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» » Shao Lin chuan ren (1982)

Short summary

As the names of Chang Cheh and Liu Chia-liang became legendary, all-too-often the name of their equally valued collaborator, Tang Chia, is omitted. That may be,because, unlike the previous pair, the veteran kung-fu choreographer only went on to direct three movies of his own. Of course, that makes this trio all the more special, and this first effort perhaps the most special of all. It may be an eye-filling, mind-bending martial arts tale of two royal princes battling for the rightful recovery of the throne, but it's also a party, where Tang invites two cinematographers, three editors, and no less than five other choreographer friends to almost literally shoot the works. The results are kung-fu configurations not only never seen before, but never even imagined!

At no point do any ninjas actually appear in the movie.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Zainian
    A cool film, no doubt, designed by the Shaw Bros. Superhumans abound, from the Ninth Prince and his iron glove whose two entended fingers can snap swords like bamboo, to an aquatic assassin who fights with two herringbone-cleavers, to the intertwined mass of the 18 Shaolin monks whose combined bodies create an unstoppable single fighter that protects the secrets of their Temple. You even have a Chinese exorcism, complete with possessed young girl slashing off heads with long needle-like claws, and this only a brief sub-plot.

    The final confrontation alone, between the film's two young fighting heroes and the evil Ninth Prince, astride an ornate royal transom that turns into a sword-shooting, body-crushing battering ram, makes the movie well worth seeing. A groove.
  • comment
    • Author: Konetav
    An oddity from fighting choreographer turned director Tang Chia. The man behind the fighting scenes of many a Shaw Bros. production turned to directing at the end of his career, this being his first and apparently the only one released in the U.S. If this film is any indication Tang Chia's taste ran to the fantastic.

    The film starts like a standard period piece but soon with the introduction of the Fire General, who shoots flames and explodes things, and the Water General, who swims under water and has a Mickey Mouse voice, the film settles into it's groove. The infant Crown Prince, hidden from the evil 9th Lord, is adopted by three crazy monks who are imprisoned in a detention pavilion at the Shaolin Temple for twenty years.

    Gimmick weapons, lots of wire work, a fighting wall of hoop wielding monks and more are here. Not a great film but done with a lot of humor and enthusiasm. The final fight scene is about as strange as these films get. Good fun.
  • comment
    • Author: Dynen
    This film is a perfect example of mistitling, which is too bad, considering that it's quite good. My local video store has about 100 to 150 tapes in it's "Martial Arts" section, and only about 4 or 5 are worth renting, including this one.

    Anyone looking 'only' for a ninja movie should steer clear as there are no ninjas in this film, nor any deathmasks. It actually looks like a Chinese epic, concerning two young princes who must fight an older prince to regain the throne that he cheated them out of when they were mere babes. Some might say this film has too much humor to be effective, but I wouldn't. For me, a "martial arts" film without humor is like a hot dog without mustard. For example, "Enter the Dragon" seemed very good 20 years ago, but now I can barely watch it.

    The alternate title "Shaolin Prince" seems perfect. I've watched this film about 6 times in about two months, and have not tired of it yet.
  • comment
    • Author: Lonesome Orange Kid
    This is one of Ti Lung's best movies in the 80's...I didn't know that he could play comedy-action, as he is always a serious actor. Lots of kungfu action with swords, stick, etc. Yes, the title is misleading by all means, but it's highly recommended for martial arts lovers out there...because it's AWESOME!!!
  • comment
    • Author: Tiainar
    This little film has stuck with me for decades. It's basically everything Shaw Brothers, rolled into one hilarious, action-packed, visually stunning masterpiece.

    For those unfamiliar with the Shaw Brothers, this movie contains over the top kung fu (or gung fu/ gong fu if you want to get technical), great slapstick comedy, and a hint of the paranormal. Tang Chia's directing style is so unique, and actually has great control over his actors.

    It took me years to find the name of this movie back in the infancy of the internet, as I had a bootleg copy... I have a copy bought from Amazon now so there's that fix.

