Search The Archive
"Let's take this opportunity to spar a little."
In his spectacular [Kung Fu Hustle], Stephen Chow delivers a brilliant and rambunctious homage to the masters of the genre, the Shaw brothers, and their artful, hard-kicking movies of the 1960s and 70s. Anyone unfamiliar with this nostalgic reference will nevertheless revel in the superbly choreographed fight scenes and relentless humour of the film.
It's Shanghai in the 1930s, and a gang operating under the moniker of the Axe Gang lords over Shanghai's underworld, striking fear into the city's honest-living citizens. Well most of them. Sing, played by the brilliant and multi-talented Chow, is a petty thief with a penchant for chaos, which he unleashes in a slum area when he passes as a member of the Axe Gang. When the real gang comes on the scene, mayhem prevails as the slum denizens face-off with the gang, exhibiting some dexterous aerial moves.
"Audiences and critics often complain that too many films are content to follow a familiar formula. [Kung Fu Hustle] creates a world of its own." - Screen
Stephen Chow will be attending the festival. --- D/P/S Stephen Chow P Po Chu Chui, Jeff Lau S Tsang kan Cheong, Chan Man Keong WS Sony Pictures Releasing International L Chinese w/English subtitles TD 35mm/col/2004/95mins
Stephen Chow was born in Hong Kong in 1962. His films include [From Beijing with Love] (1994), [The King of Comedy] (1999), [Shaolin Soccer] (2001).