Shaolin Temple (aka Death Chambers, Siu lam ji, 1976)
IMDB listing
Not to be confused with "Shaolin Temple", the Jet Li film.
If you're looking for a great introduction to classic kung fu action, Shaw Brothers style, this is it. Easily one of my favorites of the era, this movie features just about everything you could want--tons of bloody fighting, bizarre training exercises, a simple but engaging storyline, and enough eye candy to send a gal into sugar shock.
Fu Sheng plays folk hero Fong Sai Yuk, who goes to the Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu along with a bevy of other beautiful Shaw boy-toys (Ti Lung & David Chiang, to name a few). What I like about this movie is that enough time is spent to get to know the individual young men--at least enough that we come to really care about them and enjoy watching their progress through the first hour of the film, the small moments that tell us about the characters. Fu Sheng and another face a daring escape through the Shaolin Wooden Men in order to seek revenge once their training is complete. Then a traitor is revealed and the temple is invaded by the Manchu army, and a near 30-minute bloody brawl ensues that leaves many dead, but a few surviving to go on to teach Shaolin-style kung fu.
Really good stuff. Fu Sheng has rarely looked better and balances angsty moments with light humor incredibly well. It's certainly easy to imagine some slash here, and there's even a few brief if lovely moments of the boys leading each other hand in hand. Yummy! Don't miss it!
SUMMARY:
Overall rating: A
Droolworthiness: A+ Oh lordy, it's raining hot, sweaty, half-naked beautiful men.
Slashiness: B Not much explicit, but certainly room to imagine
Action: A- Fighting, training, blood, and lots of all of it. Faster and better than most earlier kung fu films.
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