Shaolin Rescuers - Tumblr Posts
Lu Feng in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Kuo Chui in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Lu Feng getting ready to kick some ass in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Kuo Chui in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Shaolin Rescuers 街市英雄 (1979) dir. Chang Cheh 張徹
Shaolin Rescuers 街市英雄 (1979) dir. Chang Cheh 張徹
Yu Tai-Ping in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Kuo Chui in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Lu Feng, Sun Chien, Kuo Chui, Lo Mang, and Chiang Sheng in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Happy birthday Sun Chien!!
He was born today in Taiwan on December 5, 1955. He became an expert in taekwondo and soon became one of director Chang Cheh's favorite actors. He was a valuable member of the Venom Mob with a dazzling personality! Not to mention his beautiful kicking skills. He is incredible.
Was Sun Jian really on the plum blossom poles?
Yes, he was!
Sun Chien is, as stated before, a taekwondo master. Obviously, this mastery of skill translates into a mastery of one's balance and feet placement -- both things that are exemplified on the plum blossom poles! In the clips where you can see him running across the poles and performing martial arts atop them, he really is doing that stuntwork.
Sun Chien can be seen on the plum blossom poles in both Shaolin Rescuers (1979) and Ten Tigers of Kwangtung (1979), but right now I'll just be using examples from Shaolin Rescuers.
You can see here very clearly that those are his feet actually making contact with those poles. And since this was Chinese cinema in the 70s, their special effects weren't yet advanced enough to fake these visuals. However, just because Sun Chien was capable of these stunts, that's not to say that all of his coworkers were. There are a few times in these movies where his character and another have a fight atop the poles, and with smart editing and quick cuts, and very deliberately not showing their feet, they shot the fights on the ground but made it look like they were both still on the poles.
Ku Kuan-Chung is a magnificent actor, but I don't think he would have been able to do fight choreography while atop the plum blossom poles. On the other hand, I do think Sun Chien could. And in fact, he does! It really depends on the martial arts capabilities of his partner. Where Ku Kuan-Chung was unable to film atop the poles with him, Lau Fong-Sai was able.
Now, the choreography here isn't that complicated, and Sun Chien is the only one who's actually moving around on the poles. But the fact that their feet are visible in this shot implies that Lau Fong-Sai had the ability to keep his balance while fighting, and Ku Kuan-Chung couldn't.
Anyway, this is a long winded post to say and to show that Sun Chien really was doing his stunt work on the plum blossom poles.
This is the second post I’m making where I talk about the Venoms and their friendships. Kuo Chui and Chiang Sheng are the two that I’m going to be talking about today. I’ll be sharing a few things Kuo Chui has said about his friendship with Chiang Sheng:
Not only were they like best friends, but Chiang Sheng was like Kuo Chui’s brother! The two of them would do everything together. Before they even got into movies, but after they had left the opera school, he was part of a Fu Xing circus act which Chiang Sheng also participated in! Kuo Chui even wanted Chiang Sheng to stay in Hong Kong with him when the Venom Mob disbanded around 1982. So it’s safe to say that they spent a lot of time together and they were really close!
Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
Kuo Chui in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)
The Venoms all have really pretty smiles! I just love when they smile in their films and also in photos! It is neat how their smiles are all so different, but light up the screen.
To me, Lu Feng has one that really starts in his cheeks and then moves up to his eyes. It is very bright and exuberant. Charm practically oozes from it. Wei Pai has one that either has no teeth or he gets very toothy with it. His is gentle and displays nothing but happiness and sweetness. Sun Chien's tends to be very enthusiastic. His eyes certainly crinkle up to display true happiness. A lot of times, his eyes will twinkle in a beautiful way. Kuo Chui's smile can be described as broad and beaming since it takes up his whole face typically. He always looks so cheerful and you can see the indents in his cheeks. Lo Mang has one that I feel is dazzling because he seems to shine whenever he grins. Honestly, it does not even have to be that wide to really hit you since it's naturally vibrant. Lastly, Chaing Sheng has always had a smile that is very infectious. He is just so adorable with such a sweet look on his face whenever he flashes it at someone or something. You can tell that he was jovial, or at least that is how I feel.
Lu Feng in Shaolin Rescuers (1979)