Search - Shaolin Intruders on DVD

Investigating the Mysterious Palm Technique

Erika Borsos | Gulf Coast of FL, USA | 09/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Shaolin Intruders is a sophisticated DVD with rather young main actors who are highly skilled at their craft. They create a fun entertaining story which begins in a fairly mundane manner but gets to be highly interesting as subplots and new intrigues are built into the main plot. The film keeps the viewer hooked, waiting for unexpected developments to unfold and be resolved by the three main martial arts heros one of whom is a female. The story begins as a caravan owned by one of the important local families is traveling on a mountain road and ambushed by knife and sword wielding martial arts fighters whose goal is to steal jewels, money and anything of value. The intruders kill many of the warriors who are guarding the caravan. The thieves leave with precious cargo ...

This DVD showcases some tremendously well choreographed martial arts fight scenes throughout but especially in large groups in the temple scenes. It has a fairly interesting plot after the predictible beginning and continues to build drama and suspense during the remainder of the film. Chief Fang enters a gambling den to challenge one of the martial artist fighters whose weakness is gambling. He asks him to locate the most sophisticated martial arts warrior named Lei Xun whose skills are legendary. The Chief is certain only the most skilled fighter has a chance to succeed against the surprise attacks which have lately increased in number and intensity. The Chief wagers 1,000 taels of gold that the gambling fighter will not find this important warrior in three days. The joke is on the Chief, the young warrior happens to be in a room right next door, visiting his girlfriend, Ye Qinghua, a famous martial arts fighter in her own right. She wears flowing billowy outfits and looks very frail and feminine. However, she hides very large knives made of gold, which are her weapons of choice and signature trademark.

The gambling joint is attacked by the same group of masked fighters who wear gray outfits as those who attacked the caravan. They use a specific fighting maneuver called the Shaolin Jingang Palm Technique which is taught to only a few fighters because it is so deadly. The gambling fighter, Lei Xun and Ye Qinghua, an attractive young lady with superb skills, devise a method of catching the thieves in action to identify who they are ...

After participating in some more action against the thieves, Ye Quinhua is certain the thieves belong to the Shaolin Temple. The three fighters go to the temple but are challenged to prove their claim. Master Kong Xiang challenges the three to fight him and if they succeed and get past the three gates, he will find the troublemaking monks and deal with them. From this point forward, the martial arts fighting and choreographed moves are outstanding and impossible to describe. They must be viewed to be appreciated.

Needless to say, with some diffiiculty, the fighters *do* succeed in getting past the three gates, which has never been done by anyone before. However, the plot thickens with new developments within the Hall of Discipline which involves a Master monk. The head Abbot goes undercover to smoke out who is behind the murders and thefts. The resolution to this film is quite unexpected and a total surprise. This truly well made film has some humorous moments and a tiny bit of romance but mostly it is filled with astonishing and unforgettable martial arts fighting. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

"

Gotta love it!

Jargonaut | Kansas | 03/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a true fan of martial arts cinema as so many of you out there are, it's a fairly simple thing to say that old-school Shaw Bros. movies are just simply the best! Better than all the rest! Image dvd has another great quality flic for us with some not so familiar faces. Lot's of wire work (which I absolutely love)but not flying necessarily, ton's of action which almost never lets up, some new weapons like a collapsible sword, gauntlet daggers, and giant dice on a rope? For fans who love shaolin themes there is plenty of monk action with outlandish test formations. Picture quality is superb! Sound is 2.1 or orig mono. Not a lot of blood. If you liked the others from this series why wouldn't you like this?"

Another great Shaw release from Image!

Michael W. Jaworski | Fairfield, NJ USA | 04/18/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Made by revered choregrapher, Tang Chia, during the final years of Shaw Brothers, this one delivers the goods. During 1983, Tang Chia shot (as far as I know) three classics ~ "Shaolin Prince" a.k.a. "Iron Fingers of Death", starring everyone from this movie; "Opium and the Kung fu Master"-that one has Ti Lung reprising his role from "Ten Tigers of Kwangtung", as well as co-starring director Tang (great end fight) & this movie. Can't understand why Ti Lung wasn't in this one, but it still manages to be great.

Great chemistry between Derek Yee & Pai Piao, great performance by Li Hai-Sheng as the brutal discipline monk, Kuan Feng proves again he can make any weapon look good, Ku Feng (despite being up there in age at this point) is still able to get his fu on. Plus, I did not expect that twist at the end involving Kao Fei & Chan Shen. Look for the samurai warrior in "Super Ninjas" to appear here as a renegade monk. While this movie has some great fu (especially at the end) thanks to Tang Chia, Li Hai-Sheng & Chang Chuan, a moving finale & a Shaw Brothers gloss to it, there is some lame wire work. However, it can be overlooked since it's not overused, and this movie was made in 1983.

As far as the DVD goes, Image steps up to the plate yet again; awesome widescreen picture, original Mandarin soundrack with remastered subtitles, not much by way of special features but the movie presentation makes up for that. BTW, no offense but to all those people who complain about it NOT having an English dub...please, shut up, OK?"

Some of the most dangerous 'collective' stunts in martial ci

David Brown III | gloucester, MA. USA | 08/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"An all out extravaganza of martial arts prowess, some of the most difficult and dangerous stunt work are featured in this film, great storyline as well. Pai Piao and Derek Yee are the heroes bent on unveiling an evil sect among the monks in Shaolin Temple known as the Devil's Brood. Chan Shen does fantastic as the head monk and this is probably one of Kao Fei's best roles. Some of the stunts have to be seen to be believed. a must have film. Tang Chia (a ancient/asian weapons specialist in history of and usage) directs this film and he is the man who's instructed and choreographed so many of the classic Shaws films. This film is his landmark. One of Derek Yee's best performances as well. The work put into the fight scenes and the laying out of some of the most elaborate collective choreographs in martial cinema prove director Tang Chia's avid dedication. Now, this DVD release is a bit of a let down in only one department. No english dubbs. They exist, and are very well done, but were not included on this release. Great choice for a R1 release anyway. Awesome film."