Born as Hung Kam-Bo, this legendary Hong Kong fight choreographer and martial artist began his career designing the stunt work and action of countless HK martial arts films since the late 60s'. Besides starring in his own films, Sammo Hung has appeared alongside his Peking Opera "brothers" Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao among other superstars particularly in the 80s' Golden Age of Kung Fu. The secret to Sammo's biomechanically bizarre build is that after suffering a childhood injury leaving him bed-ridden for an extended period of time, he gained a massive amount of weight but retained much of the physical fitness he had acquired as a peking opera student. Thus his transformation into the famously fat yet fast and flexible man he would come to be was complete. His expertise in both crafting and performing top-notch martial arts action would earn him the respectful title of "Dai Goh Dai" translating to "Biggest Brother". From the naive and silly roles of the late 70s' and 80s' to the more mature and elderly characters portrayed in the 2000s' and 2010s', his directorial and choreographic legacy lives on. So here's my 12 favorite Sammo Hung fight scenes.
#12. Paper Marriage (1988)
Sammo Hung is a former fighter that steps back into the competitive combat world when needing money to marry and acquire US citizen status for his beloved fiancé played by Hong Kong sweetheart Maggie Cheung. Among the various fight scenes in the film are two kickboxing matches. The first against the oh-so overlooked Philip Ko and the 2nd, coming in as the first entry on the list, the flabs vs. abs match-up between Sammo Hung and one of the most badass baddies of Hong Kong action, Billy Chow. Crossing fists a few times with Sammo Hung in movies such as Eastern Condors and Pedicab Driver, Billy Chow is best recognized as making one of the most memorable antagonists in martial arts cinema as General Fujita in the Jet Li led Fist of Legend. Paper Marriage was released 2 years after Billy Chow's retirement from the kickboxing arena as a WKA welterweight world champion bringing his first-rate fighting finesse to the big screen. Primarily a practitioner of Muay Thai, Billy Chow makes for a menacing martial artist often towering over his combative colleagues at 6 feet tall.
Paper Marriage was produced around the peak popularity of kickboxing and was considered the go-to realistic martial arts of that time period before the arrival of MMA. Choreographically speaking, this fight sequence is the simplest one on the list but its notability lies in its somewhat accurate recreation of actual kickboxing matches spiced up by some sweet Sammo style. Moments of silent strategization are followed by bursts of punch and kick combos. Each round brings a new set of tactics whether it be Sammo Hung landing leg kicks or Billy Chow taking advantage of his longer legs to front kick Sammo into submission. All the while Sammo's on-screen embittered ex-wife portrayed by real life wife Joyce Godenzi watches on hoping for Sammo's loss. In the end, our chubby champ claims victory with a jumping spinning backfist KO, a move which is referenced by Sammo decades later when facing off Darren Shahlavi in Ip Man 2. A variety of wide and close shots even out the pacing, the former all the more appropriate during the close-up clinch segments. This action design choice contrasts with the extended takes, continuous rhythm, and old school shapes of Sammo's period Kung Fu flicks proving his ability to show off a more modernized martial art just as effectively.
If you know Sammo Hung fairly well, it may surprise you to find out that he was not the man behind the action as that credit was given to his choreographic cohorts. Namely martial arts directors Lam Ching-Ying (cinematic Daoist priest) and Yuen Wah (Bruce Lee stunt double, Hong Kong villain vet, the landlord from Kung Fu Hustle, etc.) as well as assistant martial arts directors Hsiao Ho (the mad monkey kung fu master himself) and Chin Ka-Lok (stunt fall extraordinaire and brother of the underrated Chin Siu-Ho). Assembling a legendary team like that, there's no doubt the film would excel in the fight department. Sammo Hung joins forces with Billy Chow against another Hong Kong veteran bad guy Dick Wei in the film's climax but this mid-movie clash of kickboxers is significant in its straight seriousness compared to the silly kung foolery of standard Sammo sequences.
#11. SPL (2005)
Skipping ahead a couple decades into the 2000s' we witness Sammo Hung venture into less comedic and more dramatic territory in movies like Dragon Squad. The greatest of these non-goofy and gritty crime dramas is SPL going by the title Kill Zone in the western hemisphere. Directed by Wilson Yip who would work with Sammo again later in Ip Man 1 & 2, Sammo Hung plays a powerful triad boss hunted down by a vengeful inspector played by Simon Yam assisted by a younger but far less bloodthirsty cop played by Donnie Yen. The inevitable climactic confrontation between Sammo and Donnie, teased in a brief engagement earlier on in the film, comes after an entire movie of anticipation. Kenji Kawai's masterful music builds up the beginning of the fight from the surprisingly fast and flexible kicking away of Donnie Yen's baton to the frenetic flurry of fists that follows. As you would know from the last entry on the list, Sammo is no stranger to raw and real martial arts like in Paper Marriage. And now after years of cultivating his hard-hitting action, he was able to further elevate this practical approach to cinematic hand-to-hand combat by leaving the fight sequencing to a next-gen martial movie-maker such as Donnie Yen. MMA was the new melee marker of realism and it was Donnie who was one of the first to push this never-before-seen martial aesthetic into a grounded and groundbreaking cinematic style.
