They kept Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li safe: Kung Fu Stuntmen film hails the unsung heroes who risked life and limb for Hong Kong movies

New documentary Kung Fu Stuntmen features interviews with stars including Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung as well as rare behind-the-scenes footage of kung fu movies

Director Wei Junzi decided to make the film after hearing how stuntmen, who exude ‘heroic spirit’, fare poorly in later life because of old injuries

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A scene from Kung Fu Stuntmen. Tony Ling served as one of three body doubles for Jet Li in the finale of Once Upon a Time in China (1991).

Published: 12:45pm, 13 Oct 2021Updated: 11:59pm, 13 Oct 2021

The classic martial arts film Once Upon a Time in China (1991), directed by Tsui Hark, made a star of China-born martial artist Jet Li Lianjie. Playing the role of real-life Cantonese hero Wong Fei-hung, Li’s performance earned him comparisons to Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.

But while audiences were impressed by the film’s lengthy finale, where Wong fights his nemesis in a warehouse on moving bamboo ladders, most would have been unaware that it’s not actually Li who did the fighting. Three body doubles – Hung Yan-yan, Ku Huan-chiu and Tony Ling Chi-wah – fought in Li’s stead after the actor hurt his leg before shooting the finale.

Such revelations litter Kung Fu Stuntmen. Produced, directed and written by Wei Junzi, the new documentary is a tribute to the unsung heroes who brave debilitating injuries to shoot action scenes in Hong Kong movies.

The film features rare behind-the-scenes footage of kung fu movies and interviews with dozens of stuntmen, action choreographers, directors and stars including Sammo Hung Kam-bo, Donnie Yen Ji-dan, Tony Ching Siu-tung and Tsui Hark.

Wei spent two years sourcing the rights for the clips used in the film, while recording the interviews in various places including Hong Kong, Beijing, Foshan and Hengdian.