The Young Master (1980)

One of My Personal Favorites

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Mar 7, 2001

..... An absolutely beautiful film from start to finish, this is a landmark film in Jackie's career, as well as a must-see for any of his fans...... Young Master is a 'first' for Jackie in several ways: It's the first film he gets to direct... in its entirety, his first picture for Golden Harvest, as well as the first of his films where Yuen Biao makes an appearance (!). Finished in 1980, production values in this film were far better than in any of his previous films, although it still looks dated by today's standards (let's see some computer enhancement!). Still, the cinematography, colors, and camera angles are so exceedingly beautiful, and Jackie Chan at 26 is in such phenomenal shape, it's easy to see this film will stand the test of time...... The story is standard and really only serves as a simple framework for Chan's newly emerging, 'signature style' of acrobatics and humor. The long, extended fight scene at the end is basically the highlight of the film, and is described by Jackie as one of his top 10 favorite screen fights in his career. It's easy to see why; what an amazing fight! In this scene Jackie fights Hapkido expert Whang Inn Sik, of whom Jackie says, "I was very impressed with his martial arts, and was determined to show the audience the power and beauty of this Korean fighting style. As a result, I shot the entire scene at a wide angle with relatively few cuts..."...... Amazing!..... This is one of my personal favorite Jackie Chan films. It's right up there with the likes of Police Story, First Strike, and Legend of Drunken Master; all of which should be able to stand the test of time. Read more Less