In a film set in 1997, the mixed martial arts seems even more retroactively ahead of its time, a year in which the sport was still in its relative infancy. Yet Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen throw hands as though they had been MMA adherents forever. Although not as agile as he once was, Sammo's fists fly as fast as ever proving he is, after all these years, still more than a burly brawler having no trouble keeping up with the signature speed of Donnie Yen. The initial kinetic kickboxing of the past transitions into a more recognizable MMA look in a grappling sequence that presents Donnie's excellent Judo throws and a WWE-worthy body slam from Sammo. The MMA is not without its old-fashioned Hong Kong flourishes however as Donnie executes his trademark triple side kick, a most beautiful flying scissor head takedown, and a torso-twisting counter to Sammo's swirling leg hold. Updated with modern sound design hence the much deeper bass, a semblance of the sharp stick-bashing bone-crunching noise of impact still echoes the 80s' and reminds us of the kickboxing golden age that brought Paper Marriage. The occasional power powder is simply the cherry on top of the choreographic cake. Amongst the variety of camera angles, also similar to Paper Marriage, are more POV/over-the-shoulder perspectives peppering the otherwise long take laden sequence as was the trend towards the 2000s'. Aside from the spectacle of being a fist-crossing face-off between a Hong Kong heavyweight and an even heavier Hong Kong heavyweight, a few shockingly tragic twists add to the narrative weight where Donnie Yen mercifully loosens his chokehold to let Sammo Hung speak to his wife all the way to Yen's fateful fall to his death inadvertently killing Sammo's wife and child. Atop that dramatic and choreographic excellence is director Wilson Yip's visual flair staging this truly royal rumble to remember on a literal stage spotlighting two kings of Hong Kong action all bathed in bright neon.
And this whole final fight may have not existed at all as SPL was originally a non-fight-oriented crime thriller until Donnie Yen joined the cast and crew as actor and action director asking to raise the budget for the fight sequences especially the ones involving Wu Jing and Sammo Hung. Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung planned to collaborate all the way back in the Sammo-produced 1989 film Into the Fire in which Donnie's role was given to Collin Chou due to schedule conflicts. SPL's title is derived from three stars used in Chinese astrology that can either bring fortune or misfortune based on their relative place in the night sky. And so it is fairly fitting that fortune was indeed on the side of SPL and the stars certainly aligned ending the film in a show-stopping fight. This epic bout of mixed martial artistry was not only due to Donnie but also assistant martial arts directors Kenji Tanigaki of Rurouni Kenshin fame and Andrew Yan Hua. As well as action team members Jack Wong Wai-Leung (former Jackie Chan Stunt Team member), Iwamoto Junya, and So Tung netting them all the coveted Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography. SPL spawned 2 unrelated sequels that were great martial arts action movies in and of themselves but not nearly as innovative as the original that started it all. Sammo Hung's purple/magenta outfit would go on to inspire Scott Adkins' fat suit wearing character in John Wick: Chapter 4, a statement on the enduring impression this film has made on future action film-makers.
#10. Ip Man 2 (2010)
Kung Fu cinephiles would have to wait 5 years before Sammo Hung and Donnie Yen's rematch in Ip Man 2. A pioneer of cinematically adapting Wing Chun in old-school fan favorites like The Prodigal Son and Warriors Two (comin' up later), Sammo instead portrays a grandmaster of Hung Ga, more or less the second most popular Southern Kung Fu style next to Wing Chun. Hung is all that stands in the way of Ip Man establishing his own martial arts school and must defeat all local challengers until the extinguishing of an incense stick. The duels are confined to a small circular table encircled by flipped stool legs as though they were the bladed spikes of a Mortal Kombat stage. Effortlessly beating the first two martial arts masters played by hand-to-hand Herculean Shaw Bros. star Lo Mang and Kung Fu cult actor Fung Hark-On (more on him in a later entry), Sammo Hung finally makes his grand entrance once it is clear that no others will accept a challenge against Ip Man. Crane-leaping onto the table with superhuman balance and height, Sammo stuns his spectators matching the martial might of Ip Man.
Wing Chun and Hung Ga, as are most Southern Chinese martial arts, emphasize close-range combat which is capitalized on by the closed-in table top and the appropriately close camerawork highlighting the subtle shapes of both Kung Fu disciplines. The heavy-hitting Hung turns the tables in his favor, literally and figuratively, at times overpowering the smaller yet skilled Ip Man equalling him in speed (the only opponent to intercept each and every one of Ip Man's rapid-fire punches) but adding an acrobatic element that is flashier than one would expect from a Hung Ga master and to a lesser extent, someone as large as Hung, at least to those not acclimated to Sammo's gravity-defying nimbleness. Hung's huge hits are heard in a less bassy sound style than in SPL but his weight is felt just as fervently nonetheless. Strengthening the soundscape of this grandiose duel of grandmasters is musical grandmaster Kenji Kawai once again defining the dramatic tension of the fight with an ever escalating score. Donnie Yen, Wilson Yip, and Kenki Kawai sure make for a holy trinity of action film-making don't they? Stylized realism is the name of the game when it comes to even the most realistic Hong Kong actioners and Ip Man 2 is no exception definitely the most wire-filled of the series and far more so than the even more reality-based SPL. But it is essentially a kung fu flick so what do you expect? Wires or not, the fight-functional furniture is creatively crafted by Sammo Hung who was promised complete choreographic control for this film whereas the first Ip Man was partly action-directed by Donnie Yen.
