True. Some South East Asian countries take the mad cow seriously. I'm not allowed to donate blood in my country because I've visited UK post mad cow disease.
One thing to bear in mind about Steven Chow's "random humour", that is there are usually DOUBLE meanings, sometimes even TRIPLE ... to his jokes, that is why its so hard to translate to the full extend, either its lost in translation, or the translator has to pick one specific translation instead of two. This is very hard to translate, but at the same time, such double/trouble meanings is why his movie has been so successful, coz its so so SMART and WITTY! In this movie, i think the translator often translated the adult humour side of the joke, because it is easier to translate.
“Pissing Shrimps” is a Cantonese colloquialism for the mantis shrimp, known to have mantis like forearms that can cut a person’s fingers if picked up incorrectly. It gets its moniker from the fact that mantis shrimps have a tendency to shoot a jet of water whenever it is picked up, like it was pissing itself scared. As for the British Beef, well… mad cow disease was a major fear at the time
Mantis shrimp is what the Chinese chefs call Pissing shrimp. If they don’t have their claws, those shrimps tend to squirt water at you when they are being handled.
I really enjoy seeing you guys enjoying these films. It might seem odd with all the adult humour and jokes, but for a lot of Chinese families, these are the equivalent of our Christmas movies during holidays. It's not uncommon for a Stephen Chow movie to be running in the background. Just to put in context, Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu are both amazing works, but a lot of it is toned down as he attempted to appeal to a more Western audience. A lot of his films play around with Chinese media and cultural tropes, like kung fu and the Crouching Tiger style ancient China stuff. That's why you see the references to Shaolin so much, for a Chinese person, it's a trope and a meme. I do remember when Shaolin Soccer came out, it was very well received, but for die hard Stephen Chow fans.. it did felt just a little toned down and more physical. For example, the BBQ rice in God of Cookery is really essentially the cheap, delicious food that represents like.. food of the people, it's like fish and chips, where as the dish they attempted to cook at first for the competition, the "Monk jumps over the wall", is a well known expensive dish that takes a ridiculous amount of time and stupidly expensive ingredients to prepare. Nevertheless, as you dive deeper into his older films, just remember that you guys might not understand a lot of the cultural references and tropes he is playing with. I'm also recommending some of my favs that I would really enjoy seeing you guys watching: From Beijing with Love - essentially a James Bond parody. It's hilarious and accessible. Fight Back to School - hardass cop goes undercover into a strict school and is forced to act like a student in a strict Asian school environment in the early 90s. Tricky Brains - professional pranksters doing pranks for profit in 90s Hong Kong. Ancient China settings: Flirting Scholar - Ming dynasty scholar hits on hot girl from rich family. The hijinks are just hilarious. King of Beggers - Rich kid with Kung Fu gets his life shit on and re-emerges as the King of Beggers. The Begger Guild is a thing in the Wuxia world (Crouching Tiger). Loads of action and tropes. Forbidden City Cop - another kinda James Bond parody but in ancient China, very silly. Stephen plays a sort of gadget/inventor user in a world filled with overpowered kungfu people and gets the best out of them.
well said! cant agree more, from beijing with love is also another one of my favourites. Also Love on Delivery, a more underated Stephen Chow movie that I like.
Many places that seem random are just meaning lost in translation and references of classic Chinese fictions. For example, the Shaolin master named "wet dream" seems quite random. Traditionally, Shaolin monks in the same cohort will be given Shaolin names (usually two characters) with the same first character (in this case, dream). The literal translation of the Shaolin master's name is "dream loss", which is not totally ridiculous, expect that the phrase also means wet dream... Another example: the "sorrowful hand" is referencing a strong kungfu move in a classic Chinese fiction. The protagonist created this move after he lost contact with his loved one. Glad you still enjoyed the movie!
“The God of Cookery” represents the period that Stephen Chow was getting mature as a director in expressing his thought. The theme of this movie is very simple - everybody could be “God of Cookery”(or achieve a goal) if they have heart (love), but Stephen had put a lot of efforts to make what his character(s) said at the beginning (as a joke/bullshit) corresponded with the ending. To me, this movie was one of the best movies of his golden era. If you are really interested in Stephen’s film (and himself), I would highly recommend taking a look at “Out Of The Dark(回魂夜)”, which inho was a perfect fusion of horror and comedy. P.S. Those chefs who appeared at the very beginning were real masterchef. That was why they act so badly. haha
If you fell in love with Stephen Chow these days, You really have to watch his best film "A Chinese Odyssey the Part I (Pandora's box)" and "A Chinese Odyssey the Part II (Cinderella). Among Asian film mania fans who LOVE Stephen Chow, "A Chinese Odyssey the Part II (Cinderella)" is known as his MASTERPIECE, his best film - because it makes you not only laugh so much but also even cry with tears at the last ending scene. It feels like same class level as Charlie Chaplin. But Chinese Odyssey the Part I and Part II are a connected story. So you have to start Part I first to understand Part II. Part 3 film was released later, too. Part 3 was entertaining enough, but Only part I and II have Stephen Chow in the movies.
Does the part where the staff holder (trying to keep it vague) walks away at the end of part 1 or part 2? If it's part one, then I never watched part 2
@@rokudodamaza that'll be part 2! Part 1 and 2 are definitely my favourite Stephen Chow films. They are highly rated and have a lot of depth and of course random comedic moments.
I’d argue kung fu hustle is his best, but anyway, chinese odyssey is good too. However, to understand chinese odyssey, you need to understand “journey to the west”, which may be quite hard for someone not growing up in heavily chinese influenced regions.
Tbh for Chinese speaking people, Stephen Chow's best movies are from pre-Shaolin soccer era. The dialogues are much better and wittier, but probably could have lost their value after translation into foreign language subtitles. Kungfu Hustle however were made to appeal to the taste of global market.
