Shaolin Temple (1976) User Reviews

Feels too bloated, but there's still good stuff here

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 6/10 · 22 January 2023]

I feel like Shaolin Temple is unfortunately a film that bites off a little more than it can chew. It introduces many characters early on, many of whom want to train at the prestigious titular temple. While they're training, there seems to be an undercover figure inside, giving away weaknesses in the temple to its outside enemies, who want to destroy the heavily guarded temple - and take out its well-trained personnel - at any cost.

That main premise is an engaging one, but it spends almost no time on it until the final act. The rest of the movie feels a little like a collection of fairly random scenes. They're all good on their own (plenty of training for those who like scenes with characters mastering certain skills), but they don't always feel like they add up to much. It's the martial arts movie equivalent of listening to a compilation album rather than a properly planned and structured studio album.

But when it comes to action, it's still pretty solid. There are fun scenes, things pick up more in the second half, and it's nice seeing a Shaw Brothers movie with a slightly beefier budget (I'm guessing) than usual, but I can't help but feel a little bit disappointed in Shaolin Temple when assessing it as a whole.

Good Kung-Fu film, but with flaws

[johnrezas · 6/10 · 3 September 2016]

I wanted to rate this film higher for it's Kung-Fu fighting action. The story is good, except (as other reviewers may have noted) that the subplots and supporting characters get confusing and/or forgotten. A character early in the film gets introduced, and then never reappears despite becoming a plot focus of several other characters. A lot of time in this movie is spent on the training, which is good. But, often, this is at the sacrifice of telling the story. I struggled to keep in mind that this is a film from the 1970s, and so storytelling was different. I would have preferred that the training be condensed down in a montage in order to save time on film for the more important storytelling. This is the primary reason that I rated it a six-star film rather then rating it higher.

I'm trapped. Let's die together!

[Ebenezer Beelzebub · 8/10 · 12 February 2001]

An entertaining kung fu film, with acting, plot and fight scenes a cut above the average chop socky. All of the cast are likeable characters and skilled martial artists. Alexander Fu-Sheng's proto-Jackie Chan comedy antics are fun to watch, and his austere companion shows particularly impressive skills. For me, the film's only glaring flaw is the size of the cast -- at times, things get a little confused as the film chops and changes between various subplots, and some of the characters are not as fully fleshed-out as one might wish.

But a kung fu film should be judged first and foremost on the quality of the action, and Shaolin Temple definitely delivers on that count. The film climaxes with a high-bodycount battle that allows each character to show off his skills against a worthy opponent.

Overall, Shaolin Temple is an enjoyable low-budget kung fu movie. Not up to the quality of a good Jet Li film, but definitely worth a look for fans of the genre. My rating: 8/10.

Misc notes: The 1987 Warner Home Video release I saw was (predictably) poorly dubbed, and lacked full cast & crew credits.

Shaolin Temple!

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 9 December 2021]

Filled with the stars of the second and third generations of director Chang Cheh's stable of actors such as Alexander Fu Sheng, David Chiang, Ti Lung and Chi Kuan-Chun, as well as several of the actors that would later become collectively known as the Venoms Mob, Shaolin Temple - also known as Death Chambers - is so much more than just the prequel* to Five Shaolin Masters.

The leaders of the Shaolin Monks have started to come to the conclusion that time is running out and they must train more fighters to fight the Qings, yet they're still forcing fighters to sleep outside the temple for weeks at a time to test their resolve.

Two of those fighters - Fang Shih Yu and Ma Chao-hsing - are accepted and must survive the even harsher world that is inside the temple. Fang Shih Yu struggles to learn tiger boxing and keeps failing until a mysterious person begins teaching him the tiger-crane style, which makes him a much stronger fighter.

Yet will all the training - and new monks - be enough when the Qing army attacks and attempts to burn the temple down?

This movie has an amazing training sequence that lasts ten minutes within the maze inside the temple. You have to respect people that only are concerned with fighting and meditation when they're not building thrill rides that beat people into submission. And the last half an hour is one gigantic fight as the monks use all the skills that they've learned in the film.

*Actually, it's the fifth part of the Shaolin Cycle, following Heroes Two, Men from the Monastery, Shaolin Martial Arts, Five Shaolin Masters and The Shaolin Avengers.

