From Wiki- A young student named Liu Yude is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion against the Manchu government.
The government officials, headed by the brutal General Tien Ta,
however, quickly discover and suppress the uprising, liquidating the
school and killing the students' friends and family members. Yude
decides to seek vengeance and liberation for the people, and heads for
the Shaolin temple to learn kung fu. Wounded by Manchu henchmen during an escape, Yude reaches the temple and seeks sanctuary. Initially the monks reject him, since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot has mercy on the young man and lets him stay. One year later, Yude - now known as San Te
- begins his martial arts training in the temple's 35 chambers, in each
of which the temple's novices are trained in one aspect of the kung fu
fighting arts.I fluctuate between three movies by Lau Kar-Leung that are my favorites. This one, Martial Club and Heroes of the East. I am glad I don't have to choose between them. His early movies are the best, since they are generally devoid of the silly comedy of movies like My Young Auntie or Dirty Ho. Great action scenes, but the stories are hard to get through. I know people love those movies, but I am not a big fan.
This movie rocks, though. Everything works so well. Hard to believe it is Gordon's second starring role. He does so well, and even dubbed one can tell he has become a good actor. Anyone who has trained in martial arts knows how accurate, if a little less brutal, training can be for any style. The movie does take it's time getting started, but it works. Hung Si-Kwan is a bit more bloodthirsty than I remember, though.
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