The Story: When the Pun Mei Clan's eldest son is killed during a martial arts tournament by a member of the Yang family, the Pun Mei Clan vows revenge by not only smearing the Yang family name but destroying the father and the seven spear-wielding brothers. This is accomplished in one masterful move (and during the opening credits) by aligning themselves with the Mongol forces that the Emperor has assigned the Yang's to defend the country against. The combined forces of the Mongol horde and the Pun Mei family lay waste to the 7 brothers, viciously slaughtering all but two, Yang No. 5 (Gordon Liu- Fist of the White Lotus, Master Killer, Martial Club) and Yang No. 6 (Alexander Fu Sheng- Death Chambers, Avenging Eagle, Five Masters of Shaolin). Yang No. 5 escapes to the countryside, confused, angry, alone, and hunted. Yang No. 6 manages to make it back home but the trauma of the ambush has made him insane, reduced to a gibbering, paranoid, shell of a man. With the horde on his tail Yang No. 5 narrowly escapes death again, and is rescued by a hunter (cameo by director Liu