The Miracle Fighters
The Miracle Fighters
奇門遁甲
Overview
"An orphaned young man is tricked into impersonating the lost crown prince by two eccentric, bickering Taoist magicians. To survive the machinations of the evil Sorcerer Bat, the young man must learn their utterly bizarre magical kung fu, which involves illusions, stretching limbs, and controlling paper talismans."
Iconic Tracked Scenes
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The two eccentric Taoist masters engage in a ridiculous magical duel, throwing paper talismans that explode, create fire, and summon minor illusions.
"taoist magic duel""fighting with paper talismans" - ▶
The evil Sorcerer Bat attacks, using terrifying blood magic and a jar of supernatural bats to overwhelm the young protagonist.
"fighting sorcerer bat""jar of bats attack" - ▶
In an utterly surreal finale, the masters use a technique to drastically stretch their limbs across the room, eventually combining their magic to trap Sorcerer Bat inside a giant paper effigy.
"stretching arms across the room""trapped in the paper man"
Why It's Remembered
- ★The two magicians fighting each other by throwing magical paper talismans that summon elemental attacks.
- ★The protagonist learning to fight by controlling a jar full of water with his qi.
- ★The incredibly bizarre finale where the magicians literally stretch their arms across the room and transform into giant paper figures to fight Sorcerer Bat.
Cultural Context
- ◈Directed by Yuen Woo-ping and starring his brother Yuen Yat-chor, this film essentially created the 'Taoist magical kung fu comedy' subgenre.
- ◈Features some of the most surreal, cartoonish practical effects of the era, heavily blending martial arts with stage magic and acrobatics.
- ◈Directly paved the way for Mr. Vampire and the hopping vampire genre that dominated the 80s.
About the Action Elements
The Miracle Fighters is widely celebrated among martial arts cinema fans for sequences involving paper talismans, magic, duel, taoist, illusions. One of the most memorable sequences features Yuen Yat-Chor naturally executing taoist magic duel, where the choreography and unique set pieces become the unexpected highlight of the film.