Kung Fu Movie Guide

“He was the first martial arts star – before Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan… and he was the first to combine different martial arts styles in his films.” Frank Djeng

When Jimmy Wang Yu died on 5 April 2022 at the age of 79, Jackie Chan took to his social media accounts to pay his respects, stating that, “the contributions you’ve made to kung fu movies and the support and wisdom you’ve given to the younger generations will always be remembered in the industry.” But Wang Yu’s legacy is a complicated one. Despite being a huge Hong Kong martial arts star in the 1960s and 70s, his international status has now been overshadowed by his contemporaries – like Bruce Lee – and his infamous off-screen antics have, particularly in Asia, threatened to overwhelm his cinematic contributions. However, he unquestionably remains one of kung fu cinema’s most influential figures; Shaw Brothers’ first bonafide martial arts star whose break-out role in the wuxia classic, One-Armed Swordsman (1967), helped the movie to became the first Hong Kong film to gross HK$1m at the box office. His pioneering directorial debut, The Chinese Boxer (1970), is credited for being the first empty-hand kung fu movie – a runaway hit which saw the martial arts genre move away from the traditional swordplay films which had made Wang Yu a household name, and paving the way for the kung fu boom of the 1970s. The film was also the catalyst for the rebellious star to break his contract with Shaw Brothers, an unprecedented move which saw him work with the rival studio, Golden Harvest, and relocate to Taiwan where he was allocated the freedom to write, direct and star in many of his own productions, including the fan favourites One-Armed Boxer (1971), Beach of the War Gods (1973), and Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975). Joining me to look back over the colourful life and career of the late Jimmy Wang Yu are the writer and film historian, Samm Deighan, and the Asian cinema expert, Frank Djeng. We dive into Wang Yu’s early life and interests, his cinematic inspirations, his notorious private life and affiliations with criminal gangs, and we select our favourite Wang Yu movies.

Samm Deighan is a Philadelphia-based writer and film historian, author of The Legacy of World War II in European Arthouse Cinema and a presenter on the cult film podcast, Twitch of the Death Nerve. Become a Samm Deighan patron at patreon.com/sammdeighan, and follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Frank Djeng is an Asian cinema expert based in San Francisco. Follow Frank on Instagram.