Executioners from Shaolin (1977) User Reviews

Who can defeat Pai Mai?

[InzyWimzy · 8/10 · 2 April 2004]

This movie is a great Shaw Bros. pic, except I liked the remake Fists of the White Lotus a bit better. Still they're both great, especially Master White Brows aka Pai Mai and Lau Kar Leung's intense choreography.

This movie is dark and there's little comedy which effectively sets up the revenge theme (a revenge theme in a kung fu flick?) to help motivate our hero from Shaolin. Tai Chen Kuan as Hung Hsi Kuan shows formidable Tiger Claws style and some neat training sequences with bronze statues and vital point strikes. BUT, I really loved watching Ying Chun (Li Li) and her crane style. Man, if you're going out with her, you better be able to break her leg stance! Plus, her effort and grace in movements are as good as Kara Hui's in Fists of the White Lotus. It's a strange, yet wonderfully hypnotic combination of kung fu and dance.

Now, the action. What do you expect from the real deal kung fu master Lau Kar Leung? Countless opponents, one on many battles, quick strikes, and amazing choreography are the strong points here. Pai Mai's battles are so awesome that he really seems invincible. I can't get enough of him dragging guys along with his groin! One of the strangest, yet highly entertaining kung fu villains ever. Plus, Lo Lieh mastered that menacing look that says, "You want to fight me? Are you kidding??" Strangely enough, I wasn't really rooting against him.

The only downside I can find with this one is that Gordon Liu only makes a brief cameo. However, Gordon Liu is the main star in Fists of the White Lotus AND he battles Lo Lieh as the menacing White Lotus. So, watch both films because they're the great stuff that SB movies are made of.

Excellent example of vintage Shaw Brothers.

[fudomayo106 · 8/10 · 21 March 2005]

Thank God for Celestial Entertainment's re-releasing of this classic! Okay, the plot is rather straightforward, and not terribly original (a revenge theme in a Martial arts movie. Nope, never seen that before!) But it is very well acted, very well directed and damn if the fight scenes aren't excellent.

Basically, it follows the historic destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Manchus. The assault is led by Pai Mei, (yup, the same Pai Mei from Kill Bill 2, in fact, Bill even talks about this in that movie) played by Lo Lieh. Gordon Liu who played Pai Mei in Kill Bill 2, appears briefly as a Shaolin student who informs Hong Xiguan (played by Chen Kuan Ti) that Pai Mei killed their master. Gordon Liu sacrifices himself so that Hong and some of the other students may escape.

A few years later, Hong, hiding out as a Peking Opera performer, meets and marries another Martial Artist, played by Lily Li. They eventually have a child. But Hong cannot enjoy married life for too long, because he still has to train to avenge his master and his fellow students.

A good example of vintage Kung Fu films. Not to be missed by any Kung Fu film connoisseur.

Vintage Kung Fu

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 25 June 2016]

A couple unite - she is fluent in the crane style of kung fu, he in tiger style. They have a son, but the boy's father is killed by the evil eunuch Bai Mei. Disguised as a girl, his mom trains him in crane style while he secretly learns tiger style from his father's training manual.

This was directed by Lau Kar-leung before his "36th Chamber" films, which are arguably some of the best-known kung fu movies ever made. I say "arguably" because my knowledge comes not from being a lover of martial arts films and more from knowing about these movies because of the Wu-Tang Clan (who, incidentally, I am also not really a fan of).

Everything you want is here. The different styles of martial arts (tiger and crane this time), and plenty of choreographed fights that look like complex dances, and the over-the-top sound effects to make each hit hit explosive. Definitely worth a watch for fans of the Shaw Brothers.

Inspired "revisionist" addition to the Shaolin temple series begun by Chang Cheh

[simonize-1 · 23 March 2004]

EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN is director LIU CHIA-LIANG (LAU KAR-LEUNG) very different contribution to the Shaolin Temple series, begun by CHANG CHEH. Unlike CHANG who seems to have a strong dislike for women, and actresses, LIU provides LILY LI the opportunity to portray a strong, complex female role.

From her very first scenes as a travelling street entertainer who defends her turf in a duel with the famous Shaolin fighter HONG XIOGUAN (aka HUNG SZE KUAN); marries him but keeps him at bay on their wedding night using her martial arts, FANG YUNG is a match for her vengeance obsessed husband.

HONG is one of the few Shaolin monks to survive the earlier massacre. In fact he and his men escaped an ambush only because one of his friends - Brother Tong - sacrifices himself to give them all time to escape.

