I am a huge fan of Asian Cinema. It all started back in High School when a young black belt friend of mine opened me up to the wonderful world of Jackie Chan. Here was a style of film my young brain, which had only seen some Bruce Lee, Bolo Yeung and Chuck Norris extravaganzas up to that point, could scarcely fathom. A lot more humor was on display as well as some of the most dynamic action sequences I had ever seen. Needless to say, I was hooked and spent the next few years devouring every Jackie Chan film (as well as Asian Martial Arts) I could get my hands on. The most impressive of those films was the 1978 classic Drunken Master. This film took every bit of flipping around and climbing vertical walls I had seen up to that point and raised the bar considerably, adding props, humor and a plethora of kung-fu styles in order to serve up one of the most dazzling fight films ever put on celluloid. Drunken Master was also the first introduction I had to the genius that is Yuen Woo-Ping.

Yuen Woo-Ping is one of the most dynamic and incredible fight choreographers and directors in the history of Asian Cinema. There are many influential Asian directors, like Ching Siu-Tung, Donnie Yen and Ronnie Yu (just to name a few) and they’re all amazing but Yuen Woo-Ping has had a global impact like very few others have achieved. Besides choreographing Iron Monkey (1993), Once Upon A Time in China I/II (1991/2), Twin Dragons (1991), Black Mask (1996), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Kung Fu Hustle (2004); besides directing Last Hero of China (1993), Tai Chi Master (1993), Fist of the Red Dragon(1993) and Wing Chun (1994); Yuen Woo Ping has also choreographed several American blockbusters like The Matrix (1999), Kill Bill (2003/4), Fearless (2006) and Forbidden Kingdom (2008). He even consulted on the 2009 film Ninja Assassin. Yuen Woo-Ping is a one-of-a-kind director and has a vision of fight sequences that has been unparalleled in action cinema. Check out the aforementioned Matrix and Forbidden Kingdom; neither film is really all that good but the action segments cause even the most casual fan to sit up and take notice. A lot of the martial arts films done today take a large part of their action vocabulary from the work Yuen Woo-Ping did in the 1970s and 1980s. Even Donnie Yen, whose Flashpoint (2007) has advanced action films in a more realistic, MMA-type direction, learned at the feet of, and was made to look fantastic by Mr. Woo-Ping. Yuen Woo-Ping is even an inductee on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong (like the Hollywood Walk of Fame).

The reason for this brief introduction to the work of Yuen Woo-Ping is that on September 25th, Fantastic Fest is not only showing Yuen Woo-Ping’s new film True Legend but will be running it as a double-feature with his first film, Snake in Eagle’s Shadow (1978 with Jackie Chan!!) as part of it’s annual Lifetime Achievement Award. This means, fellow Cybermonkey’s, that Fantastic Fest is hosting Yuen Woo-Ping’s First U.S. Festival Appearance!! This is an amazing thrill, not only to see Yuen Woo-Ping’s new film on the big screen in the States well ahead of any theatrical appearance but to have the legendary director in person at this gala event. Every year Fantastic Fest delivers so much awesome that you figure it cannot be topped the next year and then they bring you Yuen Woo-Ping live. Some badges are still on sale and I whole-heartedly encourage you to check out www.fantasticfest.com and see what you’re missing.