Come Drink with Me
Encyclopedia
Come Drink with Me is a 1966 Hong Kong wuxia
film directed by King Hu
. Set during the Ming Dynasty
, it stars Cheng Pei-pei
and Yueh Hua
as warriors with Chan Hung-lit as the villain, and features action choreography by Han Ying-chieh. It is widely considered one of the best Hong Kong films ever made. The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
at the 39th Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
A local drunk beggar named Fan Da-Pei acts as Golden Swallow’s guardian angel, secretly helping her avoid being ambushed at night. That morning Fan Da-Pei, whom we now know only as “Drunken Cat” tips off Golden Swallow to the bandits whereabouts. They have occupied a Buddhist monastery. Under the guise of an acolyte, Golden Swallow penetrates the temple and confronts the man who’s taken her brother hostage. During the brawl she is injured by a deadly, poisoned dart. She escapes and is rescued in the woods by Fan who nurses her back to health. While she’s convalescing, Golden Swallow learns that Fan is actually a martial arts master and a leader of a Kung Fu society, which he otherwise keeps a secret.
The monastery is led by an evil abbot, Liao Kung, who is also a kung fu master and has allied himself with the bandits. He finds out that the beggar carries a bamboo staff, and then realises that the beggar is the former student of the same master. The abbot has in fact killed their master in order to get his bamboo staff, which was rescued by Fan Da-Pei. Now Liao Kung sees the opportunity to gain control of the staff.
Fan Da-Pei is hesitant to confront Liao Kung for two reasons. First, Liao Kung’s kung fu skills are unparalleled, and he thinks he has no chances against him, or at the very least, one of them would not survive a confrontation. Second, despite his evil ways, Liao Kung has actually done a good deed to Fan Da-Pei: he persuaded the master to accept Fan Da-Pei into the Green Wand Kung-Fu school when he was a mere homeless orphan, thus giving him a chance in life. For this reason, Fan is reluctant to fight the abbot even though Fan knows about the abbot’s criminal deeds.
In order to release the General’s son, Fan stages a prisoner exchange. During the exchange, the government soldiers receive the General’s son, but Fan prevents the bandits from releasing their leader. As the government soldiers march the bandit leader back to prison, the bandits attack the procession. Golden Swallow, leading her female warriors, fights off the bandits. The evil abbot forces a showdown with Fan Da-Pei.
is rumoured to have appeared as one of the child singers near the beginning of the film. Lead actress Cheng Pei-pei denied this in the audio commentary to the Hong Kong DVD release of the film. Still, the film is listed among Chan's acting credits on his official website and autobiography
.
Director King Hu
told critic Tony Rayns (quoted in Bey Logan's book) that he had deliberately chosen a ballet dancer for the lead female role, "... rather than fighting. I'm very interested in Peking opera and particularly its movement and action effects, although I think it's difficult to express them adequately on stage, where the physical limitations are too great." King Hu was said to recognise that some of the fights are stylised as opposed to realistic but claimed that combat in his movies was "always keyed to the notion of dance." This movie was a great success upon its release in Hong Kong and made a star of Cheng Pei-pei
and others.
The original film was followed by a sequel, Golden Swallow
again with Cheng Pei-pei
but with Jimmy Wang as the lead actor.
and Harvey Weinstein
announced in April 2007 that they would invest in movies with Asian themes. One of the movies they announced was a remake of Come Drink with Me, directed by Quentin Tarantino
. However, little has been heard of the project since then, and in June 2008, Tarantino announced his next project would be Inglourious Basterds, leaving the status of the remake undisclosed.
(through Celestial Pictures
) released a digitally restored version of this classic film with a new trailer and interviews, including Cheng Pei-pei
.
On May 27, 2008, Dragon Dynasty
released their own edition with an improved transfer, the original Mandarin mono soundtrack and exclusive supplements, including a newly-recorded audio commentary
with Bey Logan
and Cheng Pei-pei, trailers, a retrospective with Bey Logan and interviews with the cast (Cheng Pei-pei, Yueh Hua) and director King Hu.
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
film directed by King Hu
King Hu
King Hu was a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose Wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films Come Drink with Me , Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films in the late 1960s...
