Runtime: 120 minutes
Directed by: Chang Cheh
Starring: Many famous Shaw Brothers players
From: Shaw Brothers
You know, these shaolin monks don’t come off as being good at their job… quite simply, this was on Arrow’s streaming site and as I’ve seen a decent amount of Chang Cheh’s films before, might as well further delve into the filmography of a director I usually enjoy. Regrettably, this was a miss for me.
The titular temple is looking for new recruits to stay alive. Thus, outsiders that want to be “trained” suddenly are. Turns out, it’s more like those A-holes treating these new recruits like crap, torturing them with awful menial tasks and otherwise abusing them. If you love seeing people literally stoking a fire (ad nauseum) or stirring congee, then boy do I have a movie for you. But boy was this not that enjoyable for me. Their “methods” of training those students is like a bobo version of Mr. Miyagi.
Plus, there are some preposterous moments and this was a tale where the plot description misled me as what was promised only happened in the final half hour. Giving credit where its due, the entire concluding 30 minutes is fun with all the action setpieces yet that was not enough for me to like the picture after the first 90 minutes. Many seem to like Shaolin Temple yet when it comes to Chang Cheh’s work, give me something like The One-Armed Swordsman, Crippled Avengers or Kid With the Golden Arm any day of the week.
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