36th Chamber

Starring:John Cheung, Liu Chia-hui, Gordon Lau
Director: Liu Chia-Liang, Lau Kar-Leung
Studio: Beverly Wilshire
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

THE Shaolin Temple movie
Gordon Liu Pre-Kill Bill 1+2
AKA Master Killer
One of the best kung fu movies I've seen...

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Starring: Gordon Liu , and Lo Lieh
Director: Lau Kar Leung
Manufacturer: Weinstein Company
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000MM0LEG
Release Date: 2007-06-19

Customer Reviews:

THE Shaolin Temple movie.......2007-06-27

Gordon Liu (also known as Lau Kar Fai) stars as a young man who's friends and family have been killed by the new government. He wakes up at the Shaolin Temple, a place he has only heard about a couple of times. When he realizes he is at the best place possible to learn kung fu, he begs and begs to learn so that he can revenge his family. He does finally get taught, but has to start with the basics. Every part of his body must become stronger before he can learn how to fight. After he finishes the first stages of training in record time, he is now highly respected and moves onto learning actual fighting styles. He breezes through this and becomes a great fighter in only 5 years or so. This is not one of those movies that has 1 or 2 training sequences. Gordon is shown in at least 13 of the chambers and half of the movie is spent at Shaolin. So after he has become a master fighter, he is given a high honor and told that he can become second in charge of any of the 35 chambers. A senior monk played by the great Lee Hoi San objects to this and says that he can't have this honor unless Gordon defeats him in a weapons duel. Lee Hoi San does not play a villain, but he does not think that Gordon is a good enough fighter to receive so much praise. His plan works better than he could have ever imagined. He ends up helping Gordon improve as a fighter and as a person. Gordon is told he can leave Shaolin now, and he goes to take revenge on the evil General who killed his family.

One thing that sets this movie apart is that it tries to be a real movie, and it succeeds. Watching Gordon grow up into a man is remarkable to see. The commentators didn't notice, but a lot of the stuff in this movie is very real. When Gordon has to use the pole with the wieght on the end to hit the bell over and over again, that is a real weight on the end of the pole! Gordon talks in the interview (included on this disc) about how the sabres that Lo Lieh uses in the final fight are real, and it just makes the movie that much better. Dont expect your average tale of revenge. I was touched deeply when I first saw this and there are not many kung fu movies that have as much meaning and feeling.

Rating- 5/5

Picture quality is remastered very well. It does get a bit darker and lighter in some scenes, but other than slight print damage once or twice, the picture quality is perfect. The Mandarin, Cantonese and English tracks all sound excellent. In fact, I have never heard the English dub sound this good. The subtitles should have been written better, and the English dub is actually a better translation. They are not horribly written, but could have been a lot better. I am not complaining though since this is the only fault on the DVD.

Special features include a great commentary from The RZA and this Andy Klein guy who does not know very much about the genre. Luckily RZA is there to help him point out actors like Lau Kar Wing, Wilson Tong and Hsiao Hou. I found the commmentary enjoyable. RZA talks about his experiences with this movie, and he is definitely a 36th Chamber expert. And I found it pretty funny that he seems to think Gordon Liu is a monk in real life.

The 17 minute interview with Gordon Liu is very interesting. He talks about many things such as training day and night and how great of an honor it was to work with a megastar like Lo Lieh. Gordon skips over the years like people should know what he is talking about, but just in case you don't, I will fill you in. In 1974 Lau Kar Leung was Chang Cheh's top action director and Gordon Liu was cast as a villain alongside Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Leung Kar Yan in movies like '7 Man Army'. When Lau Kar Leung split up with Chang Cheh he started directing his own movies for the Shaw Brothers, starting with 'Spiritual Boxer'. In his next movie 'Challenge of the Masters', Lau Kar Leung cast his younger adopted brother Gordon Liu as the lead. This is what led to Gordon becoming the star of 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin', the greatest Shaolin Temple movie ever made.

There is a 17 minute documentary on Shaolin that is basically another 17 minutes of awesome info from Gordon Liu.

The 8 minute interview with film critic/scholars Andy Klein and David Shute is a very good description of how great of a movie this is.

The RZA gets a 10 minute interview where he talks about where he first started watching these movies and also gives his thoughts on the Shaw Brothers and explains why the Master Killer in his rap group took that name.

