The 1978 laugh riot "Legend of Drunken Master" (⋆⋆⋆½, PG, in subtitled Cantonese) is a true blast from the past, one of the first kung-fu comedies, and the one that cemented Jackie Chan's status as an action superstar who is also a genius physical comedian. Here he's playing a 19th-century Chinese folk hero and anticolonialist revolutionary whose solid martial-arts skills get even better when he's totally hammered. With the aid of Hong Kong's mind-bendingly inventive fight choreographers, Jackie mows down legions of British heels and Chinese turncoats in a woozy, off-kilter style that's equal parts ballet, buffoonery and breathtaking brawling. He infuses every scene with a sense of mischievous, Bugs Bunny silliness. The movie is — truly — painfully funny. As the end-credits outtakes remind us, Jackie really did get whacked, set on fire and dragged over the (literal, red-hot) coals for our amusement. Are you not entertained? (7 and 9 p.m. Mon.-Tue.,$8, Trylon Microcinema, 3258 Minnehaha Av. S., Mpls., http://trylon.org/buy/959/.)
Colin Covert
