New Fist of Fury / Snake Fist Fighter [VHS]

Description

Two films from Jackie Chan's early adult movie career (he appeared in over 20 films as a child) place him firmly in the '70s kung fu genre pantheon made internationally popular by Bruce Lee. Chan himself was to assume Lee's position as kung fu superstar, made evident by his role in New Fist of Fury (1976), the somewhat clunky but classic sequel to The Chinese Connection (on which Chan worked on as a stunt man). Directed by Wei Lo, New Fist of Fury picks up with two siblings fleeing a Japanese occupied Shanghai for Taiwan, where their grandfather runs a Kung Fu school. However, a Japanese martial-arts teacher has plans to run all the schools under his own name, eventually killing the grandfather. Chan plays a young thief who, at first, wants nothing to do with fighting but then finds his calling as the new leader of rebels against the Japanese occupation. Snake Fist Fighter (1971) was Chan's first visible role. At age 17, Chan plays Jackie, a young man who is intrigued with martial arts, but forbidden by his father to learn. He meets a beggar (Siu Tien Yuen) who offers to teach him. Jackie learns in secret until local mobsters put the squeeze on the family business. Originally shelved, this film was released years later featuring scenes with a Chan look-a-like. Although these early films don't showcase Chan's comic charisma as much as his martial-arts skills, they mark the beginning of the long, successful career of one of the world's most popular action stars. --Shannon Gee