Temple of the Red Lotus (1965)

A pre-arranged marriage leads Wu (Jimmy Wang Yu) to the family home of Lian Chu, his bride to be. Complications arise when they are repeatedly attacked by members of the notorious Red Lotus Sect as Wu discovers that his new family may be ruthless bandits. He’s forced to fight his way free of their control, only to face Red Lotus.

One of the defining moments in martial arts film history saw the release of Temple of the Red Lotus, a film that introduced martial arts superstars Jimmy Wang Yu and Lo Lieh, and set the stage for the modern swordplay genre that was about to blossom with the release of King Hu’s Come Drink with Me in 1966. Apart from its prominent place in the timeline of Hong Kong film, Red Lotus presented a wuxia tale with great emotion and excitement, but it still lacked the martial arts precision and complexity that would later define the genre under the guidance of luminaries like Tong Gaai and Lau Kar Leung.

The film begins with credits imbedded in a slideshow of dramatic paintings depicting scenes of martial valor while rousing traditional Chinese music plays. The opening shot of a pool of that distinctive Shaw Brothers blood is unforgettable. As the camera pans away from the “victim,” the scene of an ambush unfolds as bandits in “ninja” garb attack guards escorting a shipment of gold. Jimmy Wang Yu makes his entrance midway through the melee as Wu, a young man on the way to the home of his in-laws to be. While attempting to aid the guards, he is struck with one of their darts and is later rescued by the mysterious swordswoman known only as Red Lady Sword (Ivy Ling Po). This opening scene is crucial to the events of the remaining film.

Healed by Red Lady, Wu arrives at the home of Lian Chu, played by Chin Ping in her second role. Having grown up together as children, their parents had arranged for their marriage when they came of age. But the family’s patriarch Dragon Jin recognizes Wu as the man he impaled with a dart. As this family of “thieves” ponders what course of action to take, Lian Chu’s strong-willed grandmother as played by Lam Jing decides the marriage should proceed as Wu is still clueless.

A charming and important scene unfolds on the newlywed’s first night together. Expecting a night of passion, Wu watches as Chu removes her robe to uncover clothing suitable for martial arts training, which is exactly what she intends to do. The family lives by a very strict set of rules regarding their martial arts techniques and training. Wu awkwardly trails after Chu who has left to train with her father. The two are performing the family’s patented “Yuanyang Sword-play” style. Sensing Wu’s presence, Dragon Jin pulls the startled young man out to replace him alongside Chu in what turns out to be an intimate dance requiring the pair to coordinate their sword movements.

Unlike his later roles where he was more of your typically unfaltering hero, Wang Yu appears almost frail. He is this skinny kid who looks uncoordinated and frequently flustered. He only had a brief period of stage fight training on the SB lots before this role and on several occasions it looks like he might drop his sword. For a martial arts hero this sounds disastrous, but it works for the most part because the skill of his character is not supposed to be great. But this image hurts Wang Yu most towards the end as he wades into the entire forces of Red Lotus with Chin Ping and holds his own against them for a time. Against one or two foe I could accept, but I couldn’t accept that he would match such overwhelming odds.

Getting back to the plot, members of the Red Lotus Temple begin to attack the family. They were the ones escorting the gold before it was stolen and now they want it back. The Red Lotus Temple was a notorious hive of scum and villainy who masqueraded as monks. Their vicious exploits were better explored in the excellent 1994 martial arts epic Burning Paradise. As their attacks are repelled, Wu finally discovers that Dragon Jin is the bandit who attacked him. Unable to stay among thieves, he persuades Chu to leave with him so that he may continue his quest to find his parents’ killers. The only problem is that anyone who learns the family kung fu cannot leave as part of a tradition meant to keep it a secret. The only way to overcome this is to defeat each family member in combat. Like most of us would, Wu considers this to be ridiculous, but is forced to adhere to family tradition. Luckily, he does so while the men folk are away. Several tense confrontations are followed by a final battle in the Red Lotus Temple where Red Lady reemerges to aid our two heroes. This tense family situation popped up in another SB production with David Chiang and Wong Hang Sau as a couple facing the same predicament in Shaolin Mantis (1978).

The film ends with the feeling that a sequel is eminent and sure enough the film indeed spawned two, namely The Twin Swords (1965) and The Sword and the Lute (1967). Despite the title, the film really isn’t about Red Lotus, but rather one family’s struggle to weigh martial tradition against love. In this regard, the film works beautifully. The tension builds up to the point where Lo Lieh and Wang Yu face each other in what seemingly can only end in despair for all concerned. The final fight with the Red Lotus is simply gravy.

Many of the actors deserve mention. Chin Ping proves to be every bit as charming as she is in later films. A very young Petrina Fung, who would go on to become a fighting female star herself plays Chin Ping’s delightfully mischievous little sister. Lam Jing as the grandmother with a powerful staff-wielding skill bolsters the film as the strongest character in terms of personality. As the film’s most unsavory character, viewers should recognize Fung Ngai, who played the fat Japanese karate master opposite Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury (1972). Although he shows up late as a womanizing Red Lotus member, his role is crucial simply because no one else really stands out as a villain. Looking very youthful, Lo Lieh adds spice by playing Wang Yu’s rival, both in love and fighting and effectively leaves you guessing what his final actions will be. Wang Yu turned out to be a better actor and eventually director, which compensated for his limited martial arts abilities. Without the swagger he would display once he became Hong Kong’s number one action star with the release of The One Armed Swordsman (1967), he relies on a certain vulnerability that proves to be more endearing.

Temple of the Red Lotus is somewhat light on action. There is fair amount of good swordplay, but it more closely resembles the slower, more refined style employed in older generations of HK films. Yet aside from a weak connection to the Red Lotus plot, the story is very strong and features excellent performances from the whole cast. Above all, just being able to see Wang Yu and Lo Lieh in their screen debut alone makes this film worth seeing.