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I love watching people's reactions to Kung Fu Hustle
"Look at those!"
And not just because they are a cute anime girl
In case you don't know, Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 kung fu comedy
From Hong Kong's biggest comedy actor/director, Stephen Chow
With a story and humor inspired by silent classics
The film transcends cultural barriers
And is enjoyable to everyone
But there is more to it than just that
I think most viewers can also piece together that this film
Like Kill Bill, is a love letter movie
Indeed, this film makes a lot of references to books, movies and TV shows
That defined Hong Kong culture for the past 100 years
"What are you prepared to do?"
Some of the references cut very deep
Not even an avid Hong Kong cinephile can catch all of the references
"What are you prepared to do?"
Which is a shame
That's like missing half the show for most people
"Anyone else!"
Today, let me help you turn a good movie
Into a great one
By going through the entire film
And showing you some of the references you may have missed
I won't be going through everything
Especially not the obvious ones
"In great power lies great responsibility"
Because we'll be here all-day
So, with no restraint on spoilers
These are the references
In Kung Fu Hustle
[The References in Kung Fu Hustle]
[Chapter One]
The film begins by establishing the setting
It's a fictionalized version of Republic era Shanghai
Back when the streets were ruled by the ruthless Axe Gang
Old Shanghai has always been a popular setting in China
But the setting became particularly special to Hong Kong
Thanks to the TV show, The Bund
A 1980s crime drama that made Chow Yun-fat into a household name
Every Chinese person knows its romantic depiction of crime life
And because of this show
When a Chinese person think of Shanghai
They think of mobsters
Anyway, after establishing our antagonist
We move onto Pigsty Alley
Or in Chinese, Pig Cage Walled City
This is a reference to Kowloon Walled City
An ungoverned, lawless slum in Hong Kong
"Pig Cage" is actually a pun
Referencing the inhumane condition inside
Kowloon Walled City had since been demolished
So, in a way, this scenery
Also feels quite nostalgic to a lot of people in Hong Kong
We then meet some of the tenants of Pig Cage
Notably, the sleazy landlord
And the heartless landlady
These two, along with most of the tenants
Were directly inspired by the classic stage comedy turn movie
"The House of 72 Tenants"
A story about tenants fighting against a heartless landlady
We'll talk more about the landlord and the landlady in a bit
Just know that their relationship is...
I don't know if "kinky" is the word
But let's hope he enjoys it
At first glance
It'd seem like the movie is set in a backwater village
Where people's lives are harsh
But that's only half true
With aesthetics taken from various Hong Kong classics
The setting is more so about the longing for a simpler time
People in Hong Kong watch this sequence with a smile
Because to them
It is like reliving good memories
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[Chapter Two]
After a snarky reference to his previous movie, "Shaolin Soccer"
"No more soccer!"
We are finally introduced to our protagonist
Sing, played by Stephen Chow
Sing attempts to extort the residents
By pretending to be a member of the Axe
Which goes terribly
(Auntie Punch)
(Slipper Slap)
Trying to bluff his way out
Sing throws a firecracker
Claiming it to be a signal to the Axe
And by sheer coincidence
It actually does draw the attention of the Axe
The enraged mobsters round up the residents
And threaten to burn them alive
With no choice
Three tenants stand up and fight
Revealing themselves to be kung fu masters
Let's talk about them!
The kick master, Coolie
Uses a form of kung fu called "Tan Tui"
Specifically, the "Twelve Kicks" variant
Passed down by folk hero Huo Yuanjia
There is actually a 1979 movie made about it
Starring Bruce Leung
Who's also in this movie
But we are getting ahead of ourselves here
Then comes the tailor, a fist master
Who uses a form of Hung Ga kung fu called
"Iron Wire Fist"
It's a form that strikes a balance between brute strength and fluidity
Strong like metal, pliable like a string
A Chinese concept called strength in softness
This is also why the master is so... effeminate
Finally, there is Donut
Yes, Donut, the staff master
Who uses the Eight Trigram Staff
Which also has its own movie in 1984
Legend has it, this is a form of spear kung fu
Practiced by the Generals of the Yang Family
A military family from the Northern Song Dynasty
In the legend, the fifth son of the family became a monk later in life
And since spears and other sharp weapons are forbidden in temples
They used staff instead
This is why, later in the film, you see the master uses a spear
Because that's the true form of this martial art
With their efforts combined
The masters managed to fend off the Axe, for now
So concludes the first act of the movie
[Chapter Three]
After the failed extortion
Sing reminisces about that time he got duped by a beggar
Into buying a kung fu manual
For Buddha's Palm
The trope of a kung fu beggar is actually based on a real person
So Chan
It's a folk hero Stephen Chow played in King of Beggars
However, in this particular instance
The beggar is likely a reference to a fictional wuxia character
Hong Qigong
Created by the most defining wuxia writer of all time, Jin Yong
Why the fictional beggar instead of the real one?
Because, unlike the kung fu used by the three masters
Buddha's Palm is not real
Actually, all of the moves he teaches are not real
They are all from wuxia novels
Buddha's Palm, in particular
First appeared in a series of Taiwanese novels in the 60s
It was then popularized by a movie serial adaptation
And its bigger budget remake
This is why Sing got absolutely trashed when he tried to use it to fight
It's not real
For now...
