1978
Drunken Master 1978 Actor	Lots of humor, acrobatic movements, wild unorthodox style of Kung Fu, and an old drunk beggar (Simon Yuen) who can kick you-know-what. This film title is the same in title as DM 2 but the story is not the same so don't look for a link between the two except for the "Drunken Style" of fighting. Jackie is in another reluctant, lazy Kung Fu student role. Because of his laziness, he gets sent to his uncle for some serious discipline by hard training. Little does he know that his uncle is an old looking bum who can tangle with the best of them...after a couple drinks of course. "Strange", you say? Well not really since there is a past history of Chinese martial art styles using techniques similar to a drunk person. This style utilizes the staggering movements of a drunk person to successfully battle against any of the traditional styles. Jackie finds out that his uncle is an awesome fighter. You still have to watch this movie to see Jackie and the "uncle" perform some rather unorthodox pugilistic practices. I recommend this film as one of the classics in Hong Kong cinema and the martial arts genre. Enjoy. There is another title for this film: Drunken Monkey in the Tiger's Eye
The Fearless Hyena 1978 Actor	The story is about a Kung Fu student (Jackie) who's master gets killed by two tough bad guys. Jackie escapes and takes refuge by a crippled friend of his master. The crippled guy knows a unique style of fighting patterned after the hyena animal and he trains Jackie in the style so he can avenge his master's death. Good old-fashion kung fu flick. The style of fighting in this one is very unorthodox and really "trippy". This was the first Jackie Chan movie I saw on the big screen. Back then it was great. And it still rocks to this day. Worth watching if you like the old-school style of Kung Fu movies. Don't expect much from the second Fearless Hyena movie (see previous comment above).
Dragon Fist 1978 Actor	JC is the student of a Kung Fu master, who is killed by another Kung Fu master. So Jackie trains hard to take avenge his teacher's death. (Hmmm...is it me or has this storyline been done before??) After training for a long time, Jackie feels ready to take vengeance. He begins his long distance journey to make the duel-to-the-death challenge. On this journey, he also has to escort the master's widow. Good story which I think could be redone in a modern setting. Watch the movie for the rest of the story. Decent period piece. Serious film... NONE of the typical Jackie Chan comedy in this one. This is a good martial arts movie showing some effective and realistic traditional Chinese Kung Fu moves in action.
Spiritual Kung Fu 1978 Actor	Hammy-comedy Kung Fu movie. Interesting story on martial arts taught by ghosts. WARNING: lots of story plot below. Jackie grows up at the famous Shaolin Temple. He's a student but not a monk. One day, a masked thief breaks in and steals an important Kung Fu manual of a deadly style - The Seven Fists. This style is so potent that no other fighting method can defeat it....except one...The Five Fists or the Five Animals Style. The problem is that The Five Fists manual has been lost for years. Next scene, someone hands the stolen The Seven Fists manual to a young man who wants to rule over all the martial arts clans. Nuff said. For martial arts enthusiasts, there is some great fight sequences with weapons where Jackie faces off against the famous "12 Lohans". The 12 Lohans are the temple's top team of fighters made up of non-ranking Shaolin monks. You will see a lot of well choreographed weapons fighting. Staff vs. staff. Tonfas vs. staffs. Entertaining movie overall even though most of the special effects are low-budget. Well...it was the 1970's...so there is a technological limitation. :^) There are two other titles that this film goes by: 1) Karate Bomber and 2) Karate Ghostbuster
Half A Loaf Kung Fu 1978 Actor	Very comedic kung fu story. Some of the comedy is done decently in my opinion. Some of it is a bit hammy though. Don't expect too much action or martial arts from Jackie. His character doesn't know kung fu but is in the process of learning it.
1977
Snake in Eagle's Shadow 1977 Actor	A very good Kung Fu flick. One reason being that I found an original copy to watch. No corny English-dubbing or bad recording in EP mode. Jackie character gets beat up a lot because he is the lowest man on the totem pole at a local Kung Fu school. A beggar (same guy from Drunken Master) pities his situation so he teaches him a secret system of "Snake" fighting. This system mimics the animal with practioner's hands moving like a snake's head. The catch here is that Jackie cannot use this style or tell anyone about it. Apparently, the beggar is the lone survivor of his clan and he is hiding from the Eagle Kung Fu master. Note that this guy is really good because he has single-handedly hunted down and killed many Snake style fighters. One day a bully from another local Kung Fu school causes havoc at Jackie's school. Because the bully is kicking the living crap out of everyone, Jackie intervenes to save his schoolmates. Jackie reverses the tables and beats the snot out of the bully. Without him knowing, the Eagle style guy sees him using the secret Snake style. Guess what? The bad guy now knows there is a young new snake to hunt and kill. Go see the movie to find out the rest. There is another title for this film: Eagle's Shadow
Magnificent Bodyguards 1977 Actor	I haven't seen this one but I read a reviews and articles on it. This may sound strange but this movie was done in 3-D. Yes..."3-D". That means the audience were given "3-D glasses" to see the special effects that supposed to give the movie a three dimensional effect. A simple yet funky cinematic and marketing ploy of the past. Hmmm...I wish I was there.
Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin 1977 Actor	There are 8 Kung Fu masters from Shaolin Temple who combine their skills into a very powerful style called "The Snake and Crane Art". After they document their new system of fighting into a written manual, all of the masters AND the manual mysteriously disappear. One day a stranger, played by Jackie, appears and he starts bragging that he has the lost manual. The news travels quickly and everyone in the "martial arts world" shows up to take the manual from him. That's when the fun begins.... The opening scene begins with a weapons forms performance (i.e. kata). Jackie does a solo set with a double-ended spear. Then he performs a second set with a broadsword and tonfa (i.e. police L-baton). But this time he spars with two men who each have double-headed barbed spears. The weapons set is enough to get your blood pumping before the story even begins. A very good martial arts movie. Intriguing story. The action choreography was complex and well executed. A must see for the hardcore Kung Fu movie fan... especially if you were into the "old school" Shaw Brothers stuff. **** four stars say Siskel and Ebert. OK... OK... so I'm lying. But if they did watch it then they would like it too. Actually they would LOVE it. So if Gene or Roger is reading this... go watch it if you haven't seen it yet.
1976
To Kill With Intrigue 1976 Actor	An OK kung fu film. If you can get a good copy then you're fortunate because I have only seen some really bad copies around. The special effects were crappy but what can you expect? It was done in 1976. Jackie character is the only adult male heir to a local martial arts clan. Unbeknownst to him, his father killed and crippled other clans in the past. Fifteen years later, one of those clans comes back to take to revenge. The name of the clan is (get this...) Killer Bees. This is a funky group of people who fly(?) around in coffins and wear flower-shaped masks. Their leader is a masked woman who can kick the crap out of almost anybody she runs into. The Killer Bees take their revenge seriously because they destroy his clan but let Jackie live. The leader decided that he should survive to suffer the anguish just as she did when Jackie's father killed her father. That's just the beginning. Jackie has a pregnant girlfriend who is carrying his son who is the next heir to the clan. But the girlfriend is lost somewhere. Not only that...Jackie runs into the path of two groups of crazy killers called the notorious Bloody Rain Gang and the Dragon Escorts. Lots and lots of fighting ensues. In the end, everything ties-in together although it seems like a loose-ended story. This movie is little weird especially the last quarter of it. When you see it you will know what I mean. Like Killer Meteors, I think this story could be redone better in a modern production with better special effects.
The Killer Meteors 1976 Actor	This is a really old movie which features the "old school" kung fu film star - Jimmy Wang Yu. The different thing about this movie is that Jackie's role is the baddie. The story is about this 'bad ass' fighter who many fear and that includes other good fighters. He has this secret weapon called the "Killer Meteor" which you see but is always wrapped up until the finale. Strangely enough... people call him the same name. Maybe its just a bad English dubbing script?!? Don't know. Jackie is another local kingpin who is ailing from a poison which was secretly given by his wife. Without giving you any more spoilers, I will only say that Killer Meteor sets out on a mission to get the antidote to the poison. The hard part of the mission is defeating 4 guards who are thugs that know some powerful kung fu. This movie is not good. The fight scenes are ok but not anywhere as cool as a movie "starring" Jackie Chan. I will say that the plot is salvageable and could be done in a modern production... with a different star and a less idiotic weapon. Whoops. Too much spoilers already.
Shaolin Wooden Men 1976 Actor	Haven't seen it. But here is a contributed review: I haven't seen Shaolin Wooden Men myself but my friend has. Jackie plays a mute student at a Shaolin Temple. He learns Kung Fu from a Temple prisoner, and a friend of the monks. His ultimate goal: to avenge the death of his father (of which he has many flashbacks). This movie gets it's title from the hallway that every Shaolin student must pass through to prove his abilities, which also happens to be lined with chain controled wooden opponents. It's an O.K. movie in his opinion. -Dave Bell There are two other titles that this film goes by: 1) 36 Wooden Men and 2) Shaolin Chamber Of Death
New Fist of Fury 1976 Actor	Remember Bruce Lee's "Chinese Connection" movie? Well this is a continuation of the same plot. Note that "Chinese Connection" is called "Fist of Fury" in Asia. Hence the title difference... This movie was made pretty early in JC's career. He looks very young and different in facial terms. Some say he has had some plastic surgery but who really cares. I thought the story was ok but most new Jackie Chan fans will be disappointed. The only part that interest me was the history (accurate or not) of the Jing Wu Kung Fu school. Yeah...its a real martial arts school which exist to this day.
1975
Hand Of Death, Countdown In Kung Fu 1975 (blank)	Haven't seen it.
1971
Snake Fist Fighter 1971 Actor	It was not a good flick and the young (hardly recognizable) Jackie Chan is not the main character either. This movie is not worth watching unless you are a "completist" in regards to your movie viewing habits. My opinion of course. There are four other titles that this film goes by: 1) Master With Cracked Fingers 2) Stranger In Hong Kong and 3) Little Tiger From Canton 4) Eagle Shadow Fists