Review: In China, when the red junk comes to your port, you can expect to see a spectacle of performing arts from daring martial arts to tales of betrayal and intrigue. The South Shaolin Master is a large scale production that offers all that and more.

Lin Hai Nan (Chiu Jian Guo), a revolutionary fighting against the reigning Ching Dynasty arrives at a Buddhist temple to deliver a large sum of money. It turns out to be a trap set by the local Ching official who has his mind set on that cash. The money ends up in the hands of a crazy monk who runs off while Lin, who is wounded hides out at the local pier. Meanwhile, the same official attempts to bully a visiting Chinese opera troupe into performing exclusively for him. But after finding Lin, they skip town in their red junk. Having recovered from his wounds, Lin sends the official and his men running after the troupe has fallen into an ambush. Lin's considered a hero by all the troupe members except for the troupe's trainer who witnesses the woman he loves flirting with Lin. At their next stop, the trainer informs local officials about Lin and Ching forces surround the troupe as they perform for a massive crowd. Hearing of this, the troupe members stage a bloody fight that puts the crowd into a panic, allowing them to slip through the official's grasp. Unfortunately, the remaining members of the troupe and their children in the junk are not so lucky. With their boat destroyed, Lin and the rest of the troupe make their way on foot to another Buddhist temple where its discovered that the missing money has turned up in the proper hands. Awed by the monks' abilities, Lin and the troupe train furiously in order to get revenge. Having entered a rowing competition run by the official, the troupe attacks the guards while Lin chases down the official.

Watching The South Shaolin Master is like watching a classic Liu Chia Liang film, but with a much larger cast, better cinema work, and no cheesy sets. Is the martial arts that good? Well, its certainly debatable. Chiu Jian Guo has some superb skills and his movements are genuinely fast. Many of the other actors' skills appear to be more performance oriented, although this generally works in the film since, most of them are playing Chinese opera performers. Early on there is a short, but outstanding example of monkey kung fu and although the final fight is staged without much fanfare, each of the two actors put on an impressive show.

The cinematography and camera work is excellent, often enhancing a scene that would otherwise be ordinary, such as the use of roving overhead shots. Thanks to being filmed and financed in mainland China, almost the entire film is shot on location and features scenes you would never see in a Hong Kong production, like the destruction of a huge floating junk or a dozen massively long row boats engaged in a frantic race. The soundtrack by Kuan Sheng You provides a fitting accompaniment to the film's grandeur.

The story itself is fairly routine and with so much time spent on orchestrating these large events in the film, little attention is paid to characters themselves, which keeps the viewer at a distance. Also, the story is resolved too easily, giving the impression that the writers ran out of time or ideas. The South Shaolin Master is essentially a high class, classic kung fu film. It doesn't break new ground but is a very polished and entertaining film, nevertheless. It almost makes you wonder what Liu Chia Liang could have done with the same amount of resources.

I started the marathon off with a crappy martial arts film, so it seems only fitting that I close with a great one, albeit one that most people have probably never heard of. That's a real shame, because "The South Shaolin Master" is an unsung classic with excellent fight choreography and gorgeous cinematography (the Chinese countryside should be billed as a cast member). Lin Hai-Nan is a member of the Tai Ping, a resistance group fighting the corrupt rulers. Wounded in a fight, he's rescued by a traveling acting troupe that is being harassed by a local ruler. If you don't think the two are related, than you obviously haven't watched enough kung fu movies. Lin, now known as Ah Nan, and the acting troupe find themselves facing a common enemy, a magistrate named Ha Er-Ci. When their troupe is decimated by Ha, they seek refuge in a Shaolin monastery. There, Lin works on a killer technique to defeat Ha, which basically consists of strengthening his kneecaps for hours. If you think that sounds crazy, buy the DVD and see for yourself!

Filmed in mainland China without any big names, "The South Shaolin Master" seems to have slipped past most fans' radars. But it's a real treat, and a nice change of pace. The film is fairly dramatic, with only a handful of comedic moments when compared to some of the other, better known films from that time period ("Wheels On Meals", "Winners And Sinners"). The fights are also a joy to watch, combining some of the prop-based action you'd find in Jackie Chan's movies with more classical moves.

"The South Shaolin Master" also touches on the unique role that acrobatic troupes played in the preservation of Chinese martial arts. As the Shaolin temples found themselves under persecution from the government, they trained these troupes in kung fu. The troupes incorporated this training into their dancing and tumbling, ensuring its survival even as the government cracked down on the temples. This paved the way for the Peking Opera, out of which arose the kung fu cinema that we currently know and love.

