From the balletic intensity of Bruce Lee to the gravity-defying swordplay of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the Chinese Martial Arts film has captured audiences’ imaginations around the world. Its global impact can be seen in the Hollywood crossover of stars like Jackie Chan and Hong Kong-influenced films like The Matrix.

This wide-ranging study looks at the mythic allure of the Shaolin Temple, the ‘Clones’ of Bruce Lee, gender-bending swordswomen, and the knockabout comedy of Sammo Hung, bringing new insights to a hugely popular and yet critically neglected genre. The book considers the impact of new technologies on a genre focused on physical performance, from the ‘wire fu’ of Jet Li to the digital ‘stars’ of console games like Tekken. Films discussed include popular and cult classics such as Game of Death, Fist of Legend, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Drunken Master.

Leon Hunt is Senior Lecturer in Film and TV Studies at Brunel University. He is the author of British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation (1998).

2003
240 pages
978-1-903364-63-5    £16.99 (pbk)


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chapter sample
Introduction


reviews
'An extremely insightful and fully comprehensive work ... Hunt pursues several original directions ensuring that this book will be an indispensable reference work for anyone seriously interested in this stimulating movement in film history.'
Tony Williams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

‘Leon Hunt performs a difficult stunt with Kung Fu Cult Masters. He walks the fine line between fandom and academic criticsim, trying not to pitch over into either cult obsessions or "pointy-head" hair-splitting. For the most part, he succeeds admirably. This readable and intelligent introduction to Hong Kong kung fu cinema covers the cinema and the debates around it from the 1970s to the present. Full of lively detail, it is required reading for anyone with an interest in action cinema. Although the strucutre is roughly chronological, the book is not a history but rather a discussion of key topics.
The particular strength of Kung Fu Cult Masters is a focus on the various reception contexts of the films in Hong Kong and the West. Hunt eschews formalist universalism and understands that any account of the worldwide success of kung fu must acknoledge that the films have different meanings for different audiences …
Unlike many earlier discussions and to his his credit Hunt does not take an auteurist approach to Hong Kong cinema. The "cult masters" the title refers to are mostly stars and choreographers, although many also direct. This rightly foregrounds performance. For as Hunt points out in his introduction, like porn, the weepie, and horror, kung fu is what Linda Williams and Steven Shaviro describe as a "body genre." In his first chapter, he develops this theme further by noting both the importance of authenticity to the success of kung fu, and the fact that authenticity is not a simple thing.
To address this complexity, Hunt differentiates between three forms of authenticity, each important to different types of kung fu film in different periods. "Archival authenticity" designates attention to use of traditional martial art forms in the films, rather than special inventions like Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. "Cinematic Authenticity" is the use of long shots and relatively long takes to signify that what we are watching is "real." Here, Hunt emphasizes that the length of the take is less important than the number of moves that are completed, unbroken, within a single take. While he acknowledges that Bruce Lee is usually cited in this regard, he has better examples to give. Finally, "corporeal authenticity" is signified by bodily danger, regardless of whether wires and fast editing are used. The outtakes shown during the credits of Jackie Chan films are a prime instance.
Each of the remaining chapters takes on a particular topic, arranged chronologically. They are the myth of the Shaolin temple, the Bruce Lee legend, kung fu comedy, women in kung fu, let Li, the transnationalisation of Hong Kong cinema, and the interaction between kung fu and computer games. Because Hunt has been careful to avoid going over familiar topics -for example focusing on the Bruce Lee clones rather than writing yet another essay only on Lee himself - almost all the chapters are fresh and engaging, Even though I confess I am one of those unappreciative viewers who finds let Li to be wooden, I was pleased to read what I think is the first in-depth English-language treatment of this major figure from someone who clearly loves the films. Equally admirable is the discussion on gaming, and how games appropriate from kung fu at the same time as recent wire-assisted kung fu responds to the challenge of the computer game. Hunt is highly conscious of kung fu's intertext, attending to its roots in Chinese opera, street performances, and martial art sports elsewhere in the volume, and it is heartening to see someone attend in detail to the imbrication of film and computer games rather than just noting it in passing.Hunt structures each chapter by first giving a lot of colourful and detailed background and history. He covers some of the controversies and arguments that both academic, critics and fans get into as he moves through this material. Theoretical frameworks for Hunt's own analysis usually only appear half way through each chapter. Hunt usually simply selects one such framework for application and does not make the material "speak back" to further develop the theory itselft ... one of the advantages of engaging more with debates about theory is that it can build a bridge linking the particular topic being analysed to a wide debate, thus reaching a wider readership. For example, Hunt deals admirably with the complexity of Hong Kong's relation to the heritage of colonialism and its connection to globalisation in his discussion of kung fu masters in Hollywood ... An excellent book.’
Chris Berry, Screening the Past

‘Hunt’s insightful explanation of martial arts styles and manoeuvres encourages the perception of action sequences as potentially laden with narrative import and so much more than simple spectacle. Hunt’s descriptions are palpable, an essential quality considering that many of the referenced films are difficult to procure and unlikely to have been seen by many readers … Kung Fu Cult Masters is set to become an essential text for those researching the on-screen representation of martial arts. Kung fu films enthusiasts must have this book. Hunt’s insights are well informed by prior academic research as well as DVD commentary and ‘fanboy’ debate. Added to this is his impressive knowledge of kung fu technique. Most importantly Hunt is a fan – he loves kung fu and he lets his bias refresh the text with a cutting wit. With Kung Fu Cult Masters Hunt has made an unparalleled contribution to kung fu film analysis.’
Peter Gravestock, Senses of Cinema

books of related interest
The Cinema of Ang Lee: The Other Side of the Screen
New Chinese Cinema: Challenging Representations