. Set during the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
, it stars Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei is an actress best known for her performance in the seminal 1966 King Hu wuxia film Come Drink with Me. She continued to play expert swordswomen in a number of films throughout the 1960s...
and Yueh Hua
Elliot Ngok
Elliot Ngok Wah, better known as Yueh Hua, is a former Shaw Brothers actor and veteran TVB actor.-Career:Elly was born Leung Lok Wah in Shanghai, with native Cantonese roots. He immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962. He joined Shaw Brothers and started his acting career in 1965. His breakout film role...
as warriors with Chan Hung-lit as the villain, and features action choreography by Han Ying-chieh. It is widely considered one of the best Hong Kong films ever made. The film was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 39th Academy Awards
39th Academy Awards
The 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California...
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Plot
A general’s son is taken hostage and used as leverage to free a bandit leader. The general’s other offspring, a girl named Golden Swallow, is sent to rescue the son. When the bandit gang encounter the Golden Swallow in a local inn, the prisoner negotiation escalates to bloodshed and the goons are swiftly defeated.A local drunk beggar named Fan Da-Pei acts as Golden Swallow’s guardian angel, secretly helping her avoid being ambushed at night. That morning Fan Da-Pei, whom we now know only as “Drunken Cat” tips off Golden Swallow to the bandits whereabouts. They have occupied a Buddhist monastery. Under the guise of an acolyte, Golden Swallow penetrates the temple and confronts the man who’s taken her brother hostage. During the brawl she is injured by a deadly, poisoned dart. She escapes and is rescued in the woods by Fan who nurses her back to health. While she’s convalescing, Golden Swallow learns that Fan is actually a martial arts master and a leader of a Kung Fu society, which he otherwise keeps a secret.
The monastery is led by an evil abbot, Liao Kung, who is also a kung fu master and has allied himself with the bandits. He finds out that the beggar carries a bamboo staff, and then realises that the beggar is the former student of the same master. The abbot has in fact killed their master in order to get his bamboo staff, which was rescued by Fan Da-Pei. Now Liao Kung sees the opportunity to gain control of the staff.
Fan Da-Pei is hesitant to confront Liao Kung for two reasons. First, Liao Kung’s kung fu skills are unparalleled, and he thinks he has no chances against him, or at the very least, one of them would not survive a confrontation. Second, despite his evil ways, Liao Kung has actually done a good deed to Fan Da-Pei: he persuaded the master to accept Fan Da-Pei into the Green Wand Kung-Fu school when he was a mere homeless orphan, thus giving him a chance in life. For this reason, Fan is reluctant to fight the abbot even though Fan knows about the abbot’s criminal deeds.
In order to release the General’s son, Fan stages a prisoner exchange. During the exchange, the government soldiers receive the General’s son, but Fan prevents the bandits from releasing their leader. As the government soldiers march the bandit leader back to prison, the bandits attack the procession. Golden Swallow, leading her female warriors, fights off the bandits. The evil abbot forces a showdown with Fan Da-Pei.
Cast
- Cheng Pei-peiCheng Pei-peiCheng Pei-pei is an actress best known for her performance in the seminal 1966 King Hu wuxia film Come Drink with Me. She continued to play expert swordswomen in a number of films throughout the 1960s...
as Golden Swallow - Yueh HuaElliot NgokElliot Ngok Wah, better known as Yueh Hua, is a former Shaw Brothers actor and veteran TVB actor.-Career:Elly was born Leung Lok Wah in Shanghai, with native Cantonese roots. He immigrated to Hong Kong in 1962. He joined Shaw Brothers and started his acting career in 1965. His breakout film role...
as Fan Da-pei / Drunken Knight - Chan Hung-lit as Jade Faced Tiger
- Lee Wan-chung as Smiling Tiger Tsu Kan
- Yeung Chi-hing as Abbot Liao Kung
- Shum Lo as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Han Ying-chieh as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Fung Ngai as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Simon Yuen as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Ku Feng as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Wong Yeuk-ping as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Kwan Ying-chi as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Chow Siu-loi as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Nam Wai-lit as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Tung Choi-bo as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Chiu Hung as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Chui Chung-hok as Jade Faced Tiger's henchman
- Hao Li-jen as monk
- Wong Chung as Golden Swallow's brother
- Cheung Hei as innkeeper
- Yam Ho as waiter
- Chin Chun as waiter
- Yee Kwan as waiter
- MarsMars (actor)Mars , born Cheung Wing Fat is a Hong Kong actor, action director, stuntman and martial artist. He is one of Jackie Chan's best friends.-Early life:...
as one of the little kids - Alan Chui as one of the little kids
- Ching Siu-tungChing Siu-tungChing Siu-tung , also known as Tony Ching, is a Hong Kong action choreographer, actor, film director and producer, who has directed over 20 films, including the critically acclaimed supernatural fantasy A Chinese Ghost Story .-Career:...