The trailers are the best special feature. The trailer for 'Shaolin Mantis' is very unique. Instead of showing clips from the movie, the actors introduce what kind of kung fu styles are going to be used (be sure to look for Lily Li!). Lau Kar Leung is the director of 'Shaolin Mantis' and doesn't even have a role in the movie, but he gets to show off his ultra awesome kung fu skills quite a bit in the trailer. I think I have watched this trailer about 50 times, and I will eventually master that Shadow style!

Also included are ORIGINAL trailers for 'The 36th Chamber', 'Return to the 36th Chamber', 'Disciples of the 36th Chamber', '8 Diagram Pole Fighter', 'My Young Auntie', 'One Armed Swordsman', 'Infernal Affairs 3' and the original Master Killer US TV commercial.

The last special feature is a gallery of original movie posters and movie stills.

Gordon Liu Pre-Kill Bill 1+2.......2007-06-21

Here he is in his most important role EVER!!!! OK well that's a matter of opinion but it is in this movie that gordon Liu cements his position in the martial arts movie lexicon by totally nailing this role. He would go on to play a mon many times after this but this is the best of those movies, hands down. For years it's only been available in the dubbed version that many of us probalby saw many years ago. but this beautifully restored and fully remastered version should be a part of every martial arts fans movie collection.

AKA Master Killer.......2007-06-21

This is an excellent martial arts classic. It is a must see flick. Typical of martial arts films, there is a training period, and the training this young monk endures is quite interesting and entertaining (don't want to give anything away).

It is one of the few martial arts films I can watch over and over. There are some moderately humorous parts that keep things moving along (not as funny as Jackie Chan, but still some fun).

If you haven't seen this one, you should.

One of the best kung fu movies I've seen..........2007-06-19

What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said before? A classic. Yes. Influential? Absolutely. Entertaining? Most definitely. This movie is as good a place to start as any if you're interested in the Kung Fu cinema. And if you're already into Kung Fu, you've probably heard of this in the least, and I can't imagine why you haven't seen it. As to this release, really the best I've seen. The picture and sound are great, and the language option is nice. Most of the features are nice as well. Though I don't know how useful the Wu-tang clan video was. Still...a worthy DVD to a great movie.

Average customer rating:

Appalling
I WILL GO AHEAD AND REVIEW THIS DVD IN DETAIL, THE ONE THAT SAYS 36TH CHAMBER BUT IS REALLY THE RETURN)
should have read the reviews before buying
poor copy
Defective, may be Pirated and misleading Title

36th Chamber
Starring: John Cheung , Liu Chia-hui , and Gordon Lau
Director: Liu Chia-Liang , and Lau Kar-Leung
Manufacturer: Beverly Wilshire
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Five Deadly Venoms
Shaolin Wu Tang
Shaolin Master Killer (Widescreen Edition)
7 Grand Masters
Martial Arts: Master Killer Collection

ASIN: B00005MM76
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Customer Reviews:

Appalling.......2006-12-08

I waited to receive this copy from the US,and when I checked it out it was very bad quality.Thick of the worst video you have,and I think you can understand.I certainly won't be buying anything off this studio again.I do recommend dvds from Red Sun,Hong Kong Legends and Vengeance Video are ok.
The film is a masterpiece of classic kung fu,but the quality is dire.I hope Red Sun release it.

I WILL GO AHEAD AND REVIEW THIS DVD IN DETAIL, THE ONE THAT SAYS 36TH CHAMBER BUT IS REALLY THE RETURN).......2006-03-14

So, the only way that I can suggest to get this movie, is as long as you don't spend more than ten dollars, it's a good buy.

THIS IS NOT THE 36TH CHAMBER BUT RATHER THE RETURN TO THE 36TH CHAMBER.

Now that I have that clear I wanted to agree with past reviews that the picture quality is pretty bad, but this dvd was the first time I saw movie and it instantly became my favorite movie ever(at least favorite final fight scene)

And the dvd is not lying in saying it is the full uncut version.

Now if you really like this movie like me I would refer you to look for the red sun version. It has the SB logo on it and it says it is part of the shaolin collection. Also it is called return of the master killer. This dvd has absolutely crystal clear picture, dual languages, and subs, though the subs are missing a few lines that were not translated.

