Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin (1978) August 30, 2008
Posted by Cal in : 1970s films, Kung Fu , trackbackDirector: Chen Chi-Hwa Main Cast: Jackie Chan; Nora Miao; Kam Kong; Gam Ching-Lan Territory: Taiwan Production Company: Lo Wei Motion Picture Co.
Eight masters of Shaolin mysteriously disappear, apparently taking the secrets of the hybrid “Snake and Crane” style of kung fu with them. When Hsu Ying-Fung (Chan) is seen carrying a book entitled “The Eight Steps of the Snake and Crane”, all manner of interested parties show up wanting the book for themselves.
Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin is seen by many as a bit of a “bridge” in Jackie’s oeuvre, from his straight-faced films with Lo Wei to the comedic films that would make him a star. What strikes me looking at the film now is the difference in tone between the action scenes (choreographed by Chan) and the rest of the film (directed by Chen Chi-Hwa, who would go on to direct Chan’s full-on comedy Half a Loaf of Kung Fu). While the action scenes are quite light and sometimes overtly comic, the rest of the film is drowned in its own seriousness.
The film is a confusing tale of gangs and individuals who all want Jackie’s book, and it would probably have worked better as a farce, instead of this attempt at drama and intrigue. I’ve seen this one perhaps half a dozen times now and I still have trouble working out who wants to do what to whom and why. It all adds up to a bit of a disappointing mess, in truth, although not as bad as some of Jackie’s other films for Lo Wei.
The action scenes are ridiculously plentiful – this is one of the most action packed films I’ve ever seen. While this sounds like a recommendation, it all gets a bit much after a while and ends up like: meet, fight, talk, fight, meet someone else, fight, talk, get betrayed by former friend, fight, fight, talk, meet someone else, fight them for no reason, talk, fight etc, etc. Also, I was amused that the martial arts shown in the opening title sequence (as usual, against a red backdrop in a studio) have no relevance to the film.
Like a lot of Jackie’s Lo Wei films, I’ve held off seeing this again until a better version came along, having had to put up with grainy fullscreen VHS tapes or VCDs for a long time. The “Ultra-Bit” mastering job by the late company Hong Kong Legends is probably the best we’re ever going to get, but the restoration is quite obvious at times, and the colours go completely crazy occasionally. I don’t know if this is the original audio version (I’ve always had to put up with the English dub until now) but I found the Mandarin track quite strange to listen to. The voice given to Jackie is one thing, but the voice given to Nora Miao is nothing short of bizarre – high pitched and girlish – when she’s supposed to be a warrior woman not to be trifled with.
I’ve come to the conclusion I’m never going to like Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin all that much, despite being frequently referred to as one of the better films Jackie made under Lo Wei. It’s too draining on both the eyes and the noggin, and the 96 minute running time becomes more like an endurance test than entertainment.
Comments»
Sadly the HKL had messed with audio, both the “mono” and 5.1 are taken from the obnoxious 5.1 remix by Fortune Star
I admit…I LOVE this film! I had that dreadful Eastern Heroes DVD which was a full frame print cropped top and bottom to a fake widescreen (!!!) and that was the first old school kung fu film I saw! At the time it seemed so odd…the bad dubbing, the way it’d jump from speech impediment jokes to a kid getting slaughtered - hey, this predates Wong Jing - and the astonishing opening sequence, where Jackie does battle with spearmen against a red backdrop Oh, and Nora Miao…wow!
I’d love to see it in scope but I’m holding out for a semi-decent DVD - HKL had aforementioned sound issues, and Columbia was cut by 5min. Bloody HK DVD problems strike again!
Self promotion: http://hkmdb.com/db/reviews/show_review.mhtml?id=10111
Not one of my better reviews, but I noticed films that I find decent but not great are harder to write about than excellent or horrible films. I discussed much of what problems you wrote about (we all agree on the plot
) though I liked this movie more than you. I think the photography and direction is quite good.
Here is a good link that discusses the cuts on the Columbia: http://adg.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=48
James: I had the Eastern Heroes DVD too but I never watched it once I realised what they’d done with it - those guys were bloody criminals. I guess you think of this the same as I think about HALF A LOAF, which was my first old-school kung fu flick. I can’t disagree on Nora Miao, either - she was something special indeed! Why the hell did Columbia remove 5 minutes (thanks Shawn)? What did it achieve??
Shawn: I hadn’t read a word of your review, but yes, apart from our overall view of the film there are a lot of similarities. I agree with you on reviewing good films or bad ones (sometimes it releaves a lot of frustration to write about a REALLY bad film) but I find the hardest to do are the epics. I find I end up trying to write a book. I had the problem when I did my THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY review and I had to scrap my second review of A TOUCH OF ZEN (I’m still unhappy with the one I did on the HKMDB). I came close to scrapping my review of SEVEN SAMURAI on a number of occasions too because it was just getting too long so I’ve pruned it and it should be on here tomorrow. Basically, it now reads: “SEVEN SAMURAI is a great movie” :p
Columbia didn’t cut anything. They got saddled with what was avaliable at the time. The actual films were in a legal tie-up back then, so the Fortune Star masters we have now were off limits. That said, Columbia’s New Fist of Fury is 40min longer than the Fortune Star one!
JL: Well you did say: “Columbia was cut by 5min” without giving a source
.
Cal: are you going to do a new review on New Fist of Fury?
James: I think the HKL disc may be the best we’re going to get of this film, somehow. It’s a shame about the audio though.
Shawn: Yep, I should be doing ALL the Lo Wei films except Fearless Hyena (too soon since I last saw it but too long to do a review from memory), Spiritual Kung Fu (I think I’ve lost my VCD of it…can’t find it anywhere) and maybe Killer Meteors (haven’t secured a decent DVD of it yet). All these should be up in the next couple of months. Hopefully
Well if you get bored you could always read my reviews of Fearless Hyena (and 2) and Killer Meteors (I have yet to do Spiritual Kung Fu). Actually next from me will be The Prodigal Son
.
Have you seen PRODIGAL SON before? If not, you’re in for a treat - definitely one of the greatest Kung Fu flicks from the period. That’s one I watch over and over again, but surprisingly I don’t think I’ve ever reviewed it. Hmm. After this batch of JC films and revisiting some classic Shaws, I will have to have a go at that one.
“JL: Well you did say: “Columbia was cut by 5min” without giving a source ”
Yep, my bad!
Dragon Dynasty (US) and Joy Sales (HK) are SUPPOSED to be releasing this at some point. But if they screw up no sales. I HATE the Fortune Star remixes
Cal: Yes, I’ve seen Prodigal Son a couple of times (taking complete notes on the film to prepare for review). I love that movie. I’ll try to have a review done within a week; tonight I’ll finish my notes.
JL: I kept seeing this movie on HKFLIX; even DD advertised that they were supposed to put it out this year. I know DD is not perfect (or even close), but I would love to see it come out (another double dip).