The References in Shaolin Soccer | Video Essay 

Well, when making this video, I also went through quite an adventure. I got sick for a week, narrowly avoiding disaster by recording the narration one day before losing my voice. And then I spent 2 straight days uploading 18 versions of this video due to how strict this platform has gotten. Hopefully the video is entertaining and worth the effort. Anyway, thank you for our patrons for keeping us afloat, and thanks Squarespace for sponsoring the video.

That was more wholesome than I could imagine. The details behind the scenes made the movie more unique and endearing.

RIP, uncle Tat. He was a spectacular actor!

A few other notes about Shaolin Soccer: 1. The original Hong Kong DVD features the theatrical cut, but extended scenes can be accessed when an icon appears on the screen: - Sing's dance number before Mui's boss scares everyone off and Sing winks at Mui with the last piece of mantou. - An extended scene of Mui after her makeover, where she has a heated argument with her boss during the Team Shaolin's drinking party. - All of the bloopers and outtakes, plus a different ending theme. 2. The original Hong Kong Video CD release is the "director's cut", with all of the scenes above seamlessly included. 3. Sing and Iron Head's song at the bar uses the melody of the Mamas & the Papas' 1965 song "California Dreamin'". 4. Mui's makeover is a parody of Hong Kong actress Anita Mui, based on her appearance during the '80s. 5. The scene where Iron Head counters a flying headbutt from a Team Evil member references Fight Club, which uses the same effect of blowing air in the mouth when Edward Norton's character attempts to shoot himself.

This is one of my favorite movies, but as someone that doesn't speak Cantonese or Mandarin, I feel like I was missing a lot of the jokes and references. Thank you for filling in some of those gaps, I have a newfound appreciation for Shaolin Soccer ❤⚽☯

Fun Fact: Puma is the one of the sponsor of this movie, You can see the logo on all the clothes and shoes, that's why you see the Puma Kamehameha shoot.

Stephen Chow is truly King of Comedy. Nothing could beat the comedy from his movies 🤣🤣

And Uncle Tat definitely deserved the spotlight. He's truly an incredible actor. RIP.

The prologue, where Golden Leg bullies his teammate never appeared on my DVD copy. This changes everything about the motive of Golden Leg's character.

I remember falling in love with this movie as a teenager. It was my first contact with Stephen Chow. Here it was called "Kung Fu futebol clube" (which is the correct name for the sport, no World Cup, no Opinion) and me, my friends and lots of people I know felt a very deep connection to it. Even with all the cultural diferences between China and Brazil, the concept we called "futebol da vázea" which takes us to a nostalgic times where clubs were smaller, we had lots of empty blocks covered in grass which we turned into futebol areas for the local communities is somthing very nostalgic and hold dear to our collective conscious. The fact that Kung Fu Futebol Clube subverts a lot of tropes from more "serious" old Kung Fu movies adds the final touch for it to be so loved.

As a Nigerian growing up, Hong Kong cinema and Bollywood were as popular as movies from the US and Europe. I am grateful everyday for the blessing I received without even realising. Stephen Chow is a don.

The funny thing is as happen to Arnold where they put Devil in the title of movie he is in in Chinese. In Thailand, almost every movie that Stephen Chow play have "คนเล็ก" (Lit. trans: small man) in the title. This also happen to many actor/actress either west or east. Even Arnold has the nickname "คนเหล็ก" (Lit. trans: metal man) in every movie he in in Thai, especially The Terminator Films.

It won't be a stephen chow movie without "flower". Man, this really hits deep. We will never see another movie like stephen chow's movies. Him and uncle tat was such an iconic duo.

In 2003, in my first month of high school Chinese class, my Hong-Kong-raised Mandarin teacher began showing us Chinese-langage films every month. This was the first one he showed us, and it will honestly forever hold a special place in my heart. Thank you for helping me bring my understanding of it full circle

I loved this movie. Later on I was browsing Netflix and came across one of the international releases, which re-edited the movie to have less of the weirder comedic bits, which I absolutely hated. It removed the original music from the song at Mui's stall, it drastically toned down the makeover scene, and so on. Even though I'm not from Hong Kong, nor do I speak Cantonese, I love how original the movie is compared to other comedies that make it to global success.

