Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Freeman This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Leofwine_draca 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.

gavin6942 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.

poe426 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.)

Brian Camp SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS (1974) is one of a handful of near-epic kung fu movies made by Chang Cheh in Hong Kong in the 1970s. At 111 minutes, it's also longer than most. This one is important because it is the first to focus the film's narrative on the heroes' martial arts training and the need to master certain styles in order to defeat an enemy's style. This structure would be adopted by many of the best kung fu films of the next six years.The plot highlights a group of students forced into a running conflict with a band of ruling Manchurian kung fu champs. Two students are sent off to learn particular styles in order to defeat the Manchu champs. When they fail, two other students are sent into hiding with reclusive masters for a period of years to study even more specific styles. One learns tiger and stork styles, while the other studies Wing Chun and has to learn to hit a massive iron bell from inches away with enough force to cause it to ring. In the end, they come back and defeat all four Manchu champs.The all-star 1970s kung fu cast includes Gordon Liu (MASTER KILLER) and Billy Tang (SHAOLIN AVENGERS) as the first two students and Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun as the second pair of students--the main characters. The teacher who trains Fu Sheng in tiger and stork style is Simon Yuen (the original DRUNKEN MASTER). The main villains are Leung Kar Yan and Wang Lung Wei, two performers who were often paired as villains in 1970s kung fu films. They are joined in the final battle by two other formidable villains, Feng Ko-An (aka Fung Hak On) and Chiang Tao. Lau Kar Wing is in the cast also. The credits indicate that the film is 'introducing' Liu Chia Hui (Gordon Liu), Liang Chia Jen (Leung Kar Yan) and Wang Lung Wei. A year before he began directing films himself, Liu Chia Liang (aka Lau Kar Leung) was co-fight choreographer on this one.This film and DEATH CHAMBER (aka SHAOLIN TEMPLE, 1976, not to be confused with the Jet Li film), another all-star kung fu film of epic length, are arguably Chang Cheh's two most significant masterworks from his entire career. A trilogy of sorts is formed with the addition of FIVE MASTERS OF DEATH (FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS, 1975) which covers the activities of the characters following the burning of Shaolin. All three films circulate on poor quality bootleg VHS tapes. If there was ever a crying need for restored prints on letter-boxed DVDs, this is it.ADDENDUM: Since doing this review, I've acquired the Celestial Pictures R3 DVD of a restored, remastered edition of this film. That's the one to see.