The Young Master / Shi di chu ma (1980) [The Criterion Collection]

Director: Jackie Chan
Writer: Jackie Chan, Tin-Chi Lau, King Sang Tang
Stars: Jackie Chan, Pai Wei, Biao Yuen

Jackie Chan’s second directorial effort was also a film of important firsts: his first for upstart studio Golden Harvest and his first with cowriter Edward Tang, who would become a key collaborator. The star-filmmaker shows his increasing confidence with this endlessly inventive tale of a martial-arts student (Chan) who goes in search of his exiled brother, only to become entangled in a case of mistaken identity—with much amusement provided by Chan’s interplay with his real-life former schoolmate Yuen Biao. The epic finale, in which Chan goes from human punching bag to raging bull, is a bruising highlight of his career.


Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar:
Originally tapped as a potential successor to Bruce Lee, Hong Kong martial-arts phenom Jackie Chan soon established his own unique screen persona, blending goofball slapstick and bone-crunching kung fu into intricate feats of supercharged athleticism. Tracing his rise from breakout star to full-fledged auteur, these six unabashedly silly, unstoppably entertaining early-career highlights find Chan refining the lovably mischievous image that would make him a global icon, while also assuming greater creative control over his projects—first as his own martial-arts choreographer, and later as a writer-director who set a thrilling new standard for daredevil action comedy.

Extras:
- Audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert and producer Frank Djeng
- The Young Master promo reel from the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
- Archival Interview with Hwang In-shik (28:04)
- Deleted scenes from the film (no audio) (13:50) (2:56) (9:25) (5:29)
- Trailer