Runtime:
115 minutes
Directed
by: Chia-Liang Liu
Starring:
Chia Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Wang Yu, Chia Yung Liu, Norman Chu
From:
Shaw Brothers
I
did say last week that I needed to see more movies from the legendary
Shaw Brothers Studio, and I might as well watch the one that may be
their most famous, or at the very least one of their most famous and
also one of the most highly regarded. Also, the director passed away
late last month and he was an important figure for the studio, being
a director and martial arts choreographer for a number of movies. So
yeah, this wasn't a difficult one to select out of the vast numbers
of movies that have to be out there on YouTube and more secret
places.
The
plot, lifted from the IMDb as if I was Spiderbaby although at least I
admit to when I lift material: “The
anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have
secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters.
During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape and devotes
himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge. In a
short period of time he masters the deadly use of his fists, feet and
palms, along with such weapons as swords, sticks, and lances. With
his learning complete, he takes on the Manchus.”
Sure,
this movie has nice action scenes that still are fine to watch 35
years later, but this movie is about how San Te (this movie is
loosely based on a real-life dude) enters the Shaolin temple and at
first he doesn't do well learning the ways of the monks there, but
through determination and his sheer talent, he ends up doing well as
he goes through all the chambers, which are various tasks he has to
master in order to make him a supreme fighting machine, such as
running across a small body of water that has logs without falling
off, carrying pails of water, and other tasks that help with such
things as balance, coordination, and strength.
The
movie is about The Hero's Journey, to use a fancy term that
screenwriters learn. You see someone start out at the bottom and he
trains and trains until he is great. The movie spends quite a bit of
time with the training aspect and it's always entertaining as the
tasks are wacky and yet awesome at the same time. He's a very quick
learner so San Te certainly comes off as a great badass. The villains
are tremendous bastards so you'll definitely want to see their
comeuppance. It should not be a surprise that Te wants to learn to
fight to help the people and that is exactly what he ends up doing. I
now understand why many people hold this in high regard as it's great
entertainment and it's just fun to watch.
I'll
be back Thursday afternoon.
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