The Holy Robe of the Shaolin Temple (1985, HK/China)

Starring: Yu Rongguang, Chui Heung-Wing, Lam Chau-Ping. Directed by: Tsui Siu-Ming

This is a movie that has been incorrectly released in the West as the sequel to the 1984 Gordon Liu blockbuster hit "Shaolin and Wu Tang". In actuality it has nothing at all to do with the latter movie, but it's a very good martial arts flick nonetheless.

In "The Holy Robe..." Qi Tian Yuan, an ex-Wu Tang monk (Yu), has been dispatched by the government to kill the abbot of Shaolin Temple and take over Shaolin, which he cannot do until he has the ultimate symbol of honor and authority: the Holy Robe of Shaolin.

When Qi and a brigade of Royal Guards storm Shaolin and try to kill the abbot, a group of monks escape with the wounded abbot and the precious robe. Naturally Qi and the soldiers set off in hot pursuit of the fugitive monks, who have fled into a nearby village and onto the steppes of Inner Mongolia.

Also hiding out in Inner Mongolia is a hidden ace up Shaolin's sleeve: a monk by the name of Hui Neng (Chui). When all of Shaolin's best monks have been slaughtered, the task of saving Shaolin and defeating Qi falls on his shoulders. Fortunately for Hui Neng, he has some help from a very talented female fighter named Miss Lin Ying (Lam). But the task at hand becomes a little more complicated when the two start falling in love with each other.....

Can Shaolin be saved and can the Holy Robe be kept off Qi Tian Yuan's shoulders? Can the traditional enemies of Shaolin and Wu Tang work together to defeat Qi and the government forces? And furthermore, can Hui Neng and Ms. Lin set their feelings for each other aside to accomplish the tasks at hand?

This is a very good Hong Kong/China co-production with some excellent, well-choreographed kung fu scenes and a well-written, dramatic storyline. This movie is also the first movie for Yu Rongguang, who would go on to play the villain in the 1993 box office smash hit "Iron Monkey" and in the 1995 Jet Li hit "My Father is a Hero" (aka "The Enforcer").

Also, if you are learning Mandarin Chinese, you might want to check this movie out because it's one mainland Chinese movie where the subtitles, while a little iffy English-wise, seem to have been translated almost verbatim from the original Chinese track. I personally noticed this while watching the movie and understood portions of the dialogue very well.

This movie is a must-see if you're a fan of Shaolin and/or Wu Tang movies or want to watch a good Jet Li-style movie. All in all it's highly recommended!

Also known as: Mu mien jia sha (original Mandarin title-China/HK), Shaolin and Wu Tang 2: Wu Tang Invasion (US video and DVD title), A Saolin templom szent köntöse (Hungary), Shaolin Vs. Wutang 2: Holy Robe of Shaolin Temple/Holy Robes of Shaolin (unknown English titles)

Showdown at the Cotton Mill (1978, Taiwan/HK)

Starring: Chi Kuan-Chun, Tan Tao-liang, Peng Chang, Ching Kuo Chung. Directed by: Wu Ma

This movie is the sequel to the Shaw Bros. classic "Shaolin Avengers" and was believed to be long lost, until it was found by Rarescope in a Taiwanese movie vault sometime in the mid-2000s.

In "Showdown...", Chi Kuan-Chun reprises his role as Shaolin hero and anti-Qing rebel Hu Hui-Chien. At the beginning we see Hu wipe out the entire local affiliate of the Wu Tang school in Canton (modern-day Guangzhou, China) over the death of his father. This prompts a manhunt from the Qing authorities and Wu Tang. The first place they look is the Shaolin monastery but no luck there. They also harass and keep Hu's family under guard, as well as deploy a network of informers throughout the city and at the Shaolin monastery to report Hu's whereabouts and the latest info about Shaolin.

In the meantime, Hu gradually takes out the Wu Tang fighters and Qing authorities searching for him. He enjoys support from Shaolin (as always) and hides out at secret locations in Canton.

After suffering numerous casualties at the hands of Hu, Wu Tang deploys their most feared fighter from Fukien (modern-day Fujian province), Master Kao Chin Chung. But who exactly is Kao? And is his Northern Kick style as good as Hu's Southern Fist?

This movie has a very interesting history behind it. It was directed by famous martial arts director/actor Wu Ma and produced by legendary Shaw Bros. director Chang Cheh, who also directed the first "Shaolin Avengers" movie. However, Chang was contracted to Shaw Bros. at the time and was forced to remain uncredited. The movie itself was outsourced by Shaw Bros. to Long Year Film Company Production, which was a Shaw Bros. subsidary based in Taiwan and run by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma.

Since this movie was long lost for decades, the film has faded in places and the quality is not so great. Also, it is in Mandarin, but has English subtitles that are iffy in places but mostly accurate.

