Fight/Stunt Choreography
Interesting sites that highlight the use of martial arts in movies and television programs.
A list of links about creating imaginary fights on screen and stage including the exceptionally talented people who dream this stuff up.
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“Bourne” stunt actor shares his trade secrets (CNN.com)
by Mairi Mackay
“In a world of celluloid action stuffed with CGI fights and sci-fi gadgetry, thank heavens for Jason Bourne, the amnesiac assassin who’s so lethal that he can turn a hardback book into a weapon.”
(Originally Published: 8/22/2008; Last DCTKD update: 9/17/2008)
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WB brings Kung Fu to the big screen (MonstersandCritics.com)
by Scott Rosenberg
"Directors Allen and Albert Hughes have been tapped to direct the big screen adaptation" of the 1970’s television series, "Kung Fu," starring David Carradine. Mr. Carradine is not expected to be associated with the remake. (Originally Published: 11/2/2006; Last DCTKD update: 1/22/2007)
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Making women warriors — a transnational reading of Asian female action heroes (Jump Cut)
by L.S. Kim
“Women might benefit more in [the martial arts] genre because the flexible presentation of realism enables women to take up fantastic, heroic, and dramatic roles in ways that other genres do not. Realism is relative in film, particularly when it comes to the martial arts film.” (Originally Published: 9/18/2006; Last DCTKD update: 1/7/2008)
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Kinesthesia in martial arts films: Action in motion (Jump Cut)
by Aaron Anderson
“In this essay, I wish to address the degree to which this type of muscular memory plays a role in communicating aesthetic concepts. That is, bodily memory itself allows a certain type of communication to take place, and this communication itself may involve aesthetic concepts inexpressible through other medium.” Note: The author uses the fight sequences of Jackie Chan and Steven Seagall to discuss how the fight action conveys a unique message to the audience. (Originally Published: 9/18/2006; Last DCTKD update: 9/19/2006)
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Striving to be the next Bruce Lee (CNN.com)
Hong Kong film still lures those with stars in their eyes
by Samantha Broun
"...[martial-arts choreographer and director Tony] Leung says that he does not see advances in computer graphics wiping out the job of the stuntman. He says that computer graphics allow there to be less risk involved when performing dangerous stunts, and the graphics can enhance fighting scenes dramatically but could not replace the real thing. ‘Audiences aren’t stupid, they want to see the real men, not a cartoon show’ he says. ‘As long as action and martial arts films are being made, we will not become extinct.’" (Originally Published: 4/6/2006; Last DCTKD update: 10/10/2006)
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The Art of War (Dance Magazine)
Even in a digital age, fight choreography means knowing where the blows fall
by Julie Bloom
"...fight scenes have provided pivotal moments in a drama, defined a character, and offered a cathartic release. When words are not enough, actors use their bodies to express anger and frustration in an explosion of movement...IT IS ESSENTIAL for the audience to believe that the actor is capable of the movement he creates." (Originally Published: 2/1/2005; Last DCTKD update: 10/12/2006)
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Choreography: the unknown and ignored
by Mélanie Morrissette
"An understanding of choreography is a major asset in increasing the dramatic tension of a fight scene. Yet, the most elementary aspects of cinema are neglected in many Hollywood films in favor of a so-called artistic liberty...there are many explanations for the differences between Hong Kong and Hollywood cinema...it is time to recognize the importance of the choreographer, as much in analysis as in production." (Originally Published: 8/31/2004; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
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Martial arts film Master Ching Siu-tung (Kung Fu Cinema)
by Jean Lukitsh & Mark Pollard
"When one thinks of modern martial arts filmmakers, masters like Yuen Wo-ping, Corey Yuen Kwai and Donnie Yen come to mind. But when it comes to versatility and high-flying wirework in period and modern films, no one has been more prolific or had more influence on the genre than Tony Ching Siu-tung. Ching was destined for the martial arts movie business from the beginning. His father, Ching Gong, was a famous Shaw Brothers director and Ching spent his early years training in a Peking Opera school, just as Sammo Hung, Yuen Wo-ping and other great genre filmmakers had." (Originally Published: 6/22/2004; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
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The Eclectic Nature of Martial Arts in Film & TV (DashingBlades.com)
by Simon Fon
"I came to the conclusion that today, more than ever, the status of Martial Arts Choreography demands that many styles be fused into one, making for fast, entertaining, surprising, unpredictable, and in the case of the film I saw [The Bourne Identity], realistic violence." (Originally Published: 3/15/2004; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
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Fists of History (The Daily Bruin)
‘Heroic Grace’ defies stereotypes, chronicles martial arts movies’ prolific past
by Howard Ho
“...the kung fu film is but one of many subgenres of Chinese martial arts films. Others include the fantasy films of Tsui Hark, the wuxia films to which ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ is an homage, and wuda films based on stunts, street fighting and gymnastics which Jackie Chan popularized.” (Originally Published: 2/28/2003; Last DCTKD update: 4/26/2007)
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Sophia Crawford Web Site
Sophia Crawford was Sarah Michelle Gellar’s stunt double for 78 episodes of Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. "Sophia was called in to re-shoot some action scenes. Trained in Hong Kong, Sophia’s martial art stunt work has a unique fluid style of movement, pacing, and incredible speed. An extra plus was that she measured in at barely 5’4” and 108 pounds, almost matching Gellar’s size. Sophia turned out to be the perfect action/stunt Buffy double that Joss Whedon, the shows creator, had been looking for." (Originally Published: 7/11/2001; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
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Violent dances in martial arts films (Jump Cut)
Looking at media in its social and political context
Pioneers since 1974, analyzing media in relation to class, race, and gender
by Aaron Anderson
A well-written essay using the films of Jackie Chan to explore “some possibilities open through and implications of reading filmed martial-arts combat as dance...This interest is also central to many areas of dance studies, through which one comes to understand that viewed human movement has the potential to communicate in phenomenological ways. At the core of all kinesthetic theory is the belief that in human experience the physical and the mental are never entirely separate.” (Last DCTKD update: 3/2/2005)
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