Finally someone who feels the same as me. Shaolin Soccer was his last playful movie that was actually funny. Kung Fu Hustle was overrated, too serious and not as funny. God of Cookery, Forbidden City Cop, From Beijing With Love, God of Gamblers 2&3, Lawyer Lawyer, All For The Winner, Curry And Pepper, Royal Tramp 1&2, Chinese Odyssey 1&2, King Of Beggars, 60 Million Dollar Man, Look Out Officer are all classic and stomp Kung Fu Hustle. It pisses me off when people only talk about Kung Fu Hustle just like fake Jackie Chan fans who only talk about Rush Hour.
agreed. i think his earliest and latest work are my least favorites. his early work with Wong Ching are too childish for my taste now as an adult... they were funny to me when i was a child i. but i dont find them funny anymore. I think his work with more depth were 008, Out of the dark. God of cookery. the humors are on a different level
Stephen Chow is a real comedy genius, everything he did was just unique.. but most of his jokes were based on Hong Kong's culture, and the way he speaks, so it's a bit hard for non hongkongers to get but i'm glad you guys didn't found it too boring.
Yes his name is Stephen, in Hong Kong there is a tradition where you adopt the name of your breakout character as your stage name. Though this movie was made long after his breakout, this is his first Producer role.
Please do react more Stephen Chow's Movies !!! Modern Story : 1. Tricky Brains 2. The Lucky Guy 3. Out of the Dark 4. King of Comedy 5. Fist of Fury 1 & 2 6. All for the Winner 7. The Tricky Master 8. From Beijing with Love 9. Sixty Million Dollar Man 10. Fight Back to School 1 & 2 & 3 Ancient Story : 1. Hail the Judge 2. The Mad Monk 3. Flirting Scholar 4. Lawyer Lawyer 5. Justice My Foot 6. King of Beggars 7. Royal Tramp 1 & 2 8. Forbidden City Cop 9. A Chinese Odyssey Part 1 : Pandora's Box 10. A Chinese Odyssey Part 2 : Cinderella
stephen chow is known for his "random humour". that is a lot of that in his older movies, and that number of random humour gets reduced progressively in his film making career.
Stephen Chow had lots of random factors in his comedy, but many young and old adults were his fans because they found some sorts of resonance in his comedies. The joke or comedy usually come from some old commercials, or some famous scenes in Japanese manga or anime (yeah many hongkonger loves japanese manga and culture they very much familiar with), even the songs appeared in this movie are those old hk commercial songs or old folks. So it might be a bit random if not familiar of the context! But still you would find it hilarious somehow even not knowing the context!
My favorite part was when he recounts getting beat up by the 18 Brass Men...who mostly used folding chairs and danced around making a show. And the refence of him learning Kung Fu was precisely that: using the inconspicuous grandfather of all weapons that, as the judge lady says, allows you to evade battery charges by the cops!
If you find a ChiuChow(a province) restaurant in London Chinatown, they will have Beef Ball soup. The beef balls are not hollow in the center but solid throughout. Stephen Chow made up the Pissing Beef Balls for this movie.
As a person from Hong Kong, really happy that you guys watch these iconic films. This film literally is the meme-est movie in hk, but I mean there’s obviously more!!!
Stephen Chow movies often take inspiration from pop culture. In the mid 90s Japanese anime about cooking and food was all the rage in HK. The Shaolin brass men is a part kung fu lore. Before you graduate from Shaolin you are suppose to defeat the 18 brass men. The part about British beef was about the mad cow disease outbreak in the 90s. British beef was banned for many years in HK.
Please watch "A Chinese Odyssey part 1 & part 2 (1995)", "From Beijing with Love (1994 )" & "Out of the Dark (1995)". These are the top 3 Stephen Chow's movies to me. Also thanks for review and promote Stephen Chow's movies to the western audience. Stephen Chow is the most important and best artist in Hong Kong history. His movies affected Hong Kong pop culture and language using a lot. We still love to quote his old movie dialogues and scenes to communicate with each other now. Every hongkonger love him and his movie so much that other people can't imagine.
I’m very glad that you guys watched these movies and appreciate them, it’s pretty rare for any foreigners to watch these, which is a shame because they are really special and pioneering for their time. The thing is that cantonese language and culture is really complex, crude, humorous and colloquial, so it’s very difficult to get the full effect without being a local. Almost every line has a pun, every scene has a joke, it’s purely Hong Kong humour.
You may notice there is a pattern which Stephen Chow used to describe the romance between characters. The guy is always mean to the woman at first and then regretted. This is the reference of his own romance. He gave up a relationship earlier his life and the woman married to someone else, and now is passed away due to cancer. He regretted it so much that he remained single till this day.
In Hong Kong, there is 3 box office legend called "雙周一成" - 2 chow and 1 chéng (Chow Yun-fat, Stephen and jackie chan), It is kind of a shame that stephen chow was not as famous as the other 2 oversea.
Stephen Chow was so successful honestly. He made Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu to cater for international market mainly Western who don't understand Chinese and HK culture. They are pretty good films in their eyes but for those who grew up with his super local and funny movies, all his work before Shaolin Soccer are best of the best. Those were made under HK culture with Cantonese jokes that are so relatable. These are icons and legends. You seriously have no idea how much meme from God of Cookery are still so popular even now, 20 years after the movie. His movies are timeless and are the most played in history. It's called cultural differences that you prefer Soccer and Kungfu and I totally respect and see the points.
You guys are correct about Kung Fu hustle better suited for western audiences than early Stephen Chow's work. In fact Stephen had his initial attempt of collaboration with Hollywood being turned down because the producers thought his jokes in the movies are too specifically targeted towards Hong Kong audiences. When you watch his earlier movies be prepare to only understand about half of his jokes.
This film has a lot of paying tribute to older films n TV classic ads in hk. Such as the Kung fu styles refer to classic black n white medieval Kung fu movie “Buddha's palm” The reaction of delicious food are from then popular Japanese cooking animation. The students look flash back is from hk classic tv ad of vitasoy , a soya milk soft drink every hkers used to drink. A guy calling out His name Stephen chow in Cantonese way, as “si tei fun chau” , also is metaphor as Cantonese foul language of a male organ. Which “fun chau” is similar to “bun chau” aka a penis in slang. His films used to hv lots of metaphors to lots of hk culture.
Found that u guys have a feeling that Steven Chow’s movies are always random. There is actually a specific genre in Cantonese - “Mo Lei Tau” en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_lei_tau This is the backbone of Steven Chows comedy.
Man watching you guys react to these childhood movies is giving me a heck of a nostalgia kick. Really wish you guys had a someone who was familiar with both the language and historic culture to help you with the references and nuance jokes of these movies.
