A 1976 martial arts drama set amid occupation-era hardship, New Fist of Fury pairs Lo Wei's direction with a young Jackie Chan, years before Chan's own comic fighting style would reshape the genre.
What is New Fist of Fury about?
A brother and sister flee Japanese-occupied Shanghai for Japanese-occupied Taiwan, hoping the household of their grandfather offers safer ground. It does not: the grandfather runs a local kung-fu school, and a rival Japanese school on the island is working to fold every other academy under its control by any means necessary, including violence against the people who refuse. What follows is a story of loyalty tested under occupation, built around training-hall discipline, community ties, and a hero pushed toward a fight he did not choose. The film leans into the genre's core appeal: extended, physical choreography staged as both spectacle and statement.
About the cast
Jackie Chan headlines a cast led by Nora Miao, a familiar face from the era's Hong Kong action cinema, alongside Chan Sing and Henry Luk Yat-Lung as figures on opposing sides of the school rivalry at the story's center. The ensemble reflects the tight-knit production culture of 1970s martial arts filmmaking, where fight choreography and screen chemistry were built through repeated collaboration.
Context & significance
New Fist of Fury arrived as a spiritual follow-up to an earlier Bruce Lee vehicle, made in the years after Lee's death when Hong Kong studios were searching for the genre's next star. Chan was still finding his screen identity here, working under director Lo Wei in a straighter, more dramatic register than the acrobatic comedy that would later define his career. Watched today, it functions as an early marker in that trajectory as much as a period piece about occupation and resistance.
Watching New Fist of Fury on Ktime
New Fist of Fury is available to watch on K-Time with a free account login, complete with Persian dubbing and subtitles. K-Time's Farsi-first interface is built for Iranian diaspora audiences who want classic martial arts cinema in their own language.