Thanks to everyone for joining us at Films at the Gate 2009.

See you next year.

Join us for our final night as we show Shaolin Soccer at Chinatown Park. The park is just on the other side of the Chinatown Gate from our traditional home on the vacant lot. We’re grateful to the Greenway Conservancy for working with us to make this possible.

Come down and enjoy the show (and the park).

Check this site for the latest announcements about tomorrow’s schedule. We’ll aim to close out the series tomorrow night (Sunday) with SHAOLIN SOCCER.

Thanks to performers, volunteers, and crew for being on stand-by today. See you tomorrow night.

Tonight’s film, Drunken Master, is scheduled to be shown at the Chinatown Park, just on the other side of the Chinatown Gate from our usual location. In case of heavy rain heading into the evening, tonight will be cancelled—there will not be an indoor rain location.

Thanks for coming out last night. An early rain cleared up, and we all enjoyed Fist of Legend:

Thanks for another great night at Films at the Gate.

(Sent from my mobile phone)

Nathan brings a fan’s passion for classic kung fu movies combined with a professional’s eye for choreography and direction to his work. The result is a New England take on Hong Kong action! See FIVE MINUTES FLAT on Friday and AMERICAN CHOP SUEY on Sunday at Films at the Gate.

Photography by Jeremy Brown.

As we enter the home stretch:

Download terrific new posters and bookmarks created by Catherine Lim of ACDC and help spread the word.

Become a Sponsor—there is still plenty of time to make a difference and see your name up on the screen.

Bring your own seating, if possible, so older folks can use our rented chairs.

Plan your visit to Chinatown, including a visit to local restaurants and shops.

See you tonight for A CHINESE GHOST STORY.

Drunken Master (1978): Yuen Siu-tin (left) & Jackie Chan

On Saturday night, Films at the Gate will feature Jackie Chan’s DRUNKEN MASTER. Check out the full schedule of films here, or read on as Films at the Gate Curator Jean Lukitsh introduces the real drunken master behind Saturday’s film:

Jackie Chan’s DRUNKEN MASTER (1978) is one of the best-loved kung fu comedies of all time. The story is very loosely based on the oral traditions of the Hung Gar school about a famous kung fu expert named Wong Fei-hung. The real Wong Fei-hung died in 1924, but his exploits have been inspired dozens of films. For DRUNKEN MASTER, Jackie Chan and his director, Yuen Woo-ping, decided to have a little fun with the legendary hero. They re-imagined Wong Fei-hung as a naughty teen whose high spirits and lack of restraint exasperates the adults around him. The joke was appreciated by Hong Kong audiences used to seeing Wong portrayed as an austere patriot.

Thundering Red Rose (1963): Yuen Siu-tin at left.

For Chan’s comic foil in the film, Yuen Woo-ping (best known for choreographing KILL BILL, the MATRIX films, and CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) called in his own father, a veteran kung fu actor. Yuen Siu-tin (also known as Yuan Xiaotian) had been working in films since the late 1920s. His career started in Shanghai, the first Chinese film capitol, when he was hired to choreograph and stunt perform in a series of swordplay films by the pioneer action filmmaker Ren Pengnian (Yam Pang-nin). Ren’s wife, the martial arts actress Wu Lizhu, was the star of the films. Ren and Wu emigrated to Hong Kong shortly before World War II, and Yuen Siu-tin followed them after the war. Soon all three were working together again in the local film industry.

Yuen Siu-tin became one of Hong Kong’s top kung fu movie choreographers, joining an elite group called the “Dragon Tiger Masters.” He worked on dozens of martial arts and action films from the late 1940s through the 1960s. His sons, including Woo-ping, followed him into the profession. For DRUNKEN MASTER, Yuen Siu-tin stepped into a rare leading role. He plays the disreputable Beggar So, an unconventional kung fu master who whips Jackie’s bad boy into shape. Despite being over forty years older than Chan, Yuen Siu-tin is a worthy adversary. His comic timing and adroit way with the action choreography (he’s sometimes stunt-doubled by his son Brandy Yuen) contributed greatly to the success of the film. Yuen went on to reprise the Drunken Master role in at least a half dozen other films before his death in 1980.

ALL THE PEOPLE OF ONE MIND (1948), directed by Ren Pengnian, starring Wu Lizhu, and with Yuen Siu-tin playing a Japanese soldier.

This year, we’re going to return the favor and make a visit to the Greenway.

In the middle of our run, on Saturday night, August 29, we’ll move the show next door to Chinatown Park, just on the other side of the Chinatown Gate. We’re grateful to the Greenway Conservancy for working with us to make this possible.

Come down and enjoy the show (and the park).

We’ve asked several local groups, who normally conduct their classes behind closed doors, to come down and do their work on the lot, so passersby and film-goers can see some of what goes on behind the scenes in Chinatown. Although we’re not able to offer these classes to the public, you can stop by, sit down, and watch the “show.” Thanks to the Wah Lum Kung Fu Athletic Association, Bow Sim Mark Tai Chi Arts Association and Rick Wong’s Chinese Martial Arts Center for participating in this experiment. By coming outside, these groups are showing their support for the event, the neighborhood, and the way we come together on a vacant lot to watch movies and experience the city together.

