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(More customer reviews)I am admittedly an addict of kung fu films. Ever since I was 10 and saw Enter the Dragon, I have watched literally hundreds of kung fu movies, practiced various styles and read the Toa Te Ching. I love all Chinese martial arts films from plotless two dollar chop sockey flicks of the 70's to modern day crime saga's to swordsman fantasies with sexy ghosts, hopping vampires and enchanted swords.
Shaolin temple and it's warrior monks are revered by movie goers and film makers, to the same extent they are admired by martial arts students the world over, so naturally shaolin and it's monks are featured as agents of virtue fighting for good in almost half the kung fu films out there. But no other film is as historicly significant and few are as visually spectacular as this one.
Firstly Shaolin Temple was the first martial arts film made in communist mainland China. Funded by the Chinese government in the early 80's to cash in on the kung fu film market in Hong Kong's success. One should consider the significance of this alone since religion of any kind was pretty much forbiden by the government of China, yet this film was made with quite a lot of Buhddist phylosophy and ceromony featured.
Secondly this was the debut film of Jet Li, who has since became the 3rd biggest star in martial arts film history (Bruce Lee #1, Jackie Chan #2) and his star continues to rise today. At the time Jet Li was the national Wu Shu champion of China. His performance in this film so amazing that after it screened in China, people walked great distances to see Jet Li at his home village, some days the line of people outsides of his house stretched for miles! No BS.
Also along side Li, the cast was made up of many other Wu Shu champions, unfourtunatly Li and all actors in the cast were paid about the equivelent of $0.20 a day, which is the same rate factory workers were paid! A few members of the cast are also real shaolin monks.
Another amazing feature of this film is that many of the scenes were filmed in the real shaolin temple. The temple itself is as stunning as most ancient Chinese structures, but there is something truely special when scenes are filmed in the forest of Pagodas, where the most respected monks are buried and also the hall with the holes in the floor is a true training hall in Shaolin and the holes in the stone floor have actually being worn down by centuries of practice. Something about the reality just astounds you in a way that mere cinematic specials effects never will.
If that is not enough, Shaolin Temple features some of the most lengthy and exciting, action packed and dazzling, skillfull and well executed fight scenes ever caught on film. The scenes feature plenty of different fighting styles and some of the more exotic Chinese weaponary, not usually seen in action on film. There is a great piece too where Jet Li peeks over a fence to watch monks practice, once again the REALITY (of their skill) is more stunning than any explosions or laughably phony CGI.
Shaolin Temple is a true classic of the kung fu genre and landmark film for many reasons. Ever since this film hit the screens, the Shaolin temple in China has received renewed fame and people the world over have flocked to the real temple in the hopes of learning from the monks. Hundreds of schools, a few are run by actual monks, have set up all around the actual temple. The power of the film Shaolin Temple has inspired countless people East and West and I am sure that it will continue to inspire.
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