I think I should write a post about one of my all timefavorite martial artists/actors. The first time I saw Lau Kar Leung on screen was in Sammo Hung classic’s “Pedicab Driver” (1989). I was too impressed with the fight between Sammo and the casino boss that I had to find out who took that casino boss role. The old man turned out to be (the great) Lau Kar Leung. So what is so special about the man whose face doesn’t fit to be an actor?
It is true that stories in movies are made up, and the actors only act. Nonetheless, we can always see the shadows of the actors’ real personality. Somehow, some people just cannot hide it. Have you ever seen a bad guy with the face of a person who cannot hurt an ant? (If you do, you understand what I mean). The aura around a person also tells pretty much about them.
Lau Kar Leung’s characters can be very kind, and appear to be weak to people who want to fight for the sake of their pride without thinking about consequences. Nevertheless, he can be very serious if someone insults people/beliefs that he cares about. There are certain styles and themes that repeat in his movies that reflect his beliefs (the meaning of life and martial art, one’s responsibility, family ties, comedy, the clash of tradition and modernization). Before we go exploring some facts about Lau Kar Leung, let’s hear what he says about movie-making:
Liu Chia Liang says that films today are laden with too much special effects and too little martial arts. He also balks at too much violence in today’s films, “I still prefer the traditional martial arts films with themes on patriotism, on loving one’s family, on pursuit of righteousness. Unfortunately, such films don’t sell well today.” 2007( taken from Crunchyroll)
And here is some facts that you can judge for yourself:
Lau Kar Leung started to work at Shaw Brothers in his early 20s, but worked for 20 years before he could take the director chair at the age of 40. He wrote the most diverse and complicated actionchoreography, but always stayed behind the screen until the 80s.
Many famous martial artists learnt kung fu/started their acting careers/became famous because of the man called Lau Kar Leung. Both of his brothers Gordon Liu (Lau Kar Fai) and Lau Kar Wing learnt martial art from him, and took their first roles in his movies. Lau Kar Leung successfully mold his step brother Gordon Liu into a worldwide super star through a series of shaolin kung fu movies.His other students that you may know includes Hsiao Ho, Fu Sheng, and Mark Houghton. He discovered and starred Kara Hui in a series of his films. She won the Best Actress Award in the 1st HongKong Film Awards for her role in Lau’s classic “My Young Auntie” (1982).
Gordon Liu and Lau Kar Leung
He doesn’t teach many students. Once he accepts person as his student, he teaches them on the set of a movie or in private. He stopped teaching for a long time after the death of Fu Sheng (based on Mark Houghton’s interview). Mark Houghton also said that Lau Kar Leung is in real life exactly the same as in movies.
Lau Kar Leung was diagnosed with cancer around 1996, but claimed that he has beaten the cancer and recovered.
Now, it is time for my opinion. Lau Kar Leung is, without a doubt, old school and conservative. But he is also, without a doubt, a man with responsibilities andextraordinarymartial art talent. The word “brilliance” is not enough to describe his actionchoreography. The fights in his films always blow me away with its richness and diversity. He revived and paved the way for martial art genre of the 70s (His ideas and martial arts can always be found in later martial art films such as those of Sammo and Jackie). Lau Kar Leung’s films don’t feed the audience with countless bloody fights and routine plots. He left enough space for story line and character development. However, when a fight breaks out, the actionchoreographywill blow your minds away. His lineage may be a big help to besuccessful(he is a direct descendant (master-wise) of the legendary Wong Fei Hung), but it takes more than lineage to be something in this world, to uphold other people and help them achieve their goals.
On the final note, Lau Kar Leung is the representation of Asian values. One must balances between responsibility to self, responsibility to your family and responsibility to other people. One must remember his root and accept changes with an open mind. Traditions determine who we are. We have to keep our tradition while moving forward with modernization. After all, life is a test of balance
Lau Kar Leung’s family
There is more to the man than what I can describe in words. Go and explore him yourself
Recommendation:
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
Martial Club (1981)
My Young Auntie (1981)
Legendary Weapons of China (1982)
The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
Operation Scorpio (1992)
Drunken Master II (1994)
Sources:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/Sad_Eyes_Lau_Kar_Leung/info