鄭昌和與《天下第一拳》：在全球大獲全勝的功夫片中追尋被遺忘的韓國聯繫

朴漢峻 香港大學比較文學系助理教授

鄭昌和導演的《天下第一拳》於1972年在香港 上映，距今（2021年）已有49年。香港出品的 功夫片廣受全球歡迎，在獲得豐厚盈利之餘， 同時成為影響深遠的龐大軟實力，以香港獨有 的特色來表達中國文化的某種面貌，並以此令 舉世影迷，尤其是非華裔觀眾為之著迷；本片 及其導演與男主角羅烈，可說是推動這一切現 象的先驅。

儘管如此，香港出品的功夫片卻能克服種種困 難，一直不斷在全球散發吸引力；透過這種吸引 力，令華裔與非華裔人士均渴望成為文化上的 華人。因為這些電影中所表現的英雄主義，是為 了伸張正義；備受壓迫的人可以將身心靈加以轉 化，變成身懷精湛功夫的高手，對觀眾來說，這 種敘事邏輯極具吸引力。當社會缺乏維持安寧的 制度，或這些制度崩壞、失去力量時，出身平民 的功夫英雄就會出現，力挽狂瀾。功夫片本身具 有一種吸引力、帶有發揚人類潛能的光輝，特別 是在原子時代，當現代戰爭可能令人類同歸於盡 的時候。打鬥倚賴傳統形式，也就是在槍械出現 之前的戰鬥方式，看來原始而不合邏輯。但功夫 片強調以武術作為扭轉故事局勢的關鍵，將現 代戰爭非人性的本質逆轉，回歸到人與人面對面 的領域，個人的一舉一動會為對手帶來真實而直 接的後果。透過嚴格訓練，磨練出驚人的武術技 藝，再加上捨己為人的高尚情操，成為功夫片的 典型內容。

《天下第一拳》的製作費不多，共有 150,000 港元（23,000美元），卻在香港本地票房獲得 761,000港元（117,000美元）的可觀收入。這 部電影留給後人的記憶，本來可能到此為止。 然而，本片卻出其不意地在全球掀起功夫熱 潮，由此衝擊產生的迴響，至今不斷。當年華 納兄弟公司的遠東發行負責人Dick Ma由荷里活 來到香港，搜羅可供在美國上映的新片。華納 兄弟較早前曾大膽地推出黑人剝削電影，並由 此獲得驚人利潤。該公司因此想尋找類似這種 非洲裔美國動作片的亞洲電影。邵氏兄弟公司 提供了幾部影片讓他挑選，而他認為《天下第 一拳》是最佳之作。

影片在全球各地的票房相繼取得佳績。在倫敦上 映時率先報捷，接著更上層樓，連續九個星期打 入美國票房首50位賣座電影榜內，並曾兩次高 踞第一位（1973年3月28日及1973年4月18日） ，獲得空前成就。在那段期間本片累積票房為 380萬美元。到了第十個星期，據《綜藝》雜誌 報道，該片全球票房收入達到1,000萬美元。影 評人Mel Tobias估計，到了1978年，讓片的全 球總收入已達1,200萬美元。 24 現在讓我們來計算一下。一部花了23,000美元 製作的電影，於短短六年內在全球賺得1,200萬 美元，這項投資的回報率是522倍！毫無疑問， 《天下第一拳》證明了香港出品的功夫片是香港 電影的最大財源，人人都想從中獲利。全球從此 對功夫片極為渴求，令這個類型不斷重複、擴 充、革新及變化。李小龍乘著這趟功夫熱潮冒 起，並成為這個電影類型最著名，並獲一致公認 的旗手。

功夫熱潮在全球掀起，但令這現像產生的關鍵人 物，導演鄭昌和（정창화, Chŏng Ch'anghwa, Jeong Chang-hwa）的韓裔背景，卻鮮有人提起。邵 氏兄弟公司更將他的名字拼音羅馬化，成為 Cheng Chan Ho。

本文一反過往慣例，將鄭昌和的韓國身份加以突 出，而非作為附帶提及的註腳。韓裔的鄭昌和 來自南韓，於1967年受邵逸夫邀請，前往邵氏 兄公司工作。當時邵氏有意成為一家國際化的機 構，其中一項策略就是聘請外國導演。在香港本 地及全球海外華人心目中，邵氏早已是電影王 國，但要成為一家真正國際化的製片廠，必須樂 於接納來自亞洲非共產主義國家的非華裔電影專 才，這亦反映了冷戰年代的限制，以及亞洲被意 識形態所分裂的現實。

