History Film / DrunkenMaster

UsefulNotes/WongFeiHung is a young, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy irresponsible martial arts student]] who, in the space of one day, manages to anger his kung fu instructor by demonstrating that the instructor was an incompetent in front of the entire class, antagonize his aunt by [[KissingCousins making advances towards her daughter]], and a local nobleman for beating the crap out of his ([[RoyalBrat very snooty]]) son. As punishment, his father sends him to train under Beggar So, who has a reputation for crippling his students. Naturally, Fei-Hung doesn't like this idea, and so he escapes, only to run into Beggar So, who gives him brutally rigorous training. At first, Fei-Hung hates his mentor, but he comes to respect him and becomes a much more proficient martial artist. At the end, Fei-Hung uses his new knowledge to defeat an assassin after his father.

* AlikeAndAntitheticalAdversaries: The villains of the movie are Englishmen and their Chinese collaborators. You can identify them because they wear western suits, whereas the rest of the cast wear traditional Chinese garb.

* MentorOccupationalHazard: Fu Wen Chi is revealed to be the equivalent an undercover federal agent who was trying to keep the British from looting China's history. He sits with Fei Hung in a tea house and explains that, recruiting him to do the same. He's killed in the ensuing fight.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: After Fei-Hung and Chang Tsang break into the embassy, the British put boxing gloves on them and beat them senseless in a mockery of a fair fight.

* SignatureMove: Yan Ti San's double-legged flying kick, which he uses to finish off his opponents.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: After Fei-Hung and his friend break into the embassy, the British put boxing gloves on them and beat them senseless in a mockery of a fair fight.

* AlcoholIsGasoline:
** Inverted. The climax of ''The Legend of the Drunken Master'' takes place at a metalworking factory, which has small containers of kerosene used to heat up the fires enough to melt steel. Against the FinalBoss, the hero UsefulNotes/WongFeiHung is seemingly outmatched... until he goes ahead and drinks the kerosene to activates his DrunkenMaster abilities.
** One (cut out) outtake of the epilogue had Wong suffering badly for that choice, because drinking alcohol with ''that'' high a proof turned out to give him brain damage.

* PlayingGertrude: Jackie Chan was 39 when he played Fei-Hong in this film. Kei-ying's actor was eight years older than Jackie and Ling's actress was nine years younger.

* BoozeBasedBuff: The main character's a drunken boxer, so this is a given. Taken UpToEleven during the final battle when Fei-Hong decides to booze up with ''industrial-grade alcohol'' from a foundry.

* KungShui: The axe gang ambush. It's Jackie Chan so you fully expect him to use the tables and benches, but Law Kar-Leung as Master Fu takes this to destructive levels, from breaking off wooden railings for his own use to ''[[UpToEleven smashing an entire staircase!]]''

* OddballInTheSeries: While the first two movies had its own slapstick moments, the third turns it UpToEleven. Also, the inclusion of a gunslinger character than deals with problems by shooting them, seems really out of place too in a martial arts-themed series so far.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: It rates a 4. It's mostly bloodless martial arts mayhem, but it can still get a bit rough.

** One (cut out) outtake of the epilogue had Wong suffering badly for that choice, because [[RealityEnsues drinking alcohol with ''that'' high a proof turned out to give him brain damage]].

* RealityEnsues: Fei-Hung becomes blind at the end as a result of drinking industrial alcohol. The mental retardation is actually him pretending, however.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: Yan Ti San is most likely called Thunderleg in the English dub because he relies heavily on a slower fighting style that emphasizes power over speed, punctuated with lethal kicks. In the final fight with Fei-Hung, he reveals a hitherto-unseen style; The Shadowless Hand, a hand-based style that confuses the opponent.

* ButNowIMustGo: Beggar Go leaves his home after Fei-Hung defeats Ceoi King-Tin, the staff-wielding master, and leaves a letter for him, saying that he has completed his training and that he should go back home.

* ReverseMole: Yeung Kwan pretends to be a minion of the White Lotus Society, but is actually one of the good guys on the same side as Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

*

* TheBerserker: Fei Hong on kerosine becomes an absolute beast that can plough right through your best hits and wreck you like a freight train. He also retains all of his skill and agility but none of his compassion, so good luck surviving his onslaught.

* FeelNoPain: When he consumes kerosine in the second movie, Fei Hong barely acknowledges hits that connect his body and retaliates with berserker fury.

* TheQuisling: There's a lot of Chinese thugs working for the English ambassador in his artifact-smuggling racket.

* ThouShaltNotKill: The only time they do stay faithful to the taditional Wong Fei-Hong of history. Fei-Hong actually drags one of the BadBoss foremen out of the way before his foundry worker buddy can ''crush his head'' under a coal tipper.

* TheBerserker: Fei Hong on kerosine becomes an absolute beast that can plough right through your best hits and pummel you like a freight train.

** Inverted. The climax of the film takes place at a metalworking factory, which has small containers of kerosene used to heat up the fires enough to melt steel. Against the FinalBoss, the hero UsefulNotes/WongFeiHung is seemingly outmatched... until he goes ahead and drinks the kerosene to activates his DrunkenMaster abilities.

A third movie, titled ''Drunken Master III'', was released in 1994, but without Jackie Chan's involvement. Instead, Willie Chi gets to play Wong Fei-Hung instead, also starring Creator/AndyLau as a gunsligner and Creator/SimonYam as a homosexual villain.

A third movie, titled ''Drunken Master III'', was released in 1994, but without Jackie Chan's involvement. Instead, Willie Chi gets to play Wong Fei-Hung instead, also starring Creator/AndyLau as a gunsligner and Simon Yam as a homosexual villain.

* GroinAttack: How Simon Yam's gay assassin gets defeated in his final scene. He didn't die, but he's not shown again after landing sharply on his nuts.

* OddballInTheSeries: While the first two movies had its own slapstick moments, the third turns it UpToEleven. The inclusion of a gunslinger character than deals with problems by shooting them, seems really put of place too in a martial arts-themed series so far.