Co-crafting this table-top tornado of martial artistry is action director Tony Leung Siu-Hung, assistant action choreographers Lam Hak-Ming and Lee Chi-Kit, as well as assistant martial arts directors Guo Yong and Wei Yu-Hai winning the film, like SPL, the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography. Sammo Hung's tragic Rocky IV-like Apollo Creed vs. Ivan Drago boxing vs. kung fu ring rumble against Darren Shahlavi later in the film is another heart-pounding hand-to-hand scene but this table-balancing engagement edges out its competition by its creative flair. A perfectionist such as Sammo Hung however was not as satisfied with his own performative capabilities and as hard as he is on his hard-hitting action creation, he deserves a break since he was pushing his late 50s' and had a recent heart surgery at the time. Sammo and company put everything they had into Ip Man 2 and in spite of Donnie Yen assuming any follow-ups being out of the question given how memorable of a martial arts feature this turned out to be, 2 more came anyway not to mention rumors of an Ip Man 5. In the end, Ip Man 2 was a final hurrah for Hung making his departure from the Ip Man series handing over his head choreographic title to Yuen Woo-Ping in the later installments. Had the series ended in the second movie, the Ip Man saga would still surely have been almost as iconic as it is now.
#9. Fatal Move (2008)
An entire decade younger than even Donnie Yen, Wu Jing is one of the last of the Wushu generation of martial arts stars all hailing from the elite Beijing Academy which trained the likes of Donnie Yen and Jet Li. 20 years his senior, Sammo Hung seems all the more elderly of a cinematic action figure and he would collaborate with Wu Jing several times like in Twins Mission and of course SPL. Directed by Dennis Law whose martial arts action films include Fatal Contact and Bad Blood, Fatal Move is actually a reworked script from a prequel concept for SPL that would've explored the quasi-father-son-relationship between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing's characters. Finding that narrative foundation to be creatively constraining, director Dennis Law instead opted to make a brand new movie while recycling some plot points, two of which being Sammo as the criminal big boss and Wu Jing as his deadliest assassin. The usual triad-related conflicts ensue and the two eventually find themselves in the belly of the beast surrounded on all sides by police. Knowing they are at death's door, Wu Jing informs his employer that he wants to test his combat prowess.
The similarities with SPL are worth listing here one-by-one. Wu Jing is once again rockin' some stylish dyed hair and Sammo Hung is in his famous purple vest. The weapons match-up is even of a similar nature to that of the legendary duel between Donnie Yen and Wu Jing: Wu Jing's blade vs. Sammo Hung's longer metal blunt edged weapon. As unsharpened as Sammo's pole is, it has just the right piercing power to push through solid wood and, calling to mind the movie's title, Wu Jing's throat, ending their friendly but fatal fight. Sammo Hung's supreme staff and spear mastery is on total display here as is Wu Jing's superb swordplay all set to the sound of a background flute that is as sharp as Wu Jing's jian. Sammo's supersized stardom had reached seniority status by then and his aging body began being played up as more a physical powerhouse no longer as acrobatically adept as he was in his formative days. But his years of Peking Opera discipline paid off granting him the agility to go weapon-to-weapon with Wu Jing's fast and flexible bladework executing clean kicks and a jumping back-bending pole strike that I like to believe was not stunt doubled. It may have been shockingly limber moves like that which also shocked Wu Jing as Sammo had allegedly improvised certain moments in the choreography to playfully gauge Wu Jing's martial athleticism keeping to the go-with-the-flow spirit of Hong Kong action and especially the knife vs. baton fight from SPL.
In another commonality with SPL, Sammo Hung might have been the big boss of the film but not the big boss behind the fight scenes leaving that honor to a duo of former Jackie Chan Stunt Team-mates Nicky Li Chung-Chi and Jack Wong Wai-Leung. Created by a team of action specialists not involved with SPL, the fight is still filmed in a similar manner varying in shot length and angle of view placing a couple facial focuses to evoke a bit more emotional intensity. Such a standout sequence could have only been possible because of director Dennis Law's uncompromising attitude not bending to China's censorship rules giving it a Category III rating and preventing it's availability in the mainland. Wishing to win over overseas audiences, Dennis Law prioritized the fight scenes as one of the film's greatest assets and although it didn't break new ground like SPL, for the purposes of our list, this pole vs. sword fight gave the then old but still gold Sammo Hung a greater exhibition of the martial majesty that made him the living legend that he is today.
#8. The Victim (1980)
Stepping back to a simpler time in Sammo Hung's filmography is The Victim directed by and starring Sammo as a wandering Kung Fu fighter who has vowed to become the disciple of the first martial artist that defeats him which eventually turns out to be none other than co-star Bryan Leung Kar-Yan who is constantly on the run with his wife from his jealous lustful stepbrother. The most impressive fight sequences are given to Bryan Leung as this was Sammo's attempt at raising his kung fu colleague's own stardom. Yet Sammo's own best sequence in the movie is still one of the top fights in a film filled with expertly choreographed martial action.
The opening challenge is against a guan dao master played by minor character actor and action choreographer Yuen Miu, one of the Seven Little Fortunes: the seven greatest performers of the prestigious China Drama Academy whose other members included Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, and Corey Yuen among others. Sammo selects the three-section staff, a more unorthodox weapon allowing for more creative choreography, something older fans had gotten a sample of 2 years before in Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog. Yuen Miu's weapon work is as magnificent as is his shiny guan dao, but he is simply outshined by Sammo's sectioned-staff skills, the segmented structure providing Sammo unusual angles of attack. Their duel ends in a short empty-handed engagement giving Sammo a chance to exhibit his acrobatic prowess.
