Search - Disciples of Shaolin on DVD

"Old School" Fu Sheng finishes out 2009!

Fang Shih-yu | Mercer, PA USA | 11/14/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Of the four reissues of Shaw Brothers movies with the late [Alexander] Fu Sheng to come out in 2009, "Disciples of Shaolin" may please his fans the most, especially if they felt burned by "Brave Archer and His Mate" (his role, not the roles done by "Venoms" and "baby Venoms").... This effort gets only four stars because the screenplay is highly derivative of Bruce Lee's "The Big Boss" (a little of "On the Waterfront", too? Chang Cheh DID like his Brando); otherwise, it's FIVE stars for the end product.... No spoilers here for newcomers!! With great fight choreography [by Lau Kar Leung], evocative photography and fine acting, it looks and feels [almost] like an "A" picture ("Heroes Two" seems more like 1960's "Batman", by comparison).... From the opening credits onward, it's a Fu Sheng showcase that will please the men as much as the ladies; in some scenes, he comes off like Jackie Chan, and this is BEFORE Jackie became known of in Hong Kong, let alone the world! His performance here gives the best of David Chiang a run for its money, and this remark comes from someone who is partial to Chiang's work, so that's saying a lot. Also, let's not forget Chi Kuan-chi's part as Fu Sheng's older brother; if you liked him in "Showdown at the Cottonmill", you'll like his moves (as well as his acting) here. The [typical] great supporting cast helps keep things moving. The music cues add to the flavor, too; is some of this from "blaxploitation" movies?... Another decent Image DVD (nice new logo, guys) with English and Mandarin soundtracks (subtitles at your command), and add bonus points for the front cover of the case that looks like a comic book cover ("Master of Kung Fu", maybe)! A must-have for Fu Sheng fans, and it would make for a good first stop in starting up a collection of the movies of "Alexander the Great"!... All the best, Brother Fang."

One of the Best

M | California | 11/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was happy to see this one getting an official Region 1 release. I'm also glad to see that Amazon's plot description is accurate, as many other places are just copying and pasting the wrong synopsis from some other movie. I always recommend this movie to people as evidence that a martial arts film can be be a great film too. It may disappoint fans who ONLY care about martial arts, but I think most people who think that martial arts films are just disposable junk will have their eyes opened. I think of Disciples of Shaolin as director Cheh Chang's personal ode to the beauty and charm of Fu Sheng, his protege. Only about 20 years old at the time, Fu Sheng looks the best he ever did in this film, so endearing, innocent and cocky at the same time. Some might complain about the familiarity of the plot, but the "country bumpkin" thing was extremely common in these films. It's almost not a cliche, but a tradition that each film tries to build from. The Kung Fu choreography is among the best ever, and yet it is part of the story, not the whole attraction; it's just one element that makes the movie extremely human, dramatic, humorous, and tragic."