Legendary Hong Kong martial arts star and filmmaker Sammo Hung gave a masterclass at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where at age 72 he demonstrated that while he now uses a cane, his charismatic abilities and innovative spirit remain. Hung held an engaging talk where he shared lessons from over 60 years in the industry developing martial arts cinema.
Born into a performing family, Hung’s journey began with training at Hong Kong’s prestigious Peking Opera school. “The training was very rigorous,” Hung recalled. “We learned fundamental movements so by graduation you could perform nearly any move.” This training laid the groundwork for his future success in martial arts films.
Hung’s film career started early, with his debut at age 9 in the 1960s. A pivotal moment came in 1973’s “Enter the Dragon” where Hung fought Bruce Lee in the opening scene. After Lee’s tragic death, Hung took on choreographing fight scenes for “Game of Death.”
“I didn’t get to know Bruce Lee well, but his artistic films really impressed me,” Hung said. “I was heartbroken when he died so young, shocking not just Hong Kong but worldwide. His fans and our industry who respected him so much were devastated.”
Hung’s directorial debut “The Iron-Fisted Monk” in 1977 marked a shift, helping establish the comedy kung fu genre and pioneering Cantonese language in Hong Kong films. In the 1980s, Hung blended martial arts with horror in works like 1978’s “Enter the Fat Dragon,” spawning the “Debu-gon” genre paying tribute to his influence.
Hung later found success on American television with 1998-2000 series “Martial Law,” bringing humor to language barriers faced. Most recently, Hung demonstrated his enduring screen presence alongside Donnie Yen in 2010’s “Ip Man 2.”
