Two Taoist Tales Blu ray KUNG FU KINGDOM
Following their collaborations on “The Miracle Fighters”, the sons of Yuen Siu-Tien return for these Two Taoist Tales follow ups.
For “Taoism Drunkard”, Yuen Cheung-yan directs and stars as “Chiu’s Granny/ Drunken Taoist “. Although an action director in his own right, he often makes cameo appearances and has acted in the “Charlie’s Angels” movies, “Fist of Legend”, “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Drunken Tai Chi” to name but a few.
Action Director, actor and also a Yuen brother, Yuen Shun-yi plays the evil “Old Devil”. Being a member of the famous Yuen Clan dictates that he has worked on some of the most significant martial arts films to have ever emerged from Hong Kong. In addition to appearances in movies such as “Iron Monkey”, “Dance of the Drunk Mantis”, “The Scorpion King” and “Drunken Tai Chi“, he has assisted his famous brother Woo-ping, to forge the action in movies such as “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow“, “Drunken Master“, “Magnificent Butcher“, “Fist of Legend“, “Kung Fu Hustle“, “Fearless“, “Man of Tai Chi“, “Ip Man 3” and many, many more.
And still keeping it in the family, another brother, Yuen Yat-chor, stars in both titles, firstly as “Wu Shun-Chiu”, and as “Ko Sang” in the second film. As a member of the legendary Yuen clan of stunt performers and directors, he has appeared in films such as “Legend of a Fighter“, “The Postman Fights Back“, “Shaolin Drunkard”, “Drunken Tai Chi“, and “In the Line of Duty 4”.
Martial arts movie veteran Yen Shi-kwan stars and appears in both movies, initially as “Old Devil’s senior brother”, and as the rival master in the follow up. Yen has appeared in over 130 films since the 1950s, in titles such as “One Armed Swordsman”, “Boxer from Shantung”, “King Boxer”, “Iron Fisted Monk”, “Fearless Hyena“, “Once Upon a Time in China”, and “Iron Monkey“, to name but a few.
Taiwanese actress and martial artist Hilda Liu Hao-Yi appears in both films as a female fighter and sword expert.
A man with a love for wine accidentally damages a sacred statue. To atone for this blunder, he is asked by an enraged Taoist priest to find a virginal boy to aid in defending his temple from a demonic sorcerer.
A practitioner of Taoist kung fu manages to separate his soul from his body before teaming up with a vengeful young woman to take on a sinister sorcerer and the evil leader of a rival kung fu school.
Being a sequel to “Miracle Fighters”, this movie opens with a completely bonkers, hyper-energetic, acrobatic fight! Alongside the genuinely impressive physical skills, the magical elements give way to some insane wirework.
The insanity continues with the arrival of Yuen Cheung Yan in a wicker go-kart that looks like a cross between a shoe and a mouse! Not weird enough for you? How about an action scene featuring a giant cannonball with metal teeth?!
Fear not though martial arts fans, it’s not all cartoonish craziness! There is a great fight in the street with rapid, fluid choreography, delivering spinning kicks, sweeps and a few traditional kung fu postures.
Hilda Liu Hao-Yi impresses with her Taekwondo-style kicks, and there is a spectacular weapons fight, with Yuen Yat Chor wielding two swords against three foes with spears.
Even though the more traditional style fights are entertaining, there is no real “drunken boxing”. Considering this was made by and starring the sons of the original Drunken Master himself, it’s a little surprising, and a bit disappointing for fans of the entertaining drunken style.
The temple set finale kicks off with drone-like flying, exploding darts before the demonic sorcerer takes on a dozen Taoist monks.
Yuen Chat Yor and Yuen Cheung Yan eventually go toe to toe with Yuen Shun Yi, mixing the now familiar frenetic physical skills with the crazy supernatural and slapstick elements.
The opening credits sequence features some very impressive acrobatics and wushu, much like Jet Li’s “Shaolin Temple” movies, being performed in front of a very picturesque Taoist temple.
A training-cum-fight sequence features impressive gymnastic high bar and pommel horse exercises in among the more familiar fists and feet strikes.
Playing the villain, Jang Il-Do makes a spectacular entrance, leaping from his throne into a rapid and fluid kicking sequence. Being of South Korean origin, it is no surprise that his main field of martial arts expertise is Taekwondo. There is a great fight featuring a sword-wielding female ninja, dressed in black, against a misty, smoky, night-time backdrop.
The third act of the film moves deeper into “The Dead and the Deadly” or “Mr Vampire” territory. There are some quite clever scenes that use camera trickery to achieve various special effects shots that today would require a green screen or CGI.
A couple of scenes feature some short, Northern-style kung fu forms, beautifully performed if you are familiar with the art.
There is a great fight scene with swords, spears and some amazing Chinese opera acrobatics. Similarly, a fight in a cave features a mix of acrobatics, traditional kung fu and some amusing slapstick.
The finale starts with an all-out brawl outside the temple, leading to a two on one showdown.
Hilda Liu Hao-Yi uses her graceful dancer-like flexibility, Yuen Chat Yor employs acrobatics, and our villain fires off powerful Taekwondo kicks, a la the popular villains of the kung fu films of the late seventies.
I won’t spoil the big finish, but I guarantee you will have never seen a final fight as bizarre and unique as this one!
It’s no secret that Hong Kong action movies are pretty unique in the way they produce stunts and action for the screen.
However, that uniqueness often extends to their horror and comedy genres too. “The Miracle Fighters” somehow managed to successfully combine all these tropes in an insane, fun, classic.
These follow ups don’t hold back in their attempts to match those levels of insanity! The scenes involving animal sacrifices or collecting bodily fluids from young boys will be distasteful to some, but they are in the context not only of ancient beliefs, but also accepted cultural references.
Extras include James Mudge on Taoism Drunkard, in which he talks about the history of Lo Wei, whose company produced this movie.
He also discusses the genre of the supernatural kung fu comedy and the work of the Yuen clan. For The Young Taoism Fighter, James Mudge discusses how this film relates to the work of the Yuen clan and the other films in the series.
Fans of movies such as “Dead and The Deadly”, and certainly “The Miracle Fighters” will love these two equally crazy, zany and entertaining additions!
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