she is the only person who will stand up to the local bandits, led by two nefarious brothers. One day, a young and beautiful widow Charmy comes to town, catching the attention of the bandit chief Flying Monkey. Wing Chun rescues the hapless widow and gives her a job in her family's tofu shop, earning the enmity of Flying Monkey and his brother Flying Chimpanzee. Meanwhile, Leung Pok To arrives in town, fresh from studying kung fu. He is Wing Chun's childhood friend and has returned to claim her hand in marriage. He at first mistakes Charmy for Wing Chun and she encourages the mistake, believing he will not care for her in her current masculine, kung fu fighting avatar. Charmy is enamored with the handsome stranger, but Pok To is disappointed to find that his Wing Chun has changed. When Flying Monkey kidnaps Charmy, he uses her for bait, luring Wing Chun to a battle in the bandit's mountain fortress. She rescues Wing Chun, but is unable to completely defeat Flying Chimpanzee so she seeks help from her master. Pok To discovers her deception and when she realizes that he doesn't mind that she is a kung fu fighter, she agrees that she will marry him if she can defeat Flying Chimpanzee. Using her master's advice, she defeats Flying Chimpanzee in a final showdown and marries her childhood sweetheart.
Cast
- Michelle Yeoh as Yim Wing-chun
- Donnie Yen as Leung Pok-to
- Kingdom Yuen as Abacus Fong
- Catherine Hung as Charmy
- Waise Lee as Scholar Wong
- Norman Chu as Flying Chimpanzee
- Chui Ah-Fai as Flying Monkey
- Cheng Pei-pei as Wing Chun's martial arts master, Mistress Wu Mei
Release
Guang Dong Tung Ah released it on DVD in the United States on 5 February 2002.[1]
On 20 September 2004, the DVD was released by Hong Kong Legends in the UK in Region 2.[2]
One year later, The Epic Action Collection DVD was released on 26 December 2005, a 4-disc set also including Iron Monkey (2-disc platinum edition) and Tai Chi Boxer; all three films were by directed by Yuen Woo-ping.[3] One month later, The Michelle Yeoh Collection DVD was released on 9 January 2006, a 3-disc set also including Magnificent Warriors and Police Assassins.
Reception
Joey O'Bryan of the Austin Chronicle called it a "fun, period martial arts film, unique in its stylistic approach to both violence and sexual politics".[4] J. Doyle Wallis of DVD Talk rated it 4/5 stars and wrote that what the film lacks in authenticity, it makes up for in "dazzling fight scenes".[1] Beyond Hollywood called it "a silly comedy with kung fu" that "knows what it is".[5] Chris Gould of DVDactive rated it 7/10 stars and wrote that the lack of actual Wing Chun fighting could [be] disappointing to some fans, but the action and comedy make up for it.[2]
See also
References
- 1 2 Wallis, J. Doyle (2002-02-12). "Wing Chun". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- 1 2 Gould, Chris. "Chris Gould takes a look at the latest offering from martial arts label Hong Kong Legends...". DVDactive.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ Gould, Chris. "We have full specs and artwork for the latest HKL DVD release". DVDactive.com. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ O'Bryan, Joey (1994-07-01). "Wing Chun". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
- ↑ "Wing Chun (1994) Movie Review". BeyondHollywood.com. 2002-03-28. Retrieved 2014-08-04.