The Shaw Brothers Vol. 1

After watching The Raid: Redemption (reviewed here) and The Avengers (here), I decided to delve into some movies that combine elements of both: martial arts, and in a sense, superheroes. This led me to the Shaw Brothers Studio martial arts films. Though I mentioned several kung fu/wuxia films made in the last twenty years that I prefer to The Raid, I felt it necessary to go even further back to the classics of the genre. If you want to see where Quentin Tarantino got most of his inspiration for Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and 2 (2004), this is the place to look. Be aware, however, that not all Shaw Brothers martial arts pictures are created equal. Actually, most of them hit just about every bullet point on the kung fu movie stereotype list. Laughable dubbing (though I highly recommend going with subtitled versions), over-the-top stock sound effects, goofy attempts at humor, and the calling out of special moves like, “Windmill Tiger!” Many of them are a lot of fun though, and a few manage to rise out of the genre's looming shadow. First, I'll take a look at three made in the same year.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978): 7 out of 10

Directed by Lau Kar-leung, this highly entertaining and influential kung fu movie is considered by some to be at the pinnacle of the genre. Lau Kar-leung happened to be a top notch choreographer, often working in that capacity on Chang Cheh's films, and his talents are readily apparent in 36th Chamber. This is a refreshing movie because the action sequences do not merely “hold up”, they are arguably superior to most of the unimaginative garbage that passes for action today. The camera moves in dynamic fashion, but the editing doesn't chop everything up, discombobulating the whole endeavor the way Hollywood films often do.

Our hero is San Te (Gordon Liu), a student whose teacher speaks out against the oppressive Manchu government. San Te becomes part of the rebellion, but when the uprising is squashed, his teacher and family members are murdered. He flees to the secluded Shaolin Temple, where the monks allow him to train in martial arts. He must conquer the temple's thirty-five “chambers”, each presenting a unique challenge that can take months to master. Once he is physically and mentally prepared, he returns to the world from whence he came, to aid the people against their oppressors.

Some pictures are geared toward both sexes, but 36th Chamber is clearly a man's movie. Without a trace of romance or even a hint of interest in the opposite sex, the focus is entirely on a man who loses everything, then hones his body and mind into deadly weapons. Rocky (1976) may have come first, but 36th Chamber is the quintessential “training” film, and has inspired countless movies in the last thirty-four years. Quentin Tarantino calls it, “the third greatest kung fu movie of all time,” and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan is fanatically obsessed with Gordon Liu, Shaw Brothers movies, and 36th Chamber in particular. I actually think the chamber challenges go on for too long, but in the final act everything pays off. All things considered, this is good stuff indeed.

Five Deadly Venoms (1978): 6 out of 10

This film, moreso than the other two, really blends the superhero and martial arts genres. A superhero, like those recently seen in The Avengers, is a person with a certain skill set (super powers) and a very short list of weaknesses. Five Deadly Venoms gives us a quintet of masked characters with bizarre fighting styles, each based upon a venomous insect/reptile: Centipede, Snake, Scorpion, Lizard, and Toad. The Lizard can defy gravity by walking on walls, for example, and the Toad is invulnerable to any attacks unless they are concentrated on a very small, hidden weak spot.

The leader of the Poison Clan, as this group of warriors has come to be known, doesn't have much time left to live and he's concerned that some of the clan may be using their powers for evil. Yan Tieh (Chiang Sheng), his young student, is sent to warn a former clan teacher who has collected a fortune over the years through their activities. The clan master fears that his wealth will make him a target of his former pupils. The problem is that even the clan master doesn't know the identities of the students, they all wore masks during training, and some of the students don't know each other because they trained at different times.

Surprisingly, this is not a great martial arts showcase, certainly not on the level of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin or Crippled Avengers. It's more of a mystery, and a pretty well made one at that. There are some good fight scenes, of course, but what makes them enjoyable is the intrigue and finding out who's who based on their unique styles. This is actually one of the best screenplays Chang Cheh ever had to work with, if you ask me. Sure, it's a little cheesy, but at the same time it's smarter than it has any right to be. Plus, it's hugely influential, and for good reason. Not only do we see its echoes in Kill Bill's Deadly Viper Assassination Squad and Kung Fu Panda's Furious Five, it is also referenced in the music of Tupac Shakur and the Wu-Tang Clan.

Crippled Avengers (1978): 5 out of 10

Let's get something out of the way right off the bat: this is an absolutely ridiculous movie. However, as ridiculous movies go, it has to be some kind of masterwork. Most bad movies are just that, offering no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but Crippled Avengers is a different beast. While it's true that cinematic pleasures of a more guilty variety simply do not exist, at least it's a pleasure, right? Not many filmmakers have successfully pulled off the strange balancing act that Chang Cheh does here. It's a surprising amount of campy fun and many people consider this to be the best of the numerous “Venom Mob” films.

Only four members of the Venom Mob seen in Five Deadly Venoms come back to play here, but that's plenty. In the opening sequence a kung fu master, Dao Tian-du (Chen Kuan-tai), comes home to discover his wife murdered and his son an amputee. Despite killing or crippling those responsible, including their offspring many years later, the seeds of hatred continue to bear fruit as father and son (the latter now outfitted with metal arms that fire darts) terrify the townspeople. The main characters all manage to upset these two, and find themselves punished accordingly. So our heroes are eventually comprised of a deaf-mute, a blind man, a guy with no legs, and an idiot (his head was squeezed in a vice, you see). Together they must put an end to Dao Tian-du's tyranny.

The production values feel a bit less polished than those in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and Five Deadly Venoms, but the fight choreography is right up there with 36th Chamber, if not better. These guys were all genuine athletes and incredible physical specimens, something we don't quite grasp in Five Deadly Venoms. Here they really get to show what they can do. The hoop fighting sequences are pretty incredible, akin to something one might see in a circus tent. Of course it's all rather goofy, the acting can be lousy at times, and the story has little to recommend it. Having said that, it's almost impossible to find the film boring. Most viewers will have a good time despite themselves.