Editing Wire fu

{{Short description|Mix of Chinese martial arts and cinematic visual effects}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2007}}

'''Wire fu''' is an element or style of [[Hong Kong action cinema]] used in [[stage combat|fight scenes]]. It is a combination of two terms: "[[wire-flying|wire work]]" and "[[kung fu]]".

Wire fu is used to describe a subgenre of [[kung fu film]]s where the stuntmen's or actor's skill is augmented with the use of wires and pulleys, as well as other stage techniques, usually to perform fight-scene stunts and give the illusion of super-human ability (or [[qinggong]]).<ref>{{cite news |last=Rahner |first=Mark |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2002129305_martialarts24.html |title=Wire-fu flicks: Pouncing public, hidden treasures |date=2004-12-24 |access-date=2010-12-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102125529/http://seattletimes.com/html/movies/2002129305_martialarts24.html |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |publisher=[[Seattle Times]]}}</ref> It is exemplified by the works of [[Tsui Hark]], [[Yuen Woo-ping]], and [[Jet Li]]. [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] has subsequently adopted the style for the American film industry.<ref>{{cite book |title=Contemporary World Cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia |url=https://archive.org/details/contemporaryworl00chau_965 |url-access=limited |author=Shohini Chaudhuri |year=2005 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=074861799X |page=[https://archive.org/details/contemporaryworl00chau_965/page/n128 125]}}</ref> Almost all modern [[wuxia]] films fall in this category. Not all [[martial arts film]]s use wire work.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.newsweek.com/2003/07/23/the-problem-with-fx.html |title= The Problem With Fx |access-date=2010-07-04 |work= Newsweek |date= 23 July 2003 }}</ref>

==In practice==
The basic concept is not very complex and originates in the mechanical effects of [[stagecraft]]. Planning and persistence are important, as it often requires many [[take]]s to perfect the stunt.<ref>{{cite news |title= High-wire act raises the bar in fight scenes |work= [[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=2006-12-17 |url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-dec-17-ca-goldenflower17-story.html |access-date=2010-12-17 |first=Sheigh |last=Crabtree}}</ref>

Typically, a [[Safety harness|harness]] is hidden under the actor's costume, and a cable and [[pulley]] system is attached to the harness. When live sets are used, [[wire removal]] is done in [[post-production]]. Another later-developed technique of creating wire fu is using a [[greenscreen|green screen]] and post-production special effects. Green screening the wire work is done for more complex stunts and [[camera angle]]s. The actors are suspended in the air by green wires, which are then erased digitally during the post-production process. The process by which this was done in older (pre-digital) movies was to use film coloration techniques in a method similar to animation; artists (usually animators), would painstakingly go frame by frame over the raw footage and color in the wires to match the background.

Wire work is often used in kung fu films to simply allow actors to perform stunts beyond their physical abilities. In movies such as ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'', it is used to create a more dramatic effect and adds [[magical realism]] to the world in which the film takes place.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-2000 |title=Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon |last= Ebert |first= Roger |author-link= Roger Ebert |work=[[Chicago Sun Times]] |date=December 20, 2000 |quote=what's unusual about "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is the depth and poetry of the connecting story, which is not just a clothesline for action scenes |access-date=2020-05-04 }}</ref> "Wire fu is used to describe '''a sub''' '''genre of kung fu films''' where the stuntmen's or actor's skill is augmented with the use of wires and pulleys"

==Examples of wire fu films==
* ''[[Sister Street Fighter]]'' ([[1974 in film|1974]]), aka ''Onna Hissatsu Ken''
* ''[[Once Upon a Time in China]]'' ([[1991 in film|1991]]), aka ''Wong Fei-Hung''
* ''[[Fong Sai-yuk (film)|Fong Sai-yuk]]'' ([[1993 in film|1993]]), aka ''Fang Shi Yu'' or ''The Legend of Fong Sai-yuk''
* ''[[Iron Monkey (1993 film)|Iron Monkey]]'' ([[1993 in film|1993]]), aka ''Siu Nin Wong Fei Hung Chi: Tit Ma Lau''
* ''[[The Matrix]]'' ([[1999 in film|1999]])
* ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' ([[2000 in film|2000]]), aka ''Wo Hu Cang Long''
* ''[[X-Men (film)|X-Men]]'' ([[2000 in film|2000]])
* ''[[Charlie's Angels (2000 film)|Charlie's Angels]]'' ([[2000 in film|2000]])
* ''[[Austin Powers in Goldmember]]'' ([[2002 in film|2002]])
* ''[[Hero (2002 film)|Hero]]'' ([[2002 in film|2002]]), aka ''Ying Xiong''
* ''[[Kill Bill: Volume 1]]'' ([[2003 in film|2003]])
* ''[[House of Flying Daggers]]'' ([[2004 in film|2004]]), aka ''Shi Mian Mai Fu''
* ''[[Mulan (2020 film)|Mulan]]'' ([[2020 in film|2020]])
* ''[[Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings]]'' ([[2021 in film|2021]])

==See also==
* [[Gun fu]]
* [[Wire-flying]]
* [[Stunt rigging]]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Kung fu films| ]]
[[Category:Theatrical combat]]
[[Category:Action films by genre]]
[[Category:Cinema of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Film genres]]


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