WTF Happened to CHOW YUN-FAT?

i want you to hit me as hard as you can this babyfaced badass can charm you  with a smile and destroy you with a gun   or a fist or a kick or even a sword and  he's not even a quote unquote martial artist   yeah technically chow yun-fat isn't even an  action star he's an actor who is so talented   that he's been able to transcend genres and  one of those genres just happens to be action   he also excels in comedy drama  and musicals too by the way chow is the perfect ballerina in the  bullet-riddled ballets of filmmaker john woo   together these dudes turned the action genre  into poetry bringing in a new type of action hero   who's allowed to cry and have like emotional  emotions and actually be able to activate brings a raw gritty realism to those action films  he's in elevating the genre while also making it   relatable it's kind of like what robert de niro's  acting style did to the american gangster film   he is in so many amazing films films that'll  blow your freaking mind but lately it does   feel like this dragon has been hiding from  the spotlight so where the [ __ ] is he   what the [ __ ] has he been up to and why  the f don't we see him as much anymore   but mainly we just want to know in the most  respectful way possible what the [ __ ] happened   to chow yun fat what the [ __ ] but to truly  understand what the [ __ ] happened to yun-fat   we must start at the beginning of the beginning  began when he was born on his birthday   1955 hong kong into a family of poor farmers and  the lessons that he learned from that hard-working   humble beginning have stayed with him to this very  day like this day right here this very day now he soon became interested in acting and everybody  thought it was a wild and crazy idea that would   never happen but then it did he had his big  break very early on in his career when chow   teamed up with director john woo for the first  time in the 1986 gangster action film a better   tomorrow in a way giving birth to a new action  sub-genre that some like to call heroic bloodshed   and yeah it's very heroic and yeah there's a  lot of blood that is shed chow yun-fat would win   his first best actor award at the hong kong film  awards for this film a better tomorrow like look   at him he makes smoking cigarettes with money  so cool but y'all shouldn't do that actually   for many reasons and speaking of money the film  would become the highest grossing film in hong   kong at the time pulling in 34.5 million in  hong kong dollars i don't know what that is   in in the american dollars but i'm sure it's  a lot the film is considered by many to have   set the standard for the hong kong gangster film  with many trying to replicate it over the years   and yeah that final epic gun battle seems to  go on forever and i mean that in a good way   you never want this sequence to end and this  this right here is why people make movies chow would bring on several more gunfu films  interesting and pretty awesome films like   spiritual love blaming brothers scared  stiff an autumn's tale rich and famous   prison on fire tragic hero romancing star and  city on fire which would have a major influence   on quentin tarantino's reservoir dogs and would  establish chow young fat as a leading man for   gritty crime thrillers in 1987 chow and john woo  would team up for the sequel to their breakout hit   a better tomorrow with a better tomorrow 2 and due  to chow's character being extremely popular in the   first film but ultimately meeting his maker at the  end spoiler alert sorry it was decided to bring   him back to play the twin brother of the character  from the first film okay sure yeah the film pulled   down solid reviews with critics appreciating the  excessive violence and how it was so beautiful that's the thing about john woo and chow yun fat  they make violent horrible things look beautiful   for lack of a better word beautiful look at  that it's beautiful that guy getting shot right   there that is beautiful the choreography it's  it's all it's all just perfect it's a work of   freaking art the film would again be a  box office smash for the hong kong market   pulling in 22 million of whatever  they use as currency in hong kong he would continue his dominating run of  hong kong cinema with films like city war   the eighth happiness fractured follies tiger  on beat the greatest lover diary of a big man   wild search and of course god of  gamblers can't forget that one chow   young fat's character bangs his head and  he pretty much becomes mentally challenged   and he goes all in on this one like  daniel day lewis meets jim carrey all in then chow did what he does best and that's work  with john woo he would team up with the master   filmmaker again for the action thriller the  killer one of the best action movies ever made   no one of the best films ever made the film was  not a massive hit in hong kong initially it was   a violent film that was unfortunately released  around the time of the tinaman square massacre   audiences weren't exactly in the mood to  use violent cinema as escapism at the moment   eventually the film found an audience grossing  over 18 million in hong kong buckaroos   and of course the film has since gone down as a  classic everybody loving the over-the-top style and i absolutely love when he screams mickey mouse   while chaos reigns all around him in  a storm of bullets and fire this right   here is why people make movies and this  right