A Chang Cheh's classic

[pasaribuharisfadli · 7/10 · 8 March 2022]

With an all-star cast, Shaolin Temple promises you a Chang Cheh extravaganza. Although not entirely delivering that promise, with its barely-there plot and rather outdated fight scenes, at least the film still gives decent time for entertainment.

All-Star Kung Fu Epic about the final days of Shaolin Temple

[BrianDanaCamp · 10/10 · 6 May 2001]

SHAOLIN TEMPLE (aka DEATH CHAMBER, 1976) is the closest Chang Cheh came to making a true kung fu epic. It tells the story of the final months of the Shaolin Temple, culminating in a raid by Manchu warriors and the burning of the temple. Previously, Chang had made several films about the aftermath of the burning of the temple, in which Fong Si Yu and the other fugitives flee the Manchus and regroup (HEROES TWO, MEN FROM THE MONASTERY, FIVE MASTERS OF DEATH, etc.), but this is the only one that actually includes the final battle and the burning of the temple. It's two hours long and boasts more Shaw Bros. Kung fu stars in one cast than any other film, with the possible exception of Chang's later SHANGHAI 13 (1983).

The film focuses on the training of an impressive group of heroes, each in a different style or specialty, all while the ruling Manchurian forces contrive to undermine the stability of Shaolin Temple. The training scenes themselves are remarkable for the cleverness and scope of the techniques employed, from leaping up with weights on one's legs and balancing on jagged rocks to stoking fires and stirring huge vats of rice to learn pole fighting. The students are all chosen on the basis of their willingness to kneel outside on the temple steps for days at a time, without eating, drinking or resting, to show their dedication.

Alexander Fu Sheng plays Fong Si Yu (spelled as Fong Sai Yuk when Jet Li played the part in 1993) and Chi Kuan-Chun plays Hu Wei Chen, both characters they'd played in earlier movies. David Chiang and Ti Lung, co-stars of many of Chang Cheh's early 1970s kung fu films, play soldiers who seek refuge in Shaolin after a disastrous loss on the battlefield. Relative newcomers Billy Tang, Lee Yi Min (MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING) and Kuo Chui (Philip Kwok, one of the 5 Venoms) play additional students. Two other Venoms are in the cast--Chiang Sheng as a good guy, and Lu Feng as a bad guy. Additional villains include Wang Lung Wei, Wang Ching, and Ku Feng.

After lots of training scenes and assorted betrayal and intrigue, the action leads to a massive battle involving all of the cast and filmed amidst the sprawling Shaw Bros. Backlot with its fortress, temple, and bridge overlooking Clearwater Bay. An earlier film, FIVE MASTERS OF DEATH (aka FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS, 1975), charts the activities of the surviving characters following the burning of Shaolin.

This film and SHAOLIN MARTIAL ARTS (1974), another all-star kung fu film of epic length (listed on IMDb as SHAO LIN MARTIAL ARTS), are arguably Chang Cheh's two most significant masterworks from his entire career. A trilogy of sorts is formed with the addition of FIVE MASTERS OF DEATH (1975), which takes place after the burning of Shaolin and includes many of the same actors as DEATH CHAMBER. All three films circulate on poor quality bootleg VHS tapes. If there was ever a crying need for restored prints on letter-boxed DVDs, this is it.

ADDENDUM (Feb. 10, 2008): In April 2003, this film was released under its original title, SHAOLIN TEMPLE, on Region 3 DVD in a new, restored, remastered edition, letter-boxed, in Mandarin and with English subtitles, by Celestial Pictures/IVL as part of its then-new line of Shaw Bros. Restorations. The other films in Chang Cheh's Shaolin cycle, listed above, have all been released by Celestial as well. No need to keep those bootleg tapes anymore.

Addendum #2 (July 6, 2022): I finally saw it on Blu-ray, thanks to the Arrow Video Shawscope box set. Still a masterpiece and as awe-inspiring as ever. Hard to believe my original review above--21 years ago--was based on a bootleg VHS of the English dub under the title, DEATH CHAMBER.

Remember the Shaolin Temple!

[cyberhauser · 9/10 · 25 October 2004]

Chang Cheh's "Shaolin Temple" might very well be the highwater mark of the Shaw Brothers martial arts film cycle. This rousing kung fu epic boasts an amazing cast - a veritable who's who of the Shaw stable. Though the plot is fairly standard and the fight choreography is superb as usual, it is Cheh's handling of the subject matter that makes this film remarkable and enjoyable. The sense of reverence displayed for the history and traditions of the Shaolin Temple is palpable in every frame. Not unlike William Keighley's paean to the fabled Fighting 69th in that same self titled film or John Ford's salute to West Point in "The Long Gray Line," Cheh's "Shaolin Temple" is a lovingly crafted ode in that same style.

