Jimmy Wang-Yu
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Biography
Say what you will, about this man, but it was he who paved the way for Bruce Lee, David Chiang, Ti Lung, and others -- who would enter the film world of the "Kung Fu" genre. This former Swimmer, was one of a handful of people, picked at an open audition for Shaw Brothers, back in the early 60's. His film, One-Armed Swordsman was said to be the first in the genre to make $1-million and he became Asia's newest Superstar. After that came the smash hits The Assassin and Return Of The One-Armed Swordsman.
With successful box-office returns on those films, he asked for complete control over his next film The Chinese Boxer -- which he [also] wanted to direct it. It was one of (3) other films that would be credited with introducing "Unarmed Combat" (as an art form), into the genre and labeled - "Kung Fu" movies. Now, more successful than ever, he asked to be released from his contract with Shaw Brothers, who promptly refused, as they didn't want to lose their #1 action star. When he was refused, he left the studios and made films for their rival company Golden Harvest, anyway.
Shaw studios took him to court and after the dust settled, he would eventually switch studios, where he made the classic One-Armed Boxer, by combining elements from (2) of his greatest films. Afterwards, he and director Hsu Tseng-Hung, came up with having China's greatest swordsman battle Japan's greatest Swordsman in Zatoichi Meets The One-Armed Swordsman. He became "Jimmy Wang-Yu" -- in his attempt to go International, with the film The Man From Hong Kong. His films were (always) an eclectic array of various styles and intriguing plots.
The first film I saw from him (as a kid) was The Screaming Tiger - I've been a fan ever since. Given the fact that a lot of his films exposed his shortcomings, they also let us see a very intelligent, yet complex man. While, everyone else was running around trying to be the next Bruce Lee, he was concentrating of being the first originator, constantly looking for new challenges to overcome. A trendsetter, he saw what was out there and sought to make it better. While, many may joke about his movements not being up to par with Lee's and others, he still managed to carve out a career, that most can only dream of.