The Movies That Moved Me: Yuen Woo-Ping’s SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW

Rumble In The Bronx was only the start for a lot of folks like me as Jackie Chan’s career launched a second take-off in the U.S.. Evidently, it paved the way for the VHS market to load up on bootleg kung fu tapes, and I’ll never forget the first time I got to watch Yuen Woo-Ping’s 1978 throwback, Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow.

My father was strict about me abstaining from TV so I could get homework done and be focused on that. At this time, my dad was friends with a neighbor named Cedric who loaned him a couple of tapes, one of them being the aforementioned film which at once I caught midway as he was watching.

I long shunned old movies like that at the time as my head was into whatever was current or in my purview of interest dating back to the 70s. I’d spied an eye on some old kung fu and samurai films but never really consumed them from top to bottom, and ultimately, that all changed with Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow, a film that would not only launch Yuen’s directing career, but also become exemplary as the bread and butter of Chan’s brand as a burgeoning action comedy star for years to come.

The film joins Chan on screen with the Yuen’s father, the late Yuen Siu-Tien, and screen legend Hwang Jang-lee, in a story that sees a beleagured servant to an abusive and unscrupulous kung fu teacher become the strongest he’s ever been, after saving the life of an old man who turns out to be one of the last surviving masters of the Snake Fist style. A rousing second-half ensues with our hero turning from human punching bag to a prodigal kung fu student who, after a preliminary battle with our main villain, finds a way to blend styles and prevail in the final fight.

Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow is a master work that shares plenty of familiar tropes with other classics of its kind and the like, making it a viable favorite among fans. I couldn’t get enough of it when we had the tape, and by then, I was pretty sure I’d opened a new door for myself. Titles out of labels like Seasonal Film Corp, D & B Films, Golden Princess and even Golden Harvest (home to Steven Barron’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) became a part of my diet before I knew it.

Thank you for this one, Ced. ????

Stream Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow on Tubi, or head over to JustWatch to find the film wherever it is legally sold or streamed.