One of the best, if not the best Stephen Chow movie ive watched, glad to see it being talked about here as well. Definitely deserves to be watched atleast once by everyone. Also, theres a new shaolin soccer movie being made???

This movie already holds a special place in my heart from childhood, understanding the refrences just made me love it even more. Thank you for your hard work.

What's even more amazing to me is that I saw the movie and loved it without knowing any of that! Being able to make a movie that speaks to people in and out of the know is awesome

Damn I didn't know Mui spoke Mandarin while everyone spoke Cantonese... That's a great detail and adds a lot of character to both Mui and Sing for putting in the effort to communicate

The scene in 11:32 is a parody of an ad starring Leon Lai back in the mid 90s to early 2000's. The original ad series featuring various mobile phones were so memorable that anyone in Hong Kong at that time would've known the reference. They were also memorable for being 1-2 minute long ads that runs during ad-breaks in prime time TV, which was ridiculous compared to the usual 20-30 second ads.

Amazing that Danny Chan played both Lighting Hands and Brother Sum! Been watching Stephen Chow films forever. He really let's the actors show amazing range. Gonna watch a few this week and reminisce. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

My mom bought a "DVD" collection of all the Stephen Chow movies since we had only ever rented the VHS versions. I like to think it made a positive impact on my childhood lol.

I didn't know Mui spoke Mandarin while the other characters spoke Cantonese! That and the fact Sing tries to speak her in Mandarin make this wholesome n_n I watched this movie with my brother, I think, I was in high-school, and I just loved how absurd was all. But I think this movie is not so known here in Costa Rica...

Fun Fact: In order to appear as if her head was shaved, Wei Zhao had to sit in the makeup chair for eight to ten hours each day.

I love when you make Stephen Chow appreciation videos❤

This a beautiful tribute to Stephen Chow and one of my childhood films

I was in high school when I watched this movie for the first time. It was a bootleg without subtitles. Since we do not speak cantonese or mandarin we started riffing at the plot parts. We were familiar with Captain Tsubasa at least. It was a ton of fun.

You know what is pure and sweet? This video! Thank you!

Love when you talk about the Stephen Chow movies. They’re always so interconnected. It reminds me of the scene from Night is Short, Walk on Girl when the god of used book fairs explains why no book is isolated

I've been looking forward to you reviewing this movie ever since I first subscribed to you, and despite my high expectations now that I've gotten accustomed to your work, I still find myself impressed at how you've exceeded them. Thank you for doing this amazing film justice.

Another important piece of thing is that Tai chi is a soft style. It means it always redirects power rather than trying to overpower it. That's why she was able to be the goalkeeper. The other guys' kung fu styles are hard styles, which do the overpowering opponent. What they didn't manage to do.

This and Kung Fu hustle were the biggest hits in Russia, people loved the movies, they were so much fun, Great essay!!❤COYG!😜

Incredible references I would have never known. The Cantonese/Mandarin is so sweet and explaining the dance in Kungfu Hustle is so great. Fantastic video!

You are spot on about Man Tat. Like you I have grown up watching Stephen Chow comedies and always seen them together. At the end of Shaolin Soccer, when the trophy was presented, I didn't see them as characters of the film, but as real life comrades.

Been needing this for years. I was introduced to the film dubbed in English for the Tribeca Film Festival, 2001 I believe. All these references other than Captain Tsubasa went over my head all these years.

I love this movie. It was so wholesome that it left me grinning and pacing my living room floor. I have only seen it once but never forgotten it

This movie blew my mind when I first saw it! Knowing these references has now given it a new level of appreciation for me. Thanks for making this video!

RIP Uncle Ng Man Tat. The best dynamic duo of all time.

This is the movie I watched the most. After my mom got us the VCD, I put it on almost every day after school as I was having lunch. It was also always shown on TV during Lunar New Year. I can never get bored of it. This movie is also the last time we see Stephen Chow and Uncle Tat together, which makes me treasure it even more.

