Credited cast: | |||
Jet Li | ... | Jue Yuan (as Lianjie Li) | |
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Hai Yu | ... | Tan Zong Shi Fu |
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Chenghui Yu | ... | Wng Renze (as Cheng-Hui Yu) |
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Lan Ding | ... | Bai Wuxia |
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Jianqiang Hu | ... | Wu Kong |
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Jiankui Sun | ... | Se Kong |
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Huailiang Liu | ... | Liao Kong |
Chunhua Ji | ... | Tu Ying (as Chun Hua Ji) | |
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Jianwen Zhang | ... | Fang Zhang |
Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
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Lichang Bian | ||
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Guoan Chen | ||
Szu-Ying Chien | |||
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Zhiqiang Cui | ... | Xuan Kong |
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Chuanyang Du | ... | Wei Kong |
Henry Fong | ... | Hui Neng (as Ping Fang) |
The Tang emperor is betrayed by one of his generals, who installs himself as emperor in the East Capital. The son of one of his slave workers escapes to the Shaolin Temple, learns kung fu, and sets out to kill the traitor, who killed his father. The monks have to help him, and in the process, they save the true emperor, who rewards them greatly. Based on a true story from Shaolin folklore, but highly fictionalized. Written by Johan Wikberg
This join venture of Hong Kong and mainland China started the 1980's boom of martial arts flicks in China.
Jet Li is the protagonist in this movie and unlike his later works, there is no stunt, no cable, no crane, no other equipment, no special effect, no fake moves, and no artistic creations. Every move is real, and the Hong Kong producers & director ingeniously employed the Chinese martial arts athletes of provincial teams and one from the national team, Jet Li, instead of ordinary actors to perform, thus giving a very realistic view.