Among Jackie Chan's magnificent and voluminous film works, the two films "Drunken Master" and "Drunken Master 2" undoubtedly occupy a very important position. In 1978, the two films "Drunken Fist" and "Snake Shaped Hand", both directed by Yuan Heping and starring Jackie Chan, were the classics of Hong Kong Kung Fu comedies, which not only established the basic model of this film genre, but also laid a solid foundation. Jackie Chan's status as a martial arts comedy star in the Hong Kong film scene. Starting from "Drunken Master", Jackie Chan formed his own unique image on the screen, and thus officially embarked on his road to success. Since then Jackie Chan, either as a part-time actor or director, screenwriter, have gained authorship of the film - "Jackie Chan works." "Drunken Master 2", released in 1994, not only received rave reviews when it was released, but was also rated as one of the top ten best films in the world by Time Magazine. In addition, the subsequent "Red Fan District" also set a record in the United States. The popular box office results indicate that the "Jackie Chan Movies" have truly begun to go to the world. At the same time, "Drunken Master 2" and "Red Fan District", as the first batch of "Jackie Chan movies" approved to be released in the form of film in mainland China, also marked their successful expansion in the mainland market.
Although the shooting time of the two "Drunken Masters" is far apart, there is a great correlation and continuity in the characters and the plot of the story. In contrast, the previous one focused on the performance of Huang Feihong's progress in learning kung fu and skills. , Is more external; the latter part pays more attention to the maturity of the inner thoughts of Huang Feihong's characters. In "Drunken Master", Jackie Chan plays Huang Feihong, who is naughty and active, unwilling to practice seriously, but likes fighting and taking risks. He has a sense of justice but lacks moral restraint on himself. The image of such a "kung fu boy" is not completely acceptable today, but it is related to the overall style of kung fu movies at that time. Therefore, it can be said that "Drunken Boxing" has certain advantages compared with other kung fu movies at the time. The meaning of innovation, but still with a certain secular utilitarian and hedonistic tendencies. "Drunken Master 2" adheres to the motif of guiding people to be good and promoting justice that has been gradually formed in "Jackie Chan Movies" since the 1980s. Compared with "Drunken Master", it has made a lot of corrections to the characters. Although Huang Feihong played by Jackie Chan retains some shortcomings of juvenile nature and innocence, his moral restraint on himself is obviously greatly enhanced. The film also deliberately strengthened the image of his father Huang Qiying and added the character Fu Mingqi, a man from Manchuria martial arts. As Huang Feihong’s spiritual guide, he not only taught Huang Feihong about patience, forgiveness, and integrity, but also the personal code of conduct. Huang Feihong understands the righteousness of the country and the nation. Therefore, compared with "Drunken Master", "Drunken Master 2" has obviously added more positive factors and ingredients.
Like Jackie Chan's other works, these two films do not involve the relationship between men and women. The protagonist in the "Jackie Chan movie" is always a single person, and there is no definite girlfriend. Even if there are girlfriends, the setting of the two opponents is basically irrelevant. Emotional communication and the development of the plot, so there are basically no very sensational emotional dramas and affectionate dramas in the "Jackie Chan Movies". Avoiding the expression of delicate feelings between men and women has become one of the obvious characteristics of the "Jackie Chan Movies". The reason may be that Jackie Chan’s role has gradually formed a fixed pattern in the minds of the audience: his role is mainly some small people from the lower classes of society, such as the big brother next door, kind and kind, and always have a future. He has a childlike innocence and exhausted physical strength, is agile and full of comic color, upholds simple and kind morals and social values, but does not have, and does not understand the subtle and rich inner emotions, and is unable to deal with complex problems that require high speculative ability. But it may also be because of this that the audience’s admiration and love for Jackie Chan is also very unique. When watching the "Jackie Chan movie", we can not only express the unfulfilled desires in our hearts through the protagonist, but also feel a familiar kindness. There is a sense of psychological superiority implicitly.
From "Drunken Master" to "Drunken Master 2" and even more recent works, the "Jackie Chan Movie" has always been the core of kung fu comedy, but great changes have taken place in its connotation and form. From today’s perspective, the storyline and character images of "Drunken Master" do appear to be a bit simple and rough. To a certain extent, they are patchwork and shoddy. Compared with later films, the fighting scenes lack interest and novelty. , The rhythm is relatively slow. But by the time "Drunken Master 2", "Jackie Chan Movie" has gone through a process of gradual modernization, urbanization and internationalization. Therefore, the story background of "Drunken Master 2" appears to be closer to that of "Drunk Master". In real life and urban life, the characters in the play have also begun to have modern values and codes of conduct, and they also have the characteristics of modern movies in terms of the film's rhythm, style and lens language. At the same time, the content of the film can surpass the Chinese circle and be accepted by more audiences in different contexts.
In 1995, as the first "Jackie Chan movies" released in film form in mainland China together with "Red Fan District", "Drunken Master 2" was intended to strengthen the return and recognition of Hong Kong's national identity. The film chose the theme of resisting foreign insults and safeguarding national dignity. The British began to become negative targets for the first time in the film. They smuggled Chinese national treasures, especially the plot of stealing the jade seal of the Chinese emperor from the Manchurians, and it also contained the plot of Hong Kong. The insinuation of a century of destiny, and the final loss of Yuxi, also symbolizes the tribute to the approaching "97" Hong Kong return. It not only contains the urgent cultural and psychological sense of belonging of Hong Kong people in the face of the huge changes of "97", and at the same time From the perspective of the market, the fit with the official mainstream ideology of the mainland has enabled the "Jackie Chan Movies" to successfully open up the mainland market, and also enabled every subsequent "Jackie Chan Movies" to be released in the mainland very smoothly.
Compared with watching other entertainment movies, when watching the "Jackie Chan movie", the audience is less involuntarily "involved" in the content of the film, and more often they maintain a kind of "play" and "play". The subtle balance between “into the play”, that is to say, the effects of watching a "Jackie Chan movie" and watching a musical is very similar. This not only means that the "Jackie Chan movie" itself incorporates a lot of dance movements and rhythms in martial arts, such as Jackie Chan has many breakdancing moves in the last fight scene of "Drunken Master 2". And more importantly, when the audience is watching the exquisitely choreographed fighting scene, just like watching the song and dance, they are holding a kind of pure appreciation psychology, hoping to see the action design full of rich imagination and creativity. With Jackie Chan's extraordinary physical quality, he is even willing to see Jackie Chan's comedy self-defeating, without having to think deeply about the theme and connotation of the film like watching a drama. The purpose of the fighting scenes in the film is not to promote the development of the storyline, but to have a visual spectacle with independent viewing value. It is precisely because the vast majority of audiences have such a psychology of spectating beyond the movie, so when everyone is watching the "Jackie Chan movie", the brain is relaxed and the mood is happy.
Highlights of "Drunken Master": http://v.yinyuetai.com/video/2892054
Highlights of "Drunken Master 2": http://v.yinyuetai.com/video/2892324
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