Review of Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978) by Hrafnkell H — 07 Jan 2010

Great classic kung-fu movie.

Jackie plays Chien Fu. A clumsy assistant at a local kung fu school who is used as a living punching bag, to illustrate the greatness of the school's kung fu ability to potential students. Fu is still a good person who helps out an old beggar (Yuen Siu Tien/Simon Yuen) when he enters some trouble in the village. Little does he know that this is the grandmaster Pai Cheng-Tien of the snake fist style. He teaches Fu, who develops into a fierce snake fist practician. Although this soon gets him into more trouble than he bargained for. When asked to be used as a punching bag to illustrate the school's greatness, he fights back and the school loses the student. Then he's witnessed using the snake style while defending the school's headmaster who has returned from a tournament. Little does he know that the observer is fixed on the thought of destroying everyone who uses the snake fist style. Fu then develops the style by combining it with the cat's claw, and that, for some reason, ends up as Snake in the Eagle's Shadow style.

This movie was Jackie Chan's and director Yuen Woo Ping's definate breakthrough. The pair released the classic "Drunken Master" the same year(!) which also was a huge success. Although Yuen Siu Tien's character is called Pai Cheng-Tien it's basically the same character as the now infamous "Beggar Su" character who appears in "Drunken Master", "Dance of the Drunken Mantis" and countless others.

Yuen Siu Tien is director and matrial arts coreographer Yuen Woo Ping's father.