The Prodigal Son (1982)
cast: Yuen Biao, Frankie Chan, Lam Ching-ying, Sammo Hung, and Peter Chan Lung

Touted as the film that does Wing Chun justice on screen, "The Prodigal Son," often believed to be Sammo Hung's shining moment in Hong Kong cinema, probably isn't the best the actor/director has to offer in terms of humor, but remains one of his better martial arts pictures. Hung, who co-stars, choreographed the fight sequences, and directs, is the recipient of the film's funnier moments, though most of the humor found here is forgettable.

The film's title character ("The Prodigal Son") * Leung Chang (portrayed by Yuen Biao) carries the title of being the most famous street brawler in Fatshan. What he doesn't know is that his father, out of fear for his son's safety, stages all of his confrontations through the aide of Leung's pupil (rose nosed Peter Chan Lung, in a thinning moppet).

When three of Leung's friends unwisely hit on an opera troupe singer, they find themselves publicly humiliated when revealed she is a he named Yee-tai (Lam Ching-ying). Leung subsequently shows up the next day to settle the score.

Much to his chagrin, not only out maneuvered and quickly defeated by Yee-tai, Leung also discovers that all of his past opponents accepted bribes for defeat and his kung fu wouldn't hurt a rooster.

Out of complete and utter embarrassment, Leung decides to take on the responsibility of learning kung fu for real, but Yee-tai refuses him tutelage in the Wing Chun style. Therefore, Leung's father purchases the opera troupe (which is departing from Fatshan) and makes Leung the opera singer's assistant in hopes he will take him on as a student.

Yee-tai continues to dodge the youngster's advances until they arrive at their next performance and sinister forces (led by the film's musician Frankie Chan) lurk in the shadows.

After a mass murder of the troupe, by a group of suspicious ninja, Leung and Yee-tai take refuge in a small village where Wong Wa-po (Sammo Hung), an old friend of the performer's, continues Leung's lessons after Yee-tai falls ill of asthma.

Sammo Hung contributes to one of Hong Kong's funniest screen moments when he enters the room to the Wong Fei-hung theme ("A Man Should Help Himself") and winds down the song when he begins to yawn.

Despite often boiling over with a lot of corny humor and campy music there is no denying this is one of the best films to feature Wing Chun kung fu. Each fight sequence in "The Prodigal Son" (and there are a lot of them) is choreographed by Hung, who dances his performers around the frame like a martial arts ballet.

"The Prodigal Son" is easily one of the late Lam Ching-ying's best performances on screen as well. To say Lam steals the show from cohorts Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao was the understatement of 1982.

* Leung Chang was a real-life master of the Wing Chun style.