Hahaha 😆😆... But there is two movie from Stephen chow mostly known here in asian hardly to stop laughing early 90s. "God of gambler trilogy" and "From Beijing with love 🤣🤣"
Watched all Stephen Chow's movies, actually grew up watching them. One of the most underated Stephen Chow's movies is Out of the Dark 1995. Watch it, it's a hilarious horror movie. Think it's the only ghost movie he had ever made. Expect the unexpected.
Yeah, strange Chinese Odyssey is not being mentioned much. My personal favorite and maybe his most acclaimed work. It is a two-parter though and might be tougher for Westerners with the "Journey to the West" references.
I agree, Chinese Odyssey part 2 and 2 are his Magnum Opus for his die hard fans, his western fans instead think its Kung fu Hunstle. (But Chinese Odyssey 2 & 1 combined imo is above KfH)
A lot of the randomness are actually references to his old jokes. It's super meta, and I could totally understand why some of the randomness goes over the head.
hi all, in case some didnt get it, british beef was banned from export from 1996 for 10 years for mad cow disease. this film was released in december 1996.
The "Sorrowful Hand", "The 18 Brassmen of Shaolin" and the other moves... draws upon Chinese martial art films and novels... Hence the names you may not be familiar. Those who grew up on martial art films and novels, would appreciate the moves more... In addition, BBQ pork which Stephen serves in the final.. is a quintessential HK dish you can find in HKG.... You won't consider a trip to HKG complete without eating BBQ pork... and roast goose for that matter...
I love these reactions videos and so happy that you guys get the cantonese style jokes. Great job guys. I'm from HK and I grew up watching tons of Stephen Chow movies. Btw, the love fling scene was a parady of a lemon tea commercial that was super popular back in the 90s.
damn i miss his acting.Stephen Chow my fvrte actor, now he is Director. you should react to his other top movies like A Chinese Odyssey part 1 and 2. part 3 he direct not act.
These two movies starred by Stephen Chow have very high scores in Asia and China. They are very funny! The plot is also very good! Please do look! 《A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandoras Box》 《A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella》
6:29 That was acutally original a japanese song ”初恋”(first love) write and sing by Murashita Kouzou. the music you hear here was Hong Kong cover version.
There are so many Stephen Chow movies, and many of them can be said to be worth a watch. From Beijing With Love, Love on Delivery, A Chinese Odyssey Parts 1 & 2, Royal Tramp, Sixty Million Dollar Man, King of Comedy, Forbidden City Cop, Flirting Scholar, King of Beggars, Fight Back to High School 1, 2, and 3.....just waaaay too many. They all follow the same type of HK "mo lei tau" random humor.
FYI, the actor who plays the bad guy Bull Tong is Vincent Kok. He is the scriptwriter of a lot Stephen Chow’s movies and the mastermind behind many jokes. He made a couple of cameo appearances at first and then transitioned to more acting roles after people realised how funny he was.
King of the beggars was the 1st Stephen chow film i saw, there was kung fu scholar, god of gambler 2 ..kung fu hustle is his magnum opus for sure but take into context the time these movies was made.. Stephen chow is an amazing comedian/martial arts action/director.. love him since 1990
I always wonder since we outside of China and Hong Kong aren’t too familiar, but when we see repeat actors in films, like the man who played Golden Leg in this, does the original audience feel the same. Like I find it cool cause I saw him in the other films, but to the Hong Kongese audience watching, is that like seeing Clint Eastwood in a minor role - where the actor is well know regardless of genre - or like seeing CM Punk acting - where only a specific demographic will recognise them by name? I do wonder if Stephen Chow and co. are like big names in Hong Kong cinema. If not, they’re big names in my heart.
Stephen Chow is like a God in Hong Kong, probs Asia! His films usually consist of familiar faces but it does not become the victim of repetitive storylines. In fact, the actors gave life to different characters in those said movies and it's especially rewarding for us audiences when we understand the inside jokes / references regarding Chow's other movies.
The fun part about Stephen Chow’s films is that he usually uses the same group of actor actresses. It’s almost like you’re watching your friends play various roles in a skit. For years, watching Stephen Chow movies, like Jackie Chan movies are a must every Chinese New Year. It’s almost like part of a celebratory ritual because their films are funny and so easy to watch.
If you watched King Of Beggar, you will aware 20 years after, that guy played as a Crazy Beggar who teached Chow the Sleeping Buddha Kungfu is still in his character in Kung Fu Hustle 😂
So happy to see you guys watching more Stephen Chow movies. Please watch them all. He is God of Comedy in China. He is known for random troll style kinda comedy so ya its random funny sht in movies
can you guys recognize the leading actress in the film is one of the bearded soccer players in the half-final in shaolin soccer? the two bearded girls（Cecilia Cheung and Karen Mok) are both leading actresses from Stephen Chow's classics The King of Comedy and this one, The God of Cookery but they play cameo roles in shaolin soccer it's quite common for actresses to sacrifice their pretty faces to play ugly roles in Stephen's films and usually quite hard to recognize :P
Pissing Shrimp are mantis shrimp (they squirt out water as a defense mechanism I think that's where the name comes from). Usually when I've had it it's deep friend with a shit load of garlic. Texture is similar to lobster.
Happy to see Stephen chow movie reviews from a non Chinese point of view. He is an icon of Hong Kong and created the culture for Hong Kong people of the generation. Many of his random jokes are now becoming reality in Hong Kong, kind of like the future predicted from a Simpsons tv show.
I live in the US. I saved my money and decided to visit my uncle in Hong Kong in 1992. It was summer vacation from college. He lived with his daughter. He could cook. He didn't use a recipe just like my parents. He did it from memory and tasting the food to adjust the condiments or to know when it's done. For lunch I would go downstairs to an open air restaurant. It was cheap; less than a US dollar. The cook would ask me what kind of noodles, meats, and vegetables I want. He would throw the noodles into the boiling water and the other ingredients into boiling stock. Within seconds, I had my lunch.
