Customer Reviews

Fist of the White Lotus

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I think this movie, while quite good and very different, is a little overrated. A sequel/remake of "Executioners from Shaolin", Gordon Liu (always good) must train to take revenge after the destruction of the Shaolin temple. Trouble is that his foe, the white-eyebrow priest, Pai Mei (Lo Lieh, directing and reprising his famous role, and also always good) is practically invincible; having achieved a level of kung fu expertise beyond the mere physical. Gordon trains and trains but his style is ineffectual and must learn the "soft style" from the beautiful Kara Hui, whose husband was killed by Pai Mei. She makes him sew and take care of her newborn baby, an interesting contrast to the "crane style" of "Executioners".

This version from Red Sun is wonderfully restored by Celestial. The fight scenes are hit and miss, no pun intended. There are moments of excellence for sure, just...I can't quite put my finger on what bothered me about it, if anything. Maybe I just heard too many good things about it and it didn't live up to the hype. I'm not sure if I would recommend this to the "casual" fan or not. I have friends who loved "5 Deadly Venoms" and "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" but didn't care for movies like "7 Grand Masters". If you like most Shaw Bros. films, you'll probably like this one too.

1980. aka: Clan of the White Lotus

While still is a very good remake ( one of the best in a very long time ), Gordon Lui is in rear form...! I think in this remake, he's probably assuming the role of 'Ting-Ling'...(Hun Se Kwan's) son --- taking on an avenging role for his screen dad. What I think I like the most about this film is the opening scene which kinda shows in a different interpretation..., the destruction of Priest Bai Me and his brother by two mercenary shaolin patriots. Really stuuning stuff. It's brilliantly done overall ---- again it kinda borders on the comical side of things..., which I never really liked...., but it's a'ight!

When you watch this film which I have done several times one has to recognize how far above this film is over the many martial films that have been made to date the concept behind the characters and the stars persistance, not your typical train to beat the villian movie. Lo Liehs direction and Lui Chia Liangs choragrapy make this the best if not one best martial art movies ever made this has been called a remake of the film Executioner from Shaolin which is also a good movie staring most of the same actors but in my opinion not as entertaining.

Now some of the remastered dvd's from red sun are only slightly above average for a remastering job. Movies like Executioners of Shaolin and Iron Fingers of Death are not a perfect transfer. Red sun has many other perfect releases just as good or even better than this one. The master killer series and Dirty Ho to name 4. It is absolutely amazing if you compare it to the groundzero version. I didn't really like this movie much when I was a kid, but now that I get to watch a scratch free, beautiful print that is perfectly letterboxed, with english dubbed sound, it is defintely one of my favorite movies ever.

So if you are a fan of shaw brothers flicks and don't have an all region dvd player, than these are the perfect dvd's for you.

P.S.-unlike groundzero, xenon, crash cinema..., when the dvd says remastered, it is. If it doesn't say it, it's not remastered. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Now to the movie. A great remake/redo of Executioners of Shaolin. Lo lieh directs this and while it is the only good movie that he directed, it is still very well done and has some nice touches, and of course some things that could have been done better. Story wise it could have improved quite a bit, but the fighting none.

The movie kicks off with an awesome opening of Pai Mei standing on the ruins of the Shaolin Temple and he has Gordon Liu(tiger stylist)and his friend(a crane stylist) coming at him. They kill him in a fantastic battle and the next thing we know we are in the future a few years. Johnny Wang (Lung Wei) is the governor and is being ordered to release the shaolin monks in prison. Not happy about this at all, he goes to speak with his uncle, Lo Lieh(pai mei's brother). Now like I said, there are some holes in this. Lo Lieh is playing Pai Mei, but they are gonna say he is Pai Mei's brother? Well, so what, it works for me and with Lo Lieh's unbelievable acting job, I wouldn't want him to have to play another type of character. He is by far the best Pai Mei. So because tiger and crane killed his brother, he is gonna go ahead and help his nephew in extinguishing the monks before they have a chance to rebuild and be strong. From here on there are all types of crazy ambushes from the while lotus clan and this causes Gordon to learn all that he can to kill Pai Mei(that's what we will call him even though I just explained he is playing another character). Pai Mei first goes and lets Gordon know that he is unstoppable and there is nothing you can do about it. But there is so much more to it. The way he just walks through all these people swinging swords at him was breathtaking! Lo Lieh was not a wushu athlete or nothing but has some of the best screen fighting skills ever. He is so smooth at playing Pai Mei, you will want to buy all of his movies. And with Master Lau Kar Leung doing the fight choreography, I guarantee you will see some of the funnest kung fu ever put to screen.

It is really cool how Gordon just can't get a firm punch on Pai Mei, so he has to listen to his pregnant wife about learning the soft style. I will make sure I don't give anything away but you will not be disappointed by this. I loved the ending, not quite as good as Executioners of Shaolin, but only the very ending, this movie though is way more up-tempo and has a lot more fighting. Overall becuase of the use of the wind machines and the 2 bonus fights we get between Lung Wei and Gordon, I liked it better than Executioners.

White Lotus(lo lieh),of the legendary White Lotus Clan,easily takes the spotlight away from Gordin Liu(MASTER KILLER).This movies story line is not weak,its just REALLY simple.You killed a member of my clan now im going to kill a member of yours,Then after we do that WHAT DO YOU SAY WE KILL EACH OTHER???Master Killer and the White Lotus fight about 4 times & each time is very entertaing due to Gordin Liu using different fighting techniques each time.This is diffinitly a must have.
COP IT!

I have been a fan and collector of old skool kung fu flix since I was a kid. I thought I had seen all the good ones untill I discovered this gem. The fight coreoraphy is terrific, and the definate high point of the film is Lo Lehi's preformance as "Pai Mei". As a matter of personal preferance, I prefer a more serious and bloody story. This flix was a bit light hearted in tone for me, but I laughed out loud when Gordon Liu attacks Lo Lehi while he's relaxing in the bathtub. Overall this film is an old skool classic. Worth every penny of what you pay for it.

Watch this movie for THE WHITE LOTUS PRIEST PAI MEI. The White Lotus Preist is one of the coolest characters you'll ever see in any kung fu movie , period. Although I enjoyed this kung fu movie, I've seen Gordon Liu in better roles. The White Lotus Preist fights Gordon Liu several times and each time spares G.L.'s life. I was very angry, because at the end when Gordon Liu finally is able to beat the White Lotus Preist he kills him and doesn't spare his life.

If you have not seen this yet, it is an absolute must for any fan of the genre. White Lotus priest Pei Mei is at his best, and Gordon Liu does not disappoint in his role... I also recommend Executioner from Shaolin which is the prequal to this awesome film...

Lo leih is perfect this movie will display why gordon lui is consider one of the greatest to ever grace the screen for chineese martial arts, a never give up film, one of the better stories and definitely unbelieverble entertainment action from the start to the very end, Fist of the white lotus is a collectors prize i own it! (yesssssss) and state proud and boldly if you don't have this then you aren't a true martial arts collector, a little short but worth the ride laters folks.

The very first Shaw Brothers movie I ever saw. Didn't know anything about them before seeing this. I was completly mind blown when I first saw this film. Great story and action. Although I think this movie is a bit overrated it's still a true classic!Every collector should have this