JavaDevil's Full Review: Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
The most fun I ever had in a theater was while watching Jackie Chan's Rumble In The Bronx when it came out in the USA in 1996. I had actually been watching Chan's films in Japanese-dubbed versions since I was a kid and he was one of my childhood heroes. It was just so cool to see this guy, some 20 years later, finally get a proper introduction to American audiences. As I sat in the theater, I looked around me and noticed how diverse the audience was: black, white, Asian.....it then struck me that the true key to racial harmony was to put everyone into a theater and have them watch a Chinese guy kicking ass on the big screen! I plan to start a civil rights movement based on this all-important principle but let me finish this review first...
Anyhow, while Rumble was Chan's introduction to Westerners, it was 1978's Snake In The Eagle's Shadow that made him a star in Asia. More importantly, it was also the first Chan film I saw as a wee one. It's the kind of movie that is not only entertaining for adults, but also is accessible to kids who want to imitate those neato kung-fu moves with their siblings until one of them falls down, bangs their heads on something, and then bawls loudly for 20 minutes before getting up and doing it all over again. And, by God, that's the way Jackie Chan would want it.
Though it's nothing original, Snake has my favorite story of Chan's earlier, traditional martial arts flicks (everything he did before 1983's Project A). Chan plays a wimpy student at a kung-fu school who spends most of his time cleaning the floor and being humiliated by the school's deputy teachers in front of the rest of the students. While out and about, he sees an elderly beggar (the great Yuen Siu Tien) being attacked by a group of thugs and decides to help out even though he can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. It turns out that the beggar is actually the last surviving practitioner of the Snake Fist style and, after laying the smackdown on those thugs, he decides to train Chan in the style.
Meanwhile, we have an evil kung-fu guy (the also great Hwang Jang Lee) who is the master of the Eagle Claw style and he's the one who's been going around offing all the Snake Fist alumni. He and his two henchmen are trying to hunt down that last Snake Fist teacher so the Eagle Claw style will reign supreme. Yeah, it sounds generic, but the execution is great. Later on, Jackie's cat fights and kills a snake and it inspires him to develop a new "Cat Claw" style with which to combat the Eagle Claw.
Now, to finally clarify this review's hyperbolic title, one of the Eagle Claw Master's henchmen is a guy who very much resembles the popular Western conception of the appearance of Jesus Christ. This wouldn't be so noticeable except for the fact that this same henchman spends most of his onscreen time disguised as a Roman Catholic priest. And, in one part, he tries to assassinate Jackie with a sword. So what you get is this crazy scene which looks like Jackie Chan fighting a sword-wielding Jesus, who is then killed when Jackie crushes his groin with his bare hands! Now, I'm not anti-religious or anything, but to a kid who was dragged by his parents to religious school at night, this was pure hilarity. Don't hate me for saying that. You have to see this movie first. Hee hee.
There are a number of things that are notable about Snake In The Eagle's Shadow. For one, you'll see that Jackie Chan, who was then only 24 years old, actually moves quite a bit slower than in his later films. I imagine this is because the director was still getting a bearing on Chan's talent but in a way it's neat because you can follow his movements more closely and see exactly how he does it all. Many of Chan's famous stylings, including his humorous approach to kung-fu, can still be seen here but you don't get any outtakes and screw-ups at the end, unfortunately.
Another thing to note is that the funny old beggar, played by Yuen Siu Tien, is also the father of the director of this movie. And who is this director? Well, it's none other than Yuen Woo-Ping, the now famous fight choreographer of The Matrix and the upcoming Ang Lee flick Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon! Snake was Woo-Ping's directorial debut!
Snake In The Eagle's Shadow is simply a classic of the martial arts genre. Yuen Woo-Ping would reunite most of the same cast a year later to film the original Drunken Master, which contains much improved fights with Chan and company even if the story isn't as good as Snake's. The two films make a great double feature together. JavaDevil sez watch them and compare, kids!
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