Snake in the Eagle's Shadow
Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film directed by Yuen Woo-ping in his directorial debut. It stars Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee, and Yuen Woo-ping's real life father, Yuen Siu-tien. The film's plot is about Chien Fu, an orphan who is bullied at a kung fu school, meeting an old beggar, Pai Cheng-tien, who becomes his sifu (teacher) and trains him in Snake Kung Fu.
Original Hong Kong film poster
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques, to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. In turn, Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions, from the 1970s onwards.
Scene from the wuxia film Buddha's Palm (1964). The magic qi rays are created using crude hand-drawn animation.
Bruce Lee in 1971
Jackie Chan in 2002
John Woo in 2005