It's hard to describe Stephen Chow. If you put Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee (who Chow idolizes), Michael Hui (an earlier Cantonese language comic actor), Charlie Chaplin, Jerry Lewis, Jim Carrey, and any number of anime characters, and a multiplicity of other Asian and Western influences, plus everything Hong Kong, into a blender and mixed all that up, that might begin to give you an idea of what Stephen Chow is like. Except that he's totally an original, even if he's the king of reference.I've never heard of Steven Chow, I learn something new everyday.
He is the Fred Astaire of verbal hijinks, a nimble kung fu master of puns which are rife in Cantonese because it has nine tones, which means nine different meanings for each word. He can spew off a stream of absolutely insane verbal nonsense -- anachronisms, non sequiturs, the puns, slang (some of which he makes up), and every form of word play you can think of -- that leaves his Cantonese audience helpless with laughter. His style of wit even has its own name: mo lei tau, which loosely translated means "makes no sense." A lot of it is based on the specifics of life in Hong Kong, where Chow grew up. And yet, he is such a superb physical comedian, with such finely-tuned timing, and that even non-Cantonese speakers find him absolutely hilarious. From what I've heard, the English language subtitles on his films are barely adequate to convey what Chow is saying, and sometimes downright inaccurate. Even so... he's so funny it hurts. I would recommend that Westerners bone up on Chinese and Hong Kong culture and films as much as possible though; it really helps you appreciate Stephen Chow's art.
When asked who his favorite actor was -- you'll like this -- Chow answered Chaplin. And it's easy to see the Chaplin influence in his work, because as he gained more and more control over his films and matured as an artist (he eventually began directing his own films), they became more profound, more poignant, more tears mixed in with the laughter. Chow is incredibly adept at making you laugh out loud one moment, and then making you reach for a tissue the next. The ending of his second Chinese Odyssey film is pure Chaplin.
He's probably most well known to Westerners for his movies Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, both of which were massive hits -- I mean like tsunamis -- at the box office in Asia. Shaolin Soccer was released in the west by Miramax, but they screwed it up with a HORRIBLE English language soundtrack, various edits and cuts, and a new music track. I can't tell you what a botch it was. Kung Fu Hustle got much better treatment from Sony and it did quite well in the West -- Chow even came to the U.S. and did publicity, although his English is only so-so. There were some grumbles by Cantonese speaking fans about these two films because Chow seemed to be dialing down his verbal humor to concentrate more on physical humor, which would make his films more appealing to Westerners. But even if he is trying to appeal more to the West, his films remain absolutely rooted in Hong Kong. Kung Fu Hustle, for all its Warner Bros. cartoon influence, is set in a Hong Kong tenement much like the one Chow grew up in. Many of the situations and characters are loosely adapted from a famous 1966 Cantonese-language film, The House of 73 Tenants, an ensemble comedy set in a similar tenement that heralded a new wave of Cantonese language films reflecting the language actually spoken by the people of Hong Kong, after decades of domination by Mandarin language films. And there are references to much beloved literary characters known to all Chinese speaking people, much as Westerners would be familiar with Robin Hood and King Arthur. Plus it helps to know something about Buddhism. ;) And kung fu. ;)
He used to crank out movies every few months in the 1990s but once he started producing and directing the pace slowed, and now he takes several years just to make one movie. He has also become less interested in acting and more in directing, unfortunately for his fans, as he is hugely charismatic on camera and we love to watch him. His last movie, CJ-7, was released here in the U.S. but with little media attention. He only gave himself a supporting role anyway. He's been working on a number of projects since, including a remake of the Chinese Odyssey films and possibly a Kung Fu Hustle sequel.
Did I mention that on top of everything else Stephen Chow is also drop dead gorgeous? :)
(Yes, it's the same person!) :)
One of his goofier moments, which is saying something as Chow is the king of goofy
He's been going gray in recent years ;)
Chow was supposed to cross over officially to Hollywood when he signed on to direct the Green Hornet film starring Seth Rogen as Britt Reid and to play Kato (originally played by his idol Bruce Lee), but it didn't work out. First he dropped out as director, then as Kato. That noise you heard was the sigh of relief from millions of Stephen Chow fans around the world. :)
P.S. I'm sorry for hijacking this off topic which is Japanese films, which I do love too. Believe it or not, it was Drunken Angel that turned me into a Kurosawa fan rather than one of the more famous titles like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo. ;)
