Comedy is not the first thing you think of when someone mentions karate movies, but the two have actually worked hand-in-hand for many years. Most people thinking of the intense fight scenes, fancy moves, characters flying through the air and high kicks, though for the past thirty years comedy has been as much a feature as anything.
It may seem a strange blend, but in truth, action and comedy have always worked well together, and its been a tried and tested formula for almost a century. Many of the old silent comedies were in fact borderline action films, as the comedy was extremely physical. And you can see their influence in many of the karate movies today, especially those starring Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1954 and started training at the China Opera School when he was just 6. He began to break into movies in the 1970's playing small parts, and even had moments with Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and Enter The Dragon. After Lee died, many people tried to fill his shoes, but rather than copy him, Jackie Chan began to develop his own style. By 1978 he had appeared in a number of movies but it was that year's Drunken Master that started his rise to stardom.
A huge self-confessed fan of silent movie comedians like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, he began to use comedy more and more. When he directed his first movie, The Young Master in 1980, this style came through like never before, as he seamlessly combined action and comedy.
Over the next few years he would appear in many hit Asian films, as well as having two less than successful attempts at breaking into the American market with The Big Brawl and a small part in Cannonball Run. But his comedic karate movies remained extremely popular in Asia, and in many other parts of the world.
Throughout his career Jackie was fortunate to have his friend Sammo Hung alongside him. They had gone to the China Opera School together, and moved into movies at the same time. Sammo also brought a comedic touch to the films and directed or choreographed many of Jackie's movies. He also starred in most of them and also had a brief run in American television, when he played the lead role in the TV show, Martial Law.
Rumble in the Bronx in 1995 finally fared well with American audiences and soon Jackie Chan was starring in a number of big Hollywood comedy action movies like the Rush Hour series, Shanghai Noon and its sequel Shanghai Knights, The Tuxedo and Around the World in 80 Days.
Jackie and Sammo inspired others too, no one more so than acclaimed actor and director, Stephen Chow. Chow had acted in TV shows and karate movies in Hong Kong for a number of years, but it was his self-directed movies that caught the public's attention. Shaolin Soccer was the movie that made the rest of the world take notice and that led to major producers backing his next film, Kung Fu Hustle. Kung Fu Hustle became the most successful Hong Kong-made movie ever, and also was shown in more cinemas in the USA than any other foreign language film. Sammo Hung, one of Chow's heroes, also directed a few scenes in the movie.
It may seem a strange blend, but in truth, action and comedy have always worked well together, and its been a tried and tested formula for almost a century. Many of the old silent comedies were in fact borderline action films, as the comedy was extremely physical. And you can see their influence in many of the karate movies today, especially those starring Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1954 and started training at the China Opera School when he was just 6. He began to break into movies in the 1970's playing small parts, and even had moments with Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and Enter The Dragon. After Lee died, many people tried to fill his shoes, but rather than copy him, Jackie Chan began to develop his own style. By 1978 he had appeared in a number of movies but it was that year's Drunken Master that started his rise to stardom.
A huge self-confessed fan of silent movie comedians like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, he began to use comedy more and more. When he directed his first movie, The Young Master in 1980, this style came through like never before, as he seamlessly combined action and comedy.
Over the next few years he would appear in many hit Asian films, as well as having two less than successful attempts at breaking into the American market with The Big Brawl and a small part in Cannonball Run. But his comedic karate movies remained extremely popular in Asia, and in many other parts of the world.
Throughout his career Jackie was fortunate to have his friend Sammo Hung alongside him. They had gone to the China Opera School together, and moved into movies at the same time. Sammo also brought a comedic touch to the films and directed or choreographed many of Jackie's movies. He also starred in most of them and also had a brief run in American television, when he played the lead role in the TV show, Martial Law.
Rumble in the Bronx in 1995 finally fared well with American audiences and soon Jackie Chan was starring in a number of big Hollywood comedy action movies like the Rush Hour series, Shanghai Noon and its sequel Shanghai Knights, The Tuxedo and Around the World in 80 Days.
Jackie and Sammo inspired others too, no one more so than acclaimed actor and director, Stephen Chow. Chow had acted in TV shows and karate movies in Hong Kong for a number of years, but it was his self-directed movies that caught the public's attention. Shaolin Soccer was the movie that made the rest of the world take notice and that led to major producers backing his next film, Kung Fu Hustle. Kung Fu Hustle became the most successful Hong Kong-made movie ever, and also was shown in more cinemas in the USA than any other foreign language film. Sammo Hung, one of Chow's heroes, also directed a few scenes in the movie.
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