After achieving commercial success with Shaolin Soccer, Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia began to develop Kung Fu Hustle in 2002. Although the film features the return of a number of retired actors famous for 1970s Hong Kong action cinema, it contrasts with othermartial arts films released at around the same time that have made the biggest impact in theWest, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.
The cartoon style of the film, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, is often cited as its most striking feature.
The film was released on December 23, 2004 in China and on January 25, 2005 in the United States. It received extremely positive reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 90% fresh rating and Metacritic 78 out of 100. The film was also a commercial success, grossingUS$17 million in North America and US$84 million in other countries. Kung Fu Hustle was the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong and the tenth highest-grossing foreign language film. It was also the highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States in 2005. Kung Fu Hustle won numerous awards, including Hong Kong Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards.
Cast:
Stephen Chow as Sing, a loser in life who aspires to join the Axe Gang. He attempts many misdeeds to produce a self-image of a "bad guy" but his deeds all fail miserably or backfire.
§ Yuen Wah as the Landlord of Pig Sty Alley. He is lecherous and trouble-seeking. He is also a master of taijiquan.
§ Yuen Qiu as the Landlady of Pig Sty Alley. Selfish and domineering, she is a chain smoker with a loud voice, a side effect of her mastery of a technique known as the Lion's Roar, a skill used by the "Golden Haired Lion King" Xie Xun in Louis Cha's novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
§ Danny Chan as Brother Sum, the shady leader of the Axe Gang. The Axe Gang is the most feared gang in Shanghai, and controls many casinos, nightclubs and restaurants. The gang is notorious for its axe-wielding gangsters.
§ Bruce Leung as the Beast, a kungfu master, rumoured to be the most dangerous person alive, though belied by his unkempt appearance. He has killed many in his journey to find a worthy opponent all to no avail. Therefore, he had himself committed to a mental asylum, until Sing freed him to deal with the Landlord and his wife. The final move he used on Sing, the "Toad Skill", is practised by "Western Venom"Ouyang Feng, a villain in Louis Cha's Condor Trilogy novel series.
§ Chiu Chi-ling as the effeminate Tailor of Pig Sty Alley. This retired kungfu specialist specialises in the art of Hung Ga Iron Fist Kungfu and he fights with iron rings on his arms.
§ Dong Zhihua as Donut, a baker in Pig Sty Alley who is a retired kungfu specialist. He specialises in the Eight Trigram Staff.
§ Eva Huang as Fong, Sing's mute love interest. In her childhood, she was almost saved by Sing from a group of bullies. Ever since then, she sees him as her hero. In the present day, she works as an ice-cream vendor and they meet again.
§ Gar Hong-hay and Fung Hak-on as the Harpists, two killers hired by the Axe Gang to wipe out the Coolie, Tailor and Donut. Their instrument is the guqin, or "Chinese harp". Their strongest skill that attacks opponents by playing their harp, resembles the "Seven Strings Invisible Swords" in Louis Cha's novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer.
§ Feng Xiaogang as the leader of the Crocodile Gang. He is killed by the Axe Gang at the start of the film.
Kung Fu Hustle is a co-production of the Beijing Film Studio and Hong Kong's Star Overseas. After the success of his 2001 film, Shaolin Soccer, Chow was approached in 2002 by Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, offering to collaborate with him on a project. Chow accepted the offer, and the project eventually became Kung Fu Hustle. Major inspirations of the film came from the martial arts films Chow watched as a child and his childhood ambition to become a martial artist. A senior Hollywood executive said Chow was 'forced to grind through four successive scripts' and 'found it very laborious'.
Chow's first priority was to design the main location of the film, the Pig Sty Alley. He grew up in an environment similar to the Alley (i.e., Kowloon Walled City) and the plot included many aspects of his daily life. A 1973 Shaw Brothers Studio film, The House of 72 Tenants was another inspiration for the Pig Sty Alley.[18] Designing of the Alley began in January 2003 and took four months to complete. Many of the props and furniture in the apartments were antiques from all over China.
