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Shaolin Chastity Kung-Fu
If only Ringling Bros. was this violent...
The Plot: The evil Nine Devils gang enters Sun Valley, and begin to rampage and kill the acrobats living in the remote town. The Nine Devils are, a guy with an eyepatch and chains around his legs, a strongman, a leopard skin clad spiked pole fighter, a guy who uses a chain with a steel hand on it, a mallet guy, an Iron head guy, a guy who uses studded gloves, and a fat tiger claw guy with Phantom of the Opera facepaint. The dashing Ah Tein (Alexander Lo-Rei- Wu Tang Vs Ninja, Shaolin Vs Lama) helps herd the children out of the town, but the Nine Devils want to leave no survivors so two of the Devils follow the pack of children into the hills. Luckily Shaolin monks Master Wisdom and his pupil were in the area and they save the children from certain death. With the bandits having taken over the town and guarding all exits, the monks and the children are stranded in the hills. Master Wisdom informs the children that he was in the area waiting on a Japanese fighter and his sons, in sort of a cultural exchange of martial arts, and that at one time, when he was healthier, Master Wisdom had defeated the Nine Devils leader, Golden Tiger and had him thrown in jail.
The Nine Devils mission is two fold, one they will wait for their leader, who is being transported through the town, and two, after rescuing their leader, wait to rob a cache of gold that is coming (for such a remote town, there sure is an awful lot going through it). With no recourse or hope of rescue, Master Wisdom decides to train the group of children in the Shaolin art of Tunch (sp?) Chi martial arts, or Shaolin Chastity Kung Fu- First, he has them sit in freezing water to toughen them up. Second, he builds their resistance by having their bodies slapped by hands, then poles, and then sandbags. Third, a regimen of heavy stretching to give them pliable bones. Fourth, he teaches them the art of toe jumping and "flying over the ground". Fifth, punching water to give smooth strength. Sixth, the art of "catching claws", withdrawing and tightening ones grip. And, finally, Sixth has them grab and twist reeds (which bloodies their hands) to round out their power.
But, after the Nine Devils rescue their leader, defeat the Japanese fighter, injure Ah Tein and use him as bait to lure the ailing Master Wisdom, ganging up and killing him, can the children take what they have learned and defeat the gang on their own? Well, you will find out, as the entire last third of the film, deals with the children taking on each Devil one by one, using the martial arts they have learned combined with their acrobatic skills.
Conclusion: Shaolin Chastity Kung Fu (1981) is one of those odd in tone martial arts films. Despite all the children and lightheartedness in much of it, there is also plenty of grisly violence (Master Wisom's head is crushed with a rock, the Iron Head guy headbutts a man in half), so you get these contrasting tones. From his time serving as Chang Cheh's action director (on such films as Invincible Shaolin and the classic Five Deadly Venoms), director Robert Tai obviously learned a lot about pacing and sprinkling the action with outlandish violence and various weapons. The action and training sequences are all very entertaining, and it's hard to complain about a film that has nothing but fighting in for the last thirty minutes. The very tan Alexander Lo-Rei is probably the biggest name star in the film, but its mainly the cast of double-jointed acrobatic children that really serve as the heroes. Even in the finale, when Lo-Rei cant win by himself, its all the children Vs Golden Tiger. I guess the most major complaint would be, that the costuming on the Nine Devils (multicolored capes, headbands, Tarzan and 80's wrestler attire) has them all looking rather silly; and, Golden Tiger is a weak main villain because he never shows any great martial arts and looks like a Fat Elvis impersonator with a Rocky fedora hat. Overall though, it is a well paced, action filled, silly yet typically savage, b-grade kung fu film.
DVD Quality: Ground Zero presents a typically flawed old school transfer, but budget priced and worthwhile for interested kung fu fans. Picture- The fullscreen picture is not without its problems, worn, awkward light to dark scenes, grainy, but has fair color and sharpness. Though the flaws can be distracting, its nothing new to old school kung fu fans, and there certainly have been far worse transfers. Sound- The 2.0 mono English dub is strong and free of any glaring defects. Extras- One of Ground Zero/Wu Tangs earlier, more bare releases. 14 Chapters. Wu Tang music video. Wu Tang intro. Trailers for Gangstresses, Blazin', and a Wu Tang-Kung Fu Classics commercial. Bonus Fight Scene (film unspecified) lasting 5 minutes.
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