Shaolin Temple (1976)

SB’s epic telling of the legendary burning of Shaolin Temple and the kung fu heroes who trained there and fought to protect it is brought to life by Chang Cheh and a cast of all-stars.

Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Temple is a stellar martial arts adventure with memorable training sequences, inventive action, and great performances from a host of Chang’s top stars. Emerging ‘Venoms’ players like Chiang Sheng and Phillip Kwok fight side-by-side with established veterans like Ti Lung and David Chiang for an exciting and unique experience sure to please fans.

Before I can discuss this wonderful Shaw Brothers classic, a little history should be revealed. The very real destruction of the famed Shaolin Temple during the Qing Dynasty in China is one of the most important events in the history of kung fu. Once the proud ’special forces’ of past regimes, Shaolin monks trained in various forms of kung fu had become a perceived threat to the new government. The temple was sacked and the monks were forced to go into hiding. Their numbers reduced to a few hundred, the monks began to teach their once elusive arts to the public in order to preserve it. The kung fu spread to families and performers who passed the arts on to successive generations. This led directly to the modern practice of the Wing Chun, Hung Gar and others. Without this tradition, there would probably be few, if any kung fu movies for us to watch today.

Chang Cheh was certainly not the first filmmaker to explore this tragic, yet colorful event. In 1939, Hong Kong produced Burning of the Shaolin Temple. Over the years, numerous films revisited the topic. But, Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Temple holds the distinction of being the first ‘modern’ version. The popularity of this film sparked a whole sub-genre of Shaolin-related films highlighted by Joseph Kuo’s 18 Bronzemen series, Lau Kar-leung’s 36th Chamber of Shaolin, and mainland China’s Shaolin Temple (1982) starring Jet Li. Interestingly, longtime Chang Cheh collaborator Lau Kar-leung parted ways about this time and did not choreograph this film. It is pure speculation, but the pair may have had creative differences over this film as Kar-leung’s kung fu training could be traced back to Shaolin and he likely had very strong opinions about how to portray temple life and its kung fu. Lucky for us, his vision is preserved in 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

Alexander Fu Sheng stars as one of two men who wait outside the temple walls for five days, hoping to learn kung fu and seek revenge for a wrong doing that becomes inconsequential as more pressing events unfold. Already aware that the temple’s days are numbered under Qing rule and that their martial heritage must be preserved, the abbot agrees to take these outsiders in. This opens the door for more non-Shaolin pupils, but only the most determined of them. A number of these characters represent the real, yet generally romanticized pupils who would escape the destruction and spread the various arts throughout China.

Within, pupils perform seemingly menial tasks such as lighting ovens and stirring congee in the kitchen with the exception of Fu Sheng’s pal, played by Chi Kuan-chun. He excels in his training and spends most of his time learning the Five Animal forms including Dragon, Snake, Tiger, Leopard, and Crane. Two years later, three new pupils and a band of Ming rebels join the temple. Along with our initial two heroes, they all begin individualized training meant to compliment their natural strengths. Ti Lung learns the close quarter combat of Wing Chun from the famous female monk who created it. David Chiang masters a whip skill. Phillip Kwok has weights placed on his legs, that when removed allow him to show off his very real tumbling and acrobatic skills. Rounding out our hero list is Lee I-min who masters pole fighting and Bruce Tong who is able to step lightly over sharp rocks.

A charismatic Fu Sheng is appropriately the one clown in the bunch who seems destined to light ovens forever until a rivalry with one of the Ming rebels (Johnny Wang) pushes him to succeed. He learns the fine art of splitting wood within his grip and also receives training in Hung Gar kung fu from a masked stranger. This training comes in handy when he and Kuan-chun decide to break out of the temple in order to get their revenge for they must first pass through the vicious wooden men, a series of rotating wooden dummies with protracting arms.

The film follows kung fu legend as traitors from within the temple conspire with a Qing lord (Guk Fung) to lay siege to the temple. Fu Sheng and Kuan-chun return in time to warn the temple residents. They join with the rest of the newly-trained heroes in fighting a large Qing force led by Lu Feng.

Simply having all of these great kung fu stars together on screen is incredible, but they manage to provide outstanding kung fu action as well. The first two-thirds of the film is more character driven and focuses on the obligatory training, which can be just as entertaining as the fights. Some of the training is fanciful, although there are plenty of credible references to real kung fu styles. These various styles present a nice mix of action to suit most tastes. Chen Kuan-chun (Eagle’s Claw) who, in addition to having the most ripped physique among the cast, performs great animal technique. Ti Lung is a real Wing Chun practitioner and it shows in a great training sequence and later in a close-quarter fight with Johnny Wang while Fu Sheng relies more on his charming personality to sell his physical performance employing Hung Gar technique.

Shaolin Temple could technically be considered the first ‘Venoms’ film with appearances from five cast members of the infamous Five Venoms (1978). After Johnny Wang, there is Chiang Sheng who plays a slightly mischievous Shaolin monk while Lo Meng fills a lesser role. One of the film’s highlights is the confrontation between Phillip Kwok and Lu Feng in his film debut. Kwok uses his acrobatic skills to outmaneuver Lu Feng’s deadly twin sword attacks. The two appear equally matched until Kwok comes up with an idea that falls right in line with Chang Cheh’s heroic bloodshed.

There is little bloodletting and gore in this film in contrast to many of Chang Cheh’s other films. The emphasis is on telling a story, one that guarantees at least a few heroes will be left alive. The final battle is peppered with great individual fights, but the overall spectacle is disappointing. Without Tong Gaai’s mastery with large scale choreography, the scene is awkward with most of the extras relegated to standing around in the fringes of battle as they shake their spears in mock aggression. Once the Qing soldiers are deep inside the compound of Shaolin Lu Feng gives a perplexing order to bring up cannon. Other films have shown this cannon, but we don’t get see it here and it doesn’t even make any sense to use it once the walls have been breached. Basically, the last stand of Shaolin is clumsily portrayed apart from the individual duels.

Although Shaolin Temple is the first modern telling of the temple’s destruction and features a fine cast and lots of action, the film, like every other film on the same topic cannot be considered the definitive Shaolin Temple experience. What is really missing is a greater emphasis on historical fact, something that eludes even historians and archeologists. A more realistic portrayal of events would do the existing Shaolin Temples justice, but would be hard-pressed to be anymore entertaining than Chang Cheh’s version.