as boy monk who gets injured in the eye - Angela Pan as woman escort soldier
- Chiu Sam-yin as woman escort soldier
- Ng Ho as prisoner
- Leung Lung as caravan guard
- Hsu Hsia
- Wong Shing
Production notes
Jackie ChanJackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
is rumoured to have appeared as one of the child singers near the beginning of the film. Lead actress Cheng Pei-pei denied this in the audio commentary to the Hong Kong DVD release of the film. Still, the film is listed among Chan's acting credits on his official website and autobiography
I Am Jackie Chan
I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action is a 1998 Autobiography book written by Jackie Chan with help from Jeff Yang, written before Jackie Chan's success Rush Hour–a special edition of the book was released in 1999 telling events occurring after Jackie's success with the movie. The book tells of...
.
Director King Hu
King Hu
King Hu was a Hong Kong- and Taiwan-based Chinese film director whose Wuxia films brought Chinese cinema to new technical and artistic heights. His films Come Drink with Me , Dragon Gate Inn and A Touch of Zen inaugurated a new generation of wuxia films in the late 1960s...
told critic Tony Rayns (quoted in Bey Logan's book) that he had deliberately chosen a ballet dancer for the lead female role, "... rather than fighting. I'm very interested in Peking opera and particularly its movement and action effects, although I think it's difficult to express them adequately on stage, where the physical limitations are too great." King Hu was said to recognise that some of the fights are stylised as opposed to realistic but claimed that combat in his movies was "always keyed to the notion of dance." This movie was a great success upon its release in Hong Kong and made a star of Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei is an actress best known for her performance in the seminal 1966 King Hu wuxia film Come Drink with Me. She continued to play expert swordswomen in a number of films throughout the 1960s...
and others.
The original film was followed by a sequel, Golden Swallow
Golden Swallow (film)
Golden Swallow, also known as The Girl with the Thunderbolt Kick, is a 1968 Hong Kong wuxia film directed by Chang Cheh and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Cheng Pei-pei, Jimmy Wang, Lo Lieh and Chao Hsin-yen...
again with Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei is an actress best known for her performance in the seminal 1966 King Hu wuxia film Come Drink with Me. She continued to play expert swordswomen in a number of films throughout the 1960s...
but with Jimmy Wang as the lead actor.
Rumors of a remake
Producers BobBob Weinstein
Robert "Bob" Weinstein is an American film and theatre producer, the founder and head of Dimension Films, former co-chairman of Miramax Films, and current head, with his brother Harvey Weinstein, of The Weinstein Company.-Career:...
and Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
announced in April 2007 that they would invest in movies with Asian themes. One of the movies they announced was a remake of Come Drink with Me, directed by Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
. However, little has been heard of the project since then, and in June 2008, Tarantino announced his next project would be Inglourious Basterds, leaving the status of the remake undisclosed.
Recent re-releases
In 2003, IVLIVL
IVL can refer to:* The IATA code for Ivalo Airport* Involucrin, a human gene* Ilmailuvoimien Lentokonetehdas, a Finnish defense, aviation and aerospace company* The Indian Volley League, a professional Volleyball league in India...
(through Celestial Pictures
Celestial Pictures
Celestial Pictures is a diversified entertainment company focusing on Asian-language film and television content including production, aggregation, distribution and the operation of TV channels....
) released a digitally restored version of this classic film with a new trailer and interviews, including Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei
Cheng Pei-pei is an actress best known for her performance in the seminal 1966 King Hu wuxia film Come Drink with Me. She continued to play expert swordswomen in a number of films throughout the 1960s...
.
On May 27, 2008, Dragon Dynasty
Dragon Dynasty
Dragon Dynasty is a joint venture started by The Weinstein Company and Genius Products. The company was created on May 23, 2006 for the sole purpose of distributing East Asian films on DVD in the US, whose licenses are held by, or will be acquired by The Weinstein Company...
released their own edition with an improved transfer, the original Mandarin mono soundtrack and exclusive supplements, including a newly-recorded audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
with Bey Logan
Bey Logan
Bey Logan is a respected expert on East Asian cinema, particularly Hong Kong action cinema. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer and as a martial artist who has had roles in a number of films, including the 2003 Dante Lam film The Twins Effect.He has written two books - Hong Kong...
and Cheng Pei-pei, trailers, a retrospective with Bey Logan and interviews with the cast (Cheng Pei-pei, Yueh Hua) and director King Hu.
See also
- List of Dragon Dynasty releases
- List of submissions to the 39th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Hong Kong submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film