Kung Fu Stuntmen Never Say No 龍虎武師

The most informative documentary on the life of a stuntman

Director: Junzi Wei

Sammo Hung, Tung Wei, Donnie Yen, Billy Chan, Chin Sui Ho, Ching Siu-Tung, Hou Hsiao, Andrew Lau,Tsui Siu Ming, Yuen Tak, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Wilson Tong, Stanley Tong

Cantonese and Mandarin

92mins

August 28, 2021

Kung Fu Stuntmen: Never Say No is probably the best documentary for those interested in Hong Kong stunt industry.

Sure prior to this documentary we had Red Trousers: The Life of Hong Kong Stuntman and Iron Fist and Kung Fu Kicks but what Kung Fu Stuntmen does better than the others is utilizing its resources and connections in bringing a host of golden era stuntmen that rarely make an appearance. Sure you get the regular names like Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen and Yuen Woo Ping but then you have people like Mars, Hsiao Hou, Yuen Bun, Tung Wei and many many more. For those who love Hong Kong cinema will recognize these names.

Structurally its you typical affair featuring many interviews and clips of various films. It mixes many behind the scenes footage and snippets of film footage. We have footages of Way of the Dragon, Fist of Fury, Drunken Master 3, Operation Scorpio, Dragon Lord and too many to list here but what is shown is usually relevant to what is being said. The film wastes no time in diving straight in, out the bat we are presented with interviews before the opening credits occur, there is no excess of pointless material. I have to say the pacing is phenomenal and the musical score helps in inciting certain emotions.

Bruce Lee is given acknowledgement and we have first-hand people who have worked closely with him. After his passing we hear their stories on how much an impact it has made on these stuntmen and how they reached a low in life working on part time work outside of the film industry.

You can see how each stuntman or coordinator recognizes each other’s achievements. High praise is given to Lau Kar Leung and Yuen Woo Ping with proportional segments given to these individuals. Then we have the majority of people acknowledging Chin Ka Lok and how he was recognized as one of the greatest stuntman in the industry. Chin Ka Lok is now a re-known stunt coordinator and we hear his stories. Chin Ka Lok is also the chairman of the Hong Kong Stuntman association and we join him and the new generation of stuntmen in Hong Kong. This segment paints an enlightening picture of the current state of Hong Kong stuntmen, its rather saddening seeing how few are participating but Chin Ka Lok and other notable figures are trying there hardest to foster new talents and keep the Hong Kong industry thriving. There is mention of the transition to using China stuntmen but this is mentioned briefly indicating that this documentary is focused on highlighting the Hong Kong Stuntmen industry.

Some moments Mars acts as our host where we follow him to where Shaw Studios used to be and to where Golden Harvest Studios once was and having grown up watching Hong Kong films it’s disheartening how little is preserved. At times you feel as though you are reliving the golden era of Hong Kong especially with the accompanying footage of 70’s and 80’s Hong Kong.

The documentary paints a rather grim picture we hear stories from those who risk everything and coming close to death. We hear stories of how stuntmen who lived hedonistic lifestyles because they never know what happens tomorrow and this resulted in them getting to old age and having now savings.

Sadly absent from this is Jackie Chan, though he is mentioned quite a bit he does not show up to share insight. I would have liked to likes of Yuen Biao and Collin Chou to have had an appearance but what is on offer is more than enough.

For such a niche it was quite surprising that such a feature got a theatrical release in both Hong Kong and China, though its box office numbers are not that high its great to see such appreciation for the genre. Even though I’ve watched countless documentaries about the Hong Kong film industry and read many stuntmen related books, Kung Fu Stuntmen still brings a lot of new information to the table.

I think those with an interest in the golden era Hong Kong cinema or even new era should give this a watch.