In case people wondering what "pissing shrimps" are, pissing shrimp is just another way chinese call "mantis shrimp", it's quite good, like a mixture between normal prawn and lobster
In case anyone wonder what song is used around 6:25, I know the Japanese one named 初恋/Hatsukoi - First love. There're a lot of versions, but I knew it through the anime Sora no otoshimono.
fyi, the 'sorrowful rice' is actually a thing in Hong Kong, you can see it in some restaurants, which is simply rice with Chinese barbecued pork and a sunny side up, though the name is usually used as a gimmick
Chow's hair become white (because his painfully sorrow) was the parody of Yoko / Yang Guo (he's sad because lost his lover), the main protagonist in The Return of The Condor Heroes, second novel from the legendary wuxia novels called Condor Trilogy by Jin Yong.. the novels are very popular.. may be you can loof for information about them..
Forbidden City Cop, Laughing Scholar are really absurd and also another must in Chow's movies. The nose picking guy almost always appear in every one of his films :v
TH-cam recommended your reaction to kungfu hustle right before i shut off my phone to sleep...... Now how have i been watching your channel until its almost 5am already 😂😭
Thanks for the reaction, always love the reactions of you guys If you guys are interested in Stephen Chow, you can try 1. The Fight Back to School series 2. The God of Gamblers series 3. From Beijing with Love 4. A Chinese Odyssey Part I & II If you guys wanna watch more HK movies, try: 1. Infernal Affairs series 2. Running out of Time
Hahaha I think "Sorrow Hand" is an allusion to a martial art technique created by the main character in a popular novel roughly translated to "Return of the Condor Heroes." There are a lot of drama adaptions of the novel.
It's extremely difficult to relate yourself to foods like that bowl of noodles at the beginning of the movie if you haven't spent a good couple of years living in Hong Kong and hanging out with the locals there. Great that you guys still enjoyed the movie. It would be interesting to see you guys doing a travel vlog in Hong Kong sometime in the future trying out all these foods that appeared in this movie. Also on those random martial arts references, Stephen Chow incorporates a lot of Chinese frictional martial arts mostly coming from Jin Yong's works, into the movie especially towards the end of it. Many of Jin Yong's works are made into movies and soap operas. However, Stephen Chow kinda put his own twist to it and exaggerate a lot of the details which makes it comedic.
There are three parts of Stephen Chow's Journey to the West. Everyone is recommending the first and second parts, but they are all looking at the third part
I'm pretty sure I watched this movie when I was probably around 10 or slighly under that lol. I suppose the adult jokes just flew over my head that time. I really appreciate you actually finding this movie though! I can't seem to find a watchable quality of it myself when I tried o.o
The "Pissing Shirmp" it called Mantis shrimp the reason why Chinese people called pissing shrimp is because when those shrimp sees threats they will attack the threat by shooting water or something, and it looks like they taking a piss.
8:32 - just some background infor, why mention British Beef? Cos when this movie was produced, it was the time when BSE (or commonly known as Mad Cow disease) was found occurring primarily in UK younger people caused through eating BSE-infected meat (beef in this movie).
ive grew up watching stephan chow movies, absolute favourites Love on delivery, Royal tramp , a chinese oddeysey, from beijing with love, hail the judge , justice my foot..
One very important thing to note for this director. Think of how the children view this kind of movie, if you grow up with them, they’ll grip you harder than anything else ever could.
Really enjoyed your reviews, I have missed Stephen’s Chow movies very much, wish that you will continue to review all of his movies, if not at least a few more of his movies.
They were talking about British beef because this movie was made just after that Mad cow disease outbreak in UK.
True. Some South East Asian countries take the mad cow seriously. I'm not allowed to donate blood in my country because I've visited UK post mad cow disease.
Ahh. That's the reason. Thanks
Not really, they never really said anything about the british beef, just it was illegal beef from unknown sources.
@@nicetryguy210 at 8:30 it specifically mentions British beef
@@cookiedestroyer2801 in cantonese it doesnt
One thing to bear in mind about Steven Chow's "random humour", that is there are usually DOUBLE meanings, sometimes even TRIPLE ... to his jokes, that is why its so hard to translate to the full extend, either its lost in translation, or the translator has to pick one specific translation instead of two. This is very hard to translate, but at the same time, such double/trouble meanings is why his movie has been so successful, coz its so so SMART and WITTY! In this movie, i think the translator often translated the adult humour side of the joke, because it is easier to translate.
ya its word play.. it can’t be translated. like a lot of japanese comedy is too hard to even translate.. it doesn’t make sense in english.
“Pissing Shrimps” is a Cantonese colloquialism for the mantis shrimp, known to have mantis like forearms that can cut a person’s fingers if picked up incorrectly. It gets its moniker from the fact that mantis shrimps have a tendency to shoot a jet of water whenever it is picked up, like it was pissing itself scared.
As for the British Beef, well… mad cow disease was a major fear at the time
All Chinese descentent , we grew up with Stephen Chow
Malaysia people too.👍Stephan Chow
I'm salvadorean and I also grew up with Stephen Chow 💜 I really admire him
Yeah
Indonesian too..
Caribbeans too🌸✨
Mantis shrimp is what the Chinese chefs call Pissing shrimp. If they don’t have their claws, those shrimps tend to squirt water at you when they are being handled.
Im malaysian malay and i would say we all grew up with sir Chow Sing sing films throughout the 90's 🤙🏼
My personal favorite: Hail The Judge
Same here, I'm Malay tho. Hail the Judge is my favourite as well. Another one is Fight Back to School 1.
I prefer the flirting scholar and both of the royal tramp
YES more STEPHEN Chow, need more people to watch Stephen Chow
now God of GAMBLING sometime next please.
God of gambling back to shanghai is the best one of that series.
@@hermichael1 +1 to this, definitely one of the best he's starred in
I really enjoy seeing you guys enjoying these films. It might seem odd with all the adult humour and jokes, but for a lot of Chinese families, these are the equivalent of our Christmas movies during holidays. It's not uncommon for a Stephen Chow movie to be running in the background.
Just to put in context, Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu are both amazing works, but a lot of it is toned down as he attempted to appeal to a more Western audience. A lot of his films play around with Chinese media and cultural tropes, like kung fu and the Crouching Tiger style ancient China stuff. That's why you see the references to Shaolin so much, for a Chinese person, it's a trope and a meme. I do remember when Shaolin Soccer came out, it was very well received, but for die hard Stephen Chow fans.. it did felt just a little toned down and more physical.