All in all this is an excellent kung fu movie and a worthy sequel to "Shaolin Avengers"!

Also known as: Hu Hui Chien xue zhan xi dan si (original Mandarin title-Taiwan), Woo Wai Kin huet jung sai dan ji/Woo wai gon huet chin sai chi (HK Cantonese titles), Cold Face, Heart and Blood (original English title-HK)

Iron Monkey (1977, HK/Taiwan)

Starring: Chen Kuan Tai, Chen Hui Lou, Chen Mu Chuan. Directed by: Chen Kuan Tai

Not to be confused with the 1993 HK blockbuster with the same name, this movie is officially known in English as "Bloody Monkey Master", but it's much better known in the West as "Iron Monkey" and is widely regarded to be one of the greatest kung fu movies ever made. It was both directed by and stars Shaw Bros. "Flying Guillotine" star Chen Kuan Tai, who pulls his role off very well.

Iron Monkey

In "Iron Monkey", Chen plays Iron, the son of an anti-Manchurian rebel leader who has no idea what his father does. He prefers to live as any normal young man would: Gambling, fighting, getting into trouble, etc.

One day the authorities round up Iron's whole family and executes them all except for Iron, who manages to escape. The authorities hunt him down but fail.

Meanwhile, Iron goes into survival-mode and stays in the wilderness for a long period of time. While there, develops monkey-like agility and uses this agility to break into a nearby Shaolin temple. The monks hide him there, take him as a student, and give him the pseudonym of Iron Monkey. They can't help but notice the pure raw hatred Iron feels toward the Manchus and hope that an Iron proficient in kung fu won't be a problem in the future.

Iron masters both Shaolin kung-fu and the Monkey Fist technique and eventually leaves the temple to take his revenge. However in order to do this, he must join the ranks of the Manchus and get as close to the Manchu general as he can. But can he accomplish his mission? Furthermore, can he set the deep animosity he feels for the Manchus aside while he infiltrates their ranks?

This is one powerful kung fu movie that you'll definitely want to see if you are a fan of fu....and if you are lucky enough to find a good quality copy. Sadly enough the DVD and VHS copies of this movie have been limited over the years and the prints shown are very bad. We can only hope that a good quality version of this movie will come out at some point.

Also known as: Tie hou zi (original Mandarin title-HK), Tie ma liu (alternate Mandarin title), Tit ma lau (original Cantonese title-HK), The Iron Monkey (original English title-HK), Bloody Monkey Master (USA), School of Shaolin (US DVD title), Die Schule der Shaolin (West Germany), Shaolin - Die tödliche Vergeltung (West German VHS title). Released in 1977 in HK, Portugal in 1981, and in the US in 1983.

Shaolin and Wu Tang (1985, HK)

Starring: Gordon Liu, Adam Cheng, Idy Chan. Directed by: Gordon Liu

Those of you who are fans of the band The Wu-Tang Clan have no doubt heard sound clips from this movie in their debut CD, "Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)."

The movie starts out with one of the most amazing kung-fu fight scenes you'll ever see when a lone Wu Tang monk takes on an entire squad of Shaolin monks. This fight scene alone is reason enough to track this movie down!

Now to the storyline. In "Shaolin and Wu Tang," Gordon Liu plays Shaolin fighter Hung Jun-kit and Adam Cheng plays Wu Tang fighter Chao Fung-wu. Both are students in the same town, and both are friends despite the rivalry between the two schools. Jun-kit's sister Yan-ling happens to have a crush on Fung-wu.

When the local Qing lord finds out that both students are experts at Shaolin kung-fu and Wu Tang sword styles, he decides that they are a threat and he must learn their respective styles. He also kills the abbot of the Wu Tang school, as well as Yan-ling.

Does the Qing lord turn these two friends against each other, and can he stir up the traditional rivalry between the two schools for his own benefit? Also, can he master the Shaolin Chin Kang Fist technique and the Wu Tang Sword style? Watch and see!

This movie is a true kung-fu classic and is one you'll most certainly want to watch again and again!

Also known as: 少林與武當/Shao Lin yu Wu Dang (Mandarin-original HK title), 少林与武当 (simplified Chinese characters), Shaolin Temple, Part II (unknown), Shaolin contre Wu Tong (France)

Shaolin Wooden Men (1976, HK)

Starring: Jackie Chan, Chiang Kam, Hwang Jang Lee, Kam Kong, Yuen Biao. Directed by: Chen Chi-Hwa

This is one of the better movies from Jackie Chan's period with Lo Wei Productions, and one directed by his mentor Chen Chi-Hwa.

