In a career that has took over 70 years, Sammo Hung has become a legend in both Hong Kong movies and martial arts movies around the world. Hung, who is 72 years old, recently gave a masterclass at the Tokyo International Film Festival where he talked about his life. Even though Hung needed a cane to walk, his sharp sense of humor and confidence captivated the crowd, showing how tough and dedicated he was to his career.
Hung’s career began when he was a child actor at the China Drama Academy in Hong Kong. This was a Peking Opera school where he trained hard in martial arts and acting from a young age. “Training was very tough,” he remembered, adding that the strict rules helped him become good at action movies.
One of Hung’s first big-screen roles was in the opening scene of Bruce Lee‘s 1973 classic Enter the Dragon. When Hung talked about Lee—he said, “His artful cinematic work made a big impression on me.” He also talked about how sad the industry was when Lee died later that year. As a fight choreographer for the reshoots of Lee’s unfinished Game of Death, Hung became even more connected to Lee’s work.
Hung did more than just act in martial arts movies; he changed the genre. When Hung directed his first movie, The Iron-Fisted Monk, in 1977, he added comedic elements because he saw that people liked funny martial arts action. This mix of comedy and martial arts became very popular, and actors like Jackie Chan took it to new heights. Hung also chose to film The Iron-Fisted Monk in Cantonese, which changed the way language is used in Hong Kong movies.
Hung’s Enter the Fat Dragon (1978), which was another first, became a big hit in Japan, where the word “Debu-gon,” which means “fat man,” came to mean Hung’s movies. In the 1980s, he also created the jiangshi genre, a type of kung fu horror that came from his interest in ghosts and monsters. “I hardly took any time off during that golden era of Hong Kong cinema,” he said, talking about a time when he was very creative and the time when his filmography is defined.
Even though the 1990s were not as good for Hung in Hong Kong, CBS’s Martial Law brought him new fans in the United States. He was one of the few East Asian actors to lead a major U.S. TV show when he worked with Arsenio Hall. Hung laughed and said that the language barrier was hard. He made a joke that made everyone laugh— “I wish everyone would learn Chinese to make it easier for me.”
In the 2000s, Hung continued to be talented and flexible. In Ip Man 2, he had an unforgettable fight at a table with Donnie Yen. When Hung thought about the intense scene, he said, “Donnie is amazing, but I’m even more amazing,” which made his fans cheer again.
Sammo Hung’s legacy lives on through the groundbreaking work he did in martial arts movies and the role he played in making them popular all over the world.
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