here is why people watch movies ciao would then return to the world of  tomorrows that are better than today's   with a prequel to a better tomorrow called a  better tomorrow three and unfortunately this   one is kind of a laughable disappointment it's not  very good because it's not directed by john woo   who unfortunately had a falling out  with the producer and yeah this one   gets a little ridiculous to the point of being  comical but a better tomorrow three did pull in   a solid 18 million of whatever they do in hong  kong for money chao yun fat would continue to   gain respect and power as one of hong kong's  most versatile stars with the 1990 20 million   hong kong dollar gross and comedy the fun the luck  in the tycoon where he plays dual roles more than   one the year 1991 would see chow star in the caper  once a thief reuniting with director john woo   this one is a wee bit sillier than the other john  woo chao yun fat collaborations but you know what   its silliness is kind of refreshing in a way  critics and audiences enjoyed the film with many   loving the style of the motion picture pulling  in 33 million hong kong dollar monies and the   film would be nominated for four hong kong film  awards including best actor for chao young fat   he would follow that up by reuniting again with  legendary filmmaker john woo for the stylish   hard boiled in 1992 and i know i said all of those  other movies were like the greatest action movies   ever made but this one i mean is actually  the greatest action movie ever made i think   but unfortunately the film was  not as successful as the other   previous efforts pulling in just under 20  million hong kong dollars which sounds like   a lot if you don't have 20 million hong  kong dollars empire magazine ranked chao   yunfat's character tequila as one of  the greatest movie characters of all time and once again the epic gunfight battle  finale in the hospital climaxes in an opera of   violence it's beautiful they're just throwing  around babies and bullets and it feels like the   action sequence goes on forever and i mean that in  the best way possible it's like a 40 minute long   action sequence and it's it's amazing like look  at this one shot right here this is all one shot   look at that this this right  here is why people make   movies and this right here is  why people watch movies too chow would finish off the year 1992 by starring in  full contact another downright badass action flick   even though the film was called gleefully  tasteless and it was knocked for not having   as much style as the other john wu films the  film would ultimately gross just shy of 17   million hong kong dollars although over time the  film full contact has gained much respect and this   one appears on many lists of the 100 greatest  action films ever made so so yeah so there 1994 we would see chao young return   in god of gamblers returns and the film would  be a sizable hit pulling in over 52 million   in those dollars from hong kong then in 1995 chao  young fat would co-write the story for the action   western peace hotel the film did have many  mixed reviews with some confused by the   concept of a hong kong set western but it still  managed to make 24 million hong kong dollars rumor   has it if you believe rumors the final action  sequence was secretly ghost directed by john woo having conquered the world of hong kong cinema and  seeing the success his frequent collaborator john   woo was having in hollywood america chow decided  that after a three-year absence from the screen   he would make the jump to the united states  and make the film the replacement killers at   the time of its release this film set the record  for the most bullets fired in an american film   congratulations bullets it would ultimately make  a little over 19 million dollars off a 30 million   dollar budget critics were very happy to see chao  yun fat make his english language debut but were   disappointed that the film was just a bad knock  off of his much better hong kong produced shoot em   ups but the replacement killers it's it's good in  its own way it has some really amazing sequences   chow would next be seen opposite marky mark in the  corrupter in 1999 this would be his second attempt   at success in the american film market but sadly  yet again the film was met with lackluster reviews   with those pesky critics again unfavorably  comparing it to chao young fat's hong kong work   and audiences didn't really show  up for this one making 24.5 million   dollars off a 25 million dollar budget but  actually many people really enjoy this film also in that year 1999 came anna and the king   where chao would play the king the film  was released to some controversy when the   thai government called the film historically  inaccurate and insulting to the royal family   thus banning the film from the country banned  you've been banned anna and the king it's one   of those beautiful yet boring films but chao  young fat and jody foster they're great in it   ciao would then star in the massive hit crouching  tiger hidden dragon from master filmmaker   ang lee i remember in some advertisement for  this movie back in the year 2000 roger ebert   saying that this film has everything we go to  the movies for and you know what he's right it   has epic action heartbreaking romance beautiful  cinematography only rivaled by the music led by   a master filmmaker with a cast at the top of their  game the film played in