Please join us and show your support for the same.  Check our schedule from more details coming soon.

Jean Lukitsh: How did you get started in filmmaking and what kind of training did you receive?

Ching Siu-tung: I started when I was eight years old at a Peking Opera school in Hong Kong and I was there for seven years. I started working after that, taking juvenile roles or standing in for child actors, and then moved up to martial arts [as a stuntman], assistant directing, then going up to directing.

Mark Pollard: Your father, Ching Gong, was a famous Shaw Brothers director. Could you tell us a little bit about him and what impact he had on your filmmaking?

CST: Because of my father, I grew up on the Shaw Brothers sets and lived in their quarters.

JL: Did you work on any films with him?

CST: I worked on many of his movies, including 14 AMAZONS.

JL: How would you describe the role of “action director,” since it’s a different kind of job in Hong Kong than it is in Hollywood, and different from the choreographer’s job?

CST: A choreographer listens for directions from the director. The director is there telling you to “do this, shoot this.” And you are doing just the action part. Martial arts directors [in contrast] are in control of the action, and sometimes the director is not even actually on the set. Then they have to get involved in plot development. The director will listen to the action director. They are really involved in the story part of the film as well.

JL: How about the editing? Would you be involved with that too?

CST: As action director, I do my own editing. Choreographers sometimes do the editing too.

MP: On your choreography, you do so many different things, it’s always very creative. Where do you get a lot of your ideas, your inspiration?

CST: Any choreographer or action director should have much creativity anyway. It’s in my head. You get to a point where you have your own style, and then the audience will recognize it and look for it.

JL: Do you have a favorite weapon, film element, or actor that you enjoy working with?

CST: No, because I like variety. Even when working with a particular actor or actress, everybody has different styles and brings different things to the table. It’s the same with weapons and such. Variety is important.

JL: How do you go about making non-martial arts actors look like good fighters on screen?

CST: It really doesn’t take a lot of time. Before it wasn’t the case, but now, a lot of the actors have a little bit of training so at least they know how to move and do some basic [action] movements. It doesn’t take much time. The reason is I just know how to adjust the angle, adapt the filmmaking to the actors to make them look good. I always hold the camera myself. I work the camera so I have complete control.

MP: Films of yours like DUEL TO THE DEATH feature strong violence that is a little gory, but also funny and exaggerated. Is this a decision on your part to put some comedy or excessive elements into the fighting to make the violence less dark?

CST: Yes, [the comedy] lightens up the violence but also makes the movie more commercial.

JL: Talking about comedy action sequences, you have a long history of working with Stephen Chow. SHAOLIN SOCCER is one of the most popular martial arts movies of the past few years, and it’s also very funny. Is it more difficult to do comic fighting or straight action?

CST: Action with comedy is the most difficult.

JL: I like how SHAOLIN SOCCER shows both tai chi and Shaolin kung fu, hard and soft styles working together. It’s a funny movie, but it demonstrates some truths about those different styles of Chinese martial arts. Was tai chi a part of the story from the very beginning, or was it brought in later to contrast with the hard style?

CST: From the beginning, tai chi was in the movie. It’s an important part of the movie.

JL: That’s great!

MP: Some of your best films are those you directed, such as A CHINESE GHOST STORY. Do you plan on doing more directing in the future?

CST: I have always been doing both action choreography and directing all the time. I just finished a film in Thailand (BELLY OF THE BEAST). I was working on a project based on a Hong Kong comic book, but unfortunately that is not going on at this time. I will always want to do both.

MP: Most Westerners are unfamiliar with the many martial arts series on Chinese television. Have you done a lot of TV work?

CST: Of course. I just finished two TV series after making HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. I’ve made about 1,500 TV programs. I have made about 100 movies as an action director and fifteen movies as a director. Since my very first movie, I have also won many awards as director and action director.

JL: The wirework in HERO is beautiful. Approximately how many stunt crew members does it take to make a movie like HERO?

CST: There are about twenty crew members on my stunt team.

JL: And do they step in to do the wirework, or do the actors do it themselves?

CST: It is really mostly the actors doing it themselves.

MP: Did you feel pressure to outdo yourself on HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS?

CST: No pressure, but, of course, every movie should be better than the last one.

Jean and Mark Pollard of kungfucinema.com conducted this interview with Ching in 2004, just prior to the US release of HERO, which would hold the top box office ranking for two weeks despite English subtitling, and shortly after completing HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS. Tony Ching Siu-tung is one of the most versatile filmmakers in the business, having collaborated on hit films with people like Zhang Yimou (HERO, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS), Stephen Chow (ROYAL TRAMP, SHAOLIN SOCCER), and Donnie Yen (BUTTERFLY AND SWORD, THE EMPRESS AND THE WARRIORS), as well as directing classic martial arts movies like A CHINESE GHOST STORY and the SWORDSMAN trilogy.)

Reprinted with permission from kungfucinema.com. Special thanks goes to Alice Yeung at Edko Films for making this interview possible. Translation was provided by PK Shiu.