Shaolin Soccer

Shaolin Soccer (Chinese: 少林足球) is a 2001 Hong Kong sports comedy film directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the lead role. A former Shaolin monk reunites his five brothers,[note 1] years after their master's death, to apply their superhuman martial arts skills to play football and bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses.

Shaolin Soccer
Promotional release poster
Traditional少林足球
MandarinShàolín Zúqiú
CantoneseSiu3Lam4 Zuk1Kau4
Directed byStephen Chow
Produced byYeung Kwok-Fai
Written by
  • Stephen Chow
  • Tsang Kan-cheung
Starring
Music by
Cinematography
Edited byKai Kit-Wai
Production
company
  • Star Overseas Ltd
  • Universe Entertainment Ltd
Distributed byUniverse Entertainment Ltd.
Release date
  • 12 July 2001 (2001-07-12)
Running time
112 minutes[1]
CountryHong Kong
LanguageCantonese
BudgetUS$10 million[2]
Box officeUS$42.8 million[3]

Plot

Sing is a master of Shaolin kung fu, whose goal in life is to promote the spiritual and practical benefits of the art to modern society. He experiments with various methods, but none bear positive results. He then meets "Golden Foot" Fung, a legendary Hong Kong soccer star in his day, who is now walking with a limp, following the betrayal of a former teammate Hung, now a rich businessman. Sing explains his desires to Fung who offers his services to coach Sing in soccer. Sing is compelled by the idea of promoting kung fu through soccer and agrees to enlist his former Shaolin brothers to form a team under Fung's management. Sing and Fung attempt to put together an unbeatable soccer team. Fung invites a vicious team to play against them and the thugs proceed to give the Shaolin team a brutal beating. When all seems lost, the Shaolin disciples reawaken and utilise their special powers, dismantling the other team's rough play easily. The thugs then give up and ask to join Sing's team.

Empty Hand uses his superhuman speed to catch objects kicked at him.

Sing meets Mui (Zhao Wei), a baker with severe acne who uses Tai chi to bake mantou, and even takes her to look at very expensive dresses at a high-end department store after hours. She soon forms an attachment to Sing and even gets a makeover in an attempt to impress Sing. However, this backfires and when Mui reveals her feelings to him, he tells her he only wants to be her friend. This revelation, coupled with the constant bullying from her overbearing boss, leads Mui to disappear.

The striker of Team Evil prepares for his most powerful attack.

Team Shaolin enters the open cup competition in Hong Kong, where they chalk up successive and often ridiculous one-sided victories. They end up meeting Team Evil in the final, owned by none other than Hung. Team Evil had been injected with an American drug, granting them superhuman strength and speed, making them practically invincible, and they bring Team Shaolin back to reality when Team Evil's amazing capabilities prove more than a match for them. After Team Evil takes out Team Shaolin's goalkeepers, Mui, who has shaved her hair and improved her face, reappears to keep goal for Team Shaolin.

In their final attack, Team Evil's striker leaps into the sky and kick the ball with enormous force towards Mui; she uses her martial art to divert and stop it, thus preventing a goal. Mui and Sing combine their martial skills and rocket the ball downfield. The ball plows through Team Evil's goal post, thereby scoring the winning goal. Sing is then thrown into the air in celebration as the trophy is presented to him and his team.

A newspaper article then shows Hung being stripped of his title of soccer chairman and sent to jail for five years, while Team Evil players are permanently banned from playing soccer professionally. Sing goes out for a morning walk and feels happy to see people practicing Kung Fu. The camera pans to the poster of Sing and Mui who have married and become famous, for winning a world championship in bowling among other things.

