This all-star kung fu epic brings together many of director Chang Cheh’s favorite leading men of the past decade with future Venoms stars in his most ambitious depiction of southern Shaolin folklore and its many martial arts heroes. Chang had already directed five Shaolin-related movies that covered events which took place before, after and during those depicted in this one. These films, collectively known as the Shaolin Cycle, concern the struggle between Shaolin kung fu-trained Ming rebels and their Manchu and Wudang Clan rivals. But until this release, none had focused squarely on the extensive training these Ming patriots received at the southern Shaolin Temple or the infamous burning of the Temple itself by attacking Manchu forces. This film contains now iconic scenes of would-be disciples patiently waiting outside the temple to be accepted. Their reasons for joining vary but most are either Ming rebels seeking asylum or Han citizens seeking the means to avenge the loss of family members slain by Manchu martial arts masters. Accepted disciples endure an array of grueling challenges and training exercises over several years that develop skills in the five animal forms of Hung Fist kung fu, Wing Chun, Eight-Diagram Pole fighting, acrobatics, or light step kung fu. Chang was beginning to move away from the grounded realism that his former action director Lau Kar-leung had introduced in the early Shaolin Cycle films and towards stylized, Chinese opera and wuxia-influenced kung fu action that defined his subsequent Venoms films. As a result, SHAOLIN TEMPLE contains both styles along with some of the broader, swingy-arm heroics that defined his early films. None of the leading cast members dominate the film but many stand out. Fu Sheng was still in his kung fu fighting prime at this point as he stepped back into the familiar role of clowning folk hero Fong Sai-yuk. He spends most of the film catching up to his peers, but as the legend goes, he soon surpasses all but the most skilled fighters and we get to see Fu Sheng’s excellent Hung Fist forms on display once again. Veteran genre star Ti Lung has a smaller role but shows off his real-world Wing Chun skills, both in dummy training and close-range fighting. David Chiang is also relegated to second string status but in wielding a three-section iron rope dart he gets to represent a measure of Chang’s old school wuxia fighting. Chi Kuan-chun doesn’t disappoint with a powerful display of five animals forms while Wang Lung-wei proves to be the most versatile screen fighter by being pitted against the widest array of fighting styles. All the future stars of THE FIVE VENOMS and FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS are present with most given substantial action roles. The mousy Chiang Sheng, the acrobatic Philip Kwok and the villainous Lu Feng share the most screen time but sharp-eyed fans may briefly see Lo Meng and Wai Pak. The film is packed with many other notable genre stars and supporting players including Bruce Tang, Ku Feng, Lau Wing, and MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING star Li Yi-min. The cast alone makes this movie worthwhile but their colorful characters, the inventiveness of the training sequences and the large-scale, all-star fight at the end makes this one of Chang Cheh’s most entertaining kung fu movies. Unfortunately, the effort to focus on so many characters in such a big story will likely make the head’s of uninitiated viewers spin. Watching the previous Shaolin Cycle films doesn’t necessarily help as they’re all out of sequence and awkwardly overlap while some actors from those films portray different characters and some of the primary characters’ origin stories vary slightly in the retelling.
by Mark PollardRelated Topics:
Alexander Fu Sheng • Chang Cheh • Chi Kuan-chun • David Chiang • Genre: Kung Fu • Genre: Shapes • Shaolin Cycle • Shaolin Temple (1976) • Shaw Brothers • Ti Lung • Venoms Mob • Wang Lung-wei • Wudang
