The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

Title: The Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

Director: Lau Kar-leung
Released: 1983
Starring: Gordon Liu, Lily Li, Wong Yue, Alexander Fu, Kara Hui, Yeung Jing-jing, Wang Lung-wei, Chu Tiet-who, Ko Fei, Ching Chu, Lau Kar-Leung

Plot: When his father and brothers are massacred by the Khitan army after they are betrayed by the treacherous General Pun Mei (Lam Hak-ming). Now seeking sanctuary in the monastery in Mount Wutai Yeung Dak (Gordon Liu) soon adapts his spear technique for use with a pole before he is soon called back to face the Khitans when they capture his younger sister.

Review:  Another key title from the expansive Shaw Bros. library with this film being released in the final years of the studio before competition from the rival studio “Golden Harvest” forced them to move away from films and into TV instead. Director Lau Kar-leung though would be responsible for directing many of the studios most memorable titles including the “36th Chamber of Shaolin” trilogy aswell as the likes of “My Young Auntie” and “Heroes of the East”. Kar-Leung while certainly a noteworthy director not only for the Shaw Bros. but the Martial arts genre on a whole Kar-leung was also one of the main choreographers for the Shaw Bros. aswell as for director Chang Cheh on the likes of “The One-Armed Swordsman”.

Collaborating again with Gordon Liu here the relationship between with Kar-leung and Liu is probably one of the more overlooked director / actor pairings which is only the more surprising when you consider that they clocked up a whopping 18 collaborations together with this film unquestionably being yet another noteworthy addition to the list. The film plot wise of course is nothing too different than we have seen countless times before as we open to Yeung Dak alongside his father and brothers showcasing their impressive spear skills before being overwhelmed by the Khitans who have a special staff to counter their spear use. From here though it’s the usual develop winning fighting technique in this case the titular “Eight Diagram Pole Fighting Technique” before heading off to get his revenge on General Pun Mei.

However despite going through some familiar moves the fight scenes we get here are the real draw as Kar-leung crafts some truly draw dropping scenes with the monks of the film showcasing a defensive pole fighting style based around de-fanging wolves which they practice on a wolf statue. It’s a skill which comes in especially handy at the finale as we get a showdown between the Khitans lead by the general and Yeung Dek with his newly found monk brothers who put aside their non-violent ways to help him as the style they practice proves to be equally efficient against human foes in one of the more bloody finales as numerous henchmen find themselves toothless. While the fight scenes here might be less numerous than in other films in the Shaw Bros. Catalogue, Kar-leung limits himself to a mere 3 fight scenes, he makes them so memorable and integral to the plot itself that here less really is more while the flying headbutt in the finale is something to behold.

The journey however is really were the strength of the film lies as we see Yeung Dak go from a hot headed youngster to eventually finding his peace and heading off into the wild seemingly to continue the teachings he learns at the monastery than return to his violent ways. What only adds to this journey is the fact that he is initially turned away from the Monastery leading him in a memorable scene to suddenly shave his head with a blade and burn holes into his skull with incense sticks. Even after this act of self-mutilation they feel he is still too full of anger to become a monk leaving him to develop the titular fighting style off in a cave as he remains determined that he can get accepted by the monks.

An easy film to watch and well deserving of its status as one of the best titles in the Shaw Bros. back catalogue even if it did come during the dying days of their film productions this film at the same time equally provides a gentle introduction to those curious about the genre or the Shaw Bros. legacy.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin AKA: Shaolin Master Killer

 

Title: The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin A.K.A.: Shaolin Master Killer Director: Chia-Liang Liu
Released: 1978
Starring: Liu Chia-Hui, Lo Lieh, Wang Yu, Yu Yang, Hsu Shao-Chiang, Wu Hang-Sheng

Plot: A young student named San Te (Chai-Hui) is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion against the Manchu government. The government officials suppress the uprising and liquidate the school, killing friends and family members as well. San Te seeks vengeance. Wounded in an attack by Manchu henchmen, he flees to the Shaolin temple and seeks training in kung fu. Initially the Buddhist monks reject him, since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot takes mercy on the young man and lets him stay. One year later, he begins his martial arts training in the temple's 35 chambers.

 

Review: Widely regarded as being one of the greatest kung fu movies ever made, it is along with “King Boxer” aka “Five Fingers of Death” equally one of the most influential setting the style for the films which followed in its wake, with director Liu’s films impressing arthouse audiences years before the likes of “Once Upon A Time In China” and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” convinced the critics that the genre deserved closer inspection.

While the plot itself might not be anything particularly original seeing how it’s that classic tale, were the wronged man sets out on the path of revenge, engaging in an elaborate training regime before finally facing off against those who wronged him. Formalic it might be, but then you would be hard pressed to find any kung fu movie from this period which wasn’t. Still what sets this apart from the others is the focus on San Te’s training, which forms the main part of the film, which the kind of thing I can hardly see Hollywood doing such a thing with any of the summer blockbusters, yet here it proves to be a highly effective story device.

As with any good revenge movie, the path of revenge is never straightforward, as is the case here with San Te initially being turned down for training by the temple monks, seeing how he is seen as an outsider, but after a year at the temple he is finally given his chance to train where he is presented with a choice of where to start with the 35 chambers of Shaolin (no this not a typo as what the 36^th chamber is, is revealed over the course of the film), with each chamber containing a different discipline of increasing toughness, with the 35^th being the toughest, which of course is where the hasty San Te chooses to start only to predictably have his ass handed to him by one of the senior monks. However rather than give up he decides to start with the 1^st chamber and work his way through the chambers and so starts the real meat of the film, as San Te completes each challenge, starting with the water cross, were to fall in the water means that your forced to dry your clothes before you can enter the dining hall, meanwhile the limited food is consumed by your fellow monks who can complete it. While this might seem like a random task to complete it is the scenes in which San Te tries to figure it out which are truly engrossing to watch, like each task he completes from fetching water and painting fences, which were memorably lifted by “The Karate Kid”.

Still this film is not all completing tasks with a questionable relationship to learning martial arts, as once San Te gets into the later chambers that he is given tasks with an increasing focus on martial arts, which also leads to him supposedly creating the three section staff, as a way of beating one his fellow monks who questioning his skills, after a rapid rise through the chambers, challenges to him a duel.

What is great about this film though is the journeyit takes us on, with San Te transforming from an angry and quick tempered youth at the start of the film to the poise and serious demeanour to a Shaolin master, especially when he return to his village to teach his common man kung fu so that they can defend themselves against the regular attack from the Manchu regime, a belief he is even willing to sacrifice his position in the Shoalin temple to follow, after proposing it as a 36^th chamber, an idea which doesn’t’ sit too well with the high monks and soon sees him thrown out of the temple, a plot device which essentially ensures that he is forced to face those who wronged him in a final showdown.

The martial arts skills on show here are impressive to say the least, starting with the opening credit exhibition sequence a much used trademark of director Liu, who also assembles some highly memorable fight sequences combining scenes of traditional kung fu and weapon use, both which stand well next to the standout training sequences. It is of course these training sequences which the film rests upon, as it takes the unusual step of making them the main focus, when other films would treat them as having more throwaway value, yet here they only add to the journey we follow San Te on, which again is only further helped by the likeability of Chai-Hui who is completely believable in the part and marks himself out from this early performance as a true star in the making.

 

Unquestionably worthy of it's cult status, aswell as being viewed as such an important film within the genre, which sadly has only in the last couple of years along with "King Boxer" finally been given the release it deserves, while equally essential for the established far as well as making the perfect starting point for newcomers to the genre