Master of the Wire: The Work of Yuen Wo Ping

Film critic Roger Ebert once equated Jackie Chan with Fred Astaire, comparing the two for their physical prowess and use of humor. So it could be said martial arts films are a lot like musicals - are they not just big dance routines with kicks and punches instead of pirouettes? With that in mind, the beauty of a good brawl has never been so well captured on film as by Chinese action choreographer Yuen Wo Ping. With a vivid imagination and a complete disregard for the laws of physics, he is responsible for the jaw-dropping action in films such as Legend of the Drunken Master to The Matrix. Here’s a look at some of his defining films.

In Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979), the two feuding masters of the Drunken Boxing Style face off with a drinking competition. This fighting style is meant to resemble a drunk’s movements and capitalizes on unpredictability for its effectiveness. Here, cups of baijiu become the elixir needed to gain an edge; the drunker you are, the stronger you are. Although a real style, it is never used outside of ‘flowery’ kung-fu exhibitions. But in Yuen’s world, an intricate array of jabs and elbow locks escalate into a violent game of chess where the table is the board and the cups are the pawns. It all ends with one of the alcoholic masters using a candle and a mouthful of ricewine to spit fire in a desperate attempt to fend off his superior opponent. Remember that next time you need a way out of a ganbei game.

Working with Sammo Hung in The Magnificent Butcher (1979), the film tells the adventures of Porky Wing, a portly butcher being harassed by thieves. Yuen showcases some enchanting Shaolin Animal Styles which are meant to resemble the movements of particular animals like snakes, leopards, tigers and cranes. For one scene, Sammo and Yuen thought up of the “Chicken and Duck Fist Style” so if you’ve ever wanted to see something as surreal as a man fighting like a pecking chicken, this is your movie.

By the early 90’s, the Hong Kong film industry had moved on to police thrillers. Director Tsui Hark, Jet Li and Yuen Wo Ping helped the dying kung-fu genre bow out with Once Upon A Time in China (1991). In what would be a run-up for the current spate of period epics, the film told the story of Wong Fei Hong, a real-life doctor and martial arts teacher. This character has been the subject of over 80 films but it was the first time he was portrayed as a superhuman being. It contains an extraordinarily elaborate fight scene famously referred to as the ‘ladder fight’. Words can do it little justice; Yuen planned this as a full three-dimensional set piece, making use of the spatial horizons as killers chase the hero up and down ladders, to the left and right, in and out of the picture.

Though he was reluctant to participate in an American production, he was convinced by the Wachowski brothers to supply the action choreography for The Matrix (1999). The virtual nature of the world meant that character’s physical limits could be disregarded, which blended well with Yuen’s own style. The relentless action and inventive fight sequences are what kept most audience members in the seats after the pointless monologues of The Matrix Reloaded. A convention of the kung-fu genre also holds true for The Matrix: every character’s personality matches their fighting style – Morpheus is the teacher who fights with minimum extraneous movements compared to Neo’s showy style.

More recently, films such as Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and The Banquet (2006) have re-introduced the ‘flying swordsmen’ genre. Dating as far back as King Hu’s Touch of Zen (1969), where characters flew over treetops and lakes, this stylization is still common in Chinese film and TV, but new to western audiences. It is Yuen’s most esoteric take on action yet; these heroes are not literally flying but fighting a sort of mental game of chess. There is usually only one fatal (and very melodramatic) blow. The flying is just part of the fantasy.

Yuen Wo Ping’s work can next be seen in The Forbidden Kingdom slated for release in 2008.

Nas confirms his new album will be named after racial epithet

NEW YORK - To some, it's a hurtful racial epithet. For Nas, it's an album title.

The rapper told MTV News that he would indeed be naming his new album after the N-word. And he denied earlier reports that the album's title would be spelled "Nigga," considered in some circles a less inflammatory epithet. He said the disc is due out Dec. 11.

"(People) shouldn't trip off the (album's) title; the songs are crazier than the title," he said in an interview posted on MTV's website.

But some have been outraged by the rapper's choice.

"The title using the 'N' word is morally offensive and socially distasteful. Nas has the right to degrade and denigrate in the name of free speech, but there is no honour in it," Rev. Jesse Jackson said in a news release. "Radio and television stations have no obligation to play it and self-respecting people have no obligation to buy it. I wish he would use his talents to lift up and inspire, not degrade."

There were reports that his label, Def Jam, had scuttled the title idea. But Nas told MTV that he has had no opposition from the label, and said his intent in naming the album the N-word was to take the sting out of it.

"We're taking power from the word," he added. "No disrespect to none of them who were part of the civil rights movement, but some ... in the streets don't know who (civil rights activist) Medgar Evers was ... they know who Nas is," the rapper said, referring to the civil rights leader slain in the 1960s.

"And to my older people who don't know who Nas is and who don't know what a street disciple is, stay outta this (expletive) conversation. We'll talk to you when we're ready. Right now, we're on a whole new movement. We're taking power from that word."

A representative for Def Jam did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment from The Associated Press sent after business hours.

The use of the N-word is common in rap, though rapper Chamillionaire recently declared he would no longer use that word or curse in his rhymes.

Nasir Jones, aka Nas

You can listen to his song "Black Republican", featuring Jay-Z, right here. It's a fine piece of work.

Huge new dinosaur species found

Guess god planted a new dinosaur bone deep into the ground to throw us off, huh? Here's a news story for watchers of "The View" despite the fact that its an article with lots of big words and no pictures.