The movie might seem a bit longer than its 96 minutes, especially if you're comparing it to the aforementioned movies (though I find it more rewarding). The film does drag during a long dragon boat race that just gets in the way of the serious whoop-ass you know is just around the corner. Even so, this is a true gem that has remained hidden for far too long. Hopefully more people will get a chance to check it out soon, especially considering the really nice DVD transfer that's currently available.

The Chen Clan hires a traveling acrobat troupe to put on a show for them. When the troupe’s Red Dragon boat pulls into the village, soldiers of the Manchurian Prince Zhao Shi Xiang (Xu Li) requests the immediate presence of the troupe to entertain his Manchurian army. Mr. Liang (Zhong Xiao Zhen), the elder spokesman of the troupe refuses Zhao’s request because he has pledged to perform for the Chen Clan. Zhao’s soldiers immediately lash out at Mr. Liang, prompting his son, Liang Shao Jia (Li Yan Long) to come to his father’s aid. The soldiers over power the young upstart until a mysterious fighter appears to even the odds—and the two of them send the soldiers scurrying away. Liang Shao Jia and his comrades thank the stranger, whose name is Lin Hai Nan (Chiu Jian Guo). The stranger hurries off to keep an appointment and travels to the nearby Shaolin Temple. Lin Hai Nan is an agent for the rebels who have collected their money. His mission is to present it to the head Abbot at the temple. Once inside, Lin Hai Nan meets the Abbot. However, the Abbot pulls out a knife and stabs Lin Hai Nan. It’s all a trap to secure the rebels’ funds and Lin Hai Nan falls right into it. He finds himself surrounded by soldiers, and he escapes into the dark tunnels below the temple. Lin Hai Nan succeeds in giving them the slip, though he is seriously wounded and passes out. Luckily, one of the acrobat troupe members finds him and brings him back to their boat. Liang Shao Jia and compatriots take the fallen rebel aboard their ship and set sail. As the days pass, Lin Hai Nan regains his health and the joins the ranks of the troupe, as he is a wanted man.

The Red Dragon boat enters another village to put on a show, and the crew finds Zhao’s private army waiting for them. A large battle erupts in the village between the Machurians and the troupe members (who are also skilled martial artists). Soon after, Zhao is able to burn the Red Dragon boat and eliminate some troupe members for aiding Lin Hai Nan. The troupe members mourn the loss of their associates, property, and identity (without their boat and things they are out of the entertainment business). Lin Hai Nan decides to search for the hidden Shaolin Temple where the real Abbot resides. Liang Shao Jia and the other vengeance minded folks in the troupe (including several women) decide to join Lin Hai Nan on his journey. They build a raft and travel down river until they eventually stumble upon a Shaolin monastery. The real Abbot welcomes them all, and offers up the Temple’s services to improve their martial arts skills. Everyone begins training viciously hard, especially Lin Hai Nan who focuses on using his knees to break stones. Meanwhile, the Manchurians are staging an important boat race, and the troupe decides they want to enter the race to get back at them. There are numerous entries in the race, and no one works as hard or as fast as the Lin Hai Nan and the troupe. The Manchurians cheat to keep them from winning, but even that can’t stop the heroes from winning. With unsportsman like attitude, several Manchurian soldiers kill some of the winners, prompting an epic brawl to erupt. Lin Hai Nan and his allies must fight through the Manchurian army to seek his revenge on Zhao, who also happens to be an undefeated fighter...

The overall plotting is thin (another Shaolin Temple revenge tale) with little thought given to characterization. And the focus is on one central character (Lin Hai Nan) despite having an amazingly large cast of mostly no-names. But the sheer amount of secondary characters and extras provides THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER with an epic look and feel. The story includes a flamboyant boat race which becomes a centerpiece of the film. While it slows down the pacing a little, I applaud the filmmakers for daring to try something different. In fact the entire idea of having an entire acrobat troupe as heroes (it’s been done before as in EXCUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) is a good one, and Siao Lung pulls it off and stretches the premise for all its worth. There is a very minor level of humor to the film, thankfully held in check by the director and it does not distract from the drama and emotion. As you can imagine, THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER features acrobat performers and there are plenty of real life acrobatic martial artists that serve to bring the fight sequences to life. The fight choreography is highly creative and the fighters and extras are extremely fluid. We approve of the way the filmmakers captured the action on film; by showing the sequences in clear view of the camera—no editing or jump cuts. This looks very pleasing during the group battle scenes with multiple participants fighting in the background. However, much of the fight scenes are ruined by the overcranking. This wouldn’t be so bad if it was used sparingly, but the filmmakers use it continually throughout each and every fight scene. This really takes away from the believability factor, and deflates the efforts of the stuntmen and choreographers. When the filmmakers go from overcranked to slow-motion and then back to overcranked again, it all becomes like a bad Warner Bros. cartoon.

SIGHT
The DVD contains the uncut version of THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER, framed at the original widescreen ratio of 2.35.1. At the very least, director Siao Lung wanted his film to possess a truly marvelous visual style. He succeeded as the panoramic photography and superb camera angles are the true stars of THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER. You would never know this, of course, from viewing the VHS version. We are pleased to report the folks at Kam & Ranson come through and delivered a truly spectacular widescreen print! Even the best widescreen stuff to come from Crash Cinema and Ground Zero show their age, but this print is so clean and radiates such detail that it seems almost surreal. THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER features some of the best natural (no studio work) cinematography we’ve ever witnessed in an old school Kung Fu movie, and the transfer serves it up with eye-popping flair. The fights all take place in ultra-scenic locations that are so picturesque, they often distract from the fight sequences! And the colors are awesome to the extreme—the reds, yellows, greens, and golds in the cinematography burst forth with utter brilliance. The blacks are truly deep, and grain is minimal as its worst. To view an old school film in this manner is a revolutionary experience indeed. If the Celestial Shaw Brothers releases come close to this in quality and presentation, we are all in for a treat indeed.

SOUND
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1. Language tracks are available in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. All three soundtracks feature identical sound effects and music; only the voice tracks differ with each one. English speaking martial arts fans are in for a real treat, sound-wise. As these films were only released with mono sound, we’ve never heard true Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with old school (except for perhaps HK imports like LAST HURRAH FOR CHIVALRY and DUEL TO THE DEATH); those Ground Zero Wu Tang discs attempting a DD 5.1 remix failed miserably in our opinion. THE SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER contains all those great old-school foley sound effects like clanging weapons, chopping blows, thrashing kicks, and rushing flips enveloping you in the sound field. The movie also has a decent period score that resonates in the soundtrack. The dialog for all three languages is crisply well-done and comes from the center speaker, without any harshness or background noise. A truly phenomenal acoustic effort from Kam & Ronson.

FEATURES
Kam & Ronson obviously had in mind English speaking audiences when they put this DVD together. Not only do they include an English language soundtrack, they have entire menus written in English. When you load up the disc, the Main Menu prompts you for English speaking navigation. There are no feature related extras, but there are these real-long trailers for other martial arts dramas available on DVD:

This film is so good that it actually hurts to think about it. I am pretty sure this is another Mainland Chinese film, though I could be wrong. If not, these guys simply rule the martial world, and I wish we got to see more of their films. Zhang Yi-who?

The film follows the exploits of a acrobat and acting troupe called the Red Dragons. En route to a gig, they are cornered by a vile lackey who insists they come perform for his even more vile master. The Dragons politely refuse, as they already have a commitment, but offer to catch him next time around.

Well obviously, this causes the evil-doers to do what the do best, which is evil. They attack and pursue the troupe mercilessly, until the actors hook up with some testy Shaolin monks who teach them to fight better. Then they all go out into a field to delight us.

And delight they do. This is some of the best pure martial arts choreography you'll find outside of a late 1970s Sammo Hung film. It's absolutely breath-taking. The entire film is packed with nonstop action and martial arts, all of it good. This another of the great martial arts films that people seem to ignore. Their loss, because it is one of the best ever.

One complaint that is levelled at Mainland traditional films is their concentration on flowery Wu Shu rather than hard-edged kung-fu action. This is something that 'South Shaolin Master' manages to side-step by simply combining the two; the audience is then treated to acrobatic athleticism and the familiar Hong Kong action that has been seen since the early 70s.

The countless battles are brilliantly performed by the cast and the quality of the choreography is very high indeed. It's also a joy to see such good use of the impressive vistas of Mainland China and the sizeable supporting cast, both aspects giving the film an epic feel. The storyline and characterisation are also given some room to expand and the result means that the whole film is of definite quality. If you're looking for a film that has superlative action and you've seen the famous classics that have come from Hong Kong, 'South Shaolin Master' is worth searching far and wide for. It's doubtful that you'll be disappointed by this minor classic.