鄭昌和來香港之前，在南韓已是一位優秀的動作 片導演，拍過接近40部電影。然而，由於他本 國的電影工業對通俗劇過度推崇，因此業界對他 並未加以重視。業內的人都知道，他會為了拍出 逼真完美的動作而不惜冒生命危險。每當拍攝機 關槍射擊場面時，由於當時的特效技術所限，必 須發射真子彈才能令自動發射功能起作用，並且 看到曳光彈。有一次拍這種場面時，一顆流彈被 沙包內的石塊反彈出來，插入他身體2至3毫米 深處，但他保住了性命。另一次，他向憂心忡忡 的演員保證，絕對沒有被射中的危險，因為劇本 沒有這樣寫！

在香港，鄭昌和則打破香港電影製作的成 規。1967年，他拍攝《艷諜神龍》時，在沒有 事先申請許可的情況下，走到街上偷偷進行現 場實景拍攝。在1969年的《千面魔女》中，他 讓一位女特技人利用兩條纏在一起的纜索，從一 幢大廈的天台沿外牆的水管下降20層樓。邵逸 夫對這些做法感到好奇，於是邀請鄭昌和一起茶 聚。當鄭昌和被問及相關的問題時，他的回答流 露令人敬佩的精神：「我們韓國人，當我們說過 會做某件事時，無論如何都一定會做到。」這句 話令他獲得了合約。

Celestial Pictures Limited

鄭昌和在邵氏打破種族的無形界限，執導武 俠片及功夫片；這兩種類型向來都交給華裔導 演拍攝。由於這種傳統慣例，邵氏其實亦故意 對外隱藏鄭昌和的韓國身份。鄭昌和能閱讀和 書寫中文，但卻不懂得說國語或粵語。儘管如 此，為了適應新環境，他獲得公司特別許可， 搬到九龍的太子區，而非居住在片廠的宿舍， 好讓他能在日常生活中吸收本地文化特色。

在眾多與中國為鄰的亞洲國家中，以韓國人對 儒家思想最為熱衷，因此在儒家重視家族親疏 的觀念中，韓國一直受到中國另眼相看；在中 國這個「老大哥」心目中，韓國的地位無疑就 是「小兄弟」。此外，對於韓國亦沒有從二戰 以來遺留的敵意，因為韓國亦飽受日本帝國主 義暴行之苦。

鄭昌和的電影有多個作者特色。他喜歡愛森斯 坦式的蒙太奇技巧：每個鏡頭都很短，配合不 同的拍攝角度，藉此令動作場面更緊張刺激。 他也運用正／反拍鏡頭的結構來拍攝動作場 面：動作朝著鏡頭推進／動作自鏡頭往後移， 讓觀眾直接置身打鬥之中，將他們的注意力緊 緊抓住。片中挖眼那一場戲的激烈氣氛，就是 倚靠這種技巧來經營。此外，鄭昌和亦運用單 色聚光燈來強調動作的戲劇性，例如當主角使 出鐵砂掌時，會有紅光照亮他的拳頭。

當年武俠片與功夫片最當時得令的男主角是王 羽，這位天皇巨星樣貌英俊，但鄭昌和並未讓他 擔任《天下第一拳》的主角，反而選擇羅烈，因 為他想主角有一張「普通人的面孔」和「堅定的 眼神」，能夠反映內在的英勇和決心。羅烈以前 在影片中都是擔任配角或演反派，《天下第一 拳》令他搖身一變，成為大明星。

在李小龍不幸於1973年逝世之前，鄭昌和曾與 李小龍見面，為嘉禾一部暫名為《大戰黑豹》 的電影進行討論。李小龍需要借助片廠頂級動 作片導演的拍攝專長，好讓他能將精神集中於 設計更多精妙的打鬥場面上。我們只能想像， 這部電影若能完成，定會令功夫片更上層樓。

釜山國際電影節於 2003 年的年度韓國電影回 顧展中，回顧鄭昌和的電影作品，對這位在 南韓與香港均同樣成功的動作片導演，給予 應有的肯定。此外，昆頓塔倫天奴亦在《標殺 令》（2003）及《標殺令2》（2004）中向鄭 昌和致敬：他在影片中加入電視劇集《無敵鐵 探長》（1967-1975）的配樂；在《天下第一 拳》中，每當使用鐵砂掌出擊的畫面出現時， 伴隨而來的就是該劇集的配樂。

歡迎前來觀看這部引發全球功夫熱潮的電影。

有關鄭昌和電影更全面的探討，請參閱以下論文： Magnan-Park, Aaron Han Joon.“Restoring the Transnational from the Abyss of Ethnonational Film Historiography: The Case of Chung Chang Wha.”The Journal of Korean Studies 16.2 (Fall 2011): 249-283.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490402

朴漢峻

朴漢峻是香港大學比較文學系助理教授，主要研究範圍包 括多元亞洲電影、香港動作電影、南韓電影、亞洲與荷 里活之關係，以及聲音理論。曾於法國、紐西蘭／奧特亞 羅瓦與美國擔任學術工作，並為《Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema》之聯合編輯。

翻譯：藍天雲

Chung Chang-wha and Five Fingers of Death: The Forgotten Korean Connection in the Global Success of the Gongfupian

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park

Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Literature, The University of Hong Kong.

