[.ca] The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

From Amazon.com:
A pure old-school martial arts movie, beloved by aficionados, that also appeals to nonfans simply as a rousing action film. The often-imitated fact-based plot (see The Karate Kid) centers upon the rigorous training process undergone in the mid-19th century by the anti-Manchu Chinese patriot San Te (Gordon Liu). It's depicted as a grueling voyage into the unknown. Cast out of his home village when he stands up to the cruel warlord (Lo Lieh) who slaughtered his parents, the refugee seeks out the martial monks of the Shaolin Temple, who steer him through a torturous series of "chambers"--horrendous ordeals designed to build strength and agility--before he's even allowed to study boxing or swordfighting. Finally he defeats a rival by inventing a brand-new weapon, the three-section chain-linked staff. But innovation can be carried only so far; when San Te suggests opening a "36th chamber" in the temple that would teach Shaolin techniques to the populace at large (so that they can fight the nasty Manchus) he is drummed out of the corps. Naturally he returns to his home village, slaughters the baddies, and prepares to open China's first public Shaolin-style kung fu school. Many of the pupils San Te recruits in the final reel became legendary martial artists in their own right, the "Fathers of the Church" of the Chinese kung fu tradition. This is strong action entertainment with real historical resonance. --David Chute

Amazing.........A must own............!:
Movies like this makes you appreciate the amazing talents of the martial actors of years past. People like Jackie Chan, Gordon Liu, Phil Kwok, TI Lung and many others of that time will never be seen again. Only by owning these wonderful DVD's, will we preserve there amazing talents. This is one of the best. This Work of art is more amazing than any CGI movies out today. Movies back then had heart. This movies kicks butt, one the best of all time. You cant go wrong with this DVD.

don't buy the Canadian version, unless you're French or want a headache:
As usual, because this is an English/French version some compromises have been made. In this case on the audio track As an English speaker, I can handle the English track being in mono, while the French version is in 2.0 'surround'.. but why is the Cantonese version also in mono at the expense of a larger French soundtrack? Surely the Cantonese version should be in 2.0 (or even better presented in 2.0 'surround' and mono), and the French and English versions should both be in mono To make matters worse the Mandarin soundtrack, which I believe to be the original, has gone completely which is ridiculous It annoys me that the French soundtrack has been given preferential treatment when this is a Hong Kong movie. Maybe next time let's all compromise on video quality so there can be a special high quality French version of a HK martial arts movie?!

This is a Five Star classic:
The only reason I give this movie four stars is because of the poor sound quality. Gordon Liu is phenominal and was truly ahead of his time when he made these films in the late 70's. For those who don't know Gordon Liu, he was in the Kill Bill movies. Most notibly in Volume 2 when he trained Uma Thurman. I have heard from many people that say Gordon Liu picked up the torch that Bruce Lee left behind when he passed away. After watching this movie, I see what they mean. In a nutshell, at least half of this movie involves Shaolin training, the other half invloves storytelling / fighting. The Karate Kid is totally based on this film. And Terantino had all the reason in the world to pay homage to this man in his Kill Bill films. This is my favourite kung fu film simply because it has a sense of real history behind it...and it wans't "as" hokey as most kung fu films. If you like fun, hokey kung fu films...Five Deadley Venoms is a must buy too.

Boring training movie:
From all the great reviews for this movie, I was expecting a classic movie. This movie is very boring. I slept in three different occassions throughout the movie. If you want to see a martial arts training movie, then pick this up. If you are looking for some good kung fu ass kicking, look elsewhere because this movie has virtually no kung fu action! It's all training in some fake shaolin temple in Hong Kong. If you want great kung fu flicks check out Fist of the White Lotus and Mystery of Chess Boxing.

(dont) Try this at home!:
I'm 37, saw back in 70's, have watched and studied since. This was back in the days of "grasshoppers" big fight scene being a punch followed with kick...hy-ya. Boy, I was truely inspired by this film as a child, leading the way for my pre-training in White Tiger. I set up head bags, long poles, and held my head still while watching tennis. While working, I carried things arms length and even tried to jump over floating things by running atop them. I have yet to see another flick that shows off the skills of such an artist as Mr Liu. His fight scene with master yul-ya, using 3 sec staff, is incredible to slow down and watch. I cant even tell you how many times I did this with the night group fight. there are no cuts, special effects, or fast blurred scenes, only coreagraphed moves that no one less than Mr Liu could perform...dont believe me?..try it!