Salutations Hai! Karate fans! For the next flick we're covering today, we've plucked one of the key films from the career of the late great Alexander Fu Sheng, The Shaolin Avengers!!! This is another saga directed by the legend, Chang Cheh. Fu Sheng also co-stars with Chi Kuan-Chun here as the heroic leads. The rest of the cast is a solid one, with Shaw Studio vets Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan, Johnny Wang Lung Wei, Leung Kar Yan, Venoms member Chiang Sheng as well as appearances by Lung Fei and Shan Mao. Let's break down this flick, shall we?
We begin in the midst of a furious battle
as brothers Fang Shiyu(Fu Sheng) and Fang
Xiaoyu(Tong Yim-Chaan) take on troops from
the Manchu army and other fighters as the
infamous priest White Brows(Chan Yi Lau)
looks on. Aiding them in their fight is
Hu Huigan(Kuan-Chun). We learn about the
Fang's and Huigan's involvement to this
point through lengthy flashbacks during
this fight. Shiyu and Xiaoyu's father was
killed by Lei Laohu(Fei) and his underlings
in a contest designed to oppress the citizens.
Shiyu and Xiaoyu undergo intense training
under the tutelage of their mother, with
Shiyu enduring a rigorous wine bath treatment
that makes him invulnerable to weapons...
except for one weak spot. Emboldened, Shiyu
and Xiaoyu take their revenge against Laohu
and his men in rapid action until this
final battle to avenge the destruction of
the Shaolin Temple. Huigan, whose father was
also murdered, joins the brothers after being
sent to the Shaolin Temple to become a better
fighter. All three are locked in battle with
White Brows and his men...what will the outcome
be?
,
,
The Shaolin Avengers is unique for a couple
of reasons. First off, it's actually a remake
of a film Cheh shot two years prior, Men From
The Monastery. The difference between that
film(which Hai! Karate will cover in the future)
and this comes down to execution of the plot
and visual styling. Here, Cheh's usage of the
flashback to establish story works well. You
get to be one with Shiyu, Huigan and Xiaoyu
this way. A similarity to Men From The Monastery
seen here lies in the use of black and white
film to illustrate the grit and drama of fight
scenes, and then bright red to highlight a
rather vicious demise. These sight cues add to
the intensity. The fight scenes go from compact
to flowing in terms of force. You'll get a kick"
out of the duel Shiyu has with Laohu atop the
Plum Lotus piles. Look out for cameos by future
Venoms member Chiang Sheng and Ricky Cheng as
this was one of their earlier flicks with Cheh.
Alexander Fu Sheng comes into his own in this
film, displaying all of the charisma and bravado
that made him a rising star in Hong Kong cinema
at this time. As Shiyu, he effectively shows off
his dramatic range and some real prowess. In a
contrast, Chi Kuan-Chun comes off as stoic with
some shows of fire. This would be one of a few
pairings he and Fu Sheng would have under the
eye of Chang Cheh over the next few years. They
do complement each other well. Bruce Tong as
Xiaoyu is measured and solid in one of the roles
that got him more light in Shaw Studio productions
during this time. It's interesting to see Lung
fei and Shan Mao in a Shaw flick; both were
mainly veteran actors who worked with indie
studios. They both serve well here. (Side note:
White Brows is really an early iteration of
the infamous Priest Pai Mei role that Lo Lieh
would make immortal in the next 2 years.)
Bear in mind that there's going to be one or
two things in The Shaolin Avengers that will
be bugged out to you. One of which involves
Shiyu's 'wine bath' training and that weak
spot. When you find out where it is, you're
going to cringe. Expect that cringing to
increase tenfold by the time the flick's over.
That's all I'm saying. Also, you may get a
bit thrown by the movie's pacing due to the
flashback cuts. But overall, The Shaolin
Avengers is definitely a worthwhile movie
to check out for Chang Cheh and Alexander
Fu Sheng fans. You can get it via DVD and
through iTunes.
RATING: 3 OF 5 DRAGON PUNCHES
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