''Sleeping Fist'' is a 1979 Hong Kong
martial arts film
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expr ...
directed by Teddy Yip and starring
Bryan Leung and
Yuen Siu-tien
Yuen Siu-tien () (27 November 1912 – 8 January 1979) (also known as Yuan Xiaotian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol' Dirty") was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. in the late 1970s, Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So (a.k.a. Sam Seed) in ...
.
Plot
Plainclothes policeman Kam Tai-fat (
Bryan Leung) discovers the crimes committed by Cho Tin-pa (
Eddy Ko
Eddy Ko Hung (; born Ho Yiu-sum ; 1947) is a Hong Kong television and film actor who has worked on the TV stations RTV, ATV (both now defunct), and TVB. Most recently, he has made appearances in several international films including 2015's ''T ...
) and plans to report it to the capitol. When Cho discovers this, he sends a group of thugs to hunt Kam down. One day, Kam was severely beaten by Kam's thug and there, he meets Kid (Wong Yat-lung), a street urchin who rescues him and takes him to his master Old Fox (
Yuen Siu-tien
Yuen Siu-tien () (27 November 1912 – 8 January 1979) (also known as Yuan Xiaotian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol' Dirty") was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. in the late 1970s, Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So (a.k.a. Sam Seed) in ...
).
One day, Kid was injured in a fight with local bullies. Seeing this, Fox decides to teach Kam and Kid the
martial arts style of Sleeping Fist. Fox, Kam and Kid then sets foot to Shang Wei martial arts school to teach a lesson to the bullies who injured Kid earlier. The trio easily defeat them. Feeling humiliated, Shang Wei school hires Cho, a master of
Eagle Claw
Eagle Claw (; pinyin: yīng zhǎo pài; ''eagle claw school'') is a style of Chinese martial arts known for its gripping techniques, system of joint locks, takedowns, and pressure point strikes, which is representative of Chinese grappling kn ...
, to seek revenge.
Cast
*
Bryan Leung as Kam Tai-fat
*
Yuen Siu-tien
Yuen Siu-tien () (27 November 1912 – 8 January 1979) (also known as Yuan Xiaotian, Simon Yuen, Sam Seed or "Ol' Dirty") was a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. in the late 1970s, Yuen is perhaps best known as Beggar So (a.k.a. Sam Seed) in ...
as Old Fox
*Wong Yat-lung as Kid
*Suen Lam
*Au-yeung Ling-lung as The girl
*Ma Chin-ku
*
Eddy Ko
Eddy Ko Hung (; born Ho Yiu-sum ; 1947) is a Hong Kong television and film actor who has worked on the TV stations RTV, ATV (both now defunct), and TVB. Most recently, he has made appearances in several international films including 2015's ''T ...
as Cho Tai-pa
*Weng Hsiao-hu
*Ching Kuo-chung
*Au Lap-po as Waiter
*Shih Ting-ken
*Chik Ngai-hung
*Siu Tak-fu
*Law Hon
*Chow Kam-kong as Student
*Chu Ko as Rascal
Reception
Critical
Eion Friel of
The Action Elite' rated the film three out of five stars and gave a mixed review. He ultimately concluded the review and writes "Overall, ''Sleeping Fist'' is a hugely entertaining kung fu movie, let down by some awful dubbing which causes more unintentional laughter than anything else." J. Doyle Wallis of ''
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
'' also rated the film three out of five stars and writes "''Sleeping Fist'' is still so well paced and infused with enough character that I really didn't mind the cute stuff as much as I usually would (some cute moments to look out for, Old Fox steering the Kid around like a puppet fighting a group of thugs- the kid when finally liking Old Fox, dresses exactly like him- some urination humor)." Andrew Saroch of
Far East Films' rated the film the same score as well and gave a mixed review criticizing its predictable story with no plot twist and also praising the action scenes and lead actor
Bryan Leung's performance.
Box office
The film grossed HK$1,204,494.50 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical from 24 May to 1 June 1979 in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
References
External links
*
*
Sleeping Fist' at
Hong Kong Cinemagic
Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, is a bilingual (French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The webs ...
*{{IMDb title, 0078262
1979 films
1979 martial arts films
1970s action films
1970s martial arts comedy films
Hong Kong action comedy films
Hong Kong martial arts comedy films
Kung fu films
Wushu films
1970s Cantonese-language films
1970s Hong Kong films