    Definite must watch, even if you're not big into fists and kicks, because at least you'll laugh your socks off.
  • comment
    • Author: Karon
    Watch this movie for the action sequences. The storyline and characters are simplistic but adequate for purpose in this type of shows. The background story is a palace intrigue in which the legitimate emperor was deposed by an evil prince. This sort of things doesn't need elaboration. It is enough that we know who the bad guy is and wait to watch his ass kicked. The costume and setting is probably based on the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD)... the kingdom of Western Hsia was referred to. What I normally do with this kind of movies is to simply scan through the plot in my first viewing and then re-visit the fight sequences. There were many great fights... like a Cirque du Soleil performance, some of the choreographed fights were fantastic - very imaginative. Fun.
  • comment
    • Author: Minha
    SHAOLIN PRINCE is a very fine Shaw Brothers martial arts film from 1982, featuring Ti Lung and Derek Yee in the leading roles and involved a plot with bizarre and fantastic touches. It does, however, generally remain grounded in reality without going completely over the top like some of the other Shaw fantasies from the era. The film has an electrifying opening in which the master bad guy (stock '80s Shaw actor Jason Pai Piao) attacks the loyalist king, kills him, and goes after his babies. There are two real ones and a ton of pretend ones and most of them get massacred in surprisingly bloody moments that you'd never see in a film made in the west. Thankfully the two real princes survive the massacre and the film cuts to a couple of decades later in which they team up to tackle the guy who had their dynasty all but wiped out.

    After the fantastic opening segment - which has to be one of the strongest openings I've seen in a Shaw film - the story just carries on entertaining. The main thrust of the narrative is quite straightforward, but there's always an outlandish sub-plot or two to keep you occupied; watch out for the random 'exorcism' scene which is hilariously portrayed. I found that Lung and Yee made a good double act as the heroes as their two styles complement each other nicely and they're great in the action stakes. The supporting cast is very well picked, including the likes of Ai Fei and Ku Feng as officials, and Yuen Wah in an excellent role which finally has him starting to get the recognition he well deserved. Best of all is the cross-eyed joker Tau Wan Yue, who along with his two brothers steals all of his scenes as the trio of 'Holy Fools'.

    As you might expect, there's plenty of comedy in this film which works really nicely and the surrealistic touches were much appreciated by this viewer. The pogo stick scene is hilarious. Lung is something of a straight man in this but I loved him all the same. Things build to an unusual and impressive fight climax that involves a kind of 'chair fu' that you'll never have seen done before; it's visually impressive and thoroughly intricate. Watch out for the guy with the flaming sword and the 'water man', two more great characters in a fantastic film (in both senses of the word).
  • comment
    • Author: Pumpit
    It has been a while since I saw it. It's good, but nothing spectacular. I think it is a Shaw Bros. film, so the action was decent. Hoaky costumes and some crazy Shaolin monks in it. Not bad.
  • Cast overview, first billed only:
    Lung Ti Lung Ti - Tao Hung
    Tung-Shing Yee Tung-Shing Yee - Wu Tzu-tai (as Derek Yee)
    Jason Pai Piao Jason Pai Piao - Lord 9
    Feng Ku Feng Ku - Premier
    Fei Ai Fei Ai - Emperor
    Kuan-Chung Ku Kuan-Chung Ku - Puppet Emperor
    Yu-Po Liu Yu-Po Liu - Miss Hsia
    Chia Tang Chia Tang - (Guest star)
    Hoi Sang Lee Hoi Sang Lee
    Feng Kuan Feng Kuan
    Hui Huang Lin Hui Huang Lin - Holy Fool Wu Ming
    Kwok Kuen Chan Kwok Kuen Chan - Holy Fool Wu Chu
    Tau Wan Yue Tau Wan Yue - Holy Fool Wu Li
    Tao Chiang Tao Chiang
    Shen Chan Shen Chan - Abbot
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