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Cast:
Gordon
Liu
Chia Hui
Lee
Fat Yuen
Philip
Cheung
Benny
Pan
Steve
Lee
Philip
Ko
Action:
Chin
Yuet Sang
Director:
Godfrey
Ho
Score:
 
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FURY
IN THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE
AKA:
Fury In Shaolin Temple
Year:
1979 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
If
Liu Chia Liang is the Akira Kurosawa of Hong Kong cinema,
Godfrey Ho is the Roger Corman. Like Corman, nobody would
doubt that Ho has made a contribution to the genre, but he
could certainly not be seen as a good director. His field is
exploitation and within these very well-defined boundaries he
succeeds in creating the occasional film of interest, usually
by directly exploiting what is popular at the time. Here he
gives Liu Chia Hui his umpteenth role as a monk and seeks to
emulate the beloved theme of the Shaolin temple, something
that Liu Chia Liang had just about perfected with '36th
Chamber of Shaolin'. This, though, is a very different
production.
When
a young boy finds himself alone in the world when his adoptive
father disappears after a fight, his first thought is to go to
Shaolin. With the help of a kindly cook, this goal is achieved
and soon the boy grows into a confident fighter. Meanwhile an
ambitious kung-fu master has his sights on domination and
knows he must own the manual of the Shaolin Fist to succeed.
Therefore he creates a plot to frame someone with the theft
and keep the valuable instruction book for himself. Soon
turmoil is aroused in the martial world and the new Shaolin
disciple finds himself in the middle of it.
It's
hard to explain the plot of 'Fury In The Shaolin Temple' in a
few lines, such is the hackneyed nature of the film. Needless
to say this is an attempt to throw in everything that could be
seen as popular in the genre when the film was made, with
Shaolin, kung fu manuals and outrageous villains all making an
appearance. This film, quite simply put, makes absolutely no
sense. For example, Philip Ko is misleadingly down as one of
the main stars, but appears in just one fight scene - one
which has absolutely nothing to do with anything else in the
film. Liu Chia Hui looks as if he's sleepwalking through the
production with only a passing interest in what is happening
around him. His apathy is shared by the viewer. The only real
entertainment is watching the truly menacing villain over-act
and cackle viciously while bearing a passing resemblance to
Jimmy Saville (sorry to all non-UK readers). His frequent
close-ups and stares add a creepy curiousity value to this.
Finally, and vitally, the fight action is mediocre. With films
like 'Prodigal
Son', 'Knockabout'
and 'The
Young Master' (not to mention scores of other classics)
around near the same time, the choreography here looks
hopelessly out-dated and is a certain black mark in the career
of the usually dependable Chien Yuet San. It says much for
this exploitation flick when the 18 Shaolin warriors wear
lycra bodystockings in one scene! Even fans of 'Fame' might
want to look elsewhere for entertainment.
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