Director: Joseph Kuo
Notable Cast: Jack Long, Lung Fei, Mark Long, Chen
Hui-Lou, Lung Tien-Hsiang, Li Yi-Min, Jeannie Chang, Yu Sung-Chao, Chien Te-Men,
Simon Yuen
In the martial arts cinema landscape, one could easily argue
that there are films “pre-Drunken Master” and “post-Drunken Master.”
Not only in the general combination of kung fu and comedy but in the sheer
amount of knock-offs that arrived on the scene after the massive success of the
Jackie Chan and Yuen Woo-Ping masterpiece. Although there are plenty of
forgettable ones, there are also a handful of these films that impress on a
surprising level. And then there are those films that fall right down the
center - like The World of Drunken Master.
Featuring some of the same kung fu comedy as its namesake
would imply, this cult classic of the genre does a lot of things right and then
promptly follows them up - or proceeds them - with some baffling choices. As a
whole, it’s hard not to love the sheer entertainment present in the film with
its relentlessly paced latter half and strangely long developing character work
of the first half, but it’s also a film that doesn’t quite reach the loftiness
of the originator.