The 36th Chamber of Shaolin   Starring: Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh Momentum Pictures RRP: £12.99 MP902D Certificate: 18 Available 23 March 2009

San Te, a young man living under the oppression of the Manchu dynasty, is radicalised by a local teacher. Any form of decent is viewed as rebellion, so when San inadvertently cries out during an execution the local governor uses this as an excuse for a pogrom. San escapes but not before both friends and family are killed. He makes his way to the Shaolin Temple hoping to learn kung fu and avenge the deaths. Initially rejected, he is given a chance by the abbot and he enters the thirty-five chambers. An adept pupil, he masters martial arts at an unprecedented speed. Finally, under the ruse of being expelled, he is allowed to return home to teach others before finally returning to the temple to establish the thirty-sixth chamber to teach ordinary people how to fight...

36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978 - 1 hr, 51 min, 58 sec) is the martial arts film which successfully exposed western audiences to this genre of film and is justifiably considered by some to be the best film in this genre. Directed by Chia-Liang Liu and written by Kuang Ni, the film starred Chia Hui Liu and Lieh Lo and was produced in Hong Kong by the Shaw Brothers studio, which took the genre seriously enough to provide a generous budget. The film spawned two sequels including the comedic Return to the 36th Chamber (1980).

Looking at the film retrospectively one of the most impressive features of the film is the lack of wire work and special effects which were to embody martial arts films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), the second thing which impressed me was the amount of time that was devoted to the hero's training in the monastery - to which the whole middle hour is given over to. Most martial arts films emphasise the action sequences, and while there are plenty of those, 36th Chamber is not afraid to follow San through his metamorphosis from small town boy to vengeful warrior.

Lui (San Te) does lack a little of the charisma, which made contemporaries like Bruce Lee such a bankable actor, though he is very believable in this role. However, that did not prevent him from going on to have a very successful career, even appearing in Kill Bill 1 (2004) as Johnny Mo. Lieh Lo, who plays his nemesis, General Tien is an equally fine actor.

The remastered film print is exceptionally clear for a movie of this age, having no evident dirt or damage. The vibrant costumes, lush music and sets make the film feel more like a historical drama than a kung fu movie. The director has treated his subject with a seriousness which demands similar acceptance from the audience. Little wonder then that, given its ingredients, the film is considered to be one of the finest examples of this genre.

There are a number of audio options all, I’m afraid, in mono, so you can choose between Mandarin, Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles. The film comes with a full length audio commentary with contributions from Andy Klein and RZA from the Wu Tan Clan. There are three interviews to watch, the first with Gordon Liu, formally Chai Hui Liu (16 min, 18 sec) talking about how he got into acting, next up is an interview with the RZA (9 min, 47 sec) talking about the importance of these films in his early life and the influence they had on him. Last up is an interview with David Chute and Andy Klein (7 min, 35 sec) which looks at where the film sits historically. Next up are two theatrical trailers for the film and a gallery with twenty-nine images, including a couple of the original posters for the film. The extras are finished off with biogs of Andy Klein and the RZA.

I have to admit that I am not generally a fan of martial arts movies, but this one just blew me away. Who would have thought a genre movie with good acing, a serious attempt to balance narrative with action all wrapped up with big budget values.

10

Charles Packer