At a Glance

A Shaolin Kung-Fu practitioner is looking for a way to spread the word about his art. He meets up with an ex-soccer player who trains him and his five brothers to play football. They form a team, and combining the two disciplines, are soon entered into a major competition.

Detailed Information

Stephen Chow writes, directs and stars in Shaolin Soccer, a deliciously over- the-top football comedy that could be one of the funniest films of 2004.

Fusing ancient martial arts with hard-hitting physical comedy and the high-flying energy of competitive sports, Shaolin Soccer will now be available to own on DVD complete with two versions of the film and bonus features.

Dedicated Shaolin practitioner Sing (Stephen Chow) is determined to re-unite his brothers to apply the ancient art of Shaolin to a modern sport. With the help of ex-football champion, Fang, the group of unlikely footballers are whipped into shape and train hard to earn a place in the National Football Tournament. The brothers battle their way through the rounds with unusual moves such as “Iron Head” and “Hooking Foot”, getting closer and closer to the ultimate challenge of the National final. It is here that they will face Team Evil – the most ruthless team ever assembled.

Stephen Chow is hailed as the founder of Hong Kong comedy genre “mo lei tau”. Often translated as “nonsense comedy”, this style of film is renowned for hilarious plots and slapstick antics and has earned Chow legions of fans across Asia. Over the years Chow has also developed a special brand of action comedy, giving a comic twist to classic features with films such as Fist of Fury ‘91 (a spoof of Bruce Lee’s Fists of Fury) and From Beijing with Love (a comic take on the James Bond classic). In Shaolin Soccer, Chow combines action comedy with some incredible special effects. Not only do the players’ moves defy gravity, the footballs they kick become supersonic – one ball morphs into a fiery comet and then a flaming tiger as it shoots across the pitch towards the unlucky goalie.

Extra DVD Features:
• Extended Hong Kong version
• English dubbed version
• Outtakes
• Special Effects featurette
• The making of Shaolin Soccer

Awards

Blue Ribbon Awards (2003)
Best Foreign Language Film (Stephen Chow)

Golden Bauhinia Awards (2002)
Best Director (Stephen Chow)
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor (Yut Fei Wong)

Golden Horse Film Festival (2001)
Best Action Choreography (Siu-Tung Ching)
Best Visual Effects

Hong Kong Film Awards (2002)
Best Actor (Stephen Chow)
Best Director (Stephen Chow)
Best Picture (Kwok-fai Yeung) (executive producer)
Best Sound Design (Kinson Tsang)
Best Supporting Actor (Yut Fei Wong)
Best Visual Effects (Frankie Chung, Ken Law, Ronald To, Maurice Ng)

Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards (2002)
Best Film