Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

Template:Infobox Chinese Film

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (Chinese: 蛇形刁手) is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Yuen Woo-ping his directorial debut, starring Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang Lee and Yuen Woo-ping's real life father, Yuen Siu Tien.

Straight after this film, Yuen Woo-ping directed Drunken Master, released in the same year, it also starred Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang Lee and Yuen Siu Tien, and followed a similar plot.

Production

Prior to Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Chan had worked for director Lo Wei who wanted to make him into the new "Bruce Lee" in films like New Fist of Fury. However, those films yielded relatively poor box office returns. When producer Ng See-yuen decided to make a comedy with Chan as the star, the concept did not initially meet with approval from the film distributors. However, Ng and Chan persevered and together with Drunken Master, this film launched Jackie Chan into national stardom.

The combination of comedy, martial arts, stunts and acrobatics had been done before, in Lau Kar-leung's 1975 film, Spiritual Boxer. However, the release of Snake in the Eagle's Shadow heralded a new direction for Hong Kong action movies.

Ng See-Yuen and Yuen Woo-ping checked over many actors for the part of the old, eccentric, wandering Kung Fu master, before Ng suggested casting Yuen's own father, Yuen Siu Tien. Yuen would continue to reprise the role of Beggar So several more times before his death in 1979.

Plot

Chien Fu (Jackie Chan), an orphan adopted by a kung fu school, is overworked as their janitor and abused by the kung fu teachers as a walking punching-bag. Chien befriends an old beggar (Yuen Siu Tien) by offering him a meal and a place to stay. Unknown to Chien, the old beggar is actually one of the last surviving masters of the Snake-style of kung fu. The old man is on the run from the Eagle Claw clan, which is viciously killing off all of the rival Snake-style kung fu masters. Seeing that Chien is being abused, the old man teaches Chien the footwork of snake style which enables one to avoid an opponent's attacks.

The old man leaves the school to find a better hiding spot. After being abused once more, Chien later finds him and the old man agrees to give him more lessons, on the condition that he does not call him "sifu" ("master"), since they are friends. The real reason, however, is to keep Chien's connection with him secret from his pursuers.

Chien practices the lessons and learns to avoid being hurt by the school's bumbling teachers. When the school is invaded by the Mantis school, to everyone's amazement Chien easily defeats their master using the snake style. Unfortunately, one of the passing wanderers who witnesses the fight is the high master of the Eagle Clan, who recognizes the style at once and decides to tail Chien.

Chien meets the Eagle Claw clan master, who inquires about the old beggar. The Eagle Claw master lies, saying that he was a colleague of the old beggar and asks Chien to help him find the old man. As a show of 'proof', he easily fends off Chien's attacks. Chien realises that his Snake-style fighting is no match for the style practiced by the stranger, and thus creates a new style from watching his pet cat kill a cobra.

Eventually, Chien unwittingly leads the Eagle Claw master to the old man. In the duel, Chien merges his "cat style" with snake style to finally defeat the Eagle Claw master and his minions. Chien announces that he will call his technique "Cat's Claw", but the Old man suggest that he give the technique the name "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow".

Music

As well as original music by Chou Fu-liang, the film also features Jean Michel Jarre's "Oxygène (Part 2)" and Space's "Magic Fly". Like many Hong Kong movies of the era, it also includes samples from western movie scores, including A Fistful Of Dollars, You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, and even the Death Star explosion moment from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Film producer Serafim Karalexis got the rights to distribute the movie in America in the 80s, retitled "The Eagle's Shadow". It had a new score made due to copyright issues with the original score.

Cast

Jackie Chan - Chien Fu
Hwang Jang Lee - Sheng Kuan
Yuen Siu Tien - Pai Chang-tien
Dean Shek - Teacher Li
Fung Hak-on - Master Chao Chi-chih
Tino Wong - Three Provinces Champ
Peter Chan - Teacher Lian
Hsu Hsia - Su Chen
Charlie Chan - Master Hung
Roy Horan - Missionary/Russian
Fung Ging-man - Teacher Chui
Chiang Kam - Ah Kwai
Yao Lin Chen - Master Hung
Chen Tien Lung - Three Provinces Champ
Chan Lung - Substitute Instructor
Gam Yam - Chang
Yuen Yat-choh
Chiu Chi-ling
Choi Fai
Chan Laap-ban

Box office

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow took HK $2,708,748 at the Hong Kong box office.

Imitators

In 1979, a film entitled Snake in the Eagle's Shadow II aka Snaky Knight Fight Against Mantis was released. It was directed by Chang Hsin-yi and starred Wang Tao. However, the film was not a true sequel, rather it was an attempt by the studio to capitalise on the success of the original film. Footage including a montage and a fight scene from Snake in the Eagle's Shadow were spliced into the film. Chan's image was also used on the cover of some versions.

DVD versions

On February 7, 2000, Hong Kong Legends released a DVD containing a number of extras, including a photo gallery, Jackie Chan and Hwang Jang Lee's biographies/filmographies, the English export trailer, and an interview with producer Ng See-yuen. However, it contains a cropped 2:35:1 to 1:78:1 image and the incorrect Mandarin dub with dubtitles. This DVD contains compulsory BBFC cuts amounting to roughly 45 seconds due to animal cruelty. The Chinese credit sequence is used (reverting to 2:35:1 during this section). The English dub is one created by US studios during the film's release there (under the title "The Eagle's Shadow") to avoid copyright issues with music, but everything else is the same as the export dub commissioned by Seasonal Films.

On June 18, 2002, Columbia Tri-Star released the first legal DVD in the United States. Despite having uncut status and a full 2:35:1 image in the correct Cantonese language, it still contains dubtitles. The English dub (and credit sequence) is the export one and intact.

On February 16, 2004, Mei Ah Entertainment released a remastered DVD in Hong Kong. It has uncut 2:35:1 anamorphic video. Audio include Cantonese Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono and Mandarin Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono. Subtitles include Traditional, Simplified Chinese and English. Special features are limited to Cast and Crew Info and Synopsis.

External links