Secret of the Shaolin Poles (1977)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I saw this one under the title PRODIGAL BOXER 3: SECRET OF THE SHAOLIN POLES. The latter part of the title is the original part and the one that makes sense. It's a film that features actor Meng Fei in the role of Chinese folk hero Fong Sai Yuk, a role popularised by Jet Li in the 1990s. Fong Sai Yuk is portrayed in the usual mould here: impetuous, youthful, full of spirit and bravery. Not particularly interesting, in other words.On the other hand, we do get Yasuaki Kurata playing another of his trademark villain roles and Kurata doesn't disappoint in that respect. Chang Yi also appears as a general in a role which requires more acting talent than fighting ability. The film is quite low budget and grainy and the action scenes are below average quality, let down by choppy editing and the like. However, things do pick up at the surprisingly mean-spirited climax in which the Shaolin poles of the title come into play: it's a beach-set complex of poles jutting from the ground on which the fighters must battle. Kind of a like a deadly version of IT'S A KNOCKOUT, if you will.

Meng Fei returns to his role as Fong Sai Yuk and once again the government is after him. Meng Fei is the main reason this movie is so good. He has a very likable personality and he shows once again to be the king of fan fighting. Whether his opponent is unarmed or has a huge spear, Meng Fei always uses his fan. Basically the story has Chang Yi trying to kill Fong Sai Yuk by setting up a death match on top of large wooden poles. Yasuaki Kurata plays Meng Fei's opponent and does a great job. Lau Kar Wing has a part in the movie as someone who is impersonating Fong Sai Yuk. The fight between Lau Kar Wing and Meng Fei is the highlight of the movie for me. Then you have Dorian Tan who plays a teacher figure and while he doesn't get to fight much, he gives a great acting performance. In fact, I think this is the first time I have ever said that Dorian Tan gave a great acting performance. He really shines in his small role. The only problem I have with this movie is that the final fight with Chang Yi is too short and feels like an exhibition. Everything else is great.The Crash Cinema DVD is full screen and the picture is very faded. It's bad, but it's watchable.

General Ma (Yi Chang) tries to get to the young Chinese fighting hero Fang Shi-Yu (Fei Meng), embraced by villagers as their champion for his continued resistance to Ma's oppressive rule while armed solely with a fan, by executing two of his closest allies - his brothers, neither of whom would betray Fang Shi-Yu even upon threat of death! Ma then hires one Dragon Lee (Shoji Karada), a top Japanese fighter who demands payment for killing Fang Shi-Yu from Ma despite the fact he already has a motive since Fang Shi-Yu previously killed his brother Tiger Lee while also under Ma's employ. Dragon Lee, ever cunning and devious, plans to challenge Fang Shi-Yu to a showdown atop the treacherous Shaolin poles: one hundred poles planted as a battlefield in the Earth with smaller, sharper poles waiting beneath meaning certain death to the man who falls off. Who will prevail? Wow! What a fine example of the Kung-Fu fighting genre at its very best this truly is. It's inventive in that it presents a new type of Kung-Fu showdown rarely seen before with its battles mainly taking place atop the dangerous battleground described above and it features terrific lead performances from Fei Meng (as the young Chinese hero of the people Fang Shi-Yu), Shoji Karada (as the deceptively deadly Dragon Lee) and Yi Chang (as the tyrannical General Ma), performances that transcend the language barrier in terms of body language and facial expression. Also the female leads here are indeed truly beautiful and certainly seem to be the worth the amount of fighting done over them. If this has any real flaw, it's that the basic premise (revenge-training-more revenge) has been done so much as to become almost clichéd for this genre. Also the way the Japanese are portrayed leaves something to be desired, what with the whole idea of a Japanese man being with a Chinese woman getting treated as something absolutely abhorrent. But forgiving this one its flaws, which really were quite common for this genre, it really delivers the goods and then some in terms of fighting action and excitement.

This is one of the best "Kung Fu Theater" type movies out there. Meng Fei is an ideal hero, he's youthful and charismatic with a mischievous grin. Chang Yi plays General Ma, and man this guy can ACT!! He brings a very dramatic feel to every movie he's ever been in. He really is world-class. He is probably the most famous villain of the entire genre along with Hwang Jang Lee. And Lung Chun Erh is simply the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen. I think they call her Cherry Lung in this flick. She plays Meng Fei's girlfriend and man am I jealous. The soundtrack is decent for this type of movie as well. The only gripe I have is the transfer. It's a bit grainy and blurry, so it's not even worth watching on say a projection TV. If you have plasma or LCD, it's much more enjoyable. Maybe they'll remaster this one, but I won't hold my breath. Another rather humorous aspect I noticed was that Bruce Law plays Fang Ting, the "fake" Fang Sai Yuk. Bruce Law played "Wimp Lo" in "Kung Pow, Enter the Fist". To summarize, this film is a must see for any die-hard enthusiasts.