So if you can find this version cheap, then get it, but for a couple more bucks you can get the ultimate version that I have, WHICH IS EITHER ALL REGION OR REGION1, I don't have it in front of me.

So

should have read the reviews before buying.......2005-11-30

Just received the DVD and watched the opening scenes. That was enough for me. First off, I blame myself for thinking the "36th Chamber" was the original classic "Master Killer." Simply put, the video quality is totally unacceptable. Its the same or worse than recording at the slowest speed on a VCR.

poor copy.......2005-08-03

I have two reviews for this movie. the first is the film itself and the second is on the actually copy.

This movie is a great Kung fu classic. The title I am more familiar with is "Return to the 36th chamber" aka "Return of the Master Killer"
36 chambers usually refers to the first one. Aka "the master killer of Shaolin. or just "master killer"
That being said I do really like this movie and feel that everyone should own it... just not this copy.

Now for the copy being sold here...
the image is so poor it is difficult to watch. it is very grainy the color is off and the cropping is horrible.
My recomedation for anyone really into classic kung fu movies is to pick up a region free player and buy the Hong Kong remastered versions by Celestial released by Intercontinental Video Limited
or Deltamac

Defective, may be Pirated and misleading Title.......2005-06-05

First of all the DVD inside is not the famous "36th Chamber of Shaolin". It is "Return to the 36th Chamber", sequel to the original movie.

The Video quality is so poor that I think it is a pirated copy.

I cannot believe Amazon can sell such item.

The Return of the Master Killer: Return to the 36th Chamber

Average customer rating:

Under-rated at best... a must have for Kung Fu junkies!
Best final fight scene ever
You can't Lose with Gordon Liu
Dont believe the hype!
Fun

The Return of the Master Killer: Return to the 36th Chamber
Starring: Chia Hui Liu , Kara Hui , Lung Wei Wang , Siu Hau , and Yeong-mun Kwon
Director: Chia-Liang Liu
Manufacturer: Ground Zero
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005KH3B
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Customer Reviews:

Under-rated at best... a must have for Kung Fu junkies!.......2007-04-18

It is difficult to get ahold of a good copy of this film - my version is a pirated copy that I got in college years ago. Why did I go out and hunt down a pirated copy? When I was about 9 years old I would fake sick to stay home from Sunday School and watch Kung Fu Theatre on Sunday mornings. I have seen countless movies, but this one stood out in my memory. So 20 years later I decided I had to have it. I bought a couple of versions, mis-named movies, movies that had the right description on the back of the case, but a different movie in the box, you name it... it was painstaking. I have seen it called Master Killer (obviously that is not this film), I have seen it called Return to the 36th Chamber, The 36th Chamber, etc.

Be careful - there is a Gordon Liu film in which he plays an abbott in the Shaolin temple, that movie sucks. Its "Return of Master Killer" that you want.

Here is a little background on this film. Liu starred in the awesome film Master Killer, where he plays San Te. Its a serious film, and a classic in its own right. The Return of Master Killer really has nothing to do with it. Its how the production company's rename these films that gets this all confused. In this film, a comedy, that Gordon Liu plays a con-man who tells everyone he is San Te. When he is exposed as a fraud, guilt drives him to the Shaolin Temple to learn real Kung Fu. Again, he has to con his way in.

Once in the temple he is punished, and put to work. He is not "taught" Kung Fu, however as the movie unfolds he learns it anyway by observing as he works... where the motions he makes while working become Kung Fu motions. NOBODY ever says it, but this movie has to be a direct source of inspiration for the Karate Kid. There are so many similarities. There are tons of other films that have come and gone that draw upon this great film for inspiration, another that comes to mind is the Jet Li movie Romeo Must Die. During this film there is a fight scene that takes place on some scaffolding where Jet Li uses zip-ties to tie up his opponents... yeah, you can see the original version of that very fight scene on the bamboo scaffolding in Return of Master Killer.

No Kung Fu afficianado should be without it.

Best final fight scene ever.......2006-02-28

WARNING: this is not a sequel to master killer, but it is a better movie.

A young actor(who likes to play monks, but not on stage) needs to learn kung fu so goes to shaolin to learn from san te.

I don;t want to give anything away, cause it is such a great movie.

