Sammo Hung. Martial arts master (6 photos)

His real name is Hong Jinbao, and he is one of the pillars of Hong Kong cinema.

















Sammo Hung gained fame as an actor quite late, although he began appearing on screen quite a long time ago. He was mostly involved in the production of films as a fight choreographer and director. He was a fight choreographer and director in most of Jackie Chan's films.

In Jackie's films, Sammo was kind of in the shadow of his "younger brother". I remember him after the film "Shanghai Express", where he played one of the main roles. Then I remembered the films I had seen before "My Lucky Stars", "Wheels on Meals", "Dragons Forever", where Jackie Chan was the main star. Since then, I notice him everywhere he appears.

Sammo Hung became a revelation for the viewer, starring in the series "Chinese Policeman". But he has been acting in films for over forty years (see filmography below). Justice has prevailed, and Sammo Hung has received well-deserved worldwide fame. Let's hope that he will continue to act in Hollywood and will stand in the same ranks as Jackie. I think he deserves it.

Sammo Hung was born on January 7, 1952 in Hong Kong. He made his first film appearance at the age of 11 in the film “Education of Love”. Sammo began his training with Yu-Jim-Yuen at the Peking Opera School at the age of 9. Sammo was a “difficult” child, he was always hanging out on the streets and did nothing but fight. His grandfather’s friend was very worried about him and advised his parents to take him to the Peking Opera School. He hoped that they would make a man out of him there. So his grandfather took little Sammo to the school to see what would come of it.

Sammo really enjoyed watching children doing various acrobatic exercises, and he asked his parents to enroll him in the Opera as well. At first, his parents were against it, because they knew that he would have to spend many years at the school. But Sammo insisted, and soon his parents signed a contract.

However, after two weeks, Sammo began to ask to go home. Studying at school turned out to be a difficult task. The teachers did not hesitate to use educational methods and could beat a student for the slightest offense. Sometimes they could beat him just like that - as a preventive measure.

Nevertheless, this school gave the world many outstanding actors and stuntmen. Here Sammo became friends with future Hong Kong movie stars Jackie Chan and Yen Biao. Sammo was the eldest and had to teach the younger ones everything he had learned himself.

It was customary to give short names at school, and Sammo received the name Yuen Lung. Because of his age and, perhaps, because of his impressive weight (about 100 kg), he was nicknamed “Big Brother”. This nickname stuck with him and was subsequently justified by all his career in cinema.

At school, he received thorough training in acrobatics, choreography, singing, stage and martial arts. At school, he also mainly mastered northern styles. Later, he studied Karate, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Judo and southern Chinese styles. Judging by the films, he knows a large number of Chinese traditional styles and is proficient in all types of bladed weapons.

Despite his weight, Sammo is very agile. He easily performs acrobatic elements, kicks in a jump (the poor "opponents" fly apart like pins after such kicks).

At the school, Sifu Yuen gathered seven of the most gifted students, including Sammo, into a troupe called "Seven Little Fortunes." This troupe often performed plays in front of an audience. Usually, the play consisted of four acts, completely different in content and style. And Sammo gradually acquired some experience in staging, as the teacher assigned him to organize the work of the little actors during the performance.

Sammo and the other students trained and performed, but did not think much about the future. However, even then Sammo was fascinated by cinema. It attracted him with its mystery, the possibility of realizing a variety of fantasies. And usually on the days of performances, the troupe members found some free time to watch a film. It was like an escape from everyday life, which consisted entirely of training and performances, into another world - a world of fantasy and dreams.

It was quite natural for Sammo to enter the film industry after finishing school. He started as a stuntman and quickly rose to become a stunt coordinator and fight director. Hung himself believes that such a rapid career growth occurred because he was constantly learning. He liked the filmmaking process itself. He watched the stunt coordinator and director at work, remembered the nuances, in general – he did not waste time.

In 1971, he was already responsible for staging fights in the film “The Fast Sword”. He also became the fight coordinator for Hong Kong film star Angela Miao (she starred, for example, in the film “The Big Boss” with Bruce Lee). In the film “Enter The Dragon”, Sammo starred in the very first episode – in the fight scene with Bruce.

A few years later, Golden Harvest invited Sammo to direct fights in Bruce Lee's unfinished film Game of Death. Bruce managed to shoot only about 20 minutes of the film. The rest had to be completed with the participation of a stunt double, who, by the way, even from behind, looks very different from Bruce.

In this film, Sammo starred in a small episode of the fight in the ring, where he loses to one of the "white villains" (you probably noticed that in Hong Kong films, the villains are almost always Europeans: such stars of the genre as Bob Wall, Richard Norton, Benny Urquidez, Harry Daniels grew up on these roles). After this episode, Bruce (or rather his stunt double) personally kills the unruly champion in the locker room (this time the villain was Bob Wall).

