Henan Songshan Shaolin si (1981) User Reviews (4)

Average story lifted by fight-filled battle climax

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 28 August 2016]

SHAOLIN TEMPLE STRIKES BACK is a yet another Shaolin-themed movie and one directed by the hard-working Joseph Kuo, a man who seemed to be preoccupied with Buddhist themes and monk characters. However, there are no trap-filled temples in this one, no bronze or wooden men, just a straightforward adventure storyline about ruthless Ching invaders, Ming rebels, and a Ming princess who seeks refuge in the Shaolin temple.

The plot is quite simplistic and almost writes itself at times. Despite the deadly seriousness of the set up, there's time for hijinks and low brow humour, although none of the characters are particularly likable or interesting. The mega villain in his outlandish 'warlord' garb is more fun. The film suffers from the usual awful dubbing, particularly for the princess character, although there's a ton of action to keep you watching. Most of it is quite routine but certainly watchable.

Where SHAOLIN TEMPLE STRIKES BACK excels is in the massive, fight-filled climax which takes place in the Shaolin courtyard. This is a sprawling and gory battle which includes such bizarre elements as an iron-skinned giant who is impervious to sword strikes and our monk hero incorporating drunken boxing style to battle his opponent. Blood and limbs fly freely into the air and there's a ton of kicking, beating, and breaking. The final one on one is crazy as neither side will give in and the opponents just go on and on with beating each other into submission.

Amusing, energetic, great martial arts

[winner55 · 10/10 · 31 March 2011]

For some reason this fine old Joseph Kuo feature disappeared for a while. But it is available on DVD, and if you enjoy old-school kung-fu flicks, I think you will find this highly entertaining. The characters are all likable, the martial arts exquisite, the endangered-princess storyline a classic. It's very fast paced, and moves well between episodes of fighting, occasional fits of comedy, and there's even a touch of drama in the relationship between one of the monks and an old friend who has since become a nasty Ching general. The final battle is a wild mêlée and the ending teeters on the tragic without falling over the cliff. This is a film to enjoy again and again.

great fun

[johnno-17 · 9/10 · 30 March 2011]

Another Ching-vs-Shaolin conflict film, this one has a young princess sheltered at the temple with a dedicated soldier to protect her, and a slew of earnest monks to teach him their special kung-fu styles.

One of the most out-right fun martial arts pics of its era. The heroes are all bold determination and wide-eyed wonder, the monks perform with wit and energy - even the villainous general has an attractive side to him, an undeniable charm. The pace is furious and the martial arts action never lets up - it's by Joseph Kuo, one of the legendary non-Shaw directors of the 'chop-socky' era, who really knew how to work Buddhist themes into his films.

Particularly love the interpretation of drunken boxing in this film. Highly recommended.

Shaolin has a new hero. And he's a Drunken Ghostface Killer!

[PKazee · 9/10 · 31 May 2021]

I don't recall when I first saw this, but I must have watched an English subtitled version, as I gave it 9 stars and the dubbed version I just watched on a Ground Zero DVD doesn't quite live up to that level of praise. In part, this is due to some goofy English voicing, but there also appears to be a bit of dumbing down of what I remember to be the plot. That said, the film also suffers from excessive undercranking... and I'm not talking just about the fights, given that it's fairly standard to undercrank those in order to speed up the action. No, I'm talking about EVERYTHING being undercracked. While this is not quite as obvious as it is with a lot of old silent comedies, it's still fairly obvious. Even if one were not to notice the actors sometimes walking at an unusual clip, it's hard not to recognize the voice actors being forced to talk a mile-a-minute in an attempt to fit all of the dialogue in. To this end, I should note that the official running time is listed as 90 minutes, but the Ground Zero version only runs 85 minutes.

All that aside, this is a fun film, suggesting that the real reason the Qing authorities took a disliking to the Shaolin monks was that they were harboring a young Ming Princess... a seeming uncredited (at least in this dubbed version) LIAO Li-chun.

CHEN Chien-chang, aka CHEN Kin-cheung (and credited elsewhere as LUNG Siu-Fei) starts as the official escort who helps the Ming Princess escape to Shaolin Temple in an effort to avoid capture by Qing soldiers. Once inside the Temple, the escort trains to become a fighting monk, receiving some of his training from the Temple's top fighter, a peculiar Abbot with a taste for wine (Mark LONG; aka LUNG Kuan-wu; aka GHOSTFACE KILLER). Though this Drunken Master is a former associate of a Qing General (CHANG Shan; aka CHARNG Shan; aka CHEN Shan), and though this General will stop at nothing to extract the princess from Shaolin, the drunken abbot sides with the Princess against his friend in a dramatic scene involving multiple toasts to the end of their alliance.

As a Joseph Kuo flick, it should go without saying that the film presents some excellent martial arts. Interestingly, these demonstrations come - not only from the three male leads - but also from an unheralded actress named LING Chien (aka LING Sen). Playing a goat herder oddly named Cowgirl, it would be nice if this actress were to one day be given her due (OK, I'll admit it... I have a bit of a crush).