Celestial Pictures Limited

2021 marks one year shy of five decades since Chung Chang-wha’s Five Fingers of Death (released in the UK as King Boxer, Tian xia di yi quan, 天下第一拳) was released in Hong Kong in 1972. The film, its director, and lead actor Lo Lieh are the vanguard catalysts that propelled Hong Kong cinema’s gongfupian (martial arts cinema, 功夫片) into a globally popular, profitable, and profound soft power behemoth articulating a version of Chinese culture with distinctive Hong Kong characteristics that enraptured audiences worldwide, especially with those who did not share an ethnic Chinese heritage.

Against all odds, Hong Kong cinema’s gonfupian attained and continues to exert popular appeal on a planetary scale through which ethnic Chinese as well as non-ethnic Chinese desire to become culturally Chinese because these cinematic expressions of heroism in service of restorative justice are appealing due to their narrative logic of transforming one’s mind, body, and soul to become a kung fu enhanced champion of the downtrodden. This kung fu hero of the common people emerged to rescue society when the social structures that exist to ensure its tranquility are absent, corrupted, or otherwise enfeebled. The gongfupian comes with an intrinsic allure, an aura of the humanly possible, especially during the Atomic Age when modern warfare made mutual assured destruction (MAD) a possibility. Resorting to fighting using premodern traditional forms of pre-firearms combat appears atavistic and illogical, but the foregrounding of martial arts as the genre’s deus ex machina reversed the impersonal nature of modern warfare back into the personal face-to-face realm where one’s actions had real life direct consequences on one’s adversaries. Formidable martial arts skills honed through rigorous training is linked with super moral altruism to define the kung fu exemplar.

Five Fingers of Death had a modest budget of HKD150,000 (USD23,000) and secured a respectable HKD761,000 (USD117,000) at the local Hong Kong box office. Its cinematic legacy could have ended here. Instead, the film impacted the world by making the global kung fu craze an out of the blue sensation that still resonates today. Dick Ma, Head of Far East Distribution for Warner Brothers Studio, in Hollywood was in town in search of something new to release in the United States. Warner Brothers had taken a risk earlier with blaxploitation films and enjoyed spectacular profits. The studio was in search of an Asian version of this African American action genre. Shaw Brothers provided a handful of films for consideration and Five Fingers of Death was chosen as the best candidate.

The global box office laurels piled up one after the next. Its first successful overseas run was in London before doing the impossible: it entered the Top 50 box office hit list in the United States for nine straight weeks, including two instances at the number one spot (28 March 1973 and 18 April 1973). The film amassed USD3.8 million during that period. By week ten, Variety reported a global box office revenue of USD10 million. Mel Tobias estimates that by 1978, the global gross had reached USD12 million.

Let’s do the math. A film produced for USD23,000 earned USD12 million globally in just six years. This is a return on investment that is 522-fold! Five Fingers of Death proved without a doubt that the gonfupian is Hong Kong cinema’s number one cinematic golden goose. Everyone wanted a piece of this action. Consequently, a global hunger for more gongfupian films arose paving the way for genre duplication, expansion, innovation, and transformation. Bruce Lee rode this kung fu craze to become the genre’s most famous undisputed standard bearer.

Lost within the global kung fu craze narrative is the Korean connection that made it all possible: 和, 정창화 director , Chŏng Chung Chang-wha (鄭昌 Ch'anghwa, Jeong Changhwa), which Shaw Brothers romanised as Cheng Chang Ho.

In this article, Chung and his Korean identity are foregrounded rather than mentioned as an aside or a footnote, which have been the historical norm. Chung is an ethnic Korean from South Korea who Sir Run Run Shaw invited to work at Shaw Brothers in 1967 as one facet in the studio’s internationalisation strategy. Shaw Brothers was already the movie making Mecca for local Hong Kong Chinese as well as the global overseas ethnic Chinese community. But success at true internationalisation required a willingness to welcome the cinematic expertise of non-ethnic Chinese from the non-communist states of Asia since this represented the Cold War Era constraints and realities of an ideologically divided continent.

