A movie where a man defeats a trial involving a glass of water

Question

I saw a part of this movie my dad was watching when I was quite young. Here's the scene, from a movie I saw on TV in the early 2000s:

• A man enters an underground (?) trial area. I remember it looking cave-like with torch lighting.

• He is given a glass of water

• He must navigate across tightropes or shaky bridges without spilling a drop

• He accomplishes this, but when he gets to the end he must retrieve an object from a fiery altar (Sword, maybe?)

• He drinks the water from the glass, and the flame is extinguished

I feel as though he had a small audience of men who belonged to this trial-giving group.

I had a short childhood with my father, and I remember a lot of movies that I only partially saw with him -- I'm building a bit of a library of his interests.

The drinking of water to extinguish the flame definitely puts this in a fantasy category. Maybe it was a kung-fu movie? Maybe this was just an episode of some daytime gladiator drama?

Answer 1

The Golden Child featuring Eddie Murphy

Chandler and Kee travel to Tibet, where Chandler is swindled by an old amulet seller, later revealed as the High Priest of the temple where the dagger is kept hidden (and, subsequently, Kee's father). In order to obtain the knife, Chandler has to pass a test: an obstacle course in a bottomless cavern whilst carrying a glass of water without spilling a drop. With luck and wits, Chandler recovers the blade and even manages to bring it past customs into the United States.

TV Tropes has a more detailed description

To test his character, Chandler has to traverse the maze to the dagger without spilling the glass of water he's been given. However, when he gets to the dagger, it's covered with a wreath of fire. Knowing he's unable to use the water to put the fire out, he drinks the water instead, so the fire goes out and he takes the dagger.

Found with a search for film trial "glass of water" "without spilling"

Excerpt Clip