Alrighty, definitely one of the strangest films I have seen but still awesome. I was entertained from start to finish and honestly wanted more. The film contained some hilarious elements and the cinematography was beautiful.
Kung Fu Hustle is a postmodern film because of what is doing with images juxtaposed with other images. The whole movie is referencing other movies! Some examples:
1. The Godfather Part II: when the Landlord is walking around the Pig Sty gathering items from his tenants-- shot similar to Don Corleone walking through streets of NY collecting from his people
2. Matrix: used bullet time/slow motion , final scene was very similar to the end of the third Matrix where they are fighting in the rain in the air
3. Roadrunner: cartoon elements suggesting a roadrunner/coyote chase parody
4. Reservoir Dogs: the way the gangsters looked and danced-- very similar to the dance during the infamous ear scene in Tarantino's film
===these are just a handful of references used throughout the film. Now of course, the film also references every Kung Fu movie known to man, but I am not very familiar with this genre as I would like to be. I have seen a couple of the Bruce Lee films, but that was when I was younger. Honestly, the main "Kung Fu" that I can relate with is Kill Bill Volume I, which can arguably be compared to Kung Fu Hustle.
Tarantino is known for rehashing everything from other films into his own. He is king of postmodern American filmmaking because he knows how to mix images and references in a clever and unigue way. We discussed this in class, how that since everything has been done already, filmmakers are constantly trying to mix images from other films to create something new or at least a different spin on it. Kill Bill derives most of its action and story line from other kung fu films--music(which was almost identical to Hustle at some parts), choreographed fight scenes, certain fight techniques, etc...
So why mix images and rehash old elements of previous films? Well, I am not sure exactly but I think its just to pump out something that will entertain. Honestly, our generation likes rehashing and the revisitation of the past. Example: I Love The 80's, 90's, etc... This stuff already happened and we have lived through it, but we love to watch comedians and stars talk and poke fun at things we used to like and do. And it is the same with film: we like to see new films make references to the old films we love-- its fun and exciting to spot your favorite scene from the Godfather unexpectedly show up in a random kung fu movie. Images mixed with various images is now what we prety much have come to expect in film, and I don't really mind, as long as they keep doing it in a clever way.
The way I see it, is that it's almost a tribute to cinematic action in the broadest sense. From the kung fu films of the 70s and 80s, to modern cyberpunk sci fi like The Matrix, to animated violence in Looney Tunes; Kung Fu Hustle tries to bring all of the ways film has portrayed action together to create something we, as a collective of movie audiences, can all understand and appreciate.
ReplyDeleteI usually dislike when films reference for the sake of referencing but this movie did it in a very unique and enjoyable way, so it didn't bother me nearly as much. Additionally, it was pretty clear from the start that a film like this isn't supposed to be taken that seriously.
Good call on The Godfather. I missed that one. But I think there's something more to this movie than mere entertainment (though there's plenty of that). Even though you're not necessarily familiar with a lot of Kung Fu movies, there's plenty to say about what you saw that wasn't necessarily particularly Western, and how the film combined both Eastern themes and Western filmmaking conventions.
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