Drunken Master (1978)

There's a moment in Drunken Master where Jackie Chan is being put through a training regime so brutal, so relentlessly humiliating, that you're not sure whether to wince or laugh. You end up doing both at once, and that's exactly the point. This is pure, uncut Jackie Chan, a perfect snapshot of him at his most energetic, inventive, and gloriously physical.

Long before the Hollywood years, before the buddy comedies and the slightly melancholy cameos, this is Chan in his prime. He plays a cocky young martial artist whose arrogance lands him in the care of the eccentric Beggar So, and the dynamic between the two of them is the engine that drives the whole film. Yuen Siu-tin is an absolute scene-stealer in that role, all wild eyes and deceptive frailty, and his chemistry with Chan gives the film a warmth that a lot of martial arts pictures of the era simply don't have. The style he's teaching, drunken boxing, is as odd and wobble-heavy as it sounds, and watching Chan gradually master it while simultaneously being made to look a complete fool is an absolute joy.

What sets the film apart isn't just the action, though. The final fight is something else entirely. Chan dodges, weaves, and tumbles like a man possessed, and it stands as one of the greatest kung fu sequences ever put on screen. But the personality surrounding it matters just as much. Chan has this rare ability to make pain funny, to turn exhaustion into comedy, and to choreograph fight scenes so that they feel less like violence and more like dance. The training sequences are as entertaining as the battles themselves, crammed with physical gags and that classic underdog charm that makes you root for him even when he's being an insufferable brat.

If you're coming to this after Chan's later work, and I'd point anyone who wants more of this era towards my review of Rumble in the Bronx for a sense of how that energy translated into the nineties, the rawness here might surprise you. This is a younger, hungrier performer with nothing to prove except everything. There's a looseness and an almost reckless commitment to the physical work that's genuinely thrilling to watch. You get the sense that nothing was off limits, that every tumble and collision was absolutely real.

It's not a flawless film, and I won't pretend otherwise. The pacing sags a little through the middle section, and the plot is tissue-paper thin, just enough framework to hang the action sequences on. The dubbing, particularly in older prints, can be genuinely rough going, and it occasionally pulls you out of the moment. But these are minor complaints set against the scale of what the film gets right.

As a showcase of martial arts cinema at its most playful and inventive, Drunken Master is essential viewing. This is where Chan's signature style was properly forged: dangerous, funny, and utterly unique to him. Plenty of performers could do the martial arts. Plenty could do the comedy. Almost nobody else has ever managed both at once with this kind of effortless control, and this film is where you can see it all clicking into place in real time.

Three and a half stars.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 1978  | Watched: 2025-08-23

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
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Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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Related on Movies With Macca

More with Jackie Chan: Hand of Death (1976) · Rumble in the Bronx (1995) · Skiptrace (2016) · Gorgeous (1999)
More from Hong Kong: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Hand of Death (1976) · Come Drink with Me (1966) · Street Fighter (1994)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More comedy: The Eagle (1925) · The General (1926) · Americana (2023) · The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)