Fo zhang luo han quan

Many Westerners feel that Buddhism ought to be a "perfect" religion - everyone adhering to it ought to be some sort of saint or savant. Having been a Buddhist for 15 years, and having spent considerable amount of time with Buddhists of many different sects, I am sorry to report that we are pretty much like all other Earthlings, and our religion is a faith in the possibility of improvement, not the achievement of perfection.

Yuen Woo-Ping's "Buddhist Fist is probably his masterwork of the "old School" Hong Kong action film era, but it may also be his finest dramatic achievement in any era. Without spoiling the film, I warn the reader that the film hinges on a cultural anomaly; it is possible in the East to be committed to a Buddhist monastery as a child without having spiritually converted to it. This means pretty much in the East what it once did in the West, when Roman monasticism was at its height: repression, rage, hypocrisy. These are clearly not vices Westerners like to associate with Buddhism, and they aren't particularly admitted in the East, either. Consequently, for Yuen Woo Ping to make this the core issue of this drama took considerable courage on his part, and it shows forth in the dedicated acting of its leading performers.

There are weak points to the film, to be sure: Yuen's father, Simon Yuen, of "Drunken Master" fame, died during the making of the film (as apparently he did during the making of at least a half-dozen others!), and a beefy part for him had to be trimmed and rewritten for completion by someone else; this also weakens some of the oddball humor that some viewers find annoying about the film, but which, taken on its own terms, is quite enjoyable. (I suppose one really has to have a grasp on Cantonese theatrical traditions to appreciate this.) But the core drama of the film, despite all the stereotypes en-framing it, remains strong after more than twenty years, because of the myriad conflicting human emotions it evokes.

Oh, and of course, the martial arts happen to be absolutely exquisite in choreography and performance.

But it is the drama that finally preserves this film - and I expect it will do so for another generation or two.

If you're into the type of kung fu movies with an emphasis on humor, pick up "The Buddhist Fist". This one was a bit TOO funny, and was almost a distraction. The fighting is great, but at times looked too choreographed. Jackin Chan has done it much better, so look there. Good for a one time rental. If you need something, pick up one of his other movies, like the flawless "Iron Monkey".

This is the best kung fu film ever, no doubt. Absurdly complex fight sequences, kung fu monks, stunning fisting scenes. Don't ask me what the plot was, I just know this film has to be seen to be believed. The guy who did the fight scenes also engineered the fight sequences in The Matrix, but this film is light years beyond Keanu Reeves. It HAS to be seen.

You have seen these kinds of movies before. Like many kung-fu movies at this time, it combines laugh out loud humor, with many fights. What brings this movie up above the many clones of this time is the director, Yuen Woo Ping. The man that brought you the fights from The Matrix and Fist of Legend, brings you a movie with some of the most amazing fight choreography ever filmed. In many ways this movie is the superior to Fist of Legend, when it comes to the fights. There are more of them, they are much more fluid, they do not have the sped up film of FOL, and they are just so much fun. The story itself is not much to talk about, but the actors seem to enjoy their role, and there really are some fun moments. If you like any of these late 70's early 80's kung fu movies, you must get this one. It is a step above the rest, and really should be more popular then it is.

(1980) The Buddhist Fist DUBBED MARTIAL ARTS PERIOD PIECE

Two very good friends of Si-Ming (Siu Ming Tsui) and Shang (Shun-Yee Yuen) with one of them studying to become a monk while the other wanting to find a living in the city. Upon making a living as a barber cutting hair Shang soon finds out that his god father is missing. We know that it has something to do with the conspiracy to steal the Buddha Jaded stone on the temple and that Shang's best friend Si-ming has something to do with it. This thin and rather predictable set up obviously serves as a backdrop to the well choreographed martial art scenes and directed by Yuen Woo-Ping who was involved in more than a hundred martial movies including "The Matrix". Yuen woo-Ping has also contributed in making Jackie Chan into a superstar from his direction of "Drunken Master" and "Snake In The Eagle's Shadow" the first movies that made it big in Jackie Chan's career. At the beginning of this early effort, the fights weren't that good at the beginning but became so much better as the film progresses.