Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow

Year: 1978

Grade: B

Country: Hong Kong

Director: Yuen

Review

post-bruce lee hong kong cinema didn’t have a star, until jackie chan came along. this film finds chan pairing with yuen woo-ping (choreographer for crouching tiger, matrix, iron monkey [also directed], kill bill, etc.) who acts as choreographer and director here. jackie chan shows his range here. there are several scenes where comedy and action are mixed very well. chan plays a house servant of sorts (in a kung fu dojo) who is always being bullied by the kung fu teachers. an old man befriends him and teaches him the snake fist style. in one scene chan is washing the floor and a bully comes by, dips his shoes in chalk and tries to walk on the newly washed floor just to make it harder for chan. what follows is really well choreographed physical comedy. chan flips, contorts and bends his body so that he is able to get his wash cloths under the bully’s feet before they can dirty the floor. it doesn’t sound like much, but it’s a great scene in part because of yuen woo-ping and in part because of chan’s phsyical/comic abilities. it’s no “master of the flying guillotine,” but it’s still good.