Eureka Video Blu-ray Synopsis: Capitalising on the success of Jackie Chan's Drunken Master, The World Of Drunken Master tells the origins of Beggar So and his friend Fan Ta-Pei, and how they learned their drunken boxing fighting style.

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DVD Synopsis: The cast and crew of 'Mystery Of Chess Boxing' return in yet another action packed classic – Jack Long and Simon Lee play two kung fu fanatics who learn the secret art of Drunken Boxing to prepare them for an onslaught of rage and terror from 'The Killer of a Thousand Drunken Masters' – The dreaded Ghost Faced Killer. Choreographed in the style of 'Drunken Master' by Yuen Cheung Yan who later was responsible for the high-kicking action in 'Charlies Angels'.

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Views: Joseph Kuo's World Of Drunken Master reunites the cast of Mystery Of Chess Boxing to tell the tale of how the infamous Beggar Su came about, spanning a number of decades alongside his old friend Fan Ta Pei. After receiving a letter that summons them to a meeting spot, the old friends are soon trading moves before the sit down to reflect back over the past 30 years. Back in their younger days, the two friends made their living by selling stolen grapes – a stunt that sees them captured and punished for their actions under the watchful eyes of old drunken master Qi, who runs a popular winery where they are both put to work. After learning some kung-fu, the friends put it to use when they try to help some town folk who are being bullied for protection money. But during their fights, Su and Fan catch the attention of an evil Eagle Claw master – an old enemy of their master, who goes out of his way to destroy their lives and kill everyone close to them. In order to keep them safe, master Qi teaches his students the drunken fist – accompanied by his niece who also captures both of their hearts. But as the evil doers close-in, the trio of drunk fighters are put to the test and must fight for their lives against some deadly opponents – a fight that spans years and sends each of the friends on their own journey!

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I have to admit, I totally loved World Of Drunken Master! Joseph Kuo was pretty smart with bringing Beggar Su's backstory to life – hot on heels of the massive success that was Drunken Master from Ng See Yuen, Yuen Woo Ping, and Jackie Chan. In fact, the movie is often sold with shots of Simon Yuen himself (the original Beggar Su) as the main star, but truth be told he actually only has a brief cameo at the beginning of the film before he gets replaced by Yu Sung Chao (and of course, Li Yi Min in his younger years). I actually forgot that I had this movie on DVD and never did watch it, but thanks to its release by Eureka Video as part of their Joseph Kuo collection box set called Cinematic Vengeance, I finally got the chance to see this classic for the first time – gorgeously presented in full HD which looked as if it was made yesterday, highlighting the stunning cinematography captured by Chris Chen Ching Chu who also captured classics such as The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury, A Man Called Tiger, The Valiant Ones, Killer Meteors, Half A Loaf Of Kung Fu, The Young Master, Dragon Lord, and many more. In fact, it'd be fair to say that this is now one of my favourite Joseph Kuo movies and a title I will be going back to again and again. It was amazing to think that over the course of a year, Drunken Master would inspire a vast collection of copycat titles that were either inspired by or tried to better the original, although some (like this) presented itself as a sequel or prequel to some degree. From Snake In The Eagles Shadow and Drunken Master in 1978, Simon Yuen would star in another 20 films right through to his passing in 1980 – no doubt worked to death reprising similar roles in films like Kung Fu Master Named Drunk Cat, Drunken Arts & Crippled Fist, The Mystery Of Chess Boxing, Sleeping Fist, Dance Of The Drunk Mantis, Crystal Fist, Story Of The Drunken Master, and Six Directions Boxing, as well as many others. There's no denying the man was an important part of Chinese cinema, having starred in over 340 films since the late 1940s and giving the film world the wonderful Yuen Clan – better known as his sons Yuen Woo Ping, Yuen Shun Yi, Yuen Yat Chor, Yuen Chun Yeung, Yuen Lung Kui, and Yuen Cheung Yan who actually served as the martial arts director on World Of Drunken Master.

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As a fight choreographer, I would have to say that this film probably showcases some of Yuen Cheung Yan's finest work ever – aided by his younger brother Yuen Yat Chor. Having been on the scene since the mid 60s, Cheung Yan had already made a name for himself as an actor and martial arts director over at Shaw Brothers, choreographing for films such as The Killer, King Eagle, The Deadly Knives, Killer Clans, Dragon Missile, and Web Of Death to name but a few. Before this, Yuen would choreograph the amazing fight action on Joseph Kuo's classic 7 Grandmasters alongside Corey Yuen Kwai – which is another one of my favourite Kuo flicks. And while his brother Woo Ping definitely gets a little more attention for his directorial work on the original Drunken Master, I'd say Cheung Yan has come pretty damn close here to matching him with what he brings in World Of Drunken Master – offering fight scenes that deliver some incredibly detailed moves, impressive acrobatics, and an execution of the drunken style that almost betters his brother's work. Of course, he has the wonderful talents of the incredible Peking Opera School brothers Jack Long and Li Yi Min to help bring it to the screen, as well as a host of other talented names from classic kung-fu cinema. Although Long Shi Chia gets praised often for his roles – most notably in Kuo's own 7 Grandmasters, 36 Deadly Styles, Born Invincible, Mystery Of Chess Boxing, this production and films like Ninja Hunter/Wu Tang Vs Ninja, Five Fighters From Shaolin, and many others – I still think he is highly underrated and often forgotten about under the wider range of bigger names from Hong Kong cinema. The same could be said for his brother Mark, who also appears in World Of Drunken Master, with both performers often delivering some incredible moves that stand out as some of kung-fu cinemas finest. Jack is fantastic as Fan Ta Pei, the character who carries the majority of the film's story. Unlike that of Beggar Su, Long gets to play Fan as both a young man and again in his older years – but that's nothing new as the guy is forever being aged as the older master in many of his movies. Getting to toy with plenty of fun comedy sequences as well as some dramatic moments, Long delivers some of his best kung-fu moves on-screen that both wowed me and left me wanting more, in terms of knowing what happened to the character of Fan Ta Pei afterwards.

