''Fong Sai-yuk'' (, a.k.a. ''The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk'' or simply ''The Legend'';on Netflix.com released in the Philippines as ''The Prodigal Fighter'') is a 1993 Hong Kong action-

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Corey Yuen Corey Yuen (; born Ying Gang-ming (殷元奎); 15 February 1951) is a Hong Kong director, film director, producer, action choreographer, and former actor. Yuen was a member of the Peking Opera Schools and one of the Seven Little Fortunes. As a ...

and produced by

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, Chinese martial arts, martial artist, and retired wushu (sport), Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singapo ...

, who stars as Chinese

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...

Fong Sai-yuk Fong Sai-yuk (or Fang Shiyu) is a semi-fictional Chinese martial artist and folk hero from Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province of the Qing dynasty. Fong was also associated with Hung Hei-gun and the Five Elders of the Southern Shaolin Mona ...

. The film won the

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

and

Golden Horse Award The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

for best action choreography. The film received positive reviews, particularly praising

Josephine Siao Josephine Siao Fong-fong () is a Hong Kong film star who became popular as a child actress and continued her success as a mature actress, winning numerous awards including Best Actress at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival (for ''Summ ...

's acting and the action choreography. The film had a sequel, ''

Fong Sai-yuk II ''Fong Sai-yuk II'' (also known as ''The Legend II'' and ''The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk II''; released in the Philippines as ''Once Upon a Time in China-6'') is a 1993 Hong Kong martial arts comedy film directed by Corey Yuen, and also produced by ...

'', released later the same year in 1993.

Plot

The brash and ambitious

meets the beautiful Lui Ting-ting during a track and field competition and falls in love with her. Ting-ting is the daughter of Tiger Lui, a hot-headed hooligan. Lui stages a martial arts competition for interested men to participate and win his daughter's hand in marriage. The contestant must defeat Lui's wife, Siu-wan, in order to win. Fong joins the contest at his friends' urging and defeats Siu-wan. He catches a glimpse of his future bride, who is actually a servant to replace Ting-ting, who had gone missing during the contest. Fong decides to forfeit the match and leaves. Fong's mother, Miu Tsui-fa, enters the contest in disguise as a man to help her son regain his lost pride. She defeats Siu-wan by knocking her off the scaffold, but catches her as she falls and they land safely on the ground. After that intimate moment together, Siu-wan becomes romantically attracted to Miu without knowing that Miu is actually a woman in disguise. Lui then forces Miu to marry his daughter. To save his mother from embarrassment, Fong marries Ting-ting on behalf of his "brother" (his mother in disguise as a man), and is confined in his father-in-law's house. He is unaware that his bride is actually his love interest and they fight in the dark. They discover each other's identities eventually. Miu manages to persuade Lui to let her son return home. Just then, Fong's father, Fong Tak, returns home from a trip. Fong discovers that his father is a member of the Red Flower Society, a secret society seeking to overthrow the ruling

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. While Fong Tak is having a conversation with fellow members, they are ambushed by the Governor of Nine Gates and his soldiers. The Governor demands that Fong Tak hand over the name list of the society's members, but he refuses. Just then, Fong Sai-yuk and his mother show up, and Fong fights with the Governor and holds him off until his parents have escaped. Fong and his parents hide in their in-laws' house to evade the authorities, but the Governor visits Lui's house and recognises them. In the ensuing fight, Fong Tak is captured while Siu-wan dies from a gunshot wound. The Governor stages a public execution of Fong Tak to lure Fong Sai-yuk into a trap. Fong lies to his mother that his father has been rescued and decides to save his father alone without letting her know. He attempts to storm the execution ground and fights with the Governor to save his father. At the critical moment, Miu appears with the Red Flower Society's members and their leader, Chan Ka-lok. They defeat the Governor and his men and succeed in freeing Fong Tak. In the end, Fong Sai-yuk becomes Chan's godson and joins his godfather on their quest as they ride towards the horizon.

Cast

Sources: *

as Miu Tsui-fa *

Vincent Zhao Vincent Zhao Wenzhuo (born 10 April 1972), sometimes credited as Vincent Chiu or Chiu Man-cheuk, is a Chinese actor and martial artist. Zhao is best known for playing the Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung in the '' Once Upon a Time in China'' film ...

as the Governor of Nine Gates *

Michelle Reis use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , nationality = , citizenship = , alma_mater = Maryknoll Convent School , ...

as Lui Ting-ting *Paul Chu as Fong Tak *

Sibelle Hu Sibelle Hu (; born 4 May 1958) is a Taiwanese actress, singer and TV personality who starred in both Taiwanese and Hong Kong movies. She acted in many movies in the 1980s and 1990s and retired in the late 1990s. Life Hu graduated from Faculty ...

as Siu-wan * Chen Sung-young as Lui Lo-fu (Tiger Lui) *

Adam Cheng Adam Cheng Siu-chow (born 24 February 1947) is a Hong Kong TVB actor and Cantopop singer. Career Cheng started his career in the 1970s, where he gained a reputation for playing the lead roles in TVB ''Wuxia'' drama series based on the works of ...

as Chan Ka-lok

Release

''Fong Sai-yuk'' was a box office hit on Hong Kong, grossing HK $30,666,842. In the Philippines, the film was released as ''The Prodigal Fighter'' by Viking Films on December 2, 1993. A sequel, ''

'', was released in the same year.

Home media

In the United Kingdom, the film (released as ''Jet Li's The Legend'') was watched by viewers on television in 2004, making it the year's tenth most-watched foreign-language film on television (below nine other

Hong Kong action films Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kon ...

). ''

'' (released as ''The Legend II'') drew UK viewers the same year, adding up to a combined UK viewership for both films in 2004.

Reception

In Hong Kong,

and Yuen Tak won the

for Best Action Choreography at the 13th Hong Kong Film Awards.

and Zhang Yao-zong were nominated for best actress and best editing respectively as well. At the 1993

Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is us ...

, Peter Cheung won the award for Best Editing, while Corey Yuen and Yuen Tak won the award for best action choreography. The film received a positive review from ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'' who referred to the script as "cobbled together", but praised actress

, noting "a show-stopping culmination of three decades of fine work in the Hong Kong cinema". The ''

Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' praised the film's fight choreography as the "most breathtakingly choreographed fight scenes witnessed in years", and noted the liberated female characters, calling them "a refreshing change of pace from years past, when women were frequently used as either cookie cutter stereotypes or the requisite damsels in distress". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' gave the film four stars, praising both Siao and

's roles and

's direction stating "it's astonishing to find that the director also helmed the ridiculous Stateside kung fu fest ''

No Retreat, No Surrender ''No Retreat, No Surrender'' is a 1985 martial arts film directed by Corey Yuen in his American film directorial debut. The film stars Kurt McKinney, with a supporting cast of Jean-Claude Van Damme, J.W. Fails, Kathie Sileno and Tai-chung Ki ...

'' (1986),

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...

's film debut; on home ground, he proves a filmmaker of consummate skill and style". In 2014, '' Time Out'' polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films. ''Fong Sai-yuk'' was listed at 84th place on this list under its title ''The Legend''.

References

External links

* * {{Best Action Choreography HKFA 1993 films 1993 action comedy films 1993 martial arts films 1990s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Corey Yuen Films set in 18th-century Qing dynasty Hong Kong action comedy films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films Kung fu films Wuxia films 1990s Hong Kong films