8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.4 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
One of the most revered martial arts films of all time, this is the story of a young man who joins the Shaolin Temple when the Manchus kill his family.
Starring: Chia-Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Ming-Wai Chan, John Cheung, Wilson TongForeign | 100% |
Martial arts | 48% |
Drama | 10% |
Period | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Mandarin: Dolby Digital 2.0
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 2.5 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Shaw Brothers were Hong Kong’s equivalent to the family dynasties which ruled Hollywood’s Golden Era studios. Brothers Run Run Shaw and Runme Shaw learned from their Los Angeles filmic brethren and created one of the most organized, efficient studio systems outside of California. With scores of top actors and behind the scenes personnel signed to exclusive contracts, the studio pioneered what would become known as the martial arts or kung fu film, For every latecomer like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, kung fu freaks could usually point to at least a handful of Shaw Brothers films which could rightfully be seen as forebears.
Perhaps no film is more lovingly remembered in the Shaw Brothers’ oeuvre than 1978’s The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, a film which has attained iconic status for its portrayal of a street kid earning his kung fu chops in the temple of Shaolin in order to help inspire his countrymen to overthrow their Manchu oppressors. The film made a star out of Gordon Liu, who plays the hero, San Ta (as it’s transliterated in the subtitles—you’ll also see it as San Te), a somewhat fictionalized character culled from an actual historical personality. Liu’s adopted brother Lau Kar-leung (also transliterated as Liu Chia-liang) directed the film, also elevating his status to the front rank of Hong Kong action directors. Martial arts lovers have been eagerly anticipating Shaw Brothers product finally making it to Blu, and legions of adoring fans have probably been salivating over the prospects of seeing Liu literally kick butt in high definition. Sadly, both the Blu and perhaps even the film itself will end up disappointing those not willing to give in to late 1970’s cheesiness and a frankly pretty shoddy transfer.
Gordon Liu as San Ta.
A lot of kung fu film fans have no doubt eagerly been awaiting Vivendi's line of Dragon Dynasty Blu's. Unfortunately, if The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is any indication of what's in store down the line, Vivendi has drastically underestimated the tolerance level of high definition aficionados. Somewhat unbelievably, this is a 1080i transfer, which in and of itself isn't horrible, except that the source elements of this ShawScope (OAR 2.39:1) film vary widely in consistency, and combing artifacts do rear their ugly heads from time to time. Colors (especially reds) bloom repeatedly, leaving large swaths of the screen seeming to literally bleed outside the lines of their colored objects. Even worse, the final 15 minutes or so of the film undergo a rather substantial quality change, with inconsistent contrast and an overall yellow sheen. The entire film in fact looks rather soft, and while some may be excited enough with an anamorphically enhanced Blu that at least isn't downright horrible, my hunch is the more shall we say persnickety videophiles are going to be really, really disappointed with this effort, especially for a film which is so widely beloved. Is it better than a standard def DVD? Probably--a little. Though the fact that I'm even asking that question should be warning enough that there's not enough of a difference here to even really mention.
Though this Blu does come with a dubbed English track, stick with the original Chinese, even if it (like the English) is delivered via a standard Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. This certainly would have been a fun film for a 5.1 retrofit, especially in the foley-centric baton sequences, but what's here is reasonably robust, without that thrilling rumble on the low end that a lossless track provides. Several actors were obviously post-dubbed, even in the original language track, and so there is the odd disparity of seeing lips not quite synched to the soundtrack, but dialogue is clear and at times at least passably directional. Sound effects and underscore are well mixed into the proceedings, and there were no egregious dropouts or annoying hiss. The English dub is simply laughable, with lame voice "actors" spewing ridiculous dialogue. Of course, if you're in the mood for a good laugh, you may want to opt for that track on a repeat viewing.
The Blu-ray features the SD extras of the Special Edition DVD:
The Commentary by "film historian" Andy Klein and the Wu-Tang Clan's The RZA is a pretty sad, lamentable affair. Why these two would want their repeated "I don't know"'s and incomprehensible babble to be memorialized for the ages is anyone's guess. They love the film, that much is obvious, but they impart no really insightful information and frequently sound like any two yahoos you'd pull off the street to discuss a flick. You know you're in trouble when the next extra is biographical tidbits about the two, just so that you know who they are. (The Wu-Tang Clan took its name after the film).
Shaolin: A Hero's Birthplace (16:40) is an interesting history lesson about the legacy of Shaolin in the world of kung fu.
An Interview With Star Gordon Liu (16:17) finds the star reminiscing about his childhood and life in kung fu films.
An Interview With Film Critics David Chute and Andy Klein (7:42) is nominally better than the Commentary track with Klein, offering some background and perspective on kung fu films as a genre, and including some nice, if brief, clips from several films.
Interview With the RZA (9:47) is also at least a little better than the Commentary, letting the Wu-Tang Clan member talk about his own history with kung fu movies.
Music Video for Wu-Tang Clan's "Gravel Pit" (2:07)
A gallery of posters and stills as well as the theatrical trailer round out the supplements.
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin may not in fact be the "all that" that some who grew up loving the film insist. It's still a lot of fun and provides an intriguing, if probably highly fictionalized, look inside kung fu training rituals. Unfortunately, this Blu-ray suffers from a muddy, soft transfer with no lossless audio, and with SD extras simply ported over from DVD. It's enough to make you want to kickbox a Vivendi exec.
Tang shan wu hu / 唐山五虎
1979
Feng hou / 瘋猴
1979
The Five Venoms / 五毒 / Wu du
1978
少林搭棚大師 / Shao Lin da peng da shi
1980
Pi li shi jie / 霹靂十傑
1985
Nan bei Shao Lin / 南北少林
1986
Nan Shao Lin yu bei Shao Lin / 南少林與北少林
1978
Jin bi tong / 金臂童
1979
Chi jiao xiao zi / Chik geuk siu ji / 赤腳小子
1993
Lie mo zhe / 獵魔者
1982
Guang Dong shi hu yu hou wu hu / 廣東十虎與後五虎
1980
Mai ming xiao zi / 賣命小子
1979
Zhang bei / 長輩
1981
Five Fingers of Death / Tian xia di yi quan
1972
龍門客棧 / Long men kezhan
1967
1984
Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms
1978
The Executioners of Death / Hong Xi Guan
1977
Su Qi-Er
2010
俠女 / Xia nü
1971