Shaolin Martial Arts (1974)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Whenever I find a movie in which Chi Kuan-Chun and Su Feng appear, I have to watch it. I love watching them in action. I was surprised to see Chi portray a man who uses his actions before thinking through a situation. It's a rare character style for him imho. This story starts with Manchus being invited to a ceremony at a Shaolin school. The Manchu leader has to be an ass, as usual. The Manchu attempt to show they are just as good as the Shaolin fails miserably at the ceremony and leads to a Shaolin student being killed. he Manchus are on a mission to, surprise, wipe out ALL Kung Fu schools. Now, here's where I was scratching my head. Hark-On portrays his usual slimy type character who brings in two other Kung-Fu masters from Chinese schools to annihilate the Shaolin. Hark-on an the other two are standing with the Mancu leader, it is mentioned that all Kung-Fu schools, including Hark-On's and those of the other two, will be destroyed once the Shaolin are gone. No one seems bothered by this. Which tells me these three only care about money and position.The Manchus appear at the Shaolin school and kill two more members. ALL Shaolin students scatter to find a way to retaliate. 4, Chi Kuan-Chun, Su Feng, and two others, go off to find their master, who has gone into hiding for obvious reasons. The 2 others who join Chu and Su are sent off to train in ways to defeat the men hired by the Manchu. Though they improve their skills, thanks to Hark-On's interference, they are defeated.The rest of the movie is Chi and Fu being trained to defeat the Manchu, with supportive women at their sides. This is unusual, as it's my first time seeing Chi's character have a romantic involvement. Fu and Chi learn the techniques needed to defeat the "undefeatables"hired by the Manchus. The styles used are interesting. Chi, who usually fights at arms length, must fight close quarters. Fu learns Tiger and Crane to defeat his foe. Hark-On's interference cannot stop what will eventually happen. I was glad to see Chi and Fu walk off into the sunset with their ladies.

SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS is a fine and upstanding kung fu film from the Shaw Brothers universe. By 1974, director Chang Cheh was already an old hand in the genre, having directed literally dozens of films that usually teamed the most famous Shaw stars, David Chiang and Ti Lung. This film feels a little different in that the cast is mainly all new, the actors very young, and some of them appearing in their debut performances.So, instead of Chiang and Lung we instead get Alexander Fu Sheng and Gordon Liu (with hair!) as this film's protagonists. They play part of a team of disciples at a Shaolin martial arts school who are threatened by Manchu rivals. Four of the students are chosen to go and train with some local masters (including Simon Yuen, of DRUNKEN MASTER fame, in an earlier role) so that they gain the right skills to beat the bad guys.SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS delivers pretty much everything you'd expect from a Shaw movie. The story, which is slightly overlong, is dominated by extensive training sequences. The fight scenes are bloody and brilliant, and feature some eye-popping violence at the climax. The production values are strong and the visuals lavish. Best of all is the exemplary ensemble cast. Fu Sheng and Liu both deliver star-making turns are are well supported by Chi Kuan-Chun and Tsan Tang Yen as their dedicated allies. Even better, there are no less than four truly bad ass actors playing the villainous team. Chiang Tao and Fung Hark On have the smaller roles as the brainy guys, while Beardy and Wang Lung Wei are the unstoppable, TERMINATOR-style kung fu opponents. With a cast of this calibre, SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS is a film impossible not to love.

When the ruling dynasty in China sends soldiers to destroy the Shaolin Temple, students use their martial arts to defend the school.Having now seen more than a handful of "kung fu" movies, I am starting to see Chang Cheh as the definitive director of the 1970s, or at least among the top tier. His work is very much what I think of with the generic sort of film. And, from what I understand, this film was one of many that was a big inspiration on Tarantino's "Kill Bill". I believe that.This is simple film at its best. The sets are not elaborate, but the focus is really just the fights and a touch of humor. The character development is mild, as it should be. This is not an individual struggle, after all.

SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS starts off with a religious ceremony: a group of Shaolin students and Manchu warriors gather to honor "the God of War." Things seem to be amiable enough between the two groups, though there's definitely some tension brewing. Liu Chia-rong gives an impressive demonstration of the guan dao, the preferred weapon of the aforementioned God of War. The Manchus aren't impressed and take up the weapon and USE it on Liu Chia-rong himself. Later, a second and then a third student are killed and the Shaolin students flee. Enter "steel skin" Yu (Wang Lung-wei) and "inner strength" Pa (Leung Kar Yan); they promptly kill two of the Shaolin men, Mai (Gordon Liu) and Ho. Yao (Fu Sheng) and Pao (Chi Kuan Chun) are sent to learn that very special technique that will enable them to deal with the murderous "steel skin" killers. Yet another of Chang Cheh's many martial arts masterpieces, SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS also happens to be one of his best. Highly recommended. (Don't take my word for it: it's available on THIS site, through HULU.)