You can't Lose with Gordon Liu.......2002-11-21

The more I watch Gordon Liu, the more I like him, not only for his excellent martial arts abilities, but also for his expressive acting abilities (even though constrained--or enhanced(?)--by the dubbing), which this film showcases.

Liu plays a winsome, selfish con-man who in the course of the story unwittingly masters a very unique kung-fu style and overcomes his selfishness, but who does not lose the vitality of the character he portrays (with a sort of easy-going brashness) in the process. This film genuinely made me laugh! And that is not a frequent event for me while watching movies--even intentional comedies. Liu vents a natural, unforced humor, that carries the story along and even cheerfully colors his fights; he's funny without, apparently, trying to be.

This is one of my all-time favorite kung-fu films for hero portrayal and development. Top shelf, for sure!

Dont believe the hype!.......2002-08-04

This movie has potential. Gordon Liu, Shaw Bros., Shaolin Master Killer. Sounds tasty right? Rent this movie. Its mildly entertaining. But not enough to own. The best part of the DVD are the extra fighting sequences provided as Special Features. There are a few money scenes, but it cant even begin to compete with other Shaw titles. Admittedly, the fighting styles are things you have never seen before, but are really pretty lame. (I cant get into it with out spoiling, sorry.) The Shaolin temple is only in the movie for a brief period. The Master Killer isn't really "that other Master Killer." The plot doesn't even begin to convey any drama or passion. Skip it. Or rent it. Or if you are a die hard collector and need to expand go get another one of the Deadly Venom films. If you own all of those, get any of Toshirô Mifune's samurai films (not really the same style but will be a much better investment.) If you must get this, you've been warned, its amateur at best.

Fun.......2002-04-09

Not really a sequel to Shaolin Master Killer, but Gordon Liu does play a street performer who haplessly becomes a monk and learns a new style of kung fu from San Te, the character he portrayed in Shaolin Master Killer. The film is entertaining but lacks the epic look and drama of Shaolin Master Killer. Return of the Master Killer is lighthearted but displays a lot of excellently choreographed fight scenes as can be expected from Liu Chia Liang. Most memorable fight: Gordon Liu applying his newly learned "rooftop" kung fu in the climax. It's really a adapted version of Phoenix-Eye fist.

Average customer rating:

Don't make a mistake...
HOW DOES NODODY KNOW OF THIS RED SUN COMPANY

Disciples Of The Master Killer
Director: Lau Kar-Leung
Manufacturer: Red Sun
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Customer Reviews:

Don't make a mistake..........2006-10-24

and buy this thinking you are getting a great DVD. You're getting a bootleg. This has a great picture because Red Sun simply copied the HK DVD of IVL in Hong Kong after Celestial spent millions of dollars remastering these films. The DVD has poor NTSC conversion (meaning, it will look BAD on higher end TVs) because you can't do proper conversions of dvds from HK without the original materials. And bootleggars of course don't have original materials. If you want to support boots, and make sure that the U.S. continues to get very few quality kung fu releases, buy the DVD. IF you want to see the films, and not ruin their chances of being picked up here so all the US can see them properly, just get a region free player and buy the actual discs these guys copy. You can get the real dvds they make copies for the SAME price, so why not support actual people the work on these releases?

HOW DOES NODODY KNOW OF THIS RED SUN COMPANY.......2006-04-10

You are not gonna get many special features in this movie, but you wil get a hot ass li li li, master killer with his coolest weapon ever, jason pai paio as the bad guy, and my pick for fong sai yuk over jet li and meng fei.

Now if you people are not familiar with red sun then let me be the first to tell you that their remastering job is the best you can get. I would recommend celestial but amazon doesn't sell those and red sun IS the second best.

