Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

 

Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 Hong Kong action comedy film directed,co-written and produced by, and starring, Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was co-written with Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung. Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan, and Bruce Leung co-starred in prominent roles.

After the commercial success of Star Overseas' Shaolin Soccer,^[2] Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia along with Star Overseas began to develop Kung Fu Hustle in 2002. Although the film features the return of a number of retired actors famous for 1970s Hong Kong action cinema, it contrasts with other martial arts films released at around the same time that have made the biggest impact in the West, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.^[3][4] The cartoon style of the film, accompanied by traditional Chinese music, is often cited as its most striking feature.^[5][6]

The film was released on 23 December 2004 in China and on 25 January 2005 in the United States. It received extremely positive reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes giving it a 90% fresh rating^[7] and Metacritic 78 out of 100.^[8] The film was also a commercial success, grossing US$17 million in North America and US$84 million in other countries.^[1] Kung Fu Hustle was the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong^[9] until it was surpassed by You Are the Apple of My Eye on 31 December 2011.^[10] The film was the all-time tenth highest-grossing foreign language film in the United States^[11] and also the highest-grossing foreign language film in the country in 2005.^[12] Kung Fu Hustle won numerous awards, including 6 Hong Kong Film Awards and 5 Golden Horse Awards.