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My first experience with Hong Kong producer/director/writer/actor Stephen Chow came when a good friend recommended Shaolin Soccer (2001), a film which I enjoyed a lot primarily due to its kinetic energy and off the wall, mind bending special effects, so when I heard Chow was coming out with another feature, titled Kung Fu Hustle (2004), I was very interested...sadly, I missed the theatrical release, but I was able to catch it on video and I wasn't disappointed. Co-written and directed by Stephen Chow (God of Cookery, Shaolin Soccer), who also shares credits in producing, writing, and original music, the film features Chow, along with Qiu Yuen (Kung Fu Mahjong), Wah Yuen (Kung Fu Mahjong), Zhi Hua Dong, Kwok-Kwan Chan (Shaolin Soccer), Chi Chung Lam (Kung Fu Mahjong), and Siu-Lung Leung (Kung Fu 12 Kicks).
As the film, set in the 1930s, begins we learn a ruthless group known as the Axe Gang pretty much control everything through intimidation (and axes), except for an area known as Pig Sty Alley, a poor, residential block not worth bothering with as those who live there have very little, if anything, to offer up. As a result the residents of Pig Sty Alley live a relatively peaceful life under the thumb of their chain-smoking, hag-like landlord who's always dressed in a natty nightgown, rollers in her hair, and funky flip flops. One day a pair of hapless buffoons show up, one of them named Sing (Chow), pretending to be Axe Gang members, and start pushing people around (in a really funny sequence), resulting in the appearance of the real Axe Gang. Well, turns out three residents of Pig Sty Alley are actually powerful, semi-retired warriors, and a crazy battle ensues as the trio single-handedly beat the crud out of the gang. The gang retreats to lick their wounds and ends up hiring a pair of musicians who moonlight as professional killers and another fantastic fight sequence ensues. Meanwhile, Sing and his fat friend, eager to join the Axe Gang, are tasked to perform some evilness, in which they fail miserably. Things get a bit murky around this point, but the gang ends up having to hire the number one killer, someone known as The Beast, played by Siu-Lung Leung, who's currently locked away in a mental institution due to the fact he studied kung fu so intensely it caused him to go crazy (I guess). Anyway, turns out Sing, the bumbling would be criminal, has within him a power even he's not aware of, one rivals even The Beast himself.
While I'm not an expert on Asian cinema, I have seen enough of it to know at least one thing...a good deal of it doesn't often make a lot of sense, to me at least (but then again I'm an idiot). Maybe this is due to translation issues tied to my own Westernized sensibilities, I don't know, but I've come to expect, and even rely on, the fact that whenever I watch an Asian import, specifically within the martial arts genre, there's going to be aspects I won't understand, and that's certainly true of Kung Fu Hustle. I don't see this as a negative aspect as generally I can get the gist of the story (the student avenging the death of an authority figure theme is pretty common) even if some of the finer points are lost. Here the main theme seems to be protectors coming forth to stand up for the little guy against seemingly insurmountable odds. I went with that, letting the rest (the parts that didn't make sense) slide, managing to get through the film quite easily, helped immeasurably along by the virtual non-stop, high flying, kinetic, highly comedic action and crazy go nuts special effects work. At times the film seemed like a live action Looney Tunes cartoon given the balls out silliness involved (there's a foot chase sequence that's right out of a Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon). One of my favorite parts of the film occurs near the beginning when Sing and his fat friend venture into Pig Sty Alley. Sing, trying to appear tougher than he actually is, starts antagonizing a gathered crowd of residents, challenging individuals to a one on one fight. In doing so he tries to pick out those who would seem easy to beat, the first being a man in the crowd who actually turns out to be a giant (seems when the man was in the crowd he was sitting down, so Sing, only seeing the man's head, assumed the man was a relatively small guy). Once Sing sees how tall the guy actually is he decides to choose another, resulting in similar scenarios. Obviously this is a visual gag, so much will be lost reading about it here. There's so much overall nuttiness going on in this film it's hard to describe it, but if you dig on zany Three Stooges antics, you'll probably enjoy this feature. Hardcore film fans may also get a kick out of the film as there's plenty of references to other films, in particular The Shining (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), and Spider-Man (2002), to name a few. One thing to keep in mind is this is the American theatrical release of the film, so some aspects have been toned down (apparently some of the bloody bits have been removed from the fight sequences). As far as the computer generated effects (CGI), they look as sharp here as in a film like The Matrix (1999), and there's a lot of it, so if you're not a big fan of that type of effects work, you probably won't enjoy the film. I can accept a lot of it, if it looks good and ties within the story (which felt like the case here), but I dislike its extensive usage meant to fill gaps in a production, the intent being to draw focus away from said gaps, as is generally the case with films from someone like Roland Emmerich, responsible for such features as Godzilla (1998) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). All in all I thought this film a blast, one worth multiple viewings.
The picture, presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1), looks exceptionally sharp, and the audio, available in original Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, dubbed English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track, and dubbed French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround comes across beautifully. As far as extras there's a commentary track with Chow and a few performers (with English subtitles), a forty minute featurette titled Behind the Scenes of Kung Fu Hustle, two deleted scenes, an interview piece with Stephen Chow, an outtakes and bloopers reel, a poster gallery for the film, a whole slew of previews for other Sony releases, and subtitles available in English and French. All in all a great package for a highly entertaining film, one I'm probably going to watch more than once.
Cookieman108
Keep in mind the film is rated `R', as the zany antics I alluded to earlier come off fairly violent played out in live action form, so I wouldn't recommend this film for younger children unless their minds are already warped, then I suppose it probably won't matter...
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Customer reviews
Only received the box. No blu ray included. I paid for an empty case apparently. Was advertised as new/unopened, but was clearly not the case when I received it.
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Top reviews from other countries
Mr. C. C. Barrett
Crazy, zany and a visual treat
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2020
joscelyn anne croke
Don't buy from this seller.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 5, 2022