This is a slapstick movie starring Ho Hsou(little monkey) as fong sai yuk. Just like in the legend, and kung fu punch of death, sai yuk's mom is TOUGH. But sai yuk still can't stay out of trouble. So when he ruffles feathers with government officials, he is forced to go to the 36th chamber of shaolin. The founder of the 36th chamber is san te, you may know him from the previous 2 movies with a similiar title. Even if you didn't see those, this is still pretty good, but watching all the master killer movies makes it way better. So of course we have an evil governer and some great action scenes. I would have to say that the bench fight was my favorite. But the action just isn't quite as good as your old school joseph kuo movies. This movie has the feel of shaolin prince but shaolin prince's stuntwork was better and way before it's time(this was made 4 years after that). But all in all you are gonna see a lot of sweet fights. And I didn't like the legend all that much but jet li helped that movie out a hell of a lot, but I would have to say that this movie has the superior fong sai yuk. His acting is just briliant. He is like that kid who is really popular in school cause he brings all the cool stuff from home and shows it off all day. But what this kid does it he is truly funny and you wanna be his friend cause who wouldn't want to be friends with someone who almost causes you to die from laughter. There is a part where he sneaks out of shaolin at night and doesn't get any sleep but fought with somebody at the governer's mansion and won himself a really shiny shirt. So during mornign mass, after sai yuk gives everyone the wakeup call, he opens up his shaolin shirt to reveal his shiny new one. And he is putting his chest about a foot away from his friends faces. He then somersaults around very quietly showing evryone and within a minute he has every student of the 36th chamber around him. it was maybe the funniest moment of the film, but this is a movie that is filled with funny stuff like that.

SO BUY THIS MOVIE IT IS WORTH IT. MAKE SURE IT IS THE RED SUN VERSION, THAT'S WHAT THIS STUFF BUT IF IT'S USED BE WARY!!!!!!

But get the red sun cause it has chinese language with good subs, a little small but still very easy to read and I actually get to hear the beautifull li li li's voice. OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH AAAAAHHHHHH.

And the widesceerned presentation is STUNNING. The picture is not perfect but IT IS 99% good. Which means it is 5-6 % better than ANY other distributer, even tai seng's release of dragon inn didn't come close to this. Not by a mile. ONLY celestial is better than this company, it's just sad that nobody bought there stuff so there are just copies kind of floating around out there, so SNATCH EM UP WHILE YOU CAN.

Average customer rating:

I am so disappointed!
WRONG TAPE
NOT The 36th Chamber of Shaulin!!
Anyone Speak Farsi????????
Want to see a martial art action movie

Enter the 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Starring: Meng Lo , Philip Kwok , Yue Wong , Qiu Yuen , and Hoi San Lee
Director: Kar-Hung Yau
Manufacturer: Vivendi Visual Enter
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Shaolin Master Killer (Widescreen Edition)
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ASIN: 6305501114
Release Date: 1999-07-27

Customer Reviews:

I am so disappointed!.......2005-08-18

Don't wast your money buying this movie. It is not the 36th Chamber of Shaolin everyone wants. Buy Master Killer if you want the good version.

WRONG TAPE.......2004-03-22

I BOUGHT THIS TAPE ALSO THINKING IT WAS THE ORIGINAL AND IT IS NOT. I SHOULD HAVE READ THE REVIEWS FIRST.

NOT The 36th Chamber of Shaulin!!.......2003-12-12

Beware this is NOT The 36th Chamber of Shaulin. It is in fact another engish version. If you are looking for the right film, you have to by the one put out by Celestial Pictures. They are like the "Criterion Collection" of asian cinema! NOt only is it the right one, it's widescreen, anamorphic with remastered sound with the dupe taked from the master 36mm film! I'm totally amped that Celestial bought out the whole shaw bros. cataloge. They know how to do justice to these old great films unlike the bad bootlegged copies ather companies put out!

Anyone Speak Farsi????????.......2002-12-15

Ok, the fight scenes are alright, typical old school kung-fu, my only gripe is the bizarre subtitles. The version I got was NOT repeat NOT the DVD I thought I had ordered, but rather a VHS version??!!??!! Well I figured "SO WHAT, IM EASY AND IT'S WATCHABLE ANYWAYS". The funny thing is that the post production team must have pushed 3 buttons of subtitles then went to the mall for 90 minutes!! This version had English, Japanese ( I think), and something that looked very much like symbols from the Rosetta stone, all overlapping so one had to struggle to read the english appearing behind 2 other languages, very weird. Still, the film Itself is pretty decent action fare and I have seen worse post-production. I have one GAMERA film where the last 5 minutes of the film revert to the original Japanese, and another where the sound vanishes for the final 15 minutes. Like I said, Im easy to please!!!

Want to see a martial art action movie.......2001-07-20

One of the best martial art movie that I have ever seen. The 36th. chamber of shaolin is similar to the movie "Enter the Dragon". This is an action packed movie and a must see for all martial art fans.

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