Jui kuen III (1994)

Director:

Chia-Liang Liu

Writer:

Wing Siu (writer)

Release Date:

2 July 1994 (Hong Kong)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

Set around the turn of the century in China, the White Lotus Society plots to put the next Emperor on the throne...

Cast

Andy Lau	...	Yeung Kwan
Michelle Reis	...	Sum Yu
Willie Chi	...	Wong Fei-Hung
Simon Yam	...	Gay Man on Bus
Chia-Liang Liu	...	Uncle Yan
Adam Cheng	...	Wong Kei-Ying
Chia Hui Liu	...	Gov. Li
Ka-Kui Ho	...	Yuan Shi-Kai
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giorgio Pasotti

Also Known As:

Drunken Master III (Hong Kong: English title)
Drunken Master Killer (USA)
Zui quan III (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Hong Kong | China

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | UK:12

Trivia:

Due to creative differences with 'Jackie Chan' , Chia-Liang Liu quit _Legend of the Drunken Master (1994)_ and made this movie.

Movie Connections:

Follows Jui kuen (1978)

revenge is poor reason to make bad film

Liu Chia-Liang, once the best and most careful of 'fu film directors, apparently made this film as a way of getting back at Jackie Chan for kicking him off the Drunken Master II (aka Legend of) project. I therefore expected DMIII to be the film that Liu intended to make with DMII that Chan would not allow him to complete.

Instead, what I get is a wildly unfocused post-modern parody of contemporary martial arts films, from Tsui Hark's Once Upon a Time in China to the commonplace crime thrillers that flooded Hong Kong screens after the success of A Better Tomorrow.

What in heaven's name is going on here? I have a high tolerance for post-modern experimentation in cinema, and for parody as well. What I lack is the willingness to surrender good taste to either of these.

It is quite clear that Liu holds much of the Hong Kong New Wave in contempt; but this era in Hong Kong would certainly have allowed him to make a more traditional exploration of the cultural problems presented in DMIII, especially since he had never lost the respect of either the older or the newer generations of filmmakers and film audiences. In other words, he could have done anything he wanted to with this film. It wholly inconceivable that he would throw away this opportunity in order to whine about Hong Kong cinema growing too corrupt to make a better film. But that's all this film amounts to.

Some good fight scenes; but even some of these are unnecessarily confusing.