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The Shaolin Conspiracy (1977)
Director: Feng Huang
Cast: James Tien, Chen Hsing, Sammo Hung & Casanova Wong
Language: Mandarin (with optional English subtitles)
Format: Bluray
Length: 109 minutes
Release date: June 20, 2022
Jamie Havlin gives his verdict on Feng Huang’s action-packed kung fu favorites.
Prince Dagulun (Chen Hsing) is a ruthless and megalomaniac Manchu leader with a Bond villain laugh. His goal is to collect the manuals from China’s major martial arts schools to help him gain complete control over the country. Some comply, others refuse to hand over their valuable documents.
Determined to acquire them by any means necessary, Dagulun hires a renegade Tibetan monk named Golden Cymbals (Sammo Hung) to steal them. Why is it called Golden Cymbals? I’m just saying it’s because of his favored weapons, which are unconventional to say the least. As is his facial hair (mutton chop beard) and hairstyle (perhaps best described as a skull).
Sammo playing a villain is a relative rarity and this is where you’ll really despise him. This was arguably his biggest role to date and his last before he became a real star and launched his directing career.
James Tien plays Little Tiger, the son of Wudang school principal Gu Zhengfeng. He manages to escape with some manuals when Golden Cymbals shows up in Wudang and brutally murders his father. He finds refuge with former Shaolin monk Pu Hui (Chin Kang from Master of the Flying Guillotine). Dagulun’s men track him down, but are repelled by Pu Hui’s impressive kung fu skills. This is not the end of the matter. They return, led by Golden Cymbals, who uses one of cinema’s most heinous tricks to blind Pu Hui. “Give them the manuals,” Pu Hui orders the little tiger. “Life is more important.”
Eventually, only the Shaolin Manuals are let out of Dagulun’s library. He leads his men to the heavily guarded Shaolin Temple, where he demands to see the Abbot. He spreads a rumor that they are planning a rebellion against the Emperor, which is denied, and his aggressive tactics fail to intimidate the monks.
Dagulun is forced to hatch a new plan to get what he wants, and he’s right in the middle of it, cleverly disguising himself to infiltrate the temple. But since Little Tiger has teamed up with a few warrior monks (including Casanova Wong and Yeong-moon Kwon), completing his collection will be anything but easy for the Despot.
The cast of The Shaolin Plot is exceptional even by the high standards of 1970s Hong Kong cinema. James Tien is an underrated actor. In fact, he’s probably best known for what happened in 1971’s The Big Boss aka Fist of Fury. Written for him, the lead role switched to a different actor when the film’s original director, Ng Kar-seung, was replaced by Lo Wei. Tien’s replacement? A charismatic young man named Bruce Lee who wowed everyone on set with his phenomenal martial arts. I bet Tien couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the infamous Cliff Booth-Bruce fight in Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood.
“The Asian Charlie Bronson”, Chen Hsing, is a great villain. Chin Kang also shines as Pu Hui, while Casanova Wong (referred to simply as Casanova in the credits) demonstrates why he earned the nickname “the human tornado.” There’s also a brief appearance by another Korean actor with a memorable name: Elton Chong.
Directed by Huang Feng, who is perhaps best remembered for Angela Mao vehicles like Lady Whirlwind and Hapkido – and watch out for a duplicate list of these films coming to Eureka soon – The Shaolin Plot is kung fu – Old school fun with lots of action and some sequences that will stay with you for a long time.
Special features include a limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling (first edition of just 2000 copies); a new feature-length audio commentary by Frank Djeng & Michael Worth and a new feature-length audio commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema and a collector’s booklet with lyrics by James Oliver.
More information about the release can be found here.
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All the words of Jamie Havlin. Jamie has written a number of short films which have been shown on UK television and international festivals and is a regular contributor to glam rock fanzine Wired Up! at. For more of Jamie’s writing, see his author’s archive, Louder Than War.