american theaters for 31   weeks ultimately grossing 128 million dollars  and becoming the first foreign language film   to gross over 100 million dollars at the american  domestic box office with international audiences   propelling the film to make 230 million dollars  worldwide off of a 17 million dollar budget   this was probably the first foreign language film  i ever saw in the theaters and you know what it   was the perfect flick to help my unsophisticated  mind appreciate movies that have those damn   subtitles reading at the movies lame but you know  what i was wrong reading at the movies is cool crouching tiger hidden dragon won best  foreign language film at the oscars   and i remember it being a front runner  for best pitcher up against gladiator   bottom line chow yun fat is amazing in this  and the film itself is gosh darn beautiful then came the year 2003 with the movie  bulletproof monk which was a crouching   tiger hidden dragon for the american pie  generation and i'm sure everyone thought   that this was going to be the next rush hour and  truly bring mr fat to the american mainstream   but no it would be the next failure in chao  young fats english language extravaganza   pulling in just 37 million worldwide  against a 52 million dollar budget how did you do that chow would return to the  world of hong kong cinema for the postmodern   life of my aunt and score yet another hong kong  film award nomination for his performance then   came the year 2006 and chow would next be seen  in curse of the golden flower and this film   right here earned a whopping 14 nominations  at the hong kong film awards including best   actor for mr chao yun fat but of course you  can chow down on chow's performance in this one   this felt more like a crouching tiger vibe and  audiences seem to really like that from mr chow   propelling this film to make 78 million dollars  in this film right here it is a visual feast   but it is somewhat lacking in the story  but whatever it looks pretty so there yeah chao would next have the biggest hit of his career  by playing the pirate lord of the south china sea   in the third entry into the pirates of the  caribbean franchise at world's end china   censored the film upon its release saying that  chao's performance gave a negative stereotypical   portrayal of the chinese people and of the  20 minutes the ciao was on screen in the   film china cut out 10 for their release and i have  something to say to the chinese sensors about that   i tell you what i'm going to give you guys a  piece of my mind and i'm just gonna say that   the pirates of the caribbean franchise  is kind of the poster child for the   law of diminishing returns the original film  was highly regarded as the resurrection of the   action genre blockbuster film where when it  was time for this third film to come around   the plot had become so convoluted that  i i just i didn't know what was going on   it's a pirate movie based on a [ __ ] disney ride  why am i confused although audiences still showed   up giving the film an a minus cinema score and  propelling this movie pirates of the caribbean   3 to become the highest grossing film of 2007  with 963.4 million dollars worldwide my god   don't get me wrong i love the first  pirates movie and chow young fat he does an   excellent job with this character but  it's just it just didn't do much for me then came the epic film red cliff this was  john woo's return to chinese language films   and of course he needed his trusted chow by his  side as his leading man to make this one but   that didn't happen unfortunately chow had to drop  out at the last minute claiming that he was given   the script too late and he didn't have enough time  to properly prepare for the role but producers   claim it was because of some dub hollywood show  business nonsense in his contract no matter the   reason the reunion of woo and fat was dead on  arrival and rumors of a feud between the actor and   the director have been spinning ever since but i'm  just going to choose to not believe those rumors   and and just go on thinking that chow and john  are bffs for f's from legendary director john woo then came dragon ball evolution in 2009 and chow  would appear in this failed big screen adaptation   of the popular dragon ball series the film was  absolutely obliterated by critics and audiences   who felt that it lacked any of the magic of  the source material and yeah i'm not even a   dragon ball fan like i literally don't give a  crap about anything dragon ball and even i was   offended by this blasphemous behemoth but it  wasn't xiao young that's fault i don't think in 2010 chow would play renowned philosopher  confucius in a movie called confucius the film   was made to coincide with the 2500 birthday of  confucius himself but sadly confucius passed away   before he could see the finished film but chow  shut all the haters down who were doubting him   and delivered yet another amazing performance  and was nominated for yet another hong kong film   award best actor he would then star opposite  john cusack and ken watanabe in the political   thriller shanghai in 2010 and this one had a  limited release in the united states where it   tanked and received horrendous reviews one  of those critics said it was clunky you   don't want your movies to be clunky then  he decided to return to his action roots   chow would bounce back with lit the bullets fly in  2010. the film would go on to become the