This Must-Watch Martial Arts Movie Was So Amazing That Quentin Tarantino Wanted To Remake It

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Quentin Tarantino at a red carpet event.

Nicholas Raymond is an author and journalist based out of Alabama, where he proudly roots for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he has a degree in mass communication with a concentration in journalism.

Come Drink With Me is a timeless martial arts classic, with one testament to its quality being Quentin Tarantino's previous interest in remaking it. Over the years, the famed Hollywood director has been associated with a long list of projects that were never realized on the big screen, from a Zorro and Django crossover film to a remake of Westworld.

Quentin Tarantino's unmade projects also include at least two movies tied to the martial arts genre. After making a love letter to old-school kung fu movies in the form of the Kill Bill duology, Tarantino turned his attention to the concept of a Mandarin language kung fu film. At another point, Tarantino was attached to a remake of one of the best female-led martial arts movies of all time.

Quentin Tarantino Was Attached To Direct A Come Drink With Me Remake

Cheng Pei-pei as Golden Swallow in Come Drink With Me

Directed by visionary martial arts filmmaker King Hu, Come Drink With Me was a Hong Kong wuxia film that starred Cheng Pei-pei as Golden Swallow, a no-nonsense swordswoman on a mission to rescue her kidnapped brother. Along the way, she joins forces with Drunken Cat, an expert fighter who hides his skills by living as a drunken beggar.

In 2007, Harvey Weinstein revealed a plan for Quentin Tarantino to direct a Hollywood remake of Come Drink With Me. Two years later, Tarantino was reportedly still attached to it, but the director had multiple projects on his plate, including an adaptation of Faster, Pusycat, Kill! Kill! At the time, Tarantino had told Digital Spy he wasn't sure which he would make next, so it seems Come Drink With Me just got left behind.

Two years after its release, Come Drink With Me received a sequel in Golden Swallow, which saw Cheng Pei-pei reprise her role as the titular heroine.

Kill Bill Shows Proves Tarantino Would Have Been A Solid Director Choice For Come Drink With Me's Remake

Since Quentin Tarantino's Come Drink With Me remake never happened, we'll never know for sure what would have come of it, but both Kill Bill movies indicate he'd have a better chance than most at pulling off a worthy remake. After all, he's already made two movies about a sword-wielding, one-woman army, so an adventure centered on Golden Swallow wouldn't be entirely new territory for him.

Doing so wouldn't have been easy for any filmmaker, considering how difficult it is to match a classic that was considered groundbreaking at the time of its release. With its brilliant blend of Chinese opera and swordplay, Come Drink With Me had an undeniable impact on the genre, not to mention what it meant for future female-led martial arts movies.

With its importance to the genre in mind, it's hard to imagine any Come Drink With Me remake topping that, but Tarantino's deep understanding of all the intricacies of old-school kung fu movies - as evidenced by all the fine details in Kill Bill - undescore the notion that he could have handled a Come Drink With Me adaptation with style.