Drunken Tai Chi is a
1984 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by
Yuen Woo Ping and starring
Donnie Yen in his first major role. Donnie Yen had signed a four-film contract after winning an open talent search hosted by Yuen Woo Ping, and "Drunken Tai Chi" was one of the contracted films. "Drunken Tai Chi" was the last film in its distinctive genre of
kung fu comedy.
The title "Drunken Tai Chi" is misleading. The original title can also be translated as "Laughing Tai Chi." Both "Drunken" and "Laughing" refer to the character of the wine-loving, comedic Tai Chi master played by Yuen Cheung-Yan, and not to the Tai Chi style itself.
Plot
Cheng Do (Donnie Yen) is the well-educated younger son of an unpleasant, miserly salt baron who pours attention on Cheng, grooming him to be a scholar, and ignores his hardworking elder son (Yuen Yat Chor). The brothers have a loving relationship with each other, despite some strain from their father's unequal treatment of them. Both brothers are skilled in
external martial arts, though their father disapproves of Cheng practicing kung fu when he should be studying.
One day, a local bully with a nobleman father harasses the townsfolk, and Cheng fights, defeats, and humiliates him. That night, the bully and his partners in crime ambush Cheng and his brother, attempting to burn them with fireworks. The brothers turn the tables on the bully, but Cheng accidentally goes too far,...
Read More