In "Shaolin Wooden Men", Jackie plays Little Mute, a Shaolin student who was traumatized into silence by his father's murder. He does all the menial chores at the temple, but never gets to learn kung-fu like the other students.

At the monastery, Little Mute meets and befriends an imprisoned kung-fu master who teaches him his Lion's Roar technique and a nun who teaches him her Gliding Snake technique. Naturally Little Mute becomes the best student in the monastery and gets to take the ultimate challenge: He has to make his way through the Shaolin Wooden Chamber and defeat the 108 wooden men.

Can he accomplish this task? Also, what Little Mute do with his kung-fu skills? That's what you'll have to watch and find out, but be ready for a few shocks and surprises!

Please note that the US DVD release of this movie by Columbia in 2002 is digitally re-mastered and includes the original Mandarin and Cantonese soundtracks, but has the first 10 minutes of the movie cut, including the fight scene in the opening credits! However, there are a very small handful of obscure pre-2002 VHS and (possibly) DVD copies still floating around at places such as flea markets that have the intact version of the movie, but with only one language dub. There have been plans by Dragon Dynasty to re-release this movie on DVD since 2008, but those plans seem to be on hold.

If you're a fan of Jackie Chan's early movies, this is one you've gotta see!

Also known as: 少林木人巷/Shao Lin mu ren xiang (HK, original Mandarin title), 36 Wooden Men (unknown), Shôrinji Mokujin Ken (Japan, dubbed version), Wooden Men (West Germany), Shaolin Wooden Men: Young Tiger's Revenge (USA alternate title), El despiadado (Spain), L'impitoyable (France), Shaolin Chamber of Death (UK initial releases), To heri pou tsakizei kokkala (Greece VHS title)

The Hand of Death (1976, HK)

Starring: Tan Tao-liang, James Tien, Paul Chang, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao. Directed by: John Woo

This is one of John Woo and Jackie Chan's earliest movies, and probably Woo's best kung-fu movie entry. It's also a noteworthy entry for Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Tan Tao-liang, and all of the movies stars do an excellent job pulling the movie off.

In "Hand of Death," a powerful warrior, tyrant, and renegade Shaolin monk named Shih Shao-feng has decided to track down and eliminate the Shaolin monks. One of Shaolin's best students named Yun Fei is given the assignment to contact some rebels fighting Shih and eliminate him.

During the course of his mission, he meets up with several anti-Shih kung-fu fighters, including a swordsman (Chang) who vowed to never draw his sword again after he accidentally killed a prostitute he loved during a raid by Shih's henchmen and a blacksmith/spear-fighter (Chan) whose brother was killed by Shih.

Together these five warriors make a vow to take down Shih and never stop until they succed. But can they take on Shih's vastly superior forces and succeed at their mission?

Also in this movie is Sammo Hung as Shih's arrogant and loyal lieutenant Du and cameos by Yuen Biao as a rebel assasin and John Woo as the scholar Cheng.

This kung-fu movie is not only an excellent one, but bears some of the trademarks that would later make John Woo famous in the HK action movie genre. That is, you have a Shih who is tyrannical, paranoid (at times), and demands absolute loyalty from his men and a small group of fiercely dedicated fighters who make a pact together and put up a fight against overwhelming odds. Of course, there's also the trademark John Woo fight scenes, which are excellently choreographed. If you can find this movie and are a John Woo or Jackie Chan fan, you'll probably want to see this!

Also known as: 少林門/Shao Lin men (HK, original Mandarin title), 少林门 (Simplified Chinese characters), Hand of Death (France/Germany/UK DVD title), The Hand of Death (HK English DVD/International/USA DVD title), Countdown in Kung Fu (HK English title/English DVD title), Dragon Forever (West Germany), Strike of Death (USA VHS title), Shing le fantastique Mandchou (French title).

Renegade Monk (1978, Taiwan; 1986, USA)

Starring: John Liu, Alan Hsu. Directed by: Alan Hsu

This was a pretty decent kung-fu flick...or at least in this author's opinion. In this movie, John Liu plays Chu Fei Lin, a mysterious stranger who shows up in a Chinese town one day and saves a teenage boy from being beaten to death for sleeping with the local bigshot's daughter. The people in town are very suspicious of Chu and as it turns out, he's a man on a mission: to track down a deadly renegade Shaolin monk.

The comic relief in this movie is provided by the teenage boy. While most people won't find him all that funny and may even find his humor to be a little too much in the style of Jackie Chan in his early movies, it is interesting to see him being taught kung fu by Chu Fei Lin and watch him become an awesome kung fu fighter!

The fight scenes between John Liu and Alan Hsu are awesome in this movie.

If you ever get the chance to see "Renegade Monk," you might want to give it a watch! It's a very good old-school kung fu flick!

Also known as: Shaolin Ex Monk