highest   grossing domestic release in china's history and  that record was held for two years in 2012 chow   would appear in the chinese historical drama the  assassins i hear it's pretty good i hear it's okay and later that year chow would return to the world  of gangster cinema with the last tycoon in 2012   and the film would pull in 5.7 million hong  kong dollars after taking the year 2013 off   chao would appear in a crime comedy called from  vegas to macau in 2014. the film ultimately made   an impressive amount of money from its domestic  market roughly translating to over 95 million   dollars and of course there would be a sequel from  vegas to macau too outgrossing the original so   much money 2014 we would also see chao appear in  another epic action fantasy film the monkey king   the film would receive pretty horrid reviews with  some calling it a hot mess from heaven although   those horrible things did not stop it from having  the highest grossing opening day ever in china the   film finished its run with over a billion of some  of that chinese money that roughly translates to   180 million in the us next up chao would take on a  musical with a 2015 hong kong production of office in 2016 chow would appear in the sequel to a  movie called cold war in cold war 2 playing   the film's main villain and the film pulled in  an impressive 66 million in hong kong dollars   and was nominated for several hong kong film  awards and this dude right here chow yung fat   he's so humble and down to earth that he actually  bought a ticket and waited in line at a theater to   see his own movie cold war 2. i mean he's getting  a line to see his own movie yeah it's his own   maybe he missed a premiere i'm not sure yeah  2018 would see chow star and project gutenberg   where yet again chow proved that he still holds  the title as the ultimate hong kong movie star   with this making 1.4 billion in hong kong  dollars earning an impressive 16 nominations   at those hong kong film awards including  best actor for ciao well deserved once again   and chao young fat has always been outspoken about  his support of hong kong especially during the   2019-2020 hong kong protests and chow's support of  that saw him banned from working in mainland china   and we're not one hundred percent sure that not  working in china is going to affect his career   but i'm sure that chao is strong enough to  continue on no matter how hard you try you   cannot ban or censor my boy chow you know what  he's still continuing on he's still making films is now well into his 60s  and he still looks like this   he hasn't aged a day maybe he's a vampire i  don't know but you know what you're looking at   a multi-millionaire who lives on 200 a month like  i said his humble farm boy roots never left him so what the [ __ ] happened to chow yun  fat well he's just been living a simple   quiet life making the occasional film when he  feels like it and this multi-millionaire still   uses public transportation and apparently he's  extremely approachable and friendly to all of   his fans often engaging in selfies which feature  a smile full of happiness that seems legit like   actual happiness chao young fat is basically  a movie star monk living a simple life sharing   his wealth and his wisdom with anyone in need  and when most other celebrities who have half   his status drown themselves in this elite  stuck uppiness chow never puts himself   above anyone he's truly a man of the people  no matter if he's walking on a red carpet   or a subway and he seems to be a decent human  being too saying that when he passes away he   intends to leave his entire fortune to charity  it's over 700 million dollars in us dollars his experimentation with english language films  may not have been met with the same enthusiasm   as his hong kong-based films but guess what  north america isn't the end-all be-all of cinema   there's an entire world of films out there  his north american films may have been cheap   imitations of what he is capable of but if you  get out of your comfort zone and track down   some of these hong kong produced flicks you will  treat yourself to some of the best action films   ever made and that's all thanks to chow  yun fat and i would love to see another   john woo chow yun fat collaboration but i  don't really think we need one they have given   us enough and we should just sit back and enjoy  them over and over and over again so nobody should   give a [ __ ] about what the [ __ ] happened  to chow young fat because he's doing just fine thank you for watching our  show if you like what you see   please subscribe to our joe blow videos channel   tell your friends who like this sort of content  and turn on the bell to receive notifications for   all of our latest videos we're an independent  company and we appreciate all your support you

Channel: JoBlo Originals

Views: 145,378

Keywords: joblo videos, joblo, wtf happened to, wtf happened to this celebrity, wtf, joblo originals, chow yun fat, chow yun-fat, john woo, hard boiled, the kiler 1989, a better tomorrow, a better tomorrow 2, mark gor, chow yun fat interview, chow yun fat movies, hard boiled shootout, chow yun fat god of gamblers, chow yun fat english, the replacement killers, crouching tiger hidden dragon, the corruptor, hard boiled 1992 shootout, hard boiled best shootout, john woo hard boiled

Id: Ju2Q_snDzao

Length: 28min 49sec (1729 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 10 2021