The cultural correlation I am tempted to make, is to compare the Shaolin Temple to the Alamo. Watching this film will give the same admiring and nostalgic feelings that you experienced many years ago in grade school history when you learned of the courage and sacrifice of those doomed heroes of the Alamo. At the end of the film, you too might be tempted to call out, Remember the Shaolin Temple!

Chang Cheh's kung fu chronicles continue...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 28 February 2012]

As did the pilot for the American teleseries KUNG FU, SHAOLIN TEMPLE gives us aspiring acolytes whose mettle is tested by secluded priests. Realizing that the Manchus are intent on destroying the temple and everyone inside it, the elder priest decides it's time to invite in some who might not otherwise be admitted. Among them are six soldiers, including Cai (Ti Lung), Hu (David Chiang), and Ma Fu Yi (Lung Wang). When upstart pupil Fang (Alexander Fu Sheng) laughs at Ma, he is pummeled- repeatedly- until he is discreetly taught Tiger and Crane kung fu by a masked master whose moves he copies at night after everyone else is asleep. Fang eventually exacts his revenge on Ma- whereupon the treacherous Heixien, one of the higher-ups in the temple, takes Ma under his wing and enlists his aid in bringing down the temple. Throughout the movie, we see some of the training methods used to toughen up the disciples, a la THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, and Che's sure-handed direction is seemingly effortless. The action is, of course, topnotch and the death of Kuo Chui during the flaming finale caught me by surprise.

A true Shaw Brothers epic

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 16 September 2016]

SHAOLIN TEMPLE is the ultimate Shaw Brothers epic about the life and methods of the Shaolin Temple. It's a long-winded and slowly-paced movie that's mainly concerned with training; you get at least an hour and a half of the main characters going through their various training routines with only minimal plotting to distract you. I reckon they could have cut twenty minutes out of this to make it a little snappier but nonetheless the slowness doesn't hide the sheer quality of the production and Chang Cheh's reverence for the material.

This is a film which may have the ultimate Shaw Brothers cast. Ti Lung and David Chiang are the heavyweight old timers who show up and join in with the various shenanigans at the temple, and alongside them are many of the up-and-coming stars who would go on to become the famous Venoms: Lu Feng, Phillip Kwok, and my personal favourite, Chiang Sheng, whose role starts off very small but grows as the running time progresses. Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan-Chun essay large roles both familiar for them, but are fine with it. It's a delight to just be in the company of all these big hitters, but Chang Cheh's storytelling is gripping too.

There's barely any action in the story at all right up until the climax, aside from a few sparring sequences. But the last half hour is made up of a massive battle in which the Shaolin Temple is besieged and those inside must fight it out to the death. It's incredible stuff, featuring all of the stars pairing off with skilled and dangerous opponents, and well worth the wait. For me, this is why cinema was invented: to show endless exciting spectacle and drama, all made by a cast and crew of consummate professionals. SHAOLIN TEMPLE is the bee's knees when it comes to kung fu cinema.

Train - to become unstoppable

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 24 June 2023]

Well as always, no pun intended! And I obviously mean to train, rather than the means of transportation. In case you were not sure, what I meant with "Pun" in that case. But this is not really moving away from the one location it centers around. Shaw Brothers were turning those movies out in a pace, that would make your head spin.

The running time of this is a bit too much too by the way. Could have done with a bit of trimming. That said, the cast is amazing, the fighting (and training) scenes are really well shot. And it all makes sense in the end ... not everything can be resolved in the best manner - and sometimes you may wonder if less violence would be better - but these movies are done for entertainment purposes. And the weapons are quite clearly plastic - something that has not aged well .. everything else ... really good. Maybe too good when it comes to picture quality - Arrow Films outdid themselves once again ... and included the original untouched version of the movie too ... your choice! Lifetime and all that - dedication too.

The Only Kung Fu Epic

[d-peck · 10/10 · 19 December 2003]

The Only Kung Fu Epic worth watching. The best training ever. The main character spending a hundred day's on his knees outside the shaolin temple show how desperate he is to learn kung fu to fight the manchu dogs who have taken over china.