Cast
  • Stephen Chow as "Mighty Steel Leg" Sing (no.10), a Shaolin Kung Fu monk. He is the team's striker and uses his extremely powerful kicks to make unstoppable soccer shots.
  • Ng Man-tat as "Golden Leg" Fung, a player from the 1980s. He became crippled after being beaten after a match, which he deliberately lost after being bribed.
  • Wong Yat-fei as Iron Head (no.11), the eldest Shaolin brother. He specializes in headers during match; before joining Sing he worked in a club.
  • Mok Mei-lam as Hooking Leg (no.2), the second brother. "Hooking Leg" has Shaolin skills resembling ground tumbling boxing.
  • Tin Kai-man as Iron Shirt (no.3), the third brother. "Iron Shirt" can absorb all kinds of blunt force attacks with little to no injuries, as well as siphoning and shooting the ball with his abdomen.
  • Danny Chan Kwok-kwan as Empty Hand, "Lightning Hand" (no.1), the fourth brother. "Empty Hand" or Lightning Hand, bears much resemblance to Bruce Lee, even wearing the classic yellow and black jumpsuit from Game of Death. His insanely fast hands allows him to catch objects thrown at him with pinpoint accuracy.
  • Lam Chi-chung as Light Weight Vest (no.6), the sixth brother. "Light Weight" is obese and gluttonous after being diagnosed to have a pituitary disease, but despite his illness, he is capable of jumping incredible heights over his opponents.
  • Zhao Wei as Mui, a baker and Sing's love interest. She's very skilled in manipulating objects with tai chi. She rarely speaks Cantonese, but everyone else still understands her and vice versa.
  • Patrick Tse as Hung, the coach of Team Evil and Fung's former teammate. He is Fung's nemesis from past till now.
  • Shik Zi-yun as Team Evil's Striker No. 9, he can back flip and soar into the sky to kick a fiery ball to its target.
  • Cao Hua as Team Evil's Goalkeeper No. 21, he is able to guard with one hand in his pocket. His incredibly strong hands are capable of crushing a thick metal crossbar.
  • Cecilia Cheung and Karen Mok as Team Dragon Players No. 7 & No. 11, they work as a team and can run so fast that it appears as if they are flying inches above the ground.
  • Fung Min-hun as Team Rebellion Captain, he is a vicious mobster who wields a crescent wrench and steel mallet as weapons.
  • Vincent Kok as Team Tofu Captain, he is the captain of the team that Team Shaolin faces in preliminaries.

Production

Inspiration

The inspiration for Shaolin Soccer came from Chow wanting a unique premise for a martial arts action film.[4] According to an interview with Premiere Magazine, Chow stated,

Actually the 'over the top' CG and kinetic soccer moves were an inspiration that came from the classic Japanese manga series Captain Tsubasa. The animation was very big in Hong Kong over ten years ago when it swept kids of all ages and even adults loved it. It has a cult following in Europe as well. But it was only possible with pen and ink back then, now with the advent of CGI, it can really be done....(the idea of combining it with Kung Fu was in my head for many years but we had to wait for the CG technology to mature)[5]

Chow had intended for this film to appeal to a global audience, stating, "I can't rely on the local market, because it's too small, so since Shaolin Soccer it's always my ambition to go international".[6]

Casting

Apart from several veteran actors, Chow stated in an interview with Premiere magazine that he cast several people in his entourage who had no prior acting experience before Shaolin Soccer. For example, Lam Chi Chung (Light Weight) had worked as Chow's screenwriter and Danny Chan Kwok-kwan (Empty Hand) was the dance choreographer hired to design the "Michael Jackson dance number" that followed Sing and Mui's first meeting early in the film. Chow comments he made Chan wear Bruce Lee's yellow-and-black tracksuit because only the goalkeeper "can wear a special uniform." Tin Kai-man (Iron Shirt) had been Chow's production manager on several movies, but had acted in numerous minor roles in previous films.[7] For instance, he played a young wanna-be Triad member in Chow's preceding movie, King of Comedy. Cecilia Cheung and Karen Mok, who briefly appear as Team Dragon Players 7 & 11 in Shaolin Soccer, had major roles in King of Comedy. Chow defends his decision to hire non-actors, saying, "In terms of finding talent, I try to bring out the funniest thing I notice about them during casting, if it made us laugh at the casting, it will also do on the big screen."[8]

Zhao Wei, who played the Mandarin-speaking Mui, said it was a different step for her to star in a Hong Kong production. However, Zhao admitted that she was not impressed with her look with less makeup because she is easily recognisable for her beautiful appearance.

Three of the principal cast members appeared in Chow's Kung Fu Hustle: Danny Chan Kwok-kwan (Empty Hand) portrayed Brother Sum, boss of the "Axe Gang"; Tin Kai-man (Iron Shirt) portrayed the loud-mouthed advisor of Brother Sum; and Lam Chi-chung (Light Weight) portrayed Bone, Chow's sidekick and partner in petty crime. Fung Min-hun (Team Rebellion Captain) briefly appeared as Cecilia Cheung's abusive boyfriend in King of Comedy and the Four Eyes Clerk who beats up both Sing and Bone when they make fun of him on the bus in Kung Fu Hustle.[9]

Home media

In Hong Kong, the film was released on DVD[10] and Video CD on 14 September 2001.[11] The DVD release was shortened by 10 minutes, with the option for viewers to access the deleted scenes in the middle of the film. The scenes deleted from the DVD version are the dance sequence in front of Mui's bakery, much of the conversation over Mui's makeover and the blooper reel before the end credits. Viewers can also access the making of key special effects scenes as well.

