Kung Fu Hustle

"So many gangsters… so little time."

2004 1h 39m CN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 3,360

ActionComedyCrimeFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.

“So many gangsters… so little time.”

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Cast

Stephen Chow
Sing
Yuen Qiu
Landlady
Yuen Wah
Landlord
Lam Tze-Chung
Sing's Sidekick
Bruce Leung Siu-Lung
The Beast
Huang Shengyi
Fong
Danny Chan
Brother Sum
Chiu Chi-Ling
Tailor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Chow
Writers: Stephen Chow, Tsang Kan-Cheong, Chan Man-Keung
Languages: Cantonese
Countries: China, Hong Kong

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Chow, shot by Poon Hang-Sang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

AWARDS

Did you know

Original score by Raymond Wong Ying-Wah. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Angie Lam On-Yee shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Stephen Chow and Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "So many gangsters… so little time.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Chow directs. Poon Hang-Sang behind the camera. Raymond Wong Ying-Wah scores. Angie Lam On-Yee cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in China, Hong Kong. Dialogue in Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 5.1× over at the box office.
2Released 22 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: China, Hong Kong.
4Directed by Stephen Chow, shot by Poon Hang-Sang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Raymond Wong Ying-Wah. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Angie Lam On-Yee shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Stephen Chow and Yuen Qiu and Yuen Wah carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "So many gangsters… so little time.".
9IMDB entry: tt0373074 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 13 themes, including "martial arts", "china", "magic", "gangster".
11Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Poon Hang-Sang
Original score: Raymond Wong Ying-Wah
Editing: Angie Lam On-Yee
Production design: Oliver Wong Yui-Man
Makeup / hair: Maggie Choy
VFX supervisor: Frankie Chung Chi-Hang
Stunt coordinator: Sammo Hung
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $102,034,104
Return: 510% of budget
Original language: CN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Awards

Golden Horse Award for Best Feature Film
Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Stephen Chow

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-09-18
★ 9/10
Quite an experience, and in a great way as well! Went into this one totally blind as to its contents, truth is, is that I was mooching round the shops yesterday and came across an Asian triple pack DVD at a bargain price, since one of the films was Jet Li starrer Unleashed, i thought it was worth the cheap price on offer. Got home and the write up on the back of the case didn't give much away as regards plot for Kung Fu Hustle, an Axe Gang, some guy named Sing wants to be in the gang, and that some creaky old residents in a place called Pig Sty Ally are tougher than they look. What I got was what I can only describe as a live cartoon full of class and style, the sort of flip side to the more arty Asian films that have (rightly) become massively popular in the subsequent decadse. Written, directed, produced and starring Stephen Chow (Sing), Kung Fu Hustle is a remarkably breathless piece of work, the plot is threadbare for sure, but it really matters not, because Chow has fused the grand old genre staple punch up with balletic comedy, it's quite something to behold. It's as loud as a face off between Motorhead & Iron Maiden, yet it's just so flipping tender at the same time! Incredible sequences will dazzle you one moment and then have you laughing the next, I'm quite annoyed that I didn't catch on to this film back in 2004, but even now some years later this film is still a breath of fresh air on the home format release. See it and roll with it, enjoy. 9/10

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