Shaolin Soccer
Short description
A former football star, Fung, has fallen far from his days as a celebrated player, his career and personal life undone by corruption. Years later he meets Sing, a young Shaolin monk who wants to spread the practice of kung fu and is looking for a way to bring it to a wider public. The two combine their knowledge: Fung coaches, Sing gathers his brothers, and together they build a football team that applies martial arts techniques to the game. Their unconventional style wins matches and draws crowds, carrying them into a major tournament with a million-dollar prize, where they come up against a team of players from Fung's past.
Stephen Chow directs and stars as Sing, with Ng Man-tat as Fung and Zhao Wei as Mui among the 41 credited cast members. The screenplay is by Fung Chih-chiang, Chow and Steven Fung Min-Hang, and the film was produced by Yeung Kwok-Fai and Lik-Chi Lee for Star Overseas and Universe Entertainment. It was Chow's fifth directorial feature, following King of Comedy, and it came before Kung Fu Hustle and CJ7 in his filmography. Made for about 10 million dollars, it returned roughly 43 million worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from around 96,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 out of 10 from more than 2,600 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 7 out of 10 from 93 reviews, so critical and audience assessments sit close together.
What's left behind the scenes
- The original title translates to “Shaolin Soccer”.
- The original Chinese version has a runtime of 112 minutes, while the international cut is only 85 minutes long.
- The running time of the international version of the film is 85 minutes.
- Vicki Zhao spent between 8 and 10 hours in the makeup chair to apply a bald wig.
- The film contains numerous references to Bruce Lee. In the middle of the film, Danny Chan’s character appears in a yellow and black tracksuit, a reference to “Game of Death” (1978). Furthermore, Lee’s characteristic hand gesture – a fist with the thumb bent – is frequently used. In addition, at the beginning of the film, Stephen directly quotes Lee.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