The film was also released in UMD format for the Sony PSP on 23 December 2005.[12]

The 2004 US DVD release by Miramax Films deleted 23 minutes of footage from the original cut; the omitted footage includes "Golden Leg" Fung's flashback opening sequence and Sing's interactions with Mui. This version features an English dub with Chow dubbing his own voice and Bai Ling as the voice of Mui. In addition, the DVD gives viewers the option to play the original Hong Kong version.[13]

In the UK, the film was released on Blu-ray by Optimum Releasing on 26 January 2010.[14]

The Japanese version of the film was released by Pioneer LDC on 22 November 2002.[15] It was reissued by The Clockworks Group on 21 December 2003.[16]

The Italian dub of the film features the voices of professional footballers Damiano Tommasi (as Mighty Steel Leg Sing), Vincent Candela (as Empty Hand), Marco Delvecchio (as Iron Head), Sinisa Mihajlovic (as Hooking Leg), Giuseppe Pancaro (as Iron Shirt) and Angelo Peruzzi (as Light Weight Vest).

Reception

Box office

At Hong Kong box office, Shaolin Soccer grossed HK$60,739,847, making it the highest-grossing film in the region's history at the time. It held the record until 2004 when it was topped by Stephen Chow's next feature Kung Fu Hustle. Shaolin Soccer earned a worldwide gross of US$42,776,760.[3]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 91% approval rating based on 90 reviews; the average rating is 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The plot is utterly ridiculous, and the soccer in the movie is unlike any ever played anywhere on Earth, but watching Shaolin Soccer, you will probably find it impossible to care."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 68 out of 100 based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[18]

China ban

China's State Administration of Radio, Film and TV rejected Shaolin Soccer from theatrical and DVD/VCD release, because Stephen Chow did not apply for Chinese permission for public screenings in Hong Kong.[19]

Accolades
Awards & Nominations
Event Category Nominee Result
Blue Ribbon Awards Best Foreign Language Film Won
2nd Chinese Film Media Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Actor Stephen Chow Nominated
Best Actress Zhao Wei Nominated
38th Golden Horse Awards Best Action Choreography Ching Siu-tung Won
Best Visual Effects Centro Digital Pictures Ltd. Won
7th Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Picture Won
Best Director Stephen Chow Won
Best Supporting Actor Wong Yat-fei Won
21st Hong Kong Film Awards Best Picture Won
Best Director Stephen Chow Won
Best Young Director Stephen Chow Won
Best Screenplay Stephen Chow
Tsang Kan-cheung		 Nominated
Best Actor Stephen Chow Won
Best Supporting Actor Wong Yat-fei Won
Best Action Choreography Ching Siu-tung Nominated
Best Cinematography Kwan Pak-suen
Kwong Ting-wo		 Nominated
Best Costume & Make Up Design Choi Yim-man Nominated
Best Editing Hai Kit-Wai Nominated
Best Sound Effect Kinson Tsang Won
Best Visual Effect Frankie Chung
Ken Law
Ronald To		 Won
Best Original Film Score Raymond Wong Nominated
Best Original Film Song Kick to the Future (song)
Jacky Chan (composer)
Andy Lau (lyricist/performer)		 Nominated
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Picture Won

Media adaptations

Chinese

The first of a four volume Shaolin Soccer manhua was published in Hong Kong roughly nine months after the film originally premiered in 2001. The characters were drawn with large manga-like eyes and cartoonish bodies, but the artists were careful to retain the likenesses of each actor who portrayed them.[20][21]

American

ComicsOne approached noted comic book artist Andy Seto with the idea of creating a two volume manhua-style graphic novel adaptation of the feature film. Seto attached himself to the project because the film was very popular and, therefore, had "a certain level of marketing value".[22] The project was officially announced on 30 June 2003 and the release of vol. 1 was scheduled to coincide with the film's US premiere in August, but the film was pushed back.[23] The Miramax film corporation bought the American film rights to Shaolin Soccer before its release in China,[24] so they helped publish the comic book along with two Chinese film companies who originally produced the film.[25] Volumes 1 (ISBN 1-58899-318-3) and 2 (ISBN 1-58899-319-1) were released in August and November 2003 and sold for US$13.95 each. Their suggested reading level was age 13 and above.[25][26]

