julesdil Snake in the eagles shadow 1978 came out before drunken master is a martial art film with the same cast . Jakie and y sou tine do training and hard martial art practice to make Jakie a hero to fight the eagle claw clan , centered in rural dark areas Jakie puts great drama as a orphan in a martial art school who is bullied by his dictator Dean sheik. The story is formulaic but fun all about traditional animal styles of Chinese arts , the training scenes and music is retro although a corny film its fun in parts the film suffers from a annoying badly quality film showing its age and its repetitive music but its fight scenes including a fight with Wang Jain Lea is disappointing and at the same time good to watch .This is no classic but it has its retro scenes the film misses comedy that would have made it better snake is not like drunken master but its from the same company which is considered Chan's fame of a star . A rare film to get in show and a dear price online its worth getting for collection.

winner55 ej's kung-fu capsule review for films of the chop-socky old-school - 1. basic plot type - Clan vs. clan; special styles clash; young man comes of age learning kung fu from older master.2. plot construction - Pretty strong, and easy to follow. Director Yuen adds some very nice touches, such as when Chan introduces the old master to his only friend - a cat.3. dramatic - Occasionally, in its emphasis on the relation between the old master and his young student.4. funny - Occasionally - this is still early for Chan, but he is already playing his role with a bit of light irony.5. dialog - competent but no shocks here.6. cast performance - Strong all around.7. crew performance - Seem to be aware that they are on the verge of a technical breakthrough in 'fu film-making, but this isn't quite it. ("It" is the later "Drunken Master", of course.) 8. amount of fighting - Lots.9. quality of fighting - Over-all, really darn good.10. special any cast or crew notes - After years of effort, the success of this film at last made Chan a star in Hong Kong's film market, and brought to a head the tensions between Chan and the producer to whom he was contracted, Lo Wei. Although Lo would always insist that he 'discovered' Chan, all he really wanted was a capable and charismatic young fighter he could mold into another Bruce Lee. Lo hated this film, and all other early Chan attempts to change the traditional chop-socky formula. But this film shows that Chan was very much his own man with his own vision; while the plot is pretty standard for this genre, Chan's performance is refreshingly new. Fortunately, Chan's ties with Lo would soon be severed, allowing the development of the Chan we've all come to admire.Chan is also aided here by the early effort of Choreographer/ director Yuen Woo Ping. Yuen's direction waffles a bit in spots, but this is clearly because he has a sense that there can be more to a martial arts film than we see in many chop-socky films of the era; he's still learning to articulate that.Besides countless imitations, the film spawned two direct sequels; one (SiES II) was produced by the same production company and starred Wong Tao; it is interesting in a quirky, eccentric way thanks to the supporting actors; but Wong Tao is no Jackie Chan. The other sequel, known as "The Jade Claw" appears to have been put together by the Yuen Clan to continue the developing reputation of Simon Yuen. Unfortunately, the elder Yuen died before the film was finished, and the continuity is terrible. Still, Billie Chong, star of that film, does a lot better as a Jackie Chan imitator than Wong Tao ever could.Chan himself refused to revisit this story for a sequel, and I think the decision wise - this film is genius in the making, all around; but the genius isn't made yet - that would appear later, and with much greater impact, in Drunken Master.11. big positive - Simon Yuen's most credible performance as the old master.12. big negative - The cat's-claw style Chan develops in this film is not all that impressive; that creates a weakness in the finale. There are also allusions in the dialog to plot threads that never show up.Bottom-line - who should see this movie - Chan fans; Martial Arts fans; chop-socky fans; Yuen clan fans. Its a solid action film, but may be too much a part of its genre for more general audiences.

AwesomeWolf 'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow' - Jackie Chan's other breakthrough hit, along with 'Drunken Master'. Both released in 1978, these two movies made the careers of Jackie Chan and director Yuen Woo Ping, and both featured Siu Tien Yuen and Hwang Jang Lee in similar roles.The plot follows Chien Fu (Jackie Chan), an orphan abused and mistreated by the kung-fu (evil, of course) school he works at. He can't fight until he meets Pai Cheng-Cheh (Siu Tien Yuen), a grand-master of Snake Fist, and last remaining follower of the Snake Fist style. A rivalry between the Snake Fist and Eagle Claw styles has led to the near-elimination of the Snake Fist style, and Chien Fu and Pai Cheng-Cheh find themselves being hunted by Lord Sheng Kuan (Hwang Jang Lee), the master of the Eagle Claw style.The awesomeness of 'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow' lies in the fact that it really is quite similar to 'Drunken Master', which is also awesome. Again, the plot is a pretty standard kung-fu plot, but any plot which allows for the maximum amount of on-screen kung-fu time is a good plot. The training sequences are entertaining, and the following fight scenes are incredible - Jackie, Hwang Jang Lee and Yuen Woo Ping are all at their best here.'Snake in the Eagle's Shadow' is an awesome and very funny movie - 10/10, a must see for all Jackie Chan fans.

CitizenCaine Jackie Chan made several movies in the 1970's, some of them forgotten, and many others forgettable. However, for the first time, this film successfully combines the many elements that would later signify Chan films: well-choreographed fight sequences, loose performances, an acceptable story, and comedic elements. The film is filled with one great fight sequence after another. The old man, who teaches Chan the snake style, is absolutely fantastic. His sequence with the bowl and Chan is incredible. Part of the secret of successful martial arts films in the 70's was adding welcome doses of humor. Here we have Chan, the underdog, being transformed into a hero in comedic, and grueling, training sequence fashion. Chan comes up with the new cat's claw style (kind of hokey) when the snake style isn't enough to overcome the opposing eagle's claw camp. The cat and the snake fight sequence is great, but the sound effects are hopelessly phony. The plot is typical for a martial arts film of the period, but doesn't drag the movie down, and contains more colorful characters than usual. A precursor for what was to come. **1/2 of 4 stars.