What a great breakdown of references and tribute to this movie. I'm going to watch this again with my parents.

Another great deep dive & I appreciate the kudos for Uncle Tat 🤍 Stephen and Uncle Tat are the textbook definition of dynamic duo. Stephen absolutely wouldn't be where he is today without him and I was truly saddened by his passing. They were both such a core part of my childhood.

This will probably remain my favorite movie of all time. I always loved the release with all the bloopers and extended scenes worked in.

You've added so much to my understanding of this great film. 感謝感謝

I just want to thank you for helping me have a whole new appreciation for this film. Growing up as a young Aussie lad in a poor neighbourhood I always connected with this movie amd loved it foundly but to now know so much more about it I couldn't thank you enough

Love learning insight into the meaning and history of the film. Appreciate you taking time to go in depth and sharing all these details.

I have never seen Liu Sanjie (1960), but I have seen Tao Hua Lian or Desperate Love Bitter End (1980). It was prevalent in the United States of America's Hmong community. It was the first riddle song at the film's beginning between the city doctor and village girl, Tao Hua that hooked me in.

После этого видео я ещё больше полюбил китайскую культуру. Хорошая работа, ACCENTEDCINEMA

I have absolutely loved this movie from first viewing, and this video gives me an even greater appreciation for it. Sincerely, thank you for putting this together, I never would have known any of these finer cultural details without you.

Thanks for making this! This is definitely one of my fav HK & Chow Sing Chi's films ever. What makes this even more special, just like you & your buddies, is that i always watch this with people i love. Man, I wanna watch this with my siblings again for the millionth time.

I literally was brought to tears by this video. Amazing.

I saw a sub of this at a Canadian Japanese cultural festival about 20 years ago. A lot of the symbolism of the characters names or characters speaking mandarin never came through. Thank you so much for pointing them out it makes this movie even more special!

WELL DONE! this has been one of my favorite movies growing-up in the Philippines! :) My siblings and I would recreate the scenes.

It's really neat learning the inside scoop and cultural references that I would've never understood on my own. Thanks for deepening my appreciation for a classic!

Shaolin Soccer and Kung fu hustle are favorite movies for us Indians too ❤

this movie was monumental to me in childhood. and brought me to venture into loving Kung Pow , Kung Fu Hustle and the Slapstick Spaghetti Shaolin Genre

Thanks for continuing to touch and reintroduce part of my heritage back to me Its been great to watch how much love you and effort you put in and see the support you have from the patreons

I've seen this movie before, but I never would have known about the love song and Cantonese/Mandarin references if I hadn't seen this. Thanks for the great video!

I will never see this movie the same way now. Thank you ! Great job, as always !

Thanks for this! I caught a few of the references, but as a westerner who has only seen a few of the previous films, and has pretty much no knowledge of things like Mandarin language with accents, those were lost on me until you shined the light!

Shaolin Soccer has the most anime in a kung-fu movie. Stephen Chow might be the most cultured GOAT filmmaker not only in Hong Kong cinema but in world cinema

Thank you for this video! I appreciate the context and references explained! I feel I can enjoy Shaolin Soccer even more now. I would like to see more videos like this explaining the references of other Chinese language films!

Ng Man-Tat, may he rest in peace. Uncle Tat and Stephen Chow were one of the best, if not THE BEST duo ever and the will be forever two of my favorite actors ever.

I brought and played this movie for my class back in junior high and we all loved it. Now that you explained the details, i love it more than ever. Thanks!

Shaolin soccer is the most Anime like live action from a no-anime-adaptation ever made

It's been far too long since I've seen this. I remember really liking it. I appreciate you explaining the cultural and linguistic significance of some of the scenes. As an English speaker, I never would've gotten that. Cheers!

I actually hadn't watched this movie until a few days ago, but here in Venezuela it was considered a classic...and after getting to watch it, I definitely now see why, and I'm now definitely looking forward to watch your coverage of it.