For example, the BBQ rice in God of Cookery is really essentially the cheap, delicious food that represents like.. food of the people, it's like fish and chips, where as the dish they attempted to cook at first for the competition, the "Monk jumps over the wall", is a well known expensive dish that takes a ridiculous amount of time and stupidly expensive ingredients to prepare.
Nevertheless, as you dive deeper into his older films, just remember that you guys might not understand a lot of the cultural references and tropes he is playing with. I'm also recommending some of my favs that I would really enjoy seeing you guys watching:
From Beijing with Love - essentially a James Bond parody. It's hilarious and accessible.
Fight Back to School - hardass cop goes undercover into a strict school and is forced to act like a student in a strict Asian school environment in the early 90s.
Tricky Brains - professional pranksters doing pranks for profit in 90s Hong Kong.
Ancient China settings:
Flirting Scholar - Ming dynasty scholar hits on hot girl from rich family. The hijinks are just hilarious.
King of Beggers - Rich kid with Kung Fu gets his life shit on and re-emerges as the King of Beggers. The Begger Guild is a thing in the Wuxia world (Crouching Tiger). Loads of action and tropes.
Forbidden City Cop - another kinda James Bond parody but in ancient China, very silly. Stephen plays a sort of gadget/inventor user in a world filled with overpowered kungfu people and gets the best out of them.
Agree with you! ❤
well said! cant agree more, from beijing with love is also another one of my favourites. Also Love on Delivery, a more underated Stephen Chow movie that I like.
Journey to the west. Only you~~~~~
🤣🤣🤣
You missed Royal tramp
Flirting Scholars is my personal best Stephen Chow movie.
Many places that seem random are just meaning lost in translation and references of classic Chinese fictions. For example, the Shaolin master named "wet dream" seems quite random. Traditionally, Shaolin monks in the same cohort will be given Shaolin names (usually two characters) with the same first character (in this case, dream). The literal translation of the Shaolin master's name is "dream loss", which is not totally ridiculous, expect that the phrase also means wet dream...
Another example: the "sorrowful hand" is referencing a strong kungfu move in a classic Chinese fiction. The protagonist created this move after he lost contact with his loved one.
Glad you still enjoyed the movie!
Which wuxia is “sorrowful hands” from?
@@BioBoosterSoldier legend of the condor heroes the skill of protagonist, Yang Guo
@@historyreader37 aaa I see I never read “legendary couples”
@@BioBoosterSoldier The Return of the Condor Heroes, one of Jin yong's classics. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Condor_Heroes
God of Gambler series and fight back to school series next please? They have serious stories but with still his usual humour style.
Yep yep, Fight Back to School series and God of Gamblers would be great.
support God of gambler, it's the movie to make him famous
Yess please
royal tramp and forbidden city cop too .. ling ling fat
Is a must in my eyes.
“The God of Cookery” represents the period that Stephen Chow was getting mature as a director in expressing his thought. The theme of this movie is very simple - everybody could be “God of Cookery”(or achieve a goal) if they have heart (love), but Stephen had put a lot of efforts to make what his character(s) said at the beginning (as a joke/bullshit) corresponded with the ending. To me, this movie was one of the best movies of his golden era.
If you are really interested in Stephen’s film (and himself), I would highly recommend taking a look at “Out Of The Dark(回魂夜)”, which inho was a perfect fusion of horror and comedy.
P.S. Those chefs who appeared at the very beginning were real masterchef. That was why they act so badly. haha
If you fell in love with Stephen Chow these days, You really have to watch his best film "A Chinese Odyssey the Part I (Pandora's box)" and "A Chinese Odyssey the Part II (Cinderella). Among Asian film mania fans who LOVE Stephen Chow, "A Chinese Odyssey the Part II (Cinderella)" is known as his MASTERPIECE, his best film - because it makes you not only laugh so much but also even cry with tears at the last ending scene. It feels like same class level as Charlie Chaplin. But Chinese Odyssey the Part I and Part II are a connected story. So you have to start Part I first to understand Part II. Part 3 film was released later, too. Part 3 was entertaining enough, but Only part I and II have Stephen Chow in the movies.
Spoiler for the movie if anyone reads this.
Does the part where the staff holder (trying to keep it vague) walks away at the end of part 1 or part 2? If it's part one, then I never watched part 2
@@rokudodamaza Probably u watched part 2. But im not 100% sure.
@@rokudodamaza that'll be part 2! Part 1 and 2 are definitely my favourite Stephen Chow films. They are highly rated and have a lot of depth and of course random comedic moments.
I’d argue kung fu hustle is his best, but anyway, chinese odyssey is good too. However, to understand chinese odyssey, you need to understand “journey to the west”, which may be quite hard for someone not growing up in heavily chinese influenced regions.
@@user.a.b.c. It would certainly help but I never watched it before Chinese Odyssey solely because Stephen Chow wasn't in it
Tbh for Chinese speaking people, Stephen Chow's best movies are from pre-Shaolin soccer era. The dialogues are much better and wittier, but probably could have lost their value after translation into foreign language subtitles. Kungfu Hustle however were made to appeal to the taste of global market.
Finally someone who feels the same as me. Shaolin Soccer was his last playful movie that was actually funny. Kung Fu Hustle was overrated, too serious and not as funny. God of Cookery, Forbidden City Cop, From Beijing With Love, God of Gamblers 2&3, Lawyer Lawyer, All For The Winner, Curry And Pepper, Royal Tramp 1&2, Chinese Odyssey 1&2, King Of Beggars, 60 Million Dollar Man, Look Out Officer are all classic and stomp Kung Fu Hustle. It pisses me off when people only talk about Kung Fu Hustle just like fake Jackie Chan fans who only talk about Rush Hour.
@@shindukess well I wouldn't call them fake fans really, they just never get exposed to both actors previous movies really
@@hteekay they don't bother even when it gets pointed out to them. That's why that's the only thing they talk about.
agreed. i think his earliest and latest work are my least favorites. his early work with Wong Ching are too childish for my taste now as an adult... they were funny to me when i was a child i. but i dont find them funny anymore. I think his work with more depth were 008, Out of the dark. God of cookery. the humors are on a different level
Stephen Chow is a real comedy genius, everything he did was just unique.. but most of his jokes were based on Hong Kong's culture, and the way he speaks, so it's a bit hard for non hongkongers to get but i'm glad you guys didn't found it too boring.
