CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS is a fine piece of Shaw Brothers martial arts spectacle and a follow-up to both EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN and the less well-known SHAOLIN ABBOT. The opening of the movie re-posits the climax of EXECUTIONERS before moving on to a different tale about a Shaolin monk (played by the inimitable Gordon Liu) and his grievance against the White Lotus priest, played with relish by a delightfully evil Lo Lieh.
Lo Lieh directed the movie too, in one of his rare forays behind the camera, and the result is a professional-looking film with strong cinematography and a slick pace. Lau Kar-Leung handles the fight choreography and ensures that the fights are tremendously exciting, as you'd expect from Shaw. I loved the simplicity of the story: it simply involves Liu suffering loss at the hands of the baddie, and then making repeated attempts on his life, training up each time he fails.
The mystical aspects of the fighting are portrayed very well, and Lieh's invincibility had me chuckling with delight. Liu is on top form as he always seemed to be while Lieh is simply having a ball. The bit where he's attacked in the bath is a real highlight, but the thing you'll remember about this one is the acupuncture-fu at the climax. Trust me when I say you'll never have seen anything like this before. Overall the film is light on plot but tremendous when it comes to the visuals and action.
Lo Lieh directed the movie too, in one of his rare forays behind the camera, and the result is a professional-looking film with strong cinematography and a slick pace. Lau Kar-Leung handles the fight choreography and ensures that the fights are tremendously exciting, as you'd expect from Shaw. I loved the simplicity of the story: it simply involves Liu suffering loss at the hands of the baddie, and then making repeated attempts on his life, training up each time he fails.
The mystical aspects of the fighting are portrayed very well, and Lieh's invincibility had me chuckling with delight. Liu is on top form as he always seemed to be while Lieh is simply having a ball. The bit where he's attacked in the bath is a real highlight, but the thing you'll remember about this one is the acupuncture-fu at the climax. Trust me when I say you'll never have seen anything like this before. Overall the film is light on plot but tremendous when it comes to the visuals and action.