Drunken Master

The unparallelled balletic skill of Chan and his co-stars is simply astonishing.

Martial arts genius aside, it's the film's warm-heartedness that has really given it its staying power, charming generation after generation of fans. This is a simple story told well, and it gets results.

Worth watching for the slapstick-like kung fu Chan made famous-it's here martial arts kicked back to Chaplin and Keaton, fusing Eastern acrobatic-fighting with those two Western silent-movie master-clowns (there are also echoes of the Three Stooges).

It's an undisguised star vehicle for the likeable Chan and his incredible acrobatic skills, and even viewers who couldn't care less about which fighting style the combatants are using will enjoy watching him be put through his paces.

II was better, but this is great too.

From the viewpoint of tracking Jackie Chan's career, this movie is a milestone.

Chan's breakthrough film is crudely made, but his own charm and athleticism make this worth a look.

Not unlike the silent films of Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, or for that matter, the best pictures of Hong Kong's Seventies kung fu films, the genius of Drunken Master lies in its kinetics. Pure entertainment, and a true chop-socky classic.

This is the film where Chan's confidence in his unique mix of comedy and martial arts, his gracefully choreographed slapstick-kung fu fighting style and natural athleticism, really began to blossom.