The 36 Crazy Fists

The 36 Crazy Fists is a 1977 Hong Kong action martial arts film directed by Charlie Chen Chi-Hwa. Jackie Chan was the stunt coordinator and action director.

Premise
A novice buddhist monk learns to master Kung fu techniques in order to avenge his father, who was murdered by gangsters.

Cast

 * Siu-Hung Leung
 * Kar-Yung Lau


 * Shi-Kwan Yen

Reception
A presentation of the film in More 100% Jackie Chan : the essential companion volume 2 stated, "Despite fans avoiding the film because it is not a Jackie Chan picture, the fights show some of that Chan-esque comedy that would be seen in his later and earlier work. The cast of fighters, from Tony Leung Siu-hung to Yen Shi-kwan were not good in acting, but their fighting skills made up for it. Ku Feng even provided some of the comedy that would be like Chan in films like Young Master and Dragon Lord. Despite what the cover says, Jackie did not direct the film. He was only the Kung-fu Director. Furthermore, he wasn't the star. Nevertheless, the film is still an enjoyable film to watch in my opinion, if you want to see some early work from Chan and his stars, Tony Leung Siu-hung and Jimmy Liu Chia-yung."

"Such ingenuity is typical of Chan's films. His 1980 directorial debut, The 36 Crazy Fists, was the first martial-arts film to combine action and comedy effectively, and Chan's incredible inventiveness with action scenes long ago earned him the nickname "the Buster Keaton of martial arts", commented The Washington Times. while The Unauthorized Jackie Chan Encyclopedia noted that "Jackie Chan only choreographed the action for this forgettable movie about an orphaned youth who learns kung-fu from monks to avenge his father's death. Without JC's permission, the unscrupulous producers compiled a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of this movie and released it as a "Jackie Chan" film."