Kung Fu Hustle - Parodies and References

Parodies and References

Kung Fu Hustle makes references to a wide range of films, animated cartoons and other sources, drawing on ideas from wuxia novels. The appearance of Sing and Bone resemble George Milton and Lennie Small from the Of Mice and Men (1992 film). The housing arrangement of the Pig Sty Alley is similar to that of a 1973 Hong Kong film, The House of 72 Tenants. When Sing arrives at Pig Sty Alley, he shows fancy footwork with a football, then says, "You're still playing football?". This is a reference to his previous film, Shaolin Soccer, as is the scene where a clerk beats Sing up on a bus. The clerk also appeared in Shaolin Soccer as the leader of an opposing team who used hidden weapons to beat up the Shaolin soccer team. When Sing challenges a boy in the Pig Sty Alley, Sing calls him "The Karate Kid"; an obvious parody of the 1984 film of the same name. During the altercation between Sing and the hairdresser, the hairdresser states, "Even if you kill me, there will be thousands more of me!". This is a parody of a saying by Lu Hao-tung, a Chinese revolutionary in the late Qing Dynasty. The scene where Sing is chased by the Landlady as he flees from the Alley is a homage to Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, characters in the Looney Tunes cartoons, down to the pursuer's (the Landlady's) ill fate. In the scene where Sing robs the ice cream vendor, a poster for the 1935 film Top Hat is in the background. As Sing arrives at the door to the Beast's cell in the mental asylum, he hallucinates a large wave of blood rushing from the cell door, similar to a scene in The Shining.

A major element of the plot is based on a wuxia film series Palm of Ru Lai (如來神掌) released in 1964. Sing studied the same Buddhist Palm style from a young age and realised it at the end of the film. In reality, it does not leave palm-shaped craters and holes on impact. Instead, the user delivers powerful punches using his palm. The Beast's name in Chinese, Huoyun Xieshen (火雲邪神; Evil Deity of the Fiery Cloud), and the fight with the Landlady and her husband are also references to the film, where a mortally wounded master strikes the patterns of his art's final techniques into a bell so that his apprentice can learn from it. There are direct references to some characters from Louis Cha's wuxia novels. For example, the landlord and landlady referred to themselves as Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü in Cha's The Return of the Condor Heroes when they met the Beast.

References to gangster films are also present. The boss of the Axe Gang, Brother Sum (琛哥) is named after Hon Sam / Hon Sum (韓琛), the triad boss played by Eric Tsang in Infernal Affairs. The Harpists imitate The Blues Brothers, wearing similar hats and sunglasses at all times. When they are flattered by the Axe Gang advisor, one of them answers "Strictly speaking we're just musicians", similar to a line by Elwood Blues. When Donut dies, he says "in great power lies great responsibility", a clear reference to Spider-Man, said by Uncle Ben before his death. Afterwards, with his dying breath, he gets up, grabs the Landlord by the shirt and utters in English, "What are you prepared to do?", a nod to Sean Connery's character Jim Malone in Brian De Palma's 1987 film The Untouchables.

The dialog that the Beast says while negotiating with the Axe Gang for killing the Landlady and Landlord - "...then young friend, I will make an offer you cannot refuse", is a reference of the dialog from the movie 'The Godfather'. Also, the Landlady's comment to Brother Sum - "We brought a gift you cannot refuse" is an obvious parody of the same, to which Sum replies - "Ha! With the Beast on our side, we shall see for whom the bell tolls", a reference to the 1943 film.

The final fight between Sing (who has been reborn into "the one" paying homage to Bruce Lee by wearing his costume in Enter the Dragon and using his fighting style) and the hundreds of gangsters imitates the fight between Neo and hundreds of Agent Smiths in The Matrix Reloaded. The scene in which the Beast prompts an axe member to punch him harder is reminiscent of a similar scene in Raging Bull, with Robert De Niro's character prompting Joe Pesci's character.

The last scene, in which the beggar tries to sell martial arts manuals, refers directly to the greatest skills in Louis Cha's Condor Trilogy (Nine Yang Manual, "Yiyang Finger", and "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms"), "Thousand Hand Divine Fist", and The Smiling, Proud Wanderer ("Nine Swords of Dugu"). The scene where the landlady confronts Brother Sum in the back of his car is a homage to Bruce Lee in Way of the Dragon, where he cracks his knuckles and gives a quick upper nod to the mafia boss; telling him to back off.