1980s: New Kung Fu Film Grow Up
By the juncture of the 1970's and the 1980's, the output of Hong Kong and Taiwan kung fu films had decreased greatly. Fortunately, at such a critical moment, in 1979, Xu Ke (Hark Tsui) shot his first kong fu film, "Die Bian" (The Butterfly Murders), which refreshed the film circle and also started the history of Hong Kong movie's new tide.
In 1981, the film Shao Lin Si (ShaolinTemple), directed by Zhang Xinyan, was innovative and significant in film history. It was the very first movie to use specialized martial arts athletes as actors and martial arts instructors. The use of steel wires, spring beds, stand-ins, and many other such stunts were abandoned.
Shao Lin Si had a high box office success in Hong Kong, and initiated a generation's crave for kung fu. The giant kung fu star Li Lianjie (Jet Li) first got fame from this film.
In 1984, Xu Ke directed Shu Shan (Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain), in which Xu created a magical world, with the massive application of new technology and modern electronic music. Shu Shan made a great killing at the box office and created a new model for kung fu film.
During this period, Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao, and many other directors' works, like Police Story and Project A, further paved a new road for kung fu films.
Kong Fu Film in Mainland
From China's liberation (in 1949), the mainland of China did not shoot any kung fu films until director Zhang Huaxun's 1980 film Shen Mi De Da Fo (Mystical Buddha), which opened a new window for mainland film. Since then, kung fu film has been popular in the mainland, although for at least the first 10 years it was still far behind the Hong Kong and Taiwan films.
The only mainlanf kung fu film that can be called a classic is director He Ping's " Shuang Qi Zhen Dao Ke (The Swordsman in Double-Flag Town, 1990), which is still considered the best mainland kung fu film.
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