And the same thing happens again, when he challenges ABBOT PAI MEI (aka "White Brows"), even though he is clearly no match for him. He rejects his wife's advice, seemingly because she is a woman. And using the same pigheaded logic, he makes the terrible decision not to learn her crane style.

Thankfully the son stands up to his father, and learns from his mother. When Hong returns to fight White Brows a second time, there is a sense of inevitability. The son fights to stop his father, who dissuades him with empty rhetoric, and then goes to his death.

In this film this is very significant because the filmmakers have gone to great trouble to establish a strong family unit, only to have it torn asunder because the father is too set in his ways to change. Thus the audience really does feel a sense of loss, and are saddened that the wife and son cannot put the love they have for Hong into words. The need to seek vengeance has become very personal.

The film itself has a wonderful mix of combat and training sequences; sizeable dollops of romance and humour (Cantonese style), and enough plot to hang everything together.

Best of all, it actually has something to say: the film ends, abruptly, leaving you with very mixed emotions.

I first saw this on a Southgate video. The new 2004 Celestial Pictures Region 3 DVD in 2.35 widescreen with rich saturated colours makes you want to watch the film over and over (it also has some very intriguing extras). And it does help to hear the film in its original Mandarin, rather than dubbed!

8.5/10 * a 4 star martial arts classic.

Solid Shaw Brothers movie

[Macholic · 7/10 · 5 April 2004]

This is an almost epic tale of fighter and son trying to avenge the death of the old shaolin master, fighting the evil master, infused with humor and style it follows the flight from the evil Pai Mei and his henchmen, disguising as theatre troups performing Shaolin Kung Fu shows for a period and the tiger-style fighter Hsi-Kuan settles down with a crane-style fighting wife and have a son to prepare for epic battles with Pai Mei. Hsi-Kuan's and Yung Chung's marriage and wedding night on board a boat is a very funny highlight of the film. Telling more about what happens would be telling too much, but the battles with Pai Mai are spectacularly set. 7/10

Brutality at its best!

[GOWBTW · 7/10 · 29 August 2012]

The Shaw Brothers have made a bunch of kung fun movies in their lifetimes, not a single one has left me bored. In "Executioners from Chaplin", a couple bore a son whose father is trained in Tiger Boxing and a mother in Crane style. The son learns crane style kung fun, but he doesn't learn the tiger style until his father loses his life battling the eunuch tyrant Pai Mei(Lieh Lo). This brutal fighter has made his way killing anyone who would challenge his fighting style. He killed the father's master, he's killed the ones who's avenging him. So it's up to the son to get his revenge. Spending all his life learning to be warrior, he sets out to seek Pai Mei. Both men learn how to find Pai Mei's vitals. They were no good in the nether regions. And unlike his father, he was successful on getting PaI Mei. I think this movie has got a little humor in it as well. Before the son was born, the couple made their way following a side show when they met. The brothers kept their fighting skills intact throughout their lives. This movie was very entertaining, and very fun to watch. I found nothing to complain about here. A true gem here. 2 stars

Be patient.

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 7 February 2010]

I had only just watched "Clan of the White Lotus" a month or two back, which could be seen (well in my eyes) as a more accomplished rehash of this particular period martial arts enterprise. Nonetheless the similarities in the story's structure (which is hard to pass by) doesn't matter because the Shaw Brothers and director Chia-Liang Liu along with actor Lieh Lo as the Kung Fu Master Pai Mei and minor cameo by Chia Hui Liu makes this one very enjoyable, downright flamboyant and utterly unique cult martial arts feature with a good sense of humour abound and dashing action. Pai Mei had just killed a Shoalin priest and surviving students led by Hung Hsi Kuan (ably acted by Kuan Tai Chen) vow vengeance for their master's death and that of fellow students. And it's no rush either. As Hung happily marries a strong-minded lady (a perfectly pitched Lily Li) who's well developed in the crane-style fighting and has a son while spending many years perfecting the skills and stamina of the tiger-style fighting before taking on master white brow. Cheng Kang-Yeh provides a cheeky performance as one the Shoalin students and Wang Yu is quite good as the grown up son. The pacing can be rather bumpy (especially in the leisured midsection concentrating more on the trivial aspects in the character dramas that hold the narrative), but when it came down to the atypical fighting it was excitingly displayed with verve-like camera-work working around the smooth, but tough choreography with numerous, long encounters. Maybe repetitive but never dull, although the ending is a little disappointing in the way it just seems to finish hastily.

greatest ever made

[f64 · 10/10 · 28 February 2002]

I'm adding this comment in hopes that some producer with access to the film will put it on VHS. Maybe twenty years ago we had a TV channel with a Kung-Fu weekly and this movie really brought its stealth viewers out of the woodwork at work. It was the talk of tinytown. Mostly shot on a sound stage, this movie is the best looking, best acting, best dubbed, best storied Kung-Fu movie ever made. A true legend.