The 18 bronzeman of the shaolin monastery crack me up every single time 🤣 I’ve seen this movie dozens of times and I still laugh out loud
Do ‘From Beijing With Love’ for the next Stephen Chow flick, it’s like a Chinese 007 parody, it’s hilarious.
Wow, I didn't expect people would react to older Stephen Chow's movies. Kudos, guys. Respect 👏
Yes his name is Stephen, in Hong Kong there is a tradition where you adopt the name of your breakout character as your stage name. Though this movie was made long after his breakout, this is his first Producer role.
Please do react more Stephen Chow's Movies !!!
Modern Story :
1. Tricky Brains
2. The Lucky Guy
3. Out of the Dark
4. King of Comedy
5. Fist of Fury 1 & 2
6. All for the Winner
7. The Tricky Master
8. From Beijing with Love
9. Sixty Million Dollar Man
10. Fight Back to School 1 & 2 & 3
Ancient Story :
1. Hail the Judge
2. The Mad Monk
3. Flirting Scholar
4. Lawyer Lawyer
5. Justice My Foot
6. King of Beggars
7. Royal Tramp 1 & 2
8. Forbidden City Cop
9. A Chinese Odyssey Part 1 : Pandora's Box
10. A Chinese Odyssey Part 2 : Cinderella
I'd only recommend Fight Back To School 1 and slide in God of Gamblers.
stephen chow is known for his "random humour". that is a lot of that in his older movies, and that number of random humour gets reduced progressively in his film making career.
yay more Stephen Chow ^^
My favourite Stephen Chow Movie is "love on delivery" (破壞之王), but I don't know how good it would be without knowing Cantonese.
Stephen Chow had lots of random factors in his comedy, but many young and old adults were his fans because they found some sorts of resonance in his comedies. The joke or comedy usually come from some old commercials, or some famous scenes in Japanese manga or anime (yeah many hongkonger loves japanese manga and culture they very much familiar with), even the songs appeared in this movie are those old hk commercial songs or old folks. So it might be a bit random if not familiar of the context! But still you would find it hilarious somehow even not knowing the context!
My favorite part was when he recounts getting beat up by the 18 Brass Men...who mostly used folding chairs and danced around making a show.
And the refence of him learning Kung Fu was precisely that: using the inconspicuous grandfather of all weapons that, as the judge lady says, allows you to evade battery charges by the cops!
lol it's 2021 and his movies still live up today. legend
This was a time where Mad Cow disease was still a thing, hence the "British Beef" thing.
If you find a ChiuChow(a province) restaurant in London Chinatown, they will have Beef Ball soup. The beef balls are not hollow in the center but solid throughout. Stephen Chow made up the Pissing Beef Balls for this movie.
U guys should have watched his earlier movies, the 90s movies. His golden era
As a person from Hong Kong, really happy that you guys watch these iconic films. This film literally is the meme-est movie in hk, but I mean there’s obviously more!!!
Stephen Chow movies often take inspiration from pop culture. In the mid 90s Japanese anime about cooking and food was all the rage in HK. The Shaolin brass men is a part kung fu lore. Before you graduate from Shaolin you are suppose to defeat the 18 brass men. The part about British beef was about the mad cow disease outbreak in the 90s. British beef was banned for many years in HK.
Please watch "A Chinese Odyssey part 1 & part 2 (1995)", "From Beijing with Love (1994
)" & "Out of the Dark (1995)". These are the top 3 Stephen Chow's movies to me.
Also thanks for review and promote Stephen Chow's movies to the western audience. Stephen Chow is the most important and best artist in Hong Kong history. His movies affected Hong Kong pop culture and language using a lot. We still love to quote his old movie dialogues and scenes to communicate with each other now. Every hongkonger love him and his movie so much that other people can't imagine.
I’m very glad that you guys watched these movies and appreciate them, it’s pretty rare for any foreigners to watch these, which is a shame because they are really special and pioneering for their time.
The thing is that cantonese language and culture is really complex, crude, humorous and colloquial, so it’s very difficult to get the full effect without being a local. Almost every line has a pun, every scene has a joke, it’s purely Hong Kong humour.
You may notice there is a pattern which Stephen Chow used to describe the romance between characters. The guy is always mean to the woman at first and then regretted. This is the reference of his own romance. He gave up a relationship earlier his life and the woman married to someone else, and now is passed away due to cancer. He regretted it so much that he remained single till this day.
In Hong Kong, there is 3 box office legend called "雙周一成" - 2 chow and 1 chéng (Chow Yun-fat, Stephen and jackie chan), It is kind of a shame that stephen chow was not as famous as the other 2 oversea.
Cantonese Song : Samantha Lam - Chūliàn 初戀 ''First Love'' (1984)
Original Song : Kozo Murashita - Hatsukoi 初恋 ''First Love'' (1983)
Stephen Chow was so successful honestly. He made Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu to cater for international market mainly Western who don't understand Chinese and HK culture. They are pretty good films in their eyes but for those who grew up with his super local and funny movies, all his work before Shaolin Soccer are best of the best. Those were made under HK culture with Cantonese jokes that are so relatable. These are icons and legends. You seriously have no idea how much meme from God of Cookery are still so popular even now, 20 years after the movie. His movies are timeless and are the most played in history. It's called cultural differences that you prefer Soccer and Kungfu and I totally respect and see the points.
The girl with the golden teeth was also in Shaolin Soccer, as one of the girls with moustache.
"Assorted Noodle" isn't exactly said in Cantonese. They call it "Dirty Noodle". The street food stands were not known for their hygiene.
This is my personal favourite of all Stephen Chow's movies. It's hilarious as hell. Coming close is The Flirting Scholar.
‘From Beijing With Love’ by Stephen Chow, highly recommended
You guys are correct about Kung Fu hustle better suited for western audiences than early Stephen Chow's work. In fact Stephen had his initial attempt of collaboration with Hollywood being turned down because the producers thought his jokes in the movies are too specifically targeted towards Hong Kong audiences. When you watch his earlier movies be prepare to only understand about half of his jokes.
This film has a lot of paying tribute to older films n TV classic ads in hk.
Such as the Kung fu styles refer to classic black n white medieval Kung fu movie “Buddha's palm”
The reaction of delicious food are from then popular Japanese cooking animation.
