Launching battle scenes in Asian cinema

For several decades, Asian battle movies have developed their own cinematic language, centred not only on the choreography of the movement, but also on a specific set that perceives the fight as dramatic, spectacular, or even comedy. From the 1970s, starting with Bruce Lee’s films, to the modern productions of Yuen Woo-Pin, Wong Karwai, production in combat scenes was gradually transformed from a demonstration of the physical skill of actors to an autonomous expression tool. In Bruce Lee’s first films, the length of plans, the minimum number of glues, and the transparent spatial composition created a sense of authenticity in the fight. This cost-effectiveness of the installation was aimed at the maximum visibility of the machine. In contrast, the early stage of Jackie Chan (from the late 1970s to the mid-1080s) introduces a completely different approach: it becomes part of comedy rhythm and dramatic time. Jackie Chan combines long track plans with short drive stickers and uses the installation as a mechanism for building tags. Since the early 1990s, films such as «Once in China» have been transformed: variable speed, digital adjustments and music rhythms create a stylized, choreographic reality. The installation is becoming part of a more complex aesthetic structure. The battle in films is turned into «television poetry», where editing is a way to create emotional, historical, and cultural expression. Although the literature of martial arts in Asian cinema is quite large, there are several questions that require systematic research: How exactly does changing the length of the plan, the frequency of the tapes and the position of the camera affect the sense of authenticity and motion style? How does the interaction between choreography and editing change? How does the editing become a cultural medium?

At the heart of the study is the question: how did the installation strategies evolve in an Asian battle movie, and how does this evolution relate to changes in aesthetics, technology, and the cultural function of combat scenes? If you try to formulate a hypothesis, you can say that the evolution of an Asian battle movie reflects a shift from a display of the actor’s technique in a whole long way to an instrument of emotional expression, the expression of rhythm, and visual poetry. The design can be a «key» to the shift from demonstration realism in the 1970s to cinematic choreography in the 2000s. This study will try to understand this by comparing the installation strategies at different periods of Asian action.

1. Bruce Lee stage: Installation as documentation of skill 2. Early Jackie Chan stage: mounting as rhythm, reaction, and comedy 3. Transition: Installation and trick as a single system 4. Stage 1990s: Installation as a visual stylization tool 5. Modern phase: Installation as an emotional and dramatic accent

Bruce Lee’s in the circle, his opponent’s making a fall, the camera’s static.

The hero then intercepts the attacker ' s arm and makes two quick strikes. All punches in the same frame, no tapes.

When Bruce Lee fights a crowd of opponents, a broad panorama is used, the choreography of the flesh is continuous. A hit on the face of a hero at the end of a fight works to boost tension, and acts as an installation point.

The average length of the stage plan is 3-5 seconds, which is long enough for an action. There are no tapes inside the impact series and they are only used at the end. The choreography is second-guessed. The camera is mostly static, light panoramas help keep the viewer’s attention on a particular character, but it does not load the rhythm. It makes space read well.

The use of a pot of alcohol in battle and a drunken makeup has a comic effect.

The hero strikes a series of rotations, and the camera is smooth to the panorama.

The sticker shows the enemy’s reaction, and in the same frame, the hero strikes another strikeer.

Panorama in general. Jackie Chan’s hero continues to pursue the enemy in the most comedy position possible. Given his intoxicated state, the scene is beginning to feel as absurd as possible.

The footage in the battle scenes is longer than in Bruce Lee’s movie. The setup works to strengthen the tags, the tapes are used for rhythm, not just for action. Communicability is enhanced by major plans. Long track doubles and quick blows are in balance.