A great ending, but lots of melodrama to wade through first

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 9 July 2016]

Hardly a classic kung-fu movie; the film is bogged down with dialogue and plays out as more of a family drama than the Shaw Brothers fight flick that it supposedly is. Still, an excellent cast and some good production values count for a lot and director Liu Chia-Liang can always be relied on to deliver some strongly-choreographed scenes of action and battle. For the first half of the movie, we are mostly involved in the antics of top fighter Hung Hsi Kuan, as he marries the delectable Li-Li Li and has a kid in the process. A lot of the screen time is taken up with training in the tiger and crane styles and some of it involves a cool wooden dummy which shoots ball bearings from its head!

The villain of the piece is the late, lamented Lo Lieh, playing a bizarre monk-type character who appears to be a eunuch (!) and who can only be injured between 1pm and 3pm (don't ask me, I didn't write this). Lieh has some great fight sequences as repeated assassination attempts are made and generally fail – he's definitely one of the toughest characters I've seen in a martial arts flick and the fights involving Chen Kuan-Tai, Lieh, and Wong Yue are dynamic and excellently shot. Unfortunately, in the place of fighting, we get loads and loads of unamusing humour at the start of the film (generally involving the buffoonish John Cheung, from SNAKE IN THE MONKEY'S SHADOW) and a plot that crawls along at a snail's pace before finally delivering the goods at the end with a splendidly violent battle to the finish.

This is worth watching for the cast alone. Chen Kuan-Tai and Wong Yue are fine as the fighter and his son and both deliver some classic kung fu moves. Lieh is a splendid villain as always and Li-Li Li is lovely as the wife. Gordon Liu pops by for a cameo, Lam Ching-Ying has a walk-on before he was famous and Cheng Hong-Yip is another villainous creep. Not a classic genre effort, but there's some good fighting at the end, if you can sit through all the melodrama beforehand.

One of best Chen Kuan Tai movie !

[ebiros2 · 8/10 · 9 June 2009]

This to me is one of the two great kung-fu movies starring Chen Kuan Tai. Other being the Flying Guillotines. As a fan of Chen Kuan Tai's movies, this is one of my favorite kung-fu movie as well.

As you can see from the ratings, Chen Kuan Tai gets high ratings on most of his early movies. His elegant move and style is unlike typical kung-fu stars of this period or since. I'm sure there are still many Chen Kuan Tai fans out there in the world.

The story is about a battle where son succeeds where father lost, but it's not the usual vengeance or grudge match but somewhat of a quest and coming of an age story for the son.

This movie truly is one of the best classic kung-fu action movie. It starts off rather slow, but it starts to pick up after the son is born.

Watch it, and you won't be disappointed.

Too much comedy and romance, not enough kung fu.

[BA_Harrison · 6/10 · 25 August 2015]

Maniacal Manchurian Pai Mei (Lo Lieh) is so adept at kung fu that he can even retract his meat and two veg at will to avoid being crippled by a swift crack to the goolies; so when he and his henchmen attack the Jiu Lian Shan Shaolin temple and kill priest Chih Shan (Lai Hai-Shen), the rest of the Shaolin disciples wisely opt to run for the hills. The Manchurians give chase and many Shaolin men are killed, including brave brother Tong (Chia-Hui Liu), who sacrifices his own life (taking about a dozen arrows to the torso) in order to enable brother Hong Xi-guan (Kuan Tai Chen) to lead a group to safety.

These survivors take to the river on boats, posing as travelling performers. At a riverside village, Hong meets and falls for pretty martial artist Fang Yungchun (Lily Li) and the pair are wed. After an attack on the boats by Manchurian soldiers, Hong goes into hiding with his wife; the years pass and the couple have a son, Wending, who grows up learning his mother's style of kung fu: crane style. But when Hong eventually faces Pai Mei and is killed, Wending decides to learn Tiger style and uses it to avenge his father.

Executioners From Shaolin starts off in fine style with the Manchurian slaughter of the Shaolin disciples, which is nice and bloody, after which things really start to drag: while Hong and his men are in hiding, the film focuses more on comedy and romance than action, which soon gets tiresome. Once Wending is born, there are some reasonably fun training scenes, including Hong practising his martial arts on a bizarre metal statue that drops ball bearings from its groin, but the film is still lacking in decent fight action. Things look set to pick up when Hong faces Pai Mei, but apart from the unforgettable sight of the old Manchurian trapping his foe's foot with his groin (having shifted his wedding tackle elsewhere), there isn't much worthy of mention.