We'll come back to Buddha's Palm at the end
Anyway, having been humiliated
The Axe retaliates by sending two assassins
Talk about a killer soundtrack
It's hard to know when deadly instruments became a thing in wuxia media
But it was popularized in Hong Kong by the wuxia novel
Deadful Melody
Which got adapted into movies a handful of times
The Chinese title literally means the Six-Fingered Demon Musician
Presumably, the musician was later killed by Inigo Montoya
As expected, real kung fu just isn't as strong as fantasy martial arts
As the three masters are about to be killed
Two unexpected allies join the fight
"Shut up!!"
I said unexpected, but that's not entirely true
An avid Hong Kong film fan would've recognized the actors
In the role of the landlord is Yuen Wah
A famous stunt performer in Hong Kong
Some of you may recognize him from some Jackie Chan movies
Such as Dragons Forever
Here, he's using a fantasy form of Tai-chi
Fighting your opponent
By using their own weight and force
And here comes the landlady
Played by Yuen Qiu
An old school female stunt double
From the same generation as Yuen Wah and Jackie Chan
A rarity at the time
She has relatively few acting credits under her before Kung Fu Hustle
Yet, she was still incredibly famous in Hong Kong
Which really speaks to her status in the industry
Here, she uses a move called the "Lion's Roar"
A fictional martial art, also from a Jin Yong novel
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber
Combined with her domestic violence
This also references a Chinese folktale
"The Roaring Lioness of East Bank"
A comedic story about a scholar with a very strict wife
With inspiration from so many classic stories
No wonder the landlady is such a memorable character
With an homage to Bruce Lee in The Way of the Dragon
The couple successfully fend off the Axe once again
But we all know this is not going to last
[Chapter Four]
To seek further retaliation
The Axe, along with the newly recruited Sing
Arrives at the "Abnormal Human Research Center"
In the asylum, they find the supposedly strongest fighter in the world
The Beast
Or in Chinese, the "Evil God of Fiery Cloud"
Big name, right?
Well, this name actually came from the same novel as Buddha's Palm
In fact, Evil God is the one who practices Buddha's Palm
Due to the popularity of the movies
Evil God became a de facto name
For kung fu masters that went insane
It's used in a comic series Dragon Tiger Gate
Which got turned into a sh#tty movie
And in 1994, the Yuen Woo-ping directed wuxia flick "Fire Dragon"
Also has a character with the same name
The actor who plays the villain is Bruce Leung
He's one of the four dragons of the 70s Hong Kong entertainment industry
Alongside Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Ti Lung
Although, in the west, he's mostly famous
For being a Bruce Lee knock-off
Domestically, he was actually very well respected
He's probably most famous for playing Chen Zhen in the hit TV series
(Cough) Legendary Fok...
Anyway, with a mad master on their side
A violent confrontation is sure to begin
"This aura..."
"You must be the Condor Heroes..."
"Yang Guo"
"Xiao Long Nü"
"Return of the Condor Heroes" is yet another Jin Yong novel
Yang Guo and Xiao Long Nü are the main characters in that book
And no, they are supposed to be conventionally attractive
What a lot of people didn't know, however
Is that the name Xiao Long Nü is also used in the 1982 Buddha's Palm movie
Anyway, they fight
And things get nasty very quickly
In what may be a desperate act of redemption
Sing tries to help the heroes
And is almost killed instantly
Luckily, his act of bravery buys them just enough time to escape
[Chapter Five]
With Sing in mortal danger
All of his potentials are unlocked
And he has become a master
Sounds ridiculous
But it does have some foreshadowing
That, too, is a reference to the Buddha's Palm movies
How do we know he's a master?
Well, he's dressed like Bruce Lee, of course
After a spectacular fight
The villain unleashes his final attack
The "Toad Style"
Yes, Toad Style
Guess who came up with it?
That's right, Jin Yong, who also came up with Lion's Roar
I never realized how weird some of his ideas are
Anyway, originated in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"
This move is used by the antagonist of the book
The Kung Fu Hustle interpretation really isn't that farfetched
This move looks ridiculous in pretty much every adaptation
With this move, the villain knocks Sing into the sky
And it's here, we have one final reference:
Turns out, Buddha's Palm is real
The name "Buddha's Palm" is actually a reference to Journey to the West
In that story
Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, is an arrogant yet powerful being
One of the most powerful in the Chinese pantheon, actually
After defeating every Taoist god in heaven
Only Buddha himself, with his infinite wisdom
Manages to contain Wukong, along with the entire universe In the center of his palm
Buddha's Palm sounds immensely imposing in Chinese
Because of this reference
It's powerful not just because of its form
But that it references a state of ultimate wisdom
As a punishment to Wukong
Buddha turns his palm into a mountain
Crushing Wukong underneath it for 500 years
And Sing, just like Buddha
Crushes the villain under his palm as well
"What's the name of that move?"
"I can teach you if you want"
Now that is enlightenment
[Conclusion]
And that's all of the Hong Kong cultural references I can fit into this video
There are still many more examples I glossed over
But hopefully, this is enough to help you gain a bit more insight
Into why this film is considered a modern classic
With its endless amount of elements lifted directly
From China's most influential stories
Kung Fu Hustle might as well be the Smash Bros. of Chinese movies
It's a love letter from director Stephen Chow
But also a celebration
Of what the Hong Kong film and TV industry had achieved
I guess that's why I enjoy watching people's reactions to this film so much
Watching Kung Fu Hustle
Is like watching the entire history of Hong Kong cinema
It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy
To see people enamored by a foreign culture