Fighting of Shaolin
Monks
Director: Lin Fu-ti
Year: 1975
Rating: 5.0
Dubbed in English
Aka - Shaolin Monk
Aka - Shaolin Tamo Buddhist Monk
Aka - Killah Priest
Buddhism vs Taoism! This Taiwanese martial
arts film takes a lot on its shoulders. The beginning of Buddhism in China
and the founding of the Shaolin Temple and their martial arts. That takes
about five minutes of the running time and then we are on to the kung fu!
In the year 528 Monk Tamo (Bodhidharma) came from India and began preaching
Buddhism. Initially, he didn't find much success but kept trying. Here he
is played by Chan Sing who had basically departed from Shaw Brothers and
was a free agent and making films all over Hong Kong and Taiwan. He is always
a welcome presence - typically as the villain but here as the good guy. He
goes to a town to convert the local doctor to Buddhism. But Chi Yun (Wen
Chiang-long) isn't interested and it is no wonder as his girlfriend Yen Chi
is played by Chia Ling. She hates religious figures whether Buddhist or Taoist
thinking they are all phonies.
In fact, a Taoist priest (Chen Jen-lei)
has shown up and immediately has his men fight Yen Chi and Chi Yun who want
him out of town. He has come to bring rain and he does - but he has other
diabolical intentions. Soon a plague shows up as well killing many of the
citizens. Monk Tamo keeps asking Chi Yun to be his disciple and the fierce
Yen Chi keeps telling him she will kill him if he takes her man away. There
are only a few intermittent fights along the way - nothing to write home
about. But the final fifteen minutes has some fine kung fu as Chia Ling kills
a bunch of baddies - Chi Yun goes up against the Taoist priest and Chan Sing
has a nice duel with the white-haired-bearded Master of the Priest - played
by Phillip Ko. That last fifteen minutes saves an otherwise fairly dull outing.
Directed by Lin Fu-ti who was nearly strictly Taiwanese based but did direct
The Imperial Swordsman for Shaw in 1972.
