Come Drink with Me
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| Come Drink with Me | |
|---|---|
 Hong Kong theatrical poster |
|
| Directed by | King Hu |
| Produced by | Sir Run Run Shaw |
| Written by | Yi Cheung King Hu |
| Starring | Cheng Pei-Pei Yueh Hua Chen Hung-Lieh Yeung Chi-Hing Lee Wan-Chung |
| Music by | Chow Lan-Ping |
| Distributed by | Shaw Brothers |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Come Drink with Me (traditional Chinese: 大醉俠; pinyin: Da Zui Xia, literally Big Drunken Hero) is a 1966 martial arts-action film directed by King Hu. Set during the Ming Dynasty, it stars Cheng Pei-Pei and Yueh Hua as warriors, and features fight choreography by Han Yingjie.
Widely considered one of the best Hong Kong movies ever made.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot
A general's son is taken hostage and used as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, Golden Swallow (Cheng Pei Pei), is sent to rescue the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow in a local inn, they are taken aback by "his" martial arts ability and are swiftly defeated.
A local drunk beggar named Fan Da-Pei (Yueh Hua) acts as Golden Swallow's guardian angel, secretly helping her avoid being ambushed at night and lending a hidden hand during her fights with the bandits. Golden Swallow is injured by a poisoned dart in a fight with the bandits. Fan nurses her back to health. While she's convalescing, Golden Swallow learns that Fan is a martial arts master and a leader of a Kung Fu society. Unfortunately, the bandits have an allied with an evil abbot, who is the rival for the leadership of Fan's sect. The evil abbot was Fan's mentor and benefactor. For that reason, Fan is reluctant to fight the abbot even though Fan knows about the abbot's criminal deeds.
In order to release the General's son, Fan sets up a prisoner exchange between the bandits and the government troops. During the exchange, the government soldiers receive the General's son, but Fan prevents the bandits from releasing their leader. As the government soldiers march the bandit leader back to prison, the bandits attack the procession. Golden Swallow, leading her female warriors, fight off the bandits. The evil abbot shows up for a showdown with Fan Da-Pei.
[edit] Cast
- Cheng Pei-Pei as Golden Swallow
- Yueh Hua (岳華) as Fan 'Drunken Cat' Ta-Pei
- Chen Hung-Lieh as Jade-Faced Tiger
- Yeung Chi-Hing as Abbot Liao Kung
- Lee Wan-Chung as 'Smiling Tiger' Tsu Kan
- Pan Yin Tze
[edit] Remake
Producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein announced in April 2007 that they would invest into movies with Asian themes. One of the movies they announced was a remake of Come Drink with Me, directed by Quentin Tarantino.[2]
The original film was followed by a sequel, Golden Swallow again with Cheng Pei Pei but with Jimmy Wang Yu in the lead male role.
[edit] Production Notes
Jackie Chan is rumoured to have appeared as one of the child singers near the beginning of the film. Lead actress Cheng denied this in the audio commentary to the Hong Kong DVD release of the film. Still, the film is listed among Chan's acting credits on his official website.[3]
King Hu told critic Tony Rayns (quoted in Bey Logan's book) that he had deliberately chosen a ballet dancer for the lead female role, "... rather than fighting. I'm very interested in the Peking Opera and particularly its movement and action effects, although I think its difficult to express them adequately on stage, where the physical limitations are too great." King Hu was said to recognise that some of the fights are stylised as opposed to realistic but claimed that combat in his movies was "always keyed to the notion of dance.".This movie was a great success upon its release in Hong Kong and made a star of Cheng Pei Pei[4] and others. [5]
[edit] Recent Re-release
Celestial Pictures re-released a cleaned up print of this classic film in 2003 with a new trailer and interviews, including Cheng Pei Pei.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Come Drink with Me (1966)
- ^ Weinsteins investing in Asian films
- ^ Filmography (Child & Stuntman Only)
- ^ quoted in Logan Bey, Hong Kong Action Cinema, Titan Books (1995)
- ^ Offscreen :: Wuxia Masks: On Come Drink With Me and the Beijing Opera
- ^ DVD Times - Come Drink With Me