The students look flash back is from hk classic tv ad of vitasoy , a soya milk soft drink every hkers used to drink.
A guy calling out His name Stephen chow in Cantonese way, as “si tei fun chau” , also is metaphor as Cantonese foul language of a male organ. Which “fun chau” is similar to “bun chau” aka a penis in slang.
His films used to hv lots of metaphors to lots of hk culture.
Found that u guys have a feeling that Steven Chow’s movies are always random. There is actually a specific genre in Cantonese - “Mo Lei Tau”
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_lei_tau
This is the backbone of Steven Chows comedy.
Man watching you guys react to these childhood movies is giving me a heck of a nostalgia kick.
Really wish you guys had a someone who was familiar with both the language and historic culture to help you with the references and nuance jokes of these movies.
Hahaha 😆😆... But there is two movie from Stephen chow mostly known here in asian hardly to stop laughing early 90s. "God of gambler trilogy" and "From Beijing with love 🤣🤣"
Watched all Stephen Chow's movies, actually grew up watching them. One of the most underated Stephen Chow's movies is Out of the Dark 1995. Watch it, it's a hilarious horror movie. Think it's the only ghost movie he had ever made. Expect the unexpected.
You know, that actress is Karen Mok. She's a great singer and has legs up to 'here'. Extremely charismatic lady.
What a weird, random and amazing movie. Couldn´t stop laughing as he kicked the "Guygirl" over the counter. Thanks for this one.
This is one of his running gags. There's a "guygirl" picking their nose in many of his movies.
@@tempsitch5632 And he's almost always the same actor!
Yeah, strange Chinese Odyssey is not being mentioned much. My personal favorite and maybe his most acclaimed work. It is a two-parter though and might be tougher for Westerners with the "Journey to the West" references.
Nah, the humor of those 2 movies are dry, too dry and I remembered well bcoz it bored me to sleep.
I agree, Chinese Odyssey part 2 and 2 are his Magnum Opus for his die hard fans, his western fans instead think its Kung fu Hunstle. (But Chinese Odyssey 2 & 1 combined imo is above KfH)
A lot of the randomness are actually references to his old jokes. It's super meta, and I could totally understand why some of the randomness goes over the head.
hi all, in case some didnt get it, british beef was banned from export from 1996 for 10 years for mad cow disease. this film was released in december 1996.
The "Sorrowful Hand", "The 18 Brassmen of Shaolin" and the other moves... draws upon Chinese martial art films and novels... Hence the names you may not be familiar. Those who grew up on martial art films and novels, would appreciate the moves more...
In addition, BBQ pork which Stephen serves in the final.. is a quintessential HK dish you can find in HKG.... You won't consider a trip to HKG complete without eating BBQ pork... and roast goose for that matter...
'king of comedy' and 'from bejing with love' will be good choice to watch next, they are less random comedy
I love these reactions videos and so happy that you guys get the cantonese style jokes. Great job guys. I'm from HK and I grew up watching tons of Stephen Chow movies. Btw, the love fling scene was a parady of a lemon tea commercial that was super popular back in the 90s.
Love of delivery ! That’s my favorite Stephen chow movie !
finally！！！！Thank you guys so much！ Jack is so funny when he laughs
damn i miss his acting.Stephen Chow my fvrte actor, now he is Director. you should react to his other top movies like A Chinese Odyssey part 1 and 2. part 3 he direct not act.
These two movies starred by Stephen Chow have very high scores in Asia and China. They are very funny! The plot is also very good! Please do look!
《A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandoras Box》
《A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella》
6:29 That was acutally original a japanese song ”初恋”(first love) write and sing by Murashita Kouzou. the music you hear here was Hong Kong cover version.
There are so many Stephen Chow movies, and many of them can be said to be worth a watch. From Beijing With Love, Love on Delivery, A Chinese Odyssey Parts 1 & 2, Royal Tramp, Sixty Million Dollar Man, King of Comedy, Forbidden City Cop, Flirting Scholar, King of Beggars, Fight Back to High School 1, 2, and 3.....just waaaay too many. They all follow the same type of HK "mo lei tau" random humor.
FYI, the actor who plays the bad guy Bull Tong is Vincent Kok. He is the scriptwriter of a lot Stephen Chow’s movies and the mastermind behind many jokes. He made a couple of cameo appearances at first and then transitioned to more acting roles after people realised how funny he was.
All dishes are real. Stephen didn’t make up anything here. Most of the dishes mentioned in this movie are still popular now
One of my favourite from Stephen Chow, CLASSIC!
King of the beggars was the 1st Stephen chow film i saw, there was kung fu scholar, god of gambler 2 ..kung fu hustle is his magnum opus for sure but take into context the time these movies was made.. Stephen chow is an amazing comedian/martial arts action/director.. love him since 1990
I always wonder since we outside of China and Hong Kong aren’t too familiar, but when we see repeat actors in films, like the man who played Golden Leg in this, does the original audience feel the same.
Like I find it cool cause I saw him in the other films, but to the Hong Kongese audience watching, is that like seeing Clint Eastwood in a minor role - where the actor is well know regardless of genre - or like seeing CM Punk acting - where only a specific demographic will recognise them by name?
I do wonder if Stephen Chow and co. are like big names in Hong Kong cinema. If not, they’re big names in my heart.
Stephen Chow is like a God in Hong Kong, probs Asia! His films usually consist of familiar faces but it does not become the victim of repetitive storylines. In fact, the actors gave life to different characters in those said movies and it's especially rewarding for us audiences when we understand the inside jokes / references regarding Chow's other movies.
The fun part about Stephen Chow’s films is that he usually uses the same group of actor actresses. It’s almost like you’re watching your friends play various roles in a skit. For years, watching Stephen Chow movies, like Jackie Chan movies are a must every Chinese New Year. It’s almost like part of a celebratory ritual because their films are funny and so easy to watch.
If you watched King Of Beggar, you will aware 20 years after, that guy played as a Crazy Beggar who teached Chow the Sleeping Buddha Kungfu is still in his character in Kung Fu Hustle 😂
@@doggo_87__60 YES omg, i watch so excited when I first found out about that easter egg!!