Sammo Hung made his directorial debut in 1977 with the film “The Iron Fisted Monk”. Hung himself recalls his first directorial work: “I didn’t feel any pressure doing it. I enjoyed the process. I enjoyed explaining my vision of the film to the actors and choreographers. I just felt how to shoot it. It was wonderful.” Thus, Sammo simply and naturally entered the profession for which, apparently, he was destined by fate.

A year later, Sammo made a parody of his friend Bruce Lee’s film, directing “Enter The Fat Dragon”. Here he played the leading role and was the director. This film is about a man who admires Bruce Lee so much that he is ready to imitate him, despite the obvious difference in physique.

However, many people who knew Bruce personally say that Sammo Hung understood and conveyed the master's technique and the inner essence of his art more accurately than others. Hung himself is quite good-natured about the numerous imitators who appeared on the screens after Bruce's death. He believes that there is nothing wrong with people loving Bruce and wanting to imitate him.

The next two films - "Shake In Eagle's Shadow" and "Drunken Master" with Jackie Chan - were made in the comedy genre. This marked the beginning of a whole series of Kung Fu comedies. Comedy then became the main genre of Hong Kong cinema. Sammo also created and popularized the comedy-horror genre with his role in Encounters Of The Spooky Kind, where he also directed and produced Mr. Vampire.

At the time, the Hong Kong film industry was, according to Sammo, in a mystical romantic state. It was like Hollywood in the 1950s. Actors were treated like royalty. At the same time, stuntmen were very dangerous. They risked their lives and limbs on a daily basis.

“Nobody really cared about stuntmen back then. We just did what we were told. And if you got hurt, that was part of the job. It wasn’t until a few years later that people began to understand how difficult it was to be a stuntman.” At that time, there were several stunt groups, and Sammo Hung's group (Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao) was just one of many.

In the 1980s, Sammo directed and starred in Winners And Sinners, which broke all box office records in Hong Kong and started a very successful series of comedies featuring a group of actors known as the Lucky Stars. This group also included Sammo Hung's schoolmates Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. The trio later starred in several more films and became known as the Golden Trio.

One of these films, Wheels On Meals, also directed by Sammo, featured a fight scene between Jackie Chan and the undefeated kickboxer Benny Urquidez. The press called this episode the best fight ever filmed.

After watching the film Eastern Condors, also directed by Sammo Hung, Oliver Stone predicted the beginning of a new wave in Hong Kong cinema. Sammo then again attracted the attention of the world cinema community as a fight director in the film Ashes of Time.

Sammo later directed two films that became box office leaders in Hong Kong. These were Once in China and America with Jet Li and Mr. Nice Guy with the “middle brother” Jackie (Yen Biao is considered the youngest). Mr. Nice Guy was the most expensive film in Hong Kong cinema at the time. After these films, he worked as a fight director and second director on two American action films with Jean-Claude Van Damme – Double Team and Knock Off.

The conquest of Hollywood was continued by the role in the series “Martial Low”, which became known to the audience as “Chinese policeman”, although this name should rather be translated as “Martial law” or “Law of wartime” (the term “Martial Low” refers to a situation when during mass riots and anti-government protests the army takes control of the territory instead of the police). However, regardless of the name and its translation, the series turned out to be good. And Sammo not only fights there, but also brings the seeds of Chinese culture to the West.

After this series there was “View From The Top”, the expensive ($35 million) film by Jackie Chan “High binders”, etc.

In total, Sammo Hung participated in more than 150 films (according to some sources - in more than 170). During his work in cinema, he mastered the professions of an actor, director, producer, screenwriter, fight director, stuntman, production designer, and assistant director.

Many of the films in which Sammo participated are true works of art. During his work in cinema, Sammo Hung has accumulated unique experience. He can make films in a variety of genres - from comedies to serious dramas. He understands the entire process of film making like no one else. He knows the tastes of Asian, European and American viewers and can vary the style of a film and fight scenes in it depending on the audience for which the film is intended.

Sammo Hung is married and has four sons. In everyday life, he is a very sympathetic and kind person. He loves fishing, playing golf, messing around with his many pets. Currently, he is not as busy as in the past. He has moved most of his activities outside Hong Kong - to the United States and China. In China, he is starring in a series similar to Martial Low. The series is called Special Unit Flying Dragon. In it, he plays a Chinese police officer who returns from a mission in the States and continues to fight crime in China.

To philosophical questions about the meaning of life, Sammo answers something like this: “Just do what you want to do. Do what you feel drawn to. Don’t let it pass you by. And whatever you do, do it the best you can.”