Leofwine_draca Another epic-looking kung fu flick from the Shaw Brothers empire. This one is familiar to many others in that it pits five good warriors against five evil warriors. That's the plot. The first hour and twenty minutes of the film consists of lots (and boy, do I mean lots!) of action and minor bouts, characters dying tragically, the bad guys doing evil things, and training in preparation for the event. While the final twenty minutes offers up some top-notch martial arts fight sequences in a variety of scenic settings (a wood, a river, a field, a mountain), the truth is that at an hour and three-quarters, FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS outstays its welcome, and it is the prolonged running time that stops this from being a classic of the genre.Typically I prefer my action film to be short and snappy, and with an emphasis on the action itself. Whilst FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS achieves the latter, there are simply too many extraneous characters in the plot who keep dying and killing each other a lot, so much so that its hard to keep track of - let alone care - about what's going on. The only reason I mention this is because it is the film's sole flaw. Otherwise, it's well-filmed stuff with some of the genre's top martial artists (Gordon Liu, Ti Lung, David Chiang et al) strutting their stuff, plenty of stunts, fun plot elements (the finger and cup (!) signs that the Shaolin use to communicate with each other) and heroism.The truth is that the five bad guys in this movie have all of the coolest fighting techniques! There's one guy who swings a huge axe blade around on a rope to chop up and slice apart his enemies, another who whips people to death with his long ponytail by breaking their necks! Another baddie uses Bruce Lee's "fingers of fury" technique from THE BIG BOSS to unpleasantly dispose of another hapless victim. After losing their fights for the entire movie, the good guys decide to train for a year (!) at the end of the film and finally manage to win out against the baddies (but not without loss). Baddies are blinded with weapons, two are impaled on a spear, and a massive pole fight takes place in a river which is spectacular stuff. The film doesn't skimp on the violence either with plenty of people dying bloody deaths and a high body count. FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS is a typical kung fu flick from the Shaw Brothers studio, and it makes for an action-packed way to spend an evening.

InjunNose In 1974, Chang Cheh was roughly halfway through a career that already included such milestones as "The One-Armed Swordsman", "The Heroic Ones" and "Blood Brothers". While it can be argued that all martial arts movies are fantasies, Chang's films ("Blood Brothers", especially) were peopled by vividly wrought, three-dimensional characters that the viewer cared about. But, despite assembling a stellar cast for "Five Shaolin Masters", it is here that the veteran director begins to eschew character development. Of the titular masters, only Fu Sheng has any humanity; the remaining heroes (David Chiang, Ti Lung, Chi Kuan-chun, Meng Fei) and all of the villains (Wang Lung-wei, Chiang Tao, Fung Hark-on, Tsai Hung, Liang Chia-jen) are emotionless comic book figures, boldly but crudely drawn. From this point forward, Chang's characters and plots would become increasingly stylized until he was directing what were essentially live-action cartoons, like "Five Element Ninja". The films were still entertaining, but with rare exceptions (such as "The Chinatown Kid") were no longer engrossing. But hey, I won't get too stuffy in my analysis of what is undeniably an entertaining movie. There are lots of fights, both empty-handed and with weapons, and they're beautifully choreographed by Liu Chia-liang--soon to become a director in his own right--and Liu Chia-yung. (Look for brief cameos by the latter and by the Lius' adopted brother, "Master Killer" Gordon Liu.) Judged strictly on action, "Five Shaolin Masters" is a winner, and fans of the genre will want to see it more than once.

poe426 As per prevailing wisdom, when it comes to movies, action IS character- and there's a lot of BOTH in FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS. (Chang Cheh's movies, more than most, are excellent examples of action-as-character.) We see the blazing Shaolin Temple and the subsequent flight(s) therefrom as our five heroes are introduced. They meet in short order and make plans for revenge. Here, Alexander Fu Sheng is clearly suggested to be possibly the weakest link: he can't remember the secret hand signal(s) or the numerical codes the others use. Hand-to-hand battles between the five masters and the kung fu experts sent to kill them are outstanding throughout. When Ma (Fu Sheng) is captured by Ma Fu Yi (Wang Lung), he realizes that Ma Fu Yi is the traitor- but will the assault on the prison to free him come in time to warn the others...? FIVE SHAOLIN MASTERS is an amazing achievement, from the brilliantly choreographed fight scenes, which are beautifully shot on scenic locations, to the performances and the direction. This one is, indeed, a kung fu classic.

SHAGGSVII Chang Cheh´s Five Shoalin Masters is perhaps the Best Kung Fu Movie ever, besides the Bruce Lee Masterpieces. Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chi Kuan Chun and of Course Alexander Fu Sheng are just great in this Movie I hope this One (and the other great Shaw Brothers Movies) comes on Dvd sometime !!!