So happy to see you guys watching more Stephen Chow movies. Please watch them all. He is God of Comedy in China. He is known for random troll style kinda comedy so ya its random funny sht in movies
Actually the guy who act golden leg was just passed away in this year.thank you for your review to let more people know this movie.
can you guys recognize the leading actress in the film is one of the bearded soccer players in the half-final in shaolin soccer? the two bearded girls（Cecilia Cheung and Karen Mok) are both leading actresses from Stephen Chow's classics The King of Comedy and this one, The God of Cookery but they play cameo roles in shaolin soccer
it's quite common for actresses to sacrifice their pretty faces to play ugly roles in Stephen's films and usually quite hard to recognize :P
this is my favourite among all his movie.. love this movie so much.. nice react video guys.. i want more from you
Pissing Shrimp are mantis shrimp (they squirt out water as a defense mechanism I think that's where the name comes from). Usually when I've had it it's deep friend with a shit load of garlic. Texture is similar to lobster.
Happy to see Stephen chow movie reviews from a non Chinese point of view. He is an icon of Hong Kong and created the culture for Hong Kong people of the generation. Many of his random jokes are now becoming reality in Hong Kong, kind of like the future predicted from a Simpsons tv show.
I live in the US. I saved my money and decided to visit my uncle in Hong Kong in 1992. It was summer vacation from college. He lived with his daughter. He could cook. He didn't use a recipe just like my parents. He did it from memory and tasting the food to adjust the condiments or to know when it's done. For lunch I would go downstairs to an open air restaurant. It was cheap; less than a US dollar. The cook would ask me what kind of noodles, meats, and vegetables I want. He would throw the noodles into the boiling water and the other ingredients into boiling stock. Within seconds, I had my lunch.
Hey. These two have the most genuine reaction on youtube Ive ever seen. Cheers.
The newspaper at 13:20 said the beef balls cure eating disorder and the god of cookery is back in the game. LOL
In case people wondering what "pissing shrimps" are, pissing shrimp is just another way chinese call "mantis shrimp", it's quite good, like a mixture between normal prawn and lobster
In case anyone wonder what song is used around 6:25, I know the Japanese one named 初恋/Hatsukoi - First love. There're a lot of versions, but I knew it through the anime Sora no otoshimono.
fyi, the 'sorrowful rice' is actually a thing in Hong Kong, you can see it in some restaurants, which is simply rice with Chinese barbecued pork and a sunny side up, though the name is usually used as a gimmick
Actually those restaurants use the name "sorrowful rice" as a gimmick after this movie
"A Chinese Odyssey" should be in order now, surely!
Dengan forbidden city cop sekali
@@massalleh5255 Definitely.
Even in malaysia we loved stephen chow. He really did many good comedy movies.
Chow's hair become white (because his painfully sorrow) was the parody of Yoko / Yang Guo (he's sad because lost his lover), the main protagonist in The Return of The Condor Heroes, second novel from the legendary wuxia novels called Condor Trilogy by Jin Yong.. the novels are very popular.. may be you can loof for information about them..
Forbidden City Cop, Laughing Scholar are really absurd and also another must in Chow's movies. The nose picking guy almost always appear in every one of his films :v
TH-cam recommended your reaction to kungfu hustle right before i shut off my phone to sleep...... Now how have i been watching your channel until its almost 5am already 😂😭
😂😂😂
Thanks for the reaction, always love the reactions of you guys
If you guys are interested in Stephen Chow, you can try
1. The Fight Back to School series
2. The God of Gamblers series
3. From Beijing with Love
4. A Chinese Odyssey Part I & II
If you guys wanna watch more HK movies, try:
1. Infernal Affairs series
2. Running out of Time
Hahaha I think "Sorrow Hand" is an allusion to a martial art technique created by the main character in a popular novel roughly translated to "Return of the Condor Heroes." There are a lot of drama adaptions of the novel.
Yay. more Stephen chow movies !!. I'm very excited to watch you guys reaction
It's extremely difficult to relate yourself to foods like that bowl of noodles at the beginning of the movie if you haven't spent a good couple of years living in Hong Kong and hanging out with the locals there. Great that you guys still enjoyed the movie. It would be interesting to see you guys doing a travel vlog in Hong Kong sometime in the future trying out all these foods that appeared in this movie.
Also on those random martial arts references, Stephen Chow incorporates a lot of Chinese frictional martial arts mostly coming from Jin Yong's works, into the movie especially towards the end of it. Many of Jin Yong's works are made into movies and soap operas. However, Stephen Chow kinda put his own twist to it and exaggerate a lot of the details which makes it comedic.
I enjoyed seeing you guys laughing at the comedy parts, and you guys can understand the humour. that's important for us watching your reaction.
OH YES HUNDRED TIMES YESSS! BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!!!!
There are three parts of Stephen Chow's Journey to the West. Everyone is recommending the first and second parts, but they are all looking at the third part
the translation for this movie is surprisingly good...wow...it delivers most of the meaning of those Cantonese humour
I'm pretty sure I watched this movie when I was probably around 10 or slighly under that lol. I suppose the adult jokes just flew over my head that time. I really appreciate you actually finding this movie though! I can't seem to find a watchable quality of it myself when I tried o.o
Thank you guys I love his movies and the type of comedy he helped establish for HK.
The "Pissing Shirmp" it called Mantis shrimp the reason why Chinese people called pissing shrimp is because when those shrimp sees threats they will attack the threat by shooting water or something, and it looks like they taking a piss.
yall have to watch 'Hail the Judge' that entire film was so funny 😭🤚
8:32 - just some background infor, why mention British Beef? Cos when this movie was produced, it was the time when BSE (or commonly known as Mad Cow disease) was found occurring primarily in UK younger people caused through eating BSE-infected meat (beef in this movie).
ive grew up watching stephan chow movies, absolute favourites Love on delivery, Royal tramp , a chinese oddeysey, from beijing with love, hail the judge , justice my foot..
One very important thing to note for this director.
Think of how the children view this kind of movie, if you grow up with them, they’ll grip you harder than anything else ever could.
sixty million dollar man was one of my favorites growing up..suuper random too, but hilarious. I have to get a rewatch on that as well haha
11:01 was a real laugh scene that Stephen Chow decided to leave in
Really enjoyed your reviews, I have missed Stephen’s Chow movies very much, wish that you will continue to review all of his movies, if not at least a few more of his movies.