Thanks so much for doing this. I was in high school when this came out and always loved this film. You always put so much work into your videos, I was so excited to see this pop up in my subscriptions!

was literally about to sleep but I saw this and figured i'll delay my sleep for a while. Thank you Accented Cinema. I always look forward to your videos!

This was my first Stephen Chow film, and I fell in love right away. Thank You for filling in a whole bunch of gaps in my knowledge, so I can appreciate it even more!

I love Shaolin Soccer, one of the best movies ever made of all time! Thank you so much for putting in the effort to make this video! I didn't know almost all of those references but still enjoyed the movie a lot. Really shows how genius Stephen Chow is!

I forgot how much I loved this movie. I was half way eye teary during the whole video, you made it a lot richier now.

I loved this movie growing up! I had actually never seen any of this director’s other movies. I only saw this film because it somehow showed up in my local library’s movie selection. Thank you so much for this video! It brought a whole new appreciation for all the small details

So happy to see someone talking about Shaolin Soccer. I can't stress how much of a formative event in the development of my sense of humor seeing this movie as a little kid was

When I saw my first Stephen Chow movie, I went down a rabbit hole of cinema that I'd been missing out on. Now I watch things from many different cultures fucking worth it.

This actually made me emotional. Great video. Thank you, Accented Cinema.

i always thought that when theyre practicing, the water in the cup vibrating was a reference to jurassic park when the t-rex got out of the fence😅

i was first exposed to this movie by my uncle in Jamaica. back in the early 2000s. it was one of my favorite movies as a kid.

Wow, this is one of my favourite films and never knew about the mandarin accent. Thanks

I truly enjoyed this film, more so than many I've seen in years. You have presented details and commentary that have very, very much amplified my understanding and enjoyment. Thank you. Excellent presentation.

This film holds a special place in my heart. I had a cd of it when I was a child and everytime my friends came over and wanted to watch a movie I'd put this on the crt tv. Me and my cousins probably watched this movie over 20 times. It made my childhood so much better

the first time i saw shaolin soccer was because of my babysitter. she knew exactly what kind of movies i liked and was always ready with an exciting new movie for me every week. i miss her.

Wow! Ive watched this movie numerous times and I never knew this movie had multiple references from other Chinese movies which makes me appreciate this movie even more!

Thanks so much for this deep dive presenting new information about a very important film

Your recap definitely made me want to go and rewatch the movie! I’m not Chinese but grew up watching Steven Chow films as well. Love your channel, keep up the good work!

Great stuff - I can't believe I didn't notice the God of Cookery line :D

Watched this movie during middle school on a CRT screen (of course) back in Nepal during mid 2000s. Thanks for this wholesome video. Didn't Stephen Chow was famous. This movie is an emotion filled nostalgia.

I'll be honest, I got excited when I saw you acknowledge the existence of 'Forbidden City Cop' by featuring it in a short montage! It's my personal favourite. ^-^

just like the kung hustle video essay, you made me appreciate a movie much more again!

Thank you so much for this. I'd LOVE the same kind of video on Kung Fu hustle

I don’t know how, but you made me love this movie even more with this video! I will watch it again before I go to sleep!

This was an awesome watch, thanks so much! I need to rewatch the movie now.

I first watched this movie as a kid and it was special then. Learning more about it just make it even more special. My dad used to bring home those weird dvds and that was one of them. My whole family loved the movie and I see it now.

Yay more positive reviews of Chinese cinema please! This was and still is one of my favourite Chinese movies in the history of Chinese cinema.

you make amazing videos, yet another incredible video essay for an incredible film.

I respect your channel so much i dont skip over the in video ad

Such a great video on such a great film!!! Thank you for putting this together. ❤

IDK how i got here, but i loved it. One of my favorite childhood movies. I still remember all the scenes. Thank you

Chow Star Star is so good at 're-presenting'/ referencing other movies' plots into his own movie style

Me and my Brother loved this movie growing up. Its nice to see that this film has a connection to other things in modern Chinese culture that two Black American kids wouldn't know about but still enjoyed.

I absolutely love this breakdown