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Li Yi Min (aka Simon Lee) impresses as the young Beggar Su, and while I'm not the biggest fan of the actor, have to admit that I really enjoyed him in this role. Staring his acting career in the late 1960s, Li quickly joined the Shaw Brothers studios before heading back to Taiwan where he would star in a number of Joseph Kuo movies and other independent titles. Li was the son of actor Li Tung Chun and brother Li Long Yin who starred in a host of classic films himself including New Fist Of Fury, My Life's On The Line, Big Boss Of Shanghai, Thundering Mantis, The Loot, Legend Of The Drunken Tiger, and more. Li started life at the Lu Kwan Peking Opera School alongside Jack Long (and his brother), as well as prolific director Robert Tai and swapped film acting for television as the 90s crept in. Working alongside his old classmate (which he has done a number of times), Li shines in his role as Su and impresses with some great shapes, kung-fu moves, and acrobatics that could be some of his best. Their teacher is played by prolific actor Chen Hui Lou, a highly recognisable face who starred in almost 120 films from the early 70s including titles such as Marco Polo, Seven Man Army, Killer Meteors, Fist Of Fury Part 2, To Kill With Intrigue, Fearless Hyena, as well as King Hu's Raining In The Mountain and Legend Of The Mountain. I've always enjoyed Chen showing up in any film ever since I first saw him as the character of Unicorn in Jackie Chan's Fearless Hyena, and in World Of Drunken Master he does not disappoint – although does get doubled at times for the more acrobatic moves by the Yuen brothers. The brilliant Lung Fei stars as the villain known as Tiger Yeh, a man who is determined to destroy the drunken fist and happily takes-down anyone who gets in his way. I'm a huge fan of Lung Fei, star of 175 films and the favourite co-star of Jimmy Wang Yu who has appeared in dozens of his movies such as Magnificent Chivalry, The Invincible Sword, One-Armed Boxer 1 & 2, Furious Slaughter, Seaman No.7, Beach Of The War Gods, 10 Fingers Of Steel, and many more including New Game Of Death, Bruce Lee Against Supermen, Shaolin Death Squads, Flash Legs, 7 Grandmasters and even Ringo Lam's City On Fire where he would retire from the screen soon after. The wonderful Mark Long cameos as Li Chan, a fighter that challenges Fan towards the end which gives viewers the chance to see the Long brothers duke it out with a great display of kung-fu moves and acrobatics, and popular Taiwanese actor and Shaw Brothers star Lung Tien Hsiang plays the role of Lung Fei's right-hand-man who gets to kick ass a number of times throughout, and look great doing it.

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One other thing I really enjoyed about World Of Drunken Master – aside from the excessive kung-fu battles – was the fact that the film had a total of 3 closing fight scenes. The first would be with the younger versions of Su and Fan as they aid their master in taking-on the evil Lung Fei and his minions. It's a fantastic fight scene with some beautifully choreographed moments, that sees Su and Fan inspired to fight after they witness Qi's niece falling off the cliff. The second closing fight (which I then thought was the grand finale) saw the middle aged heroes go up against each other, that seemed to be leading to how the friends went their own way – but no, they are soon interrupted by Mark Long's Li Chan who suddenly gets wiped out by an unknown attacker who continues to exhaust Jack in a mind-blowing, and highly impressive grand finale! It's an incredible final third that rarely lets the viewer catch their breath, and delivers many memorable and impressive moves that doesn't disappoint even the most hardened fan of old-school kung-fu. The final scene itself is somewhat disheartening mind you, as Fan is left alone by his friend after taking on the two evil masters alone, with the feeling that things have been left open for a sequel – but a sequel that never happened of course. This is a shame because, as mentioned before, I'd love to have seen more on Fan Ta Pei's life since we know so much more about the character of Beggar Su as seen in a number of adventures over the years. Regardless, World Of Drunken Master is a gem of a movie and I just loved it – even more so with this gorgeous print from Eureka Video on Blu-ray. Well worth the watch!

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Overall: A kung-fu classic that is probably one of Kuo's most underrated films, World Of Drunken Master is well worth the watch!

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Eureka Video Blu-ray Extras: Audio Commentary with Frank Djeng & Michael Worth

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DVD Extras: Trailers

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Watch my unboxing video of this Eureka Video release HERE