If one considers a 'Yuen-clan film' a Yuen Woo Ping film with all the other Yuen brothers in it, then there are not so many examples. Among the best ones are 'The Buddhist Fist' (1980), 'Miracle Fighters' (1982), 'Shaolin Drunkard' (1983), 'Taoism Drunkard' (1983) and 'Drunken Tai Chi' (1984). It's obvious to see, but hard to explain, what these films have in common and how they distinguish themselves from other kung fu films. The move at a fast pace, have often very strange sketches in them, and their style is rather gaotic and unrealistic, which makes them highly amusing. In the real clan films the influance of their Beijing opera background is quite clear, but such absurd and surrealist scenes are something you will only find in these Yuen films.
Other impressive, tough less absurd Yuen Woo Ping films were 'Magnificent Butcher' (1979), a collaboration with Sammo Hung Kam Bo (Hong Jin Bao), and 'Legend of a Fighter' (1982). The last one was a bit more serious, but had a surprising and hilarious scene, where we are taken on a cruise with among the guests; pipe-smoking kung fu master Yuen Cheung Yan and the excitant energetic Fung Hak On (Feng Ke An) as his victim.
In later years Yuen Woo Ping directed such movies as: 'Iron Monkey' (1993) with Donnie Yen, Yen Shi Kwan, Yu Rong Guang and Sunny Yuen Shun Yi, 'The Tai Chi Master' (1994) with Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh (Yang Zi Qiong) and Yuen Cheung Yan and Wing Chun (1994) with Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen.
He was the action director on both 'The Last Hero in China', with Jet Li (Li Lian Jie), Leung Kar Yan and Gordon Liu Chia Hui, as well as on 'Fist of Legend' with Jet Li, Yasuaki Kurata and where Cheung Yan has a bit part.
Yuen Woo Ping also launched the carreers of Donnie Yen, who had his debut in 'Drunken Tai Chi' and Jacky Wu Jing in 'The Tai Chi Boxer / Tai Chi II'.
Nowadays Yuen Woo Ping is well known as an action director, but his influence is much more noticeable in the real 'Yuen-clan movies', so the latter are in this aspect, more interesting. |