Fo zhang luo han quan

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.

The Buddhist Fist (1980) is most certainly not among the better exponents of its genre. It has some decent and fairly entertaining kung fu here and there, but the story is generally boring. The motivation of the bad guy is non-existent. The terrible attempts at humor mostly fall totally flat and are generally misplaced. I'll admit, though, that the Fat Master is quite entertaining, and will make anyone smile with his unbeatable kung fu (and chess fu!).

Story and production-wise, the movie warrants a "5" rating, but I will raise that to a solid "6" because the entertainment value is fair and the movie has an amazing finish.

The final fight is superb. It's like an inventory of all the "Buddha" styles; "Sleeping Buddha", "Drunken Buddha", etc., and it's of a good length. This sort of scenes is what Asian movies can do that Western movies can't, because no Westerners have this kind of devotion to and tradition for martial arts in the movies.

Special mention should also go to the guy who plays Boss Chang (the one with a big and a small foot). He's one cool dude, though his role here is nothing much. Catch him as a very cool monk in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin instead.

I don't think I have seen a better Choreographed Kung Fu movie. It is also probably the most action packed Kung fu film i have seen in recent years. This is definitely a lost gem and hopefully will get its rightful place in Hong Kong moviedom as a classic. I dont how this film has been overlooked for some many years.

I dont know where to begin about this movie. It just attests to the genius of Director Yuen Ping and is more amazing to look at than the high tech, big budget razzle because there are no CGI enhanced fight scenes here..it's the real thing. Not only are they creative choreographed as only Yuen Ping can do, but they some of the most physically intense and acrobatic fight scenes I have ever seen on celluloid and trust me I have seen hundreds of fight scenes. Once the film builds momemntum it doesn't slow down. It has a threadbare plot,but it does have one and even a bit of a mystery thrown in.

This is to Kung Fu movies what Hardboiled is to action movies, it is action packed and the fight scenes are numerous and consistetnly inventive. I was just amazed at the number of fight scenes and how the next one outdid the last,continuing its feverish pitch to a breathlessly paced helter skelter, knock down drag out, down and dirty festival of fisticuffs with the two leads strutting their stuff combining the excellent choreography of the director and the physical dexterity and pugilistic skills of the two leads. You will be exhausted after the movie is over.

If you though Jackie Chan movies were good wait until you seen this one.

Simply said the BEST KUNG FU MOVIE BAR NONE

Interestingly enough it has been released by 2 companies at the same time the Xenon group for $9.99 and Tai Seng (priced for rental as of April 2000. The Tai Seng print will be twice the price, but of much better quality I am sure.

Whatever version you buy or rent just make sure you see it. This is must see viewing for martial arts movie fans.

It is a truly a lost classic.

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.

I have been a fan of martial arts films for ages; I was always slightly disappointed that the emphasis would often be on ridiculously convoluted plots rather than being focused on the fights themselves. Thankfully this is not the case with "Buddhist Fist"; the plot centres around a pair of childhood friends who go their separate ways in their teens, a few years later one is recalled home after events transpire in his home village. He is now a hairdresser (a bad one) & in traditional Kung-fu cinema style has a clumsy sidekick in tow; whilst the other friend is a Buddhist monk at the village temple. Not wanting to spoil the film for anybody, that's all I will reveal, but essentially it is the tale of what occurs to the two friends as the village is manipulated by the bad guy, imaginatively titled "Big-small feet" (no prizes for guessing why!)

The stand-out moments from this title have to be the astoundingly choreographed fight scenes...I mean these sequences are AMAZING: it's as simple as that. I have seen more martial arts films than I've had hot dinners (almost)and these scenes are something else!! The fighting borders on dancing in places, it is so technical and astounding to watch, I mean I didn't know human beings were capable of such things. Also worthy of mention are the comedy moments; I never really liked the slapstick elements of martial arts films, like the ones in Jackie Chan films which are always way OTT(with sound effects to match), but they really work here...especially the hunchback "poisoner" whose special technique is "Holy Ghost Claw". Plus I challenge anybody not to laugh when the compulsory Master/Sensei pulls out his bag of tricks to upstage the youngsters with his moves..."Strength is improved: by form breathing..." Classic!!

Lots of these kinds of films are too heavy on the fights without justification. Films like "Mystery of chess boxing" for example, where there is a brief introduction similar to the rest, character gets wronged by indiscriminate bad guy, gets taught Kung-fu by a "master", becomes an unstoppable force for good, wins in the end...in that order. Buddhist fist on the other hand, balances out the fights with just the right amount of story in between & even attempts to provide sensible reasons for each encounter, instead of the usual "you tripped me up in the street; now defend yourself or die!". Each fight gets more and more frenetic until the energy-fuelled finale, which has to be seen to be believed.

There is no real nudity, no real gore, no romance element, but if these are the reasons you watch this kind of film, you're doing it for the wrong reasons IMHO; it's about the Kung-fu and the physical feats of the actors. Definitely in my top 5 martial arts films of all time, a lost gem from the hugely talented Yuen Wo Ping stable of the far east!