Before coming to Hong Kong, Chung had already established himself as South Korea’s preeminent action film director completing nearly forty films. However, he faced professional discrimination since his own national film industry overvalued melodramas. He had a unique reputation for his willingness to place his own life on the line to perfect hyper action realism. When filming machine gun scenes, the special effects technology at that time required the firing of real bullets to make the auto fire function work as well as to showcase tracer bullets. In the first case, a wayward bullet ricocheted off of a rock in the sandbags and penetrated 2-3 mm into his body. He survived. In the second case, he reassured his concerned actor that there was no danger to him of getting shot since it was not written into the script!

In Hong Kong, Chung broke with established Hong Kong filmmaking conventions. In 1967, Chung clandestinely shot live street scenes without obtaining the permits that were required beforehand for Special Agent X-7 (Yan die shen long, 艷諜神龍). In the 1969 film Temptress of a Thousand Face (Qian mian mo nu, 千面魔女), he had a female stuntperson descend twenty stories from a high rise apartment’s roof via an exterior water pipe using double thick wires. Sir Run Run Shaw was intrigued by these decisions, so he invited Chung for tea. When asked, Chung provided his formidable personal ethos: “[W]e Koreans, when we say we’ll do something, we get it done, no matter what.” This secured the contract.

At Shaw Brothers, Chung broke the ethnic racial glass ceiling by working in two taboo genres: the wuxiapian (fantastical sword fighting films, 武俠 片) and the gongfupian. These were traditionally reserved just for ethnic Chinese. In fact, Shaw Brothers intentionally keep hidden Chung’s Korean identity from the public because of this practice. Chung could read and write traditional Chinese characters but he could speak neither Mandarin nor Cantonese. He nevertheless enculturated himself to his new home by receiving special permission to reside in Prince Edward rather than at the studio dormitories so that his daily life experiences would be enriched by local cultural flavours.

Of all of China’s Asian neighbours, Korea always held privileged status within Confucian familialism because Koreans were the most ardent in becoming Confucian. Ergo, Korea was elevated to become the uncontested “little brother” to China the “elder brother.” Moreover, there was no lingering WWII animosity since Korea also suffered the excesses of Japanese imperial atrocities.

Chung had a number of auteur signatures. He favoured Eisenstinian montage techniques of short takes and varied camera angles to create heightened screen action. He also used an action version of the shot/reverse shot, action propelling toward the camera/action repelling away from the camera, to grab and position the spectator directly into the line of combat. The scene involving the ferocity of the gouging of eyeballs is dependent on this technique. Additionally, Chung introduced targeted monochromatic spotlights to highlight dramatic action, such as red lights emblazing the protagonist’s fists as he utilises the Iron Palm strike.

Chung chose Lo Lieh since he wanted an actor with a generic “everyman’s face” with “strong eyes” to reveal his inner heroic determination. This ran counter to casting Jimmy Wang Yu, the undisputed photogenic leading male superstar at that time in both action genres. The film catapulted Lo to star status. Previously, he had played supporting or villainous roles.

Before Bruce Lee’s untimely death in 1973, Chung and Lee were in conversation for a Golden Harvest film with the working title of Da zhan hei bao (black panther war, 大戰黑豹). Lee needed the expertise of the studio’s top action director so that he could focus his energy to perfect more elaborate fight choreography. We can only imagine what this final film would have done to further enhance the gongfupian.

In 2003, the Busan International Film Festival showcased Chung Chang-wha as the featured artist in its annual Korean cinema retrospective, giving much needed recognition of its most successful action director in both South Korea and Hong Kong. More recently, Quentin Tarantino paid homage to Chung in Kill Bill: Volumes I & II (2003 & 2004) by including the soundtrack from the TV series Ironside (1967-1975), which provided the audio accompaniment to the visual use of the Iron Palm strike in Five Fingers of Death.

Welcome to the film that initiated the global kung fu craze.

A more extensive work on Chung Chang-wha’s cinematic legacy is available via:

Magnan-Park, Aaron Han Joon. “Restoring the Transnational from the Abyss of Ethnonational Film Historiography: The Case of Chung Chang Wha.” The Journal of Korean Studies 16.2 (Fall 2011): 249-283. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490402

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park

Aaron Han Joon Magnan-Park is Assistant Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. He specialises in poly-Asian cinema, Hong Kong action cinema, South Korean cinema, the Asia-Hollywood connection and sound theory. He has previously held academic appointments in France, New Zealand/Aotearoa and the U.S.. He is co-editor of the Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema.