Executioners from Shaolin

Kung Fu movies always seem to refer to a bewildering array of styles. this film highlights the Tiger and Crane styles and you really can see the difference in the 2 approaches.

It gives a real insight into the idea of 1 style not being able to beat another because it's too rigid and inflexible and the practioner is not as good as his opponent, hence he WILL be beaten.

Apparently this movie is about the evolution of the Huang Gar fiststyle but I'm no expert so don't know much more than that!

Liu Chia Liang directs some great sequences, the earlier ones being better (the main fights between the father/son and the priest Pei Mei seem to automated to really flow smoothly)

Some really good acting as well let down by the usual rushed dubbing.

See it but would not buy it (go for Legendary weapons of kung fu/China for a classic movie)

This is an almost epic tale of fighter and son trying to avenge the death of the old shaolin master, fighting the evil master, infused with humor and style it follows the flight from the evil Pai Mei and his henchmen, disguising as theatre troups performing Shaolin Kung Fu shows for a period and the tiger-style fighter Hsi-Kuan settles down with a crane-style fighting wife and have a son to prepare for epic battles with Pai Mei. Hsi-Kuan's and Yung Chung's marriage and wedding night on board a boat is a very funny highlight of the film. Telling more about what happens would be telling too much, but the battles with Pai Mai are spectacularly set. 7/10

I had only just watched "Clan of the White Lotus" a month or two back, which could be seen (well in my eyes) as a more accomplished rehash of this particular period martial arts enterprise. Nonetheless the similarities in the story's structure (which is hard to pass by) doesn't matter because the Shaw Brothers and director Chia-Liang Liu along with actor Lieh Lo as the Kung Fu Master Pai Mei and minor cameo by Chia Hui Liu makes this one very enjoyable, downright flamboyant and utterly unique cult martial arts feature with a good sense of humour abound and dashing action. Pai Mei had just killed a Shoalin priest and surviving students led by Hung Hsi Kuan (ably acted by Kuan Tai Chen) vow vengeance for their master's death and that of fellow students. And it's no rush either. As Hung happily marries a strong-minded lady (a perfectly pitched Lily Li) who's well developed in the crane-style fighting and has a son while spending many years perfecting the skills and stamina of the tiger-style fighting before taking on master white brow. Cheng Kang-Yeh provides a cheeky performance as one the Shoalin students and Wang Yu is quite good as the grown up son. The pacing can be rather bumpy (especially in the leisured midsection concentrating more on the trivial aspects in the character dramas that hold the narrative), but when it came down to the atypical fighting it was excitingly displayed with verve-like camera-work working around the smooth, but tough choreography with numerous, long encounters. Maybe repetitive but never dull, although the ending is a little disappointing in the way it just seems to finish hastily.

This was one of those films that I watched over and over, whenever I could. I've seen it on TV, usually in NYC on Channel 5 Saturday afternoons at 1pm, 3pm, or 5pm, on Drive-In Movie. I have also paid to see it repeatedly years ago in the old Times Square movie theaters. They used to specialize in Hong Kong martial arts films before Giuliani killed them all off. That's one thing I really miss about the old Times Sq...

This movie had it all: great plot and writing, great acting and action, even great dubbing. I really wish it would come out on DVD or even VHS...

The Shaw Brothers have made a bunch of kung fun movies in their lifetimes, not a single one has left me bored. In "Executioners from Chaplin", a couple bore a son whose father is trained in Tiger Boxing and a mother in Crane style. The son learns crane style kung fun, but he doesn't learn the tiger style until his father loses his life battling the eunuch tyrant Pai Mei(Lieh Lo). This brutal fighter has made his way killing anyone who would challenge his fighting style. He killed the father's master, he's killed the ones who's avenging him. So it's up to the son to get his revenge. Spending all his life learning to be warrior, he sets out to seek Pai Mei. Both men learn how to find Pai Mei's vitals. They were no good in the nether regions. And unlike his father, he was successful on getting PaI Mei. I think this movie has got a little humor in it as well. Before the son was born, the couple made their way following a side show when they met. The brothers kept their fighting skills intact throughout their lives. This movie was very entertaining, and very fun to watch. I found nothing to complain about here. A true gem here. 2 stars