Bullet Points: Shaolin Temple (1976)

If you are a fan of the Shaw Brothers brand of martial arts movies from the 1970’s you are more than likely aware that Arrow Video has recently released a box set (Shaw Scope Volume One) featuring 12 Shaw Brothers classics on Blu-ray, plus 2 soundtrack CDs, plus a companion book… the set is magnificent, and Arrow Video deserves some major props for the work they put into this set.

One of the movies included in Shaw Scope Volume One was 1976’s Shaolin Temple, directed by Chang Cheh, and that is the movie I’ll be covering in this edition of Bullet Points…

• The New Class: The times they are a changin’ in China thanks to the Qing Dynasty. The Shaolin Temple is on the Qing Dynasty’s hit list, which doesn’t exactly paint a bright future for the Shaolin monks. Knowing “calamitous times” are on the horizon, the Abbott (Ku Wen-Chung) does something unprecedented… he opens the doors of the Shaolin Temple to outsiders who prove themselves as worthy candidates. This unorthodox decision was not without its detractors, I am talking about you Master Hui Xian (Shan Mao, Bruce Lee Against Supermen), but was made in order to preserve the Shaolin fighting techniques for the future. This is great news for Fang Shih Yu (Alexander Fu Sheng, Chinatown Kid) and Hu Hui Gan (Chi Kuan-Chun) who have been kneeling outside the Shaolin Temple in the pouring rain for days, hoping to be invited to train with the legendary Shaolin monks, so they can gain the fighting skills needed to seek revenge…

• Shaolin Temple Blues: Once they get inside Fang Shih Yu and Hu Hui Gan take different paths… the wise cracking Fang Shih Yu finds himself stoking fires in the kitchen, while Hu Hui Gan is honing his fighting skills. This does not sit well with Fang Shih Yu, nor does the fact that six soldiers, who fought against the Qing, were also granted access and fast tracked into training, while he’s stuck in the kitchen. One soldier in particular with a bad attitude, I am talking about you Ma Fu Yi (Johnny Wang, The New Shaolin Boxers), gets into it with Fang Shi Yu on numerous occasions, with Ma Fu Yi usually whooping Fang Shih Yu’s ass. Things pick up for the sophomoric Fang Shih Yu, when a trio of new students is granted access to the Temple and he pulls rank on them, especially Huang Song Han who finds himself stuck in the kitchen with Fang Shih Yu. Meanwhile Huang’s two friends have their own challenges with Lin Guang Yao (Philip Kwok, Story of Ricky) learning to jump with weights strapped around his calves and Zhu Dao (Bruce Tong, Heroes Two) who has to spend his day drying out books filled with blank pages.
• The Trouble with Spies: Bolstering their ranks is a good thing for the Shaolin Temple, but what nobody knows at this point is that there is a spy amongst them. A spy who is reporting back to the Qing, most notably King Man Gui (Ku Feng, The Mighty Peking Man), and helping the Qing orchestrate a plan to wipe out all the Shaolin monks and destroy the Shaolin Temple. In exchange for his treachery, the spy will be given the rank of general in the Qing army. SPOILER AHEAD… it really was no surprise that the spy turned out to be the malcontent Master Hui Xian and less of a surprise when Hui Xian recruits Ma Fu Yi and his bad attitude to help him set up the Shaolin monks.
• Let’s Get Revenge: As I mentioned earlier, Fang Shih Yu and Hu Hui Gan came to the Shaolin Temple with revenge on their mind. So when the time is right and both men feel they have learned enough to go dish out some vengeance, they decide they need to leave the Temple and do just that… but that is easier said than done since the only way out of the Temple is surviving Wooden Man Alley and that challenge is made even deadlier thanks to Master Hui Xian and Ma Fu Yi. Fortunately, some of their fellow students step up and help Fang Shih Yu and Hu Hui Gan make it through, even though it means they’ll face the consequences for breaking the rules.

• Battle Royale: It is while they are on the outside that Fang Shih Yu and Hu Hui Gan spot the Qing troops marching towards the Shaolin Temple and it becomes clear they need to get back to the Temple first and warn the Abbot that the moment he had been fearing was about to come to fruition… but even though Fang Shih Yu and Hu Hui Gan do manage to get to the Shaolin Temple before the troops attack, they are already too late. Master Hui Xian has already enacted his evil plans and it is only a matter of time before the Temple falls… but that doesn’t mean we don’t get an epic battle because even thought they are severely out numbered and winning is an impossibility the Shaolin aren’t going down without a fight!

Shaolin Temple did not have a ton of fighting action until the final act, but that fact did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. As I watched, I found myself investing more and more in the new students’ individual Shaolin Temple journeys and challenges, particularly Alexander Fu Sheng, Philip Kwok and Bruce Tong’s characters. And the way that the individual lessons each student learned along the way comes into play for the final battle was perfection.

The perfect way to end a Bullet Points review is with some Bonus Bullet Points…

• AKA: Shaolin Temple was released in the United States as Death Chamber.
• Everybody Have Fun Tonight: One of the other six soldiers who comes to train at the Shaolin Temple was played by none other than Wang Chung. I recognized Wang Chung from Cantonen Iron Kung Fu and Flying Guillotine, Part II.
• The Name Game: Not to be confused with 1982’s Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, which was in fact Jet Li’s acting debut.
• One Question: When does Shaw Scope Volume Two come out?