He explains those were dangerous times for stuntmen, and what followed directors’ yells of “cut” on set were often calls to help the stuntmen and, sometimes, ambulance sirens. Hong Kong action films had their heyday between the 1970s and the 1990s, a period in which they accounted for two-thirds of the city’s cinema output, Wei says. Yuan Wu, a member of Sammo Hung’s stuntman team, recalls in the film that he fainted on the spot when making Long Arm of the Law (1984) after having to fall from the fifth floor of a shopping mall onto an ice-skating rink without any buffer. They only remember how Chan risked his life in making the scene.” Chan jumped after the stuntmen were OK ,” Tsang says. “No one had attempted this stunt before, so the stuntmen had to attempt it first. He cites as an example Project A, the 1983 classic in which Jackie Chan had to jump from a 15-metre-high (50 foot) clock tower and fall through several tarpaulins to reach the ground. While action stars earn many plaudits for their derring-do, stuntmen’s contributions go unnoticed, says Hong Kong actor Eric Tsang Chi-wai in the film. Mars Cheung was among the stuntmen who had to jump from a 15-metre-high clock tower in Project A (1983) before star Jackie Chan attempted the jump. Seen from another perspective, why old kung fu movies are more enjoyable than the current ones is because of this culture.”Ī still from Kung Fu Stuntmen. Without wearing protection, I would ask to hit me. “To show I am the best in the world at kung fu, I did many stupid things. “We risked our lives unreasonably,” Donnie Yen says in the film, explaining how he acted like a daredevil during the first half of his career. Many of the films highlighted in the documentary are old Hong Kong classics made before the advent of post-production special effects and rules regarding film crew protection.Īs such, the stars in the documentary share how they risked life and limb to shoot action scenes. The stuntmen have a special place in my heart. I grew up watching Hong Kong action films. “I saw the veteran stuntmen exuding much pride and heroic spirit at the dinner,” he says, “but the association’s chairman, Chin Kar-lok, told me they actually fare poorly in old age. He says he got the idea of making Kung Fu Stuntmen after attending the Hong Kong Stuntman Association’s Chinese New Year dinner in 2017. Wei spent two years sourcing the rights for the clips used in the film, while recording the interviews in various places including Hong Kong, Beijing, Foshan and Hengdian.Ī former radio broadcaster in his hometown of Tangshan, Beijing-based Wei wrote books on Hong Kong movies and set up an online bulletin board, Hong Kong Film Fans, in 2002 for users to post film reviews and other writings about Hong Kong movies. The film features rare behind-the-scenes footage of kung fu movies and interviews with dozens of stuntmen, action choreographers, directors and stars including Sammo Hung Kam-bo, Donnie Yen Ji-dan, Tony Ching Siu-tung and Tsui Hark. Produced, directed and written by Wei Junzi, the new documentary is a tribute to the unsung heroes who brave debilitating injuries to shoot action scenes in Hong Kong movies.
Such revelations litter Kung Fu Stuntmen. Three body doubles – Hung Yan-yan, Ku Huan-chiu and Tony Ling Chi-wah – fought in Li’s stead after the actor hurt his leg before shooting the finale. Playing the role of real-life Cantonese hero Wong Fei-hung, Li’s performance earned him comparisons to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.īut while audiences were impressed by the film’s lengthy finale, where Wong fights his nemesis in a warehouse on moving bamboo ladders, most would have been unaware that it’s not actually Li who did the fighting. The classic martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China (1991), directed by Tsui Hark, made a star of China-born martial artist Jet Li Lianjie.