The Shaolin Plot (1977) Sammo has always been a Win (Blu-Ray Review)

It does need to be said: Eureka is doing a wonderful thing for all of us Hong Kong Action fans. From the stone-cold classics of Police Story to adjacent obscurities like Joseph Kuo, Hong Kong Legends is alive and well through Masters of Cinema parent company (and 88 films). A continued fascination is the filmography of Sammo Hung, a body of work with a great line of classics – release The Victim (1980) – that they’d done great justice. As with any label pouring time, money, and attention onto any great artist, actor, or director – eventually, they will clear the main body of work, leaving the obscure, the overlooked, and the forgotten. This is where their newest release, the Shaolin Plot, comes in. According to the PR, this is an important title in Hong Kong’s action history. Which it may well be, in some tangential manner, but honestly, as a fan – it’s new to me. It’s not often you get to discover something like this, which goes some distance to validate my earlier HKL comment.

Wong Fun’s (Lady Whirlwind & Hapkido) Shaolin Plot stands out in an era where most martial arts cinema was confined to studio shoots – one of the few consistent exceptions being King Hu. Shot in vast Chinese wilderness and Buddhist monasteries more lavish than those shot in typical shaw brothers and Golden Harvest setups, this is a gorgeous film at the best of times. The plot and casting take some odd diversions too. First and foremost, Sammo (in his debut headlining role) is present in one of his few villain roles sporting a mullet, bald spot, and handlebar moustache. Also, he fights by throwing drum cymbals around like a maniac, decapitating a few people Flying Guillotine-style. Perennial nearly-man James Tien (Bruce Lee films, My Lucky Stars & Fearless Hyena) gets an equally rare leading role. Keeping these rare occurrences up is an excellent final fight, although not featuring Tien but two near-mute Shaolin monks – one of whom is the perenially under-rated Casanova Wong.

The plot is something of a weakness in this one. In it, Chan Sing is a prince and martial arts master who is going about beating masters and taking the scrolls, something similar to a rogue fighter challenging kung fu schools and taking their signs. Only with more murder. James Tien’s father/master is one such beaten by the prince, or his underling, Sammo, at least. Taking the scrolls, he runs off for his life through the genuine Chinese countryside, as I mentioned earlier. After a while, he runs into a disgraced former Shaolin monk, who fights off the gang led by Sammo -taking Tien under his wing. More convoluted stuff later, the prince wants the scrolls of the Shaolin martial arts – something so private and secretive that even the abbot can’t access them of his own free will. But don’t the Buddhist monks know? The prince gets what the prince wants. Scattered throughout are a number of messy plot twists, making for something of an uneven story with no real drive or purpose. On the plus side, there are far more complex and labyrinthine plots within martial arts cinema rendering this perfunctory and harmless.

Now the action is a different matter altogether, and while strong across the board, two scenes stand out. The first is a fight between James Tien and wave after wave of Shaolin fighters, the introduction of which made me laugh a little as the severity of the poses they all assume is offset by how silly they look. The fight that ensues from all this posing is outstanding, to the extent that it has given me a new appreciation of what Tien was capable of. Outside of this, he is better known for being the sort of actor who is good at martial arts but nothing spectacular, or the best friend character killed by the bad guy, which gives the hero a fire to go on and kill the final boss. It’s an archetype. His acrobatic skill and fluidity were something to behold, and in this one scene, he destroyed my long-held cynicism – it turns out I just needed to see him in his best roles. After a quick break and bout of plot development, the film continues with its incredible final act with James Tien, Casanova Wong, and Wah Yuen fighting off against Chan Sing after his Shaolin plot fails. Every blow counts in this battle, and if this fight showcases any of the men involved, it is Casanova Wong – who leaves this film looking like a glistening million dollars. And all this action was directed by Sammo, too – Shaolin Plot really was his coming out party.

While I wouldn’t call this film important beyond seeing Sammo take his first steps on the ladder, it is still more than worthy of its place in your collection. With its gorgeous use of real locations and a final act up there with the very best within the countless movies concerned with Shaolin and the Wu-Tang. Seriously, that covers a lot of ground. Beyond the 2K restoration, extras are slim on this release as they’ve been on the other martial arts films eureka has put out. We have an audio commentary by Mike Leeder & Arne Venema, and another by Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) & Michael Worth – all wrapped up in another excellent slice of art by Darren Wheeling. And honestly, does it need any more than that?

Rob on The Shaolin Plot (1977)