The holiday season will be marked by HBO-Asia’s release of two original martial arts movies: Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-ying…
Christmas is coming. December 25th/26th will sees HBO-Asia ‘bring home the Masters’ as it debuts two original martial arts movies, Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So and Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-ying.
The films come with a fine pedigree: Hong Kong Legend action director Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai) presents the films in the role of Executive Producer. (The films were produced by HBO Asia Originals in association with China Movie Channel – the two movies are premiering on both HBO and Red by HBO across Asia and in China on CMC‘s premium channel CHC. They will be available later on HBO Go, HBO On Demand and CCTV6.
Both movies were shot at Hengdian Studios in China, and take place at the end of the Qing Dynasty, with Guo Jian-yong (Cradle 2 the Grave, Red Cliff and The Transporter franchise) at the helm for both movies.
Master of the Drunken Fist: Beggar So features the legendary ‘Beggar’ known also as Sam the Seed, made famous by Simon Yuen in Drunken Master, (and who reprised the whole officially in Story of Drunken Master and Dance of the Drunken Mantis, and a dozen unofficial spin offs and also played by Stephen Chow in King of Beggars and Vincent Zhao in True Legend). This time around the character is played by Cao Jun, So Can was once a wealthy young man, but lost everything and was saved by the ‘Beggar’s Clan’ and through them he masters the Drunken Fist and must use it to battle the man who changed his life. Sun Hao-ran (God of War) plays the role of legendary martial arts master Wong Kei-ying (a role previously essayed by Donnie Yen in Iron Monkey, Ti Lung in Drunken Master 2, and Lau Seng in Once Upon a Time in China 3). A physician by trade, he must master the Shadowless Kick to defeat the treacherous new governor of Canton in Master of the Shadowless Kick: Wong Kei-ying.
The two movies make up half of HBOAsia‘s 4 original productions for 2016, which also includes HBOAsia‘s first Taiwanese co-production The Psychic and the second season in the supernatural Half Worlds franchise.