Seto worked to make the novel as faithful to the film as possible but he admits that Stephen Chow's brand of Mo lei tau comedy does not translate well into illustrations.[22] He stated in an interview that "the Shaolin Soccer comic is 80% movie adaptation with 20% new content."[22] This new content includes a backstory about Steel Leg's training in Shaolin before the death of his master, as well as completely rewriting entire sections of the movie. For example, in the film a group of bar thugs beat up Sing and Iron Head after listening to their lounge-style tribute to Shaolin kung fu. The following day, Sing seeks out the group and uses his Shaolin skills to beat the thugs using a soccer ball. Fung sees the brawl and comes up with the idea of fusing kung fu and soccer. However, in the comic book, Sing is meditating in the park when he gets hit in the head with a soccer ball. The cocky players mock him and destroy a stone statue of his deceased master. Sing proceeds to use the soccer ball as a weapon.

Another example is the fact the characters are visually different from the film. All of their comic book personas look to be in their twenties to thirties, with highly toned athletic physiques (with the exception of Light Weight); even Iron Head, who was the eldest of the six brothers, appears younger than he should.

Several online reviews have criticised the American adaptation for its apparent lack of story line coherence, mixture of realistic and cartoonish drawing styles, and bad Chinese-to-English translation, among other issues. In regards to the translation, one reviewer stated, "It's almost as if the book was translated with a first-year English student referencing a Chinese-to-English dictionary, with strangely assembled sentences and strange bursts of dialogue peppering the pages."[27] Another common complaint was that the comics seemed to be geared towards those people who had previously seen the movie. Without this familiarity, a newcomer would lose track of the storyline because of the overcrowded pages and rapidly shifting plot.[27][28][29]

Legacy

See also

Notes
  1. "Brothers" here does not mean literal brothers, but "master-brothers", aka fellow disciples in martial arts, therefore the "biggest brother" is the first one to be adopted by his mentor (the "master-father"), not necessarily the oldest one.

References
  1. "SHAOLIN SOCCER (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 9 November 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. Shaolin Soccer at Box Office Mojo
  4. AlloCine (19 August 2002). ""Shaolin soccer" : Stephen Chow au micro !". AlloCiné. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. Q&A: Stephen Chow – Page 2 of 3 Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Gilchrist, Todd (20 April 2005). "Interview: Stephen Chow". IGN. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  7. Ross Chen. "Tin Kai-Man". Lovehkfilm.com. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  8. Lootens, Kristin (6 December 2003). "Q&A: Stephen Chow". Premiere.com. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  9. Pollard, Mark (22 August 2005). "Kung Fu Hustle (2004)". Kung Fu Cinema. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2009.
  10. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (Extended Version) (Hong Kong Version) DVD
  11. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (Extended Version) VCD
  12. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (UMD Video For PSP) (Hong Kong Version)
  13. Patrizio, Andy (17 August 2004). "Shaolin Soccer: The goofy goodness finally comes to DVD". IGN. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  14. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (2001) (Blu-ray) (UK Version)
  15. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (Japan Version)
  16. YESASIA.com – Shaolin Soccer (International Version) (Japan Version)
  17. Shaolin Soccer at Rotten Tomatoes
  18. Shaolin Soccer at Metacritic
  19. HK$300 million funded to develop local film industry
  20. (in Chinese) Announcement of the first Shaolin soccer comic book
  21. (in Chinese) Release of the second volume
  22. Kung fu comic creator / Interview with Andy Seto Archived 29 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  23. CULT FILM 'SHAOLIN SOCCER' TO GET COMIC ADAPTATION
  24. 'Shaolin Soccer' Scores Winner at HK Film Awards
  25. Seto, Andy. Shaolin Soccer (Vol. 1). Fremont, CA: ComicsOne Corp., 2003 (ISBN 1-58899-318-3)
  26. Seto, Andy. Shaolin Soccer (Vol. 2). Fremont, CA: ComicsOne Corp., 2003 (ISBN 1-58899-319-1)
  27. iComics.com review Archived 26 March 2006 at Archive.today
  28. The Fourth Rail review Archived 11 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  29. The Ticker review
  30. "In Their Elements" (September 2006). Nick Mag Presents, p. 6.
  31. 在塞黑隊與科特迪瓦隊的比賽之前約半個小時，場地兩側高懸的兩面大屏幕突然播放了一段《少林足球》的精彩片斷

Further reading
  • Leong, Anthony (2003). "Shaolin Soccer". Asian Cult Cinema. 38 (1st quarter): 8–11.
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