Master with Cracked Fingers

Never remarkable in any way, and edited together pretty badly, but it's fun to see a young (fluffy moustache havin') Jackie Chan doing his stuff. The scene where the creepy old martial arts teacher forces his way too young pupil to undress and climb into a sack filled with snakes was rather uncomfortable though. But then again, that's what happened in my youth and I turned out fi- ..wait, no I didn't! Crap!

One has to go through a lot of unfunny childish humour and terrible costume to get anywhere.

2021'de #IzlediğimFilmler : 224. Snake Fist Fighter (1973) Jackie Chan'in gençlik günlerinden... ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Cub Tiger from Kwang Tung is more of a straightforward action revenge film. Comedy was added to it when it was re-edited as Master with Cracked Fingers. Both versions while very different are worth watching.

Saw the 1979 cut. Who edited this? Seriously... I propose the following question: Does this need to exist? Every scene with Jackie Chan is enjoyable, and all the cringeworthy slapstick and fighting without Jackie makes you wish you'd seen the original version of this.

Not a great movie and hard to find a decent print of these days. But it's fascinating how many of the tropes Chan became famous for are established this early in his career. The reluctant fighter, the incredibly acrobatic combat, imaginative use of props, physical comedy. They're all here. Just glad he later dropped the attempts he makes here to look as menacingly badass as Bruce Lee, and later let his natural charm shine through.

This succeeded in making me laugh where the other early Jackie Chan films have failed, albeit still for the wrong reasons. There were actually some good fight scenes, the end fight notwithstanding. Jackie and the old dude fighting is what I refer to as 'Chuck Norris treatment' in which people have to slow down their fighting so as not to break the old man's bones.

Jackie's first starring role should be considered essential viewing. There are so many memorable moments in this mess like: the master (Simon Yuen) repeatedly lurking in the bushes, Dean Shek's Popeye attack, Dean Shek's dominoes dance, 35 seconds of Drunken Master (1978) footage spliced in, and the classic quote: "He looks like a pork sandwich!"