Coming out during the Golden Age of Kung Fu cinema, The Victim is a reminder of how the intensity of dramatic contemporary camerawork and sound design is fine but pure choreography can be just as if not even greater. The 8th spot on the list is just that. A mostly uncut take letting the weapon-on-weapon action breathe without the need of background music or flashy editing. You'll find that the upper half of this list will be composed entirely of Sammo's older films, kung fu comedies rather than action dramas. The Victim is just the first of many and it's inclusion on this countdown would be not possible were it not for Sammo Hung's own invaluable role as martial arts director along with vampire hunting priest Lam Ching-Ying, Sammo's acrobatic Peking Opera bro Yuen Biao, and Hong Kong actor/producer/action director Billy Chan Wui-Ngai. Re-released in 1982 in the US as Lightning Kung Fu, American Hung fanatics wouldn't be able to easily appreciate this certified kung fu cult classic until 2 years after its original theatrical run. But man must it have been damn well worth the wait.
#7. Enter The Fat Dragon (1978)
(skip to 7:00 for specific fight scene discussed below)
The tragic premature passing of Bruce Lee left a huge hole in the Hong Kong market that lead to an unfortunate period of countless Lee imitators. Many of which were capable martial arts actors in their own right but were tied down by typecasting as nothing more than downgraded versions of the dragon. Even Jackie Chan was a victim of this post-Bruce poser identity crisis starring in the disappointing New Fist of Fury, a remake of Lee's original. Sammo Hung saw all of this and sought to single-handedly put a stop to this endemic era with Enter the Fat Dragon. Having closely collaborated with Bruce Lee on a number of projects including Enter the Dragon cameo-ing in a proto-MMA match in the opening scene and as a co-fight choreographer of the unfinished Game of Death, Sammo knew better than some of how disgraceful the cheap chump change made by these Lee knockoffs were. And so Sammo decided to allow audiences to re-enter the dragon but in a comedic yet genuine light by being both the star and director of Enter the Fat Dragon. The film satirizes the whole Bruceploitation boom after Bruce's death and primarily spoofs his only complete directorial work Way of the Dragon in a purposely similar plot: Sammo plays a "country bumpkin" and Bruce Lee fanatic who must adapt to city life in order to help his uncle's restaurant business and protect it from a gang of criminals.
Several fight sequences are scattered throughout the film including one against a fictional Bruceploitation actor. But the best is indeed saved for last in a warehouse showdown with some hand-to-hand hoodlums. In a series of 3 one-on-one fights, the first of these pokes fun at the Blaxploitation industry by, in a very controversial move for those of us in the west, putting prominent portrayer of Shaolin monks and Wing Chun disciple of Ip Man himself, Lee Hoi-San, in blackface wearing an afro wig a la famous black movie martial artists at the time like Jim Kelly and Ron Van Clief. Next up is a boxer played by two-time Hong Kong actor David Nick. Sammo Hung adopts every martial mannerism in the Bruce Lee manual from the poses to the feints, oblique kicks, Ali shuffling, and of course the high-pitched classic kiais. And any Bruce Lee sendup is incomplete without tearing off a handful of someone's chest hair which is exactly what Sammo does to Lee Hoi-San. The final opponent is against one of the lesser known but during then one of the foremost film fighters in HK cinema, the self-taught martial arts performer Bryan Leung Kar-Yan, in a purely traditional Kung Fu duel. The martial melee moves from open-handed to weapons combat showcasing Bryan Leung's pole fighting prowess and Sammo's unconventional handling of a metal ring.
This terrific triple threat face-off begins with a Bruce Lee tribute and is topped off by the more dance-like flow of the late 70s' choreographic style marking the evolution of Hong Kong action from the Bruce-dominated to the after-Bruce era. By now you'd probably guess that the martial maestro orchestrating this Lee lampoonery is Sammo Hung. And you'd be right. At Sammo's side is Hong Kong villain veteran Fung Hark-On as assistant martial arts director alongside assistant martial arts director Huang Ha. Together they formulated a fight that combined the intricacies of unarmed and armed combat, traditionalized and modern martial arts, ending in some incredibly creative hoola-hooping havoc. Not only was this a love letter to Lee, re-designing depictions of the dragon for the better, but it also kick-started Bryan Leung's career who otherwise was relegated on the sidelines of stardom opening up later lead roles like in the prior ranking on the list The Victim which came out 2 years later. Sammo would not return to this subgenre of satire until another Bruce Lee semi-parody in 1990's Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon. And Enter the Fat Dragon itself was not fully appreciated by stateside fans before being released in the US after the small screen success of American TV series Martial Law starring Sammo. The Donnie Yen led Kenji Tanigaki directed remake in 2020 was entertaining enough but to this day no one has humorously yet honestly honored Bruce Lee as well as Sammo Hung's 1978 heavy set homage.
#6. The Magnificent Butcher (1979)
The same year Enter the Fat Dragon catapulted Sammo Hung higher up the martial mountain of success, Jackie Chan climbed up even closer to that peak in Drunken Master. Trying to chase a breakout as big as as the Chan Man's, Sammo Hung teamed up with the same director of Drunken Master, Yuen Woo-Ping, for a similarly comedic kung fu film The Magnificent Butcher. Sammo Hung portrays Lam Sai-Wing aka Butcher Wing, real life student of historical Chinese martial arts legend Wong Fei-Hung played in this film by Kwan Tak-Hing, the most prolific Wong Fei-Hung actor. Butcher Wing's brother is visiting one day but after a series of unfortunate events is murdered and his wife kidnapped by a man played by infamous kung fu antagonist Fung Hark-On. Once Fung Hark-On himself is killed by Butcher Wing, the cycle of vengeance continues when Fung Hark-On's father played by Lee Hoi-San promises to avenge the death of his son. Lee Hoi-San as in Enter the Fat Dragon, is once again not a Wing Chun proponent as he is in reality or the Shaolin monk that he is often recognized for in the 36th Chamber of Shaolin series.
The Magnificent Butcher follows some of the choreographic concepts of Drunken Master's final fight with Beggar So calling out different strategies to defeat a palm-based opponent except it's the Five Element Style rather than the Devil's Shadowless Hands and Taekwondo kicks of Hwang Jang Lee. Yuen Woo-Ping's father Yuen Siu-Tien was meant to retake the role of Beggar So from Drunken Master but passed away before filming began and was substituted by Fan Mei-Sheng, father of martial arts actor Louis Fan Siu-Wong. Distinguishing itself from the other Drunken Kung Fu duplicates that came in the wake of Drunken Master is the fact that The Magnificent Butcher solely focuses on Hung Ga as Butcher Wing was a student of the most famous Hung Ga practitioner Wong Fei-Hung. As you'd know, Sammo would later portray another Hung Ga Master in Ip Man 2 marking The Magnificent Butcher as one of his earliest cinematic Hung Ga applications. Combining four of the Five Animal Styles of Hung Ga: Leopard, Snake, Dragon, and Crane, Sammo Hung mixes the ground-rolling and tumbling maneuverings of operatic kung fu with his own unique sense of rhythm in an almost ten-minute long multi-stage fight as was customary in old-school kung fu flicks. When Lee Hoi-San's unleashes his fire element palm burning red with chi, Sammo deflects them with a metal bowl foreshadowing Jackie's own prop-fu that would dominate the genre a couple decades later. Eventually Fan Mei-Sheng blocks and absorbs the chi out of Lee Hoi-San's palms evening the odds right before Sammo Hung
angers Lee Hoi-San once using his dead son's funeral tablet as a defensive weapon. The vengeful duel ends after Sammo obliterates Lee Hoi-San's arms using all 5 animal styles consecutively in a spectacular Sammo Hung Kam-Bo combo.
And besides director Yuen Woo-Ping whose reputation precedes him, who could've staged such sensationally sequenced shapes than Sammo Hung himself? The martial magnificence of The Magnificent Butcher's climax is due to the collaborative double-team of the Yuen Clan and Sammo Hung's Stuntmen's Association. That 2-team choreographic crew consisting of assistant martial arts directors including Yuen Woo-Ping's brothers Yuen Shun-Yi, Yuen Cheung-Yan, and Brandy Yuen Jeung-Yan, as well as Yuen Biao also playing another Wong Fei-Hung student, hopping vampire slayer Lam Ching-Ying, and Billy Chan Wu-Ngai. The final product is a dynamo demonstration of heavy-hitting Hung Ga hand-to-to-hand hilarity captured by Yuen Woo-Pong's continuous yet dynamic wide and medium-view takes.
This would not be the last Wong Fei-Hung related project for Sammo Hung as he would direct Once Upon a Time in China and America starring Jet Li as Wong Fei-Hung, portray Wong Fei-Hung himself in the Jackie Chan Hollywood film Around the World in 80 Days, and appear in Rise of the Legend starring Eddie Peng as a much younger Wong Fei-Hung. The Magnificent Butcher wouldn't quite reinvent the kung fu genre as did Drunken Master but it remains as perhaps the best among the master-teaches-student trend that would overtake the market in the next 10 years.
#5. Encounters of the Spooky Kind II (1990)
(higher quality copy of fight at (1:26:00)
It would be a whole 10 years after the original before Encounters of the Spooky Kind II would hit the sacred silver screens of Hong Kong in 1990. Also known as Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind 2 or Spooky Encounters 2 for short, this in-name sequel recasts some of the same actors from the first film in different roles, a follow-up formula that many Hong Kong action sequels conform to. Starring and producing this small-scale supernatural spectacle is Sammo Hung through his short-lived Bojon Films Company Ltd. which only produced 4 other films: Pedicab Driver (more on that later), Pantyhose Hero, Slickers vs. Killers, and Don't Give a Damn. Under the directorial talents of Ricky Lau and Sammo's powers as producer, the Spooky Encounters series and the Mr. Vampire movies together spawned the jiangshi or "hopping vampire" cinematic subgenre. Suffice it to say that without Sammo Hung and Ricky Lau, an interest in the genre-bending martial arts horror comedy format in general would not have ever been possible. And it all began with 1980's Encounters of the Spooky Kind with the genre hitting its paranormal peak in 1990's Encounters of the Spooky Kind II. Unable to win over the affection of Sammo Hung's fiance, Sammo's romantic rival enlists the help of an expert in black magic played by actor of over a hundred Hong Kong films Huang Ha who was also an assistant martial arts director for Enter the Fat Dragon.
Sammo Hung, underappreciated Hong Kong action actor Mang Hoi (sometimes mistaken as a heftier Yuen Biao), and their master played by Lam Ching-Ying who finally appears on this list in a major performative role in his iconic priestly persona, all enter the sorcerer's lair in a fantastical finale. The traditional Qing Dynasty clothed hopping vampires of Chinese folklore that are a staple of the jiangshi genre are not present as they were already featured earlier in the film. Instead, our trio of martial monster hunters take on a horde of lumbering seemingly indestructible mummies. Sort of resembling the Shaolin Wooden Men of a certain Jackie Chan movie, these bandaged beasts are unharmed from blunt force and must be deflated like balloons with bladed weaponry. This creepy climax takes a spookier and deadlier turn when two hissing undulating undead "snake men" covered in demonic tattoos are summoned. One played by Taiwanese Taekwondo super-kicker Collin Chou and the other by the extremely obscure Cheung Kwai-Cheung who seems to only have this single Hong Kong Media Database credit to his name. Upon knocking down or restraining these coiling cobra-like combatants, our preternatural protagonists finally face off against the main necromancer himself Huang Ha. Lam Ching-Ying meditates to gather enough chi for one final attack while Sammo Hung fends off Huang Ha's sorcery with beautifully cheesy rotoscope-animated energy blasts until all 3 unite their powers into a powerful pyrotechnic stream of flames.
This jiangshi jamboree was a choreographic cocktail conjured up by, you guessed it, martial arts director Sammo Hung and his own personal stunt team. Lending their hands to the hand-to-hand action are a trifecta of assistant martial arts directors made up of Hong Kong actor James Tien, Siu Tak-Foo, and Chow Gam-Kong. Not as choreographically complex and shapely as The Magnificent Butcher, Encounters of the Spooky Kind II compensates by revamping the vampire movie model in a contemporary setting coupled with the heroes' contemporaneous kickboxing style albeit retaining the same silly and spooky kung-fools vs. kung-ghouls foundation that set an entirely new trend in martial arts movies. It's also worth noting that this was 7 years prior to Lam Ching-Ying's untimely death whose image as the respected sifu was first established when famously portraying real Wing Chun master Leung Yee-Tai in The Prodigal Son directed by Sammo Hung. Starting out as a peking opera performer in predominantly female roles and later as a stunt double for Hong Kong actresses, the ghost-busing fight eerily ending Encounters of the Spooky Kind II represented the height of his incredible career.
#4. Warriors Two (1978)
Sammo Hung has always tried staying at the film fighting forefront and one example of this was during the heyday of Hong Kong action by popularizing Wing Chun in films like The Prodigal Son and the first of his Wing Chun-centric movies, Warriors Two. Written, directed by, and co-starring Sammo Hung, Warriors Two is not the second in a series but rather a grammatically reversed retitling of what should've been "Two Warriors", which is kind of a recurring title trope in olden-day fu flicks. In this 3rd pairing between Sammo Hung and Bryan "Beardy" Leung to appear on the list, Sammo is under the tutelage of Bryan Leung who portrays the historical Wing Chun grandmaster Leung Jan. Sammo soon discovers a squatter inside his own home played by Korean kick master Casanova Wong who is seeking shelter from a sinister businessman plotting to assassinate the town leader. Offering to convince Bryan Leung to train Casanova Wong in the ways of Wing Chun, Sammo, Casanova Wong, and Cheung Man-Ting playing Bryan Leung's on-screen niece form a triple threat to prevent the big bad from claiming control over their town and avenge the death of Bryan Leung. The final act is a close to 20-minute non-stop fight sequence that I thought about only counting half of but....what the hell? Let's just go with all of it.
The trio of Wing Chun warriors each train for a specific opponent but Sammo Hung mixes up the names causing the three to be somewhat unprepared for their actual match-ups.
Sammo finds himself on the spear tip of Yeung Wai using nothing but his fists and feet, evasive agility, a dough roller, and a bamboo forest to inconvenience Yeung Wai's longer range weapon. The fight cuts away to Casanova Wong armed with a long pole and Cheung Man-Ting with butterfly swords facing off against Tiger Yang Seong-Oh, a Korean martial artist, founder of the Mo Yea-Do system, and trainer of UFC champ Mark Hall. The other henchman is Lee Hoi-Sang who despite claiming the most legitimate Wing Chun background in the entire cast having actually trained under the real Ip Man is instead ironically an iron body kung fu master. Casanova Wong finishes off his Korean cohort with a most magnificent leg trapping double palm strike while utilizing various pressure points and a broom to crush the toes and testicles of Lee Hoi-San with peanut-cracking power. Cheung Man-Ting crosses swords with two bearded blade brothers played by a nearly unrecognizable Mang Hoi and Chin Yuet-Sang who are all the easier to completely overlook next to their more famous cast members. Cheung Man-Ting is sadly slashed to death leaving the sword-wielding duo to Sammo Hung who gets to display his double dao skills dispatching the blade bros as quickly as he can to join the main fight with Casanova Wong. A 2-on-2 ensues as Sammo Hung takes on one of the era's kings of kung-foolery Dean Shek whose iron cap and awkward kung fu style serves as a short-lived distraction until he's beaten by a bladder-busting headbutt from an unamused Sammo. Meanwhile Casanova Wong is up against the final boss Fung Hark-On, a paranormal-level Praying Mantis practitioner who hovers and knuckle walks towards the awe-struck Casanova one-upping his impressive leg work by landing a step-off knee strike onto his head. Sammo Hung and Casanova Wong finally double team Fung-Hark-On only gaining the upper hand when Fung Hark-On is severely weakened by an acupuncture-enhanced punch. Casanova Wong takes this opportunity to land a spectacular long-jumping slow-mo spinning side kick and a leg-grappling side palm.
The lesser celebrated performers of this closing showdown deserve immense appraisal but it's Casanova Wong's ability to trade a tadbit of his Taekwondo for a bit more Wing Chun and Fung Hark-On's virtuoso villainry that in particular cemented the two's cinematic status in kung fu film history. It was only during martial arts cinema's golden age that you'd see such elaborately extended final fights filmed with a fusion of full-body wide takes and waist-up tracking shots. And Sammo Hung had no reserves on going all-out in that regard as the climactic kung fu chaos came from his own choreographic cranium with assistant martial arts direction from Fung Hark-On and Billy Chan Wui-Ngai. The very next year's Knockabout proved again that Sammo Hung could perform and create a tantalizing 2-on-1 fight joining forces with archetypal acrobat Yuen Biao. But it's Warriors Two that may just be the greatest 1-against-2 fight scene to come out of the old school kung fu period and without a doubt one of the most outstanding concluding martial arts sequences ever made.
#3. Millionaires Express (1986)
The 80s were a time when ensemble action films took over a sizable portion of the Hong Kong market and Sammo Hung was one of the leading figures in that trend. Whether it be his comedically gritty war movie Eastern Condors or his collection of films uniting his perking opera brotherhood pf him, Yuen Biao, and Jackie Chan in My Lucky Stars, Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, Dragons Forever, Project A, and Wheels on Meals, Sammo Hung knew how to shine the spotlight on not only himself but also his talented cast mates. However, as the 3rd best fight scene on the list, I've selected 1986's Millionaires Express, a martial arts western that continues Sammo's genre blending tendencies that began with Spooky Encounters and Mr. Vampire. Also going by the title Shanghai Express, the film yet again saw Sammo Hung's multi-hat film-making capability as its writer, director, and star playing a fortune hunter competing against a band of brigands consisting of Chung Fat, Fan Mei-Sheng (Beggar So from The Magnificent Butcher), Philip Ko, Richard Norton, Cynthia Rothrock, and Dick Wei to steal a map revealing the whereabouts of the Terracotta Army which is possessed by Japanese outlaws played by Hwang Jang Lee, Yasuaki Kurata, and Yukari Oshima who are passengers of a train also boarded by Jimmy Wang-Yu portraying the legendary Wong Kei-Ying, father of Wong Fei-Hung all of whom, after Sammo Hung's successful dynamite derailment of the train, are stuck on Sammo's small hometown protected by a firefighter captain played by Yuen Biao.
Now that is a long sentence for a suitably long list of big Hong Kong names. Millionaires Express packed an A-list martial arts cast long before Triple Threat was ever a thing. The"A" certainly stands for "action" as nearly every major Hong Kong action actor is thrown into the mix with others including Chin Kar-Lok, Chin Siu-Ho, Hsiao Ho, Lam Ching-Ying, Lau Kar-Wing, Mang Hoi, Shih Kien, James Tien, Bolo Yueng, Yuen Wah, and Johnny Wang Lung-Wei. And that doesn't even include the high-profile Hong Kong dramatic actors that I don't wanna name here for the sake of saving space. Aside from a 1-on-1 between Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao much of the action is left for the end in a frenzied free-for-all finale among several different factions. Mang Hoi in another minor role is found beside the mad monkey kung fu master himself Hsiao Ho both of whom team up against veteran villain Johnny Wang Lung-Wei engaging in an upstairs bed mattress gag fight. Yuen Biao showcases his flexible legwork and architecture ascending acrobatics crossing fists and feet with another vet villain Dick Wei. Outdoors, Sammo Hung takes down some martial marauders with dual wielded metal bars while Japanese martial arts actress Yukari Oshima scales walls and slides down wooden poles with ninja-like grace cutting down a group of bandits with her katana. Japanese martial arts actor Yasuaki Kurata puts on his prayer stance and a frog-like fighting style against Australian film fighter Richard Norton until Yukari Oshima cuts the fight short by bringing her blade to balls putting a "painful" end to the cinematic martial artist from down under. Later on, Sammo Hung learns not to underestimate a deadly damsel played by American Queen of Martial Arts Cynthia Rothrock only defeating her after readopting the Bruce Lee parody persona that he hadn't taken on since 1978's Enter the Fat Dragon. Korean Lord of Legs Hwang Jang Lee staves off the remaining bandits executing his trademark triple side kick before being double teamed by Sammo and Yuen Biao into handing over the movie's martial macguffin.
An all-star lineup like that would need to be coordinated by an equally all-star lineup behind the camera and we got just that. In the expected role of martial arts director is obviously Sammo Hung backed up by three other amazing directorial designers of action Yuen Biao, Lam Ching-Ying, and Yuen Wah. At about 10 minutes, this phenomenal final fight is half the length of the one from Warriors Two and far less intricate in its melee combat but reflects the approach of more modernized martial arts movies that aim for quality over quantity. The individual fights within the larger fight sequence are perfectly paced without overwhelming the audience with an unending barrage of beatdowns spiced up by some stunning stuntwork and the customary hand-to-hand humor. The phrase "martial arts mayhem" can be overused at times but this climactic action sequence in Millionaires Express is the definition of "martial arts mayhem" all lead of course by the literally larger-than-life Sammo Hung.
#2. Odd Couple (1979)
Late 70s' Hong Kong cinema was the pinnacle of meticulously made martial arts action and 1979 alone was a hell of a year for Sammo Hung. The Magnificent Butcher pushed choreographed kung fu complexity to new heights while at the same time Odd Couple, the 2nd greatest fight scene on the list, woke us up to a whole new world of weapon-based screen fighting. And what better weapon to place in Hung's hands than the spear. Sammo's stellar spearplay is indeed a sight to behold featured in film after film from Iron Fisted Monk, to Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Return of Secret Rivals, and The Incredible Kung Fu Master just to name a few. Not counting the grand finales of Warriors Two and Millionaires Express which already bent the rules a little, so far I've resisted putting two fight scenes in a single ranking as I have in countless past lists but this time I can't help but to indulge so here they are.
Unable to cast any actors as combatively gifted as they were, Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-Wing each took on dual roles as sifu and student, the only discernible difference between their elder and younger characters was having either less or more mustache and beard hair, the cheap and easy go-to means of depicting older characters in kung fu movies at the time. Sammo's spearmanship is equal to his dynamic use of the dao wielding both weapons with such kinetic poetry incorporating what looks like every technique in the martial manual. Rivaling his spear and sword skills is Lau Kar-Wing playing Sammo's in-movie friendly competitor and stepping behind the camera as Odd Couple's director. Not as famous as his older brother Lau Kar-Leung, Lau Kar-Wing had always been somewhat in the shadow of his more successful sibling yet nevertheless a favorite among fu fans familiar with the more unrecognized names in the business. Lau Kar-Wing pulled together his decades of experience under Shaw Bros. Studios to partner up with Sammo Hung and create his very own Gar Bo Motion Picture Company leading to the conception of what is often lauded as the greatest martial arts weapon film ever made.
Odd Couple's excellent exhibition of spear and swordplay was, without surprise, the weapon work wizardry of Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-Wing themselves leading a team of high-calibre Hong Kong assistant martial arts directors Lam Ching-Ying, Billy Chan Wui-Ngai, and Chung Fat. Able to handle their weapons with every part of their bodies as if they were extra limbs, there's nothing odd about the duel between both the students and the masters resulting in a stalemate as Sammo Hung and Lau Kar-Wing were so perfectly matched in their cinematic martial arts that they probably couldn't decide who should justifiably win. Or maybe so they could ally against the real antagonist played by Bryan Leung in another wining weapon sequence. Besides that climactic battle, These two 1-on-1 weapon fights featuring Sammo and Lau are undoubtedly the cream of the choreographic crop and still stands above most other films made after in the over 40 years since.
#1. Pedicab Driver (1989)
A little past his physical prime but still well in his creative prime, Sammo Hung closed out the 80s with Pedicab Driver, a directorial effort produced by his 4-time movie studio Bojon Films Company Ltd. where he plays the titular pedicab worker attempting to rescue his beloved from her asshole of a bakery boss. Opening in a comical bar brawl and ending in a rice-spitting butthole fingering farcical fight, the movie's best action is sandwiched right in the middle when Sammo runs into a bit of trouble with the head of a gambling den played by pioneer of authentic cinematic kung fu Lau Kar-Leung.
Tradition meets modernity as the more youthful and acrobatically skilled Sammo makes a mockery of Lau Kar-Leung's overposing who returns the insults in a combination of verbal and physical blows leaving the oversized and overconfident Hung in a state of hand-to-hand humility. Sammo's style is that of a kickboxer's reflecting the decade's move towards more modernized film fighting, a sharp aesthetic contrast with Lau Kar-Leung's more classical kung fu in an intergenerational one-on-one simultaneously satirizing and saluting the conservatively choreographed combat of the previous age of martial arts cinema. The bare-knuckled beatings transition into a battle of billiards giving Sammo an opportunity to sell his slick staff fighting in a literal slapstick duel. The frantically paced fist fight and poleplay that follows are the epitome of Sammo's ingenious aptitude in integrating armed and unarmed martial arts into one solitary sequence. The 70s/80s high-pitched wood-whacking noise of sticks slapping and bodies bashing are superimposed over the beastly bass of the oncoming 90s sound style amplifying the already insane intensity of the fight. And by this point, I don't even have to remind you of how on-point the camera is.
Under the direction of Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-Leung gave up his usual choreographic reigns to Hung letting Sammo's newer generation of martial arts movie-making guide the action design teaming up with a pair of martial arts directors comprised of Brandy Yuen Jan-Yeung, brother of Yuen Woo-Ping , as well as the indispensable Mang Hoi. Like Millionaires Express, the technical complexity of yesteryear's kung fu cult classics are simplified and streamlined for a faster and concise fight sequence. Having already conceived one of the greatest spear fight scenes of all time, leave it to Sammo Hung to also make one of the greatest staff fights of all time. Pedicab Driver's mid-film fight is simply the choreographic crème de la crème and I've now run out of any more fancy words to use to keep reiterating how damn good of a fight scene it is.
So did you think I had a bias towards older Sammo Hung fights that were less audiovisually intense? Should I make individual decade-by-decade Sammo Hung lists in the future? Are you a little hungover on Hung action? Were you aware of Sammo Hung's Jackie Chan led Soul Calibur film that was almost produced back in 2002? Now that video game adaptations are rivaling the big and small screen success of the superhero/comic book genre, it might just happen sooner than you think....so answer those questions down below and subscribe to the website to be notified when the next top 12 drops. The top 12 fight scenes of Sammo's acrobatically superior peking opera brother, Yuen Biao!
Comments