Sadly, the same goes for Wending's final smack-down with Pai Mei: after ascending the steps to the temple, knocking down numerous guards on the way (including Chia-Liang Liu reappearing as a fighter armed with a 3-sectional staff), Wending finally meets Pai Mei, killing him in one of the most abrupt endings I've ever seen in a martial arts film.

Shaw brothers classic! - Spoilers

[veganflimgeek · 8/10 · 2 May 2004]

Executioners from Shoalin

This is a great Shaw brothers epic that has some of the best martial arts fights of the seventies. Just one year before Lau Kar Leung unleashed the 36th chamber was on the world this classic of Shoalin martial arts is a must have for true Kung Fu movie geeks. Forget that dubbed c**p. If you have a region 3(or all region) DVD you must see the new re-mastered original language re-issue from the awesome Celestial pictures series.

The Celestial series is the best way to see Shaw bros. movies.

This movie is the epic tale of a man who vows to avenge his master who was killed by a white browed monk who is referred to only as `white brow'. White seems invincible and what follows is a movie that follows years of training and a whole family working together to make the vengeance happen. Great film.

Anytime A big time Holly wood filmmaker pays tribute to lesser know classics they become more known for the tribute factor. Kill Bill Vol.2 quotes this movie and when people see it now they are going to know the monk grabbing the foot when kicked in the balls and crushing the foot. That fact is QT has good taste in kung fu movies.

Low down Lo Lieh...

[poe426 · 7/10 · 22 August 2011]

During the opening credits of EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, we see the dastardly traitor Bai Mei (Lo Lieh) kill the Master of his Shaolin Temple. The Temple is then burned to the ground and the students scattered or killed. Hong (Chen Kuan-tai) becomes part of a travelling troupe of opera players living aboard a junk, but continues his clandestine operations against the oppressive Manchus. At one point, Hong must forcibly- but humorously- consummate his marriage; foreplay consists of a hand-to-hand struggle on their wedding bed... The junks are burned in retaliation for the troupe's depredations, and many of the rebels are murdered. Hong and his wife escape and, ere long, they have a baby. Hong tries to take on Bai Mei (ignoring his wife's sagely advice to add her crane kung fu to his tiger kung fu), only to find out that Bai Mei is only vulnerable during certain hours of the day... Timing is everything... Hong constructs an elaborate pinball-machine type of dummy and sets out a row of upright sticks to mark the time of day in order to figure out Bai Mei's weakness. (While most men are vulnerable at "6:30"- do the math-, Bai Mei ISN'T...) In some probably unintentionally funny scenes, hands and feet become LODGED in Bai Mei's lower regions, somehow, and our hero is dragged around helplessly.

Enjoyable mix of comedy, romance, revenge and action

[bob the moo · 20 December 2013]

The film opens with Pai Mei using his retracting groin skills (no – seriously) to defeat a Shaolin master Zhishan, scattering his students. Pai Mei sends his Governor Kao Tsinchung and his soldiers after the students and, while leader Tung Chinchin makes a heroic stand, Hung Hsikuan leads the rest to safety, vowing to return and avenge his master and Tung. Hiding out as a traveling opera company, Hsikuan is leading the students as a master of tiger style when he meets performer Ying Chun, a master of the crane style. The two fall in love and will eventually have a child called Wending, although as the decades pass and Hsikuan trains, both he and Chun know that he must return to face the white wispy haired danger of Pai Mei.

Just like the martial arts which Wending will grow up developing, this film is a real mix of things that don't always seem like they should work but generally do. The plot is straightforward "avenge your master" stuff but it is spread over decades and involve several confrontations to good effect. The central villain should be comically silly with his ability to essentially lift his genitals back into his body, but aside from it looking a bit silly, it doesn't affect the tone of the film. At the same time we also have the romance between Hsikuan and Chun, and lots of comic moments as well as moments of death or loss. All told it is a total mix and it could have been that none of it worked but actually it gels very well and at only 90 minutes doesn't feel too long or that it crams things in.

The comedy is genuinely cheerful and funny while the romance between the two leads actually works and is quite sweet. The fight sequences are frequent and impressive, with a brutal tone to much of the film which keeps you interested. Chen Kuantai is very good in the lead – a likable type even if he doesn't age particularly convincingly. Li Lily works very well with him – I liked her as I have in other things and the two have a good chemistry. Gordon Liu is a nice find (I get the reference now) and makes a good villain despite the slightly daft special power he has. Chiang Tao is a decent presence but I particularly liked Wong Yue as the oldest version of Wending – he was fun and fitted well into the family of the leads. The sets and direction are roundly good and the film has an enjoyable pace to it which is consistent no matter what is happening.

With such a mix of content, it is impressive that it all gels so well and in the end, Hong Xi Guan is a very enjoyable film with lots to enjoy.

Please do a remake, perfect cast

[jamieandadell · 8/10 · 20 September 2005]

I first seen this movie in the early 80's when I was about 9 or 10. It aired on a Sunday afternoon during a kung fu marathon. It stuck in my memory as one of my favorite "old" kung fu flicks for MANY years. Of course no such luck of catching it on TV ever again, or especially finding it on video. In 2004 as I was watching Kill Bill Vol.2 I was astounded to see one of the characters from "Executioners" in the film. Looked perfect. And the actor was also a character from "Executioners". WOW. That inspired me to put the internet to use and with some research found that EFS was indeed available on DVD! So of course I now own it and unlike many films you see and love as a child then see as an adult and you're like "why did I like that movie" EFS still kicks butt. Want to see an awesome modern day kung fu film? How about an "executioners from shaolin" remake with maybe a little plot tweeking.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Hung Hsi Kuan....Jet Li (Hero, Unleashed) Wan Yung-Chun....Maggie Cheung (Hero) Hung Wen-Ding....Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior) Priest Pai Mei...Gordon Liu (Kill Bill Vol.2) Tung Tien Chin...Jackie Chan

An awesome display of Kung Fu styles

[scragthetroll · 9/10 · 7 August 2000]

I loved this film...I too saw it on TV in the early 80's, and have been looking for it almost ever since. A great display of varied styles of Kung Fu, and a lot of awesome action. If this one is on VHS I would love to know how to get hold of it. My favorite was the dude with the metal whip-thing.

Best of both worlds

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 28 June 2023]

Well worlds may be a bit too much, we are talking about genders - and fighting styles that is. But this also has themes of gender identity - no pun intended with any of it. Our main character who is introduced quite late, since he is not born yet (when the movie begins), is doing things his way - and that has not always people cheering for him.

But if you are true to yourself, you can be succesful - and at least content with what you do. Maybe that is enough to actually achieve what you set out to do. Even when things do not seem to go your way - you have to believe in yourself, more than anything else. The end is definite - the beginning ... well the credits tell us a story or introduces us to main characters ... and the last pic we'll get is a freeze frame ... for better or worse - the fights are incredible for sure. More so if you consider how fast they were shooting the movies - and how many they were doing every year.

Brilliant Martial Arts film, all-time favorite!

[SJMinkoff · 6 January 2004]

This was one of those films that I watched over and over, whenever I could. I've seen it on TV, usually in NYC on Channel 5 Saturday afternoons at 1pm, 3pm, or 5pm, on Drive-In Movie. I have also paid to see it repeatedly years ago in the old Times Square movie theaters. They used to specialize in Hong Kong martial arts films before Giuliani killed them all off. That's one thing I really miss about the old Times Sq...

This movie had it all: great plot and writing, great acting and action, even great dubbing. I really wish it would come out on DVD or even VHS...

Great film

[scragthetroll · 9/10 · 9 July 2001]

This is the one I have been looking for since about 1981 or so when I saw it on a Saturday afternoon martial arts movie thing a local channel here in Florida ran...I can still remember the unique fight scenes and the different styles of kung fu used by the characters (Gotta love that Toad Style)...if this is on video I would love to own it.

Remember When...

[Kreel · 10/10 · 18 November 1999]

I saw this movie on a cable station in Alberta in the early Eighties. God...what a show. The only thing that I can really say, is that I've been trying to find a copy of the damn thing since then...with no luck! Fantastic! If you like "Five Deadly Venoms", you'll love "Executioners"!

Lesson in styles on screen

[dj_ramjet99 · 23 February 2003]

Kung Fu movies always seem to refer to a bewildering array of styles. this film highlights the Tiger and Crane styles and you really can see the difference in the 2 approaches.

It gives a real insight into the idea of 1 style not being able to beat another because it's too rigid and inflexible and the practioner is not as good as his opponent, hence he WILL be beaten.

Apparently this movie is about the evolution of the Huang Gar fiststyle but I'm no expert so don't know much more than that!

Liu Chia Liang directs some great sequences, the earlier ones being better (the main fights between the father/son and the priest Pei Mei seem to automated to really flow smoothly)

Some really good acting as well let down by the usual rushed dubbing.

See it but would not buy it (go for Legendary weapons of kung fu/China for a classic movie)