Comedy And Karate Movies: The Perfect Blend

Comedy And Karate Movies: The Perfect Blend

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For many people karate movies are all about the action. When you mention them, it is the fight scenes, with people flying across the screen, and super fast kicks and punches that come to mind. But there is another element that has blended so well in these films in the past and that is comedy.

Comedy and action have really worked well together ever since those first silent movies. Many of the stars at that time were very physical and that physical comedy lent itself well to action sequences. These influences can be seen in many movies, no more so than those that star Jackie Chan, a self-confessed fan of many stars of the silent era.

Born in 1954 in Hong Kong, Jackie Chan began his training at the tender age of 6, when he was enrolled by parents at the China Opera School. His family actually moved to Australia, but Jackie stay behind and trained intensely until he managed to break into the movie industry in the early Seventies. He had many bit roles including two opposite the legendary Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury and Lee's last movie, Enter the Dragon. Hong Kong cinema were desperate to find a new hero after Bruce Lee died, and many tried to emulate him. Jackie did not, instead focusing on developing his own, and after his role in Drunken Master in 1978, he began to make inroads.

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.

Despite his Asian success, Jackie Chan struggled to break into the American market. His first attempt in 1980 with the Big Brawl was disappointing, as was the chance he got in Cannonball Run a year or so later. Jackie was cast as a Japanese driver and barely got to show a martial arts skill.

Jackie was not alone in his crusade to combine comedy and karate movies, and his main partner-in-crime was actor and director Sammo Hung, who he had known since they had studied together at the China Opera School. Sammo was very often the director or fight choreographer on Jackie's movies, and is a recognizable face in many of the films too. He had a brief stint in Hollywood too, starring in the TV show, Martial Law.

Finally in 1995, Rumble in the Bronx brought Jackie that much wanted attention in America. It led to a slew of big Hollywood movies like Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, Around The World in 80 Days, Kung Fu Panda and The Tuxedo. Jackie continues to be a huge star across the world.

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.

About the Author:
Karate Movies can be found on our website www.karatemovies.org.



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