The Miracle Fighters (1982)

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The Miracle Fighters is a comedic tale of taoist magic directed by the martial arts maestro behind Drunken Master, The Magnificent Butcher and Iron Monkey – the legendary Yuen Woo-ping!

During the Quing dynasty, marriage between Manchu and Han people is outlawed. When it is discovered that high-ranking official Kao Hsiung (Eddy Ko) has taken a Han wife, the Emperor informs him that he will be forgiven – but only if he kills his beloved before the court. When he refuses, Kao Hsiung is marked for death by the powerful Sorcerer Bat (Yuen Shun-yee) and forced to watch as his wife is slain before his eyes. Kao Hsiung flees, kidnapping the Crown Prince during his escape – but soon the prince is dead, and Kao Hsiung is forced to silently replace him with another young boy. In adulthood, that innocent child – Shu Gut ( Yuen Yat-chor) – finds himself relentlessly pursued by Sorcerer Bat, and turns to two quarrelling taoist priests in the hope of protecting himself with their magic.

Made in the same mould as its contemporaries Encounter of the Spooky Kind and The Dead and the Deadly, this riotous kung fu fantasy was followed by two equally entertaining thematic sequels in Shaolin Drunkard and Taoism Drunkard.