Yuen Wo-Ping

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Interesting sites that highlight the use of martial arts in movies and television programs.

Articles and information about one of the greatest Hong Kong fight/stunt choreographers. In addition to numerous Hong Kong movies such as Drunken Master, Once Upon A Time in China II, and Fist of Legend, Yuen Wo-Ping also worked on The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Kill Bill.

The Story of Drunken Master: Yuen Siu-tin (Kungfu Cinema)
by Jean
“These two films [Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master] launched Chan’s career as an international star. But the belated stardom for choreographer and stuntman Yuen Siu-tin merely capped a lifetime of action filmmaking that spanned five decades.” (Originally Published: 1/29/2007; Last DCTKD update: 1/30/2008)
CHOREOGRAPHY -- Master of the deadly airborne ballet (austin360.com)
by Ryan Pearson
Yuen Woo Ping is compared to other masters: "a choreographer wielding their combined influence over his own chosen field with quiet authority. Now in his 60s, Yuen dominates martial arts action from behind the scenes." (Originally Published: 9/29/2006; Last DCTKD update: 9/29/2006)
Yuen Wo-ping (Kung Fu Cinema)
"By effectively showing what even actors not trained in martial arts are capable of, Master Yuen Wo Ping continues to push the boundaries of action cinema. With sequels to The Matrix, a Quentin Tarantino project entitled Kill Bill, and continued work in Hong Kong currently on his plate, Wo Ping will continue to prove that martial arts cinema is truly an art form worthy of its Chinese roots." (Originally Published: 10/17/2003; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
Master of martial arts (TheHindu.com)
by Lance Volland
Excerpts of an interview with revered stunt choreographer Yuen Wo Ping while filming The Matrix Reloaded in 2003. “My action choreography has changed. Films have progressed. In the days of ‘Drunken Master,’ it was all hand-to-hand combat, which the audience then enjoyed. However, these days, if the action is too repetitive, the audience won’t be satisfied. At regular intervals, we need to add in a new style or two to boost the aesthetics of the action.” (Originally Published: 6/13/2003; Last DCTKD update: 3/9/2007)
Yuen Wo Ping on the Matrix Reloaded (Nangfang City Daily)
Yuen Wo Ping explains the action scenes behind Matrix Reloaded
by Chen Jia Chang
“The actions in The Matrix sequels are bounteous and complicated. Every role, from Keanu Reeves’ Neo to Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith, needed the aid of a martial arts instructor...The actors and actresses had to undergo five months of basic training...Yuen Wo Ping added that the moves were choreographed according to the script and the directors’ demands, and not based on the abilities and limitations of the actors and actresses. ‘There was no excuse for not being able to execute anything; They had to carry out the moves on the set.’” (Originally Published: 4/24/2003; Last DCTKD update: 2/14/2007)
Yuen Wo-Ping, action cinema’s puppet master (LA Weekly)
by David Chute
Ang Lee, director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, says: “‘It was Yuen Wo-Ping who really revolutionized the kung fu genre in those films, by making the action into a form of slapstick. He took away some of the grimness, some of the self-importance and the violence, the lust for revenge, that got into the genre after Bruce Lee.’” (Originally Published: 12/15/2001; Last DCTKD update: 10/5/2006)
Come fly with me (The Guardian, UK)
by Stuart Husband
“[Q:] Have CGI and new technology changed the way you work?
“[Yuen Wo-Ping:] The major difference is that they have extended the boundaries of what is possible. I can do movements now that couldn’t be done before. There has also been a transformation from the short cut to the longer take, so you can see more of the movement in a single shot. In Crouching Tiger, when they start flying over the rooftops, you can watch their movements in single takes. The technique was probably tailor-made for this project. So maybe ‘evolve’ is a better word. As for CGI, I never use it.” (Originally Published: 12/21/2000; Last DCTKD update: 2/20/2007)
Yuen Wo-Ping, Martial Master (Time.com)
He made Jackie Chan a star and Ang Lee an action auteur in the multi-Oscar nominated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
by Richard Corliss
"By now, Yuen knows what works; he has been supervising action scenes since 1971, and directing since 1978. He has helmed two dozen films, including some of the most exciting in Hong Kong history...(Rule No. 1: at the end of a Yuen movie, nearly anyone is likely to catch on fire.) [At the end of Iron Monkey] Piling impossible climax on incredible crescendo, the 5-min. scene plays like a war of the titans in a child’s playground of Hell." (Originally Published: 12/1/2000; Last DCTKD update: 10/10/2006)
Putting the punch in “The Matrix” (Asian Wall Street Journal)
by Ron Gluckman / Hong Kong and Hollywood
“‘Whether this was the hardest film I’ve ever done is difficult to say. It was the most involving and a real labor of love,’ [Keanu Reeves] says. ‘Through it all, Wo-Ping was great. He not only developed our fighting technique, but a style for each character. Every time we achieved some new level, Wo-ping would immediately say, ‘Fine, now what about this?’ It was always challenging, but incredibly satisfying.’” (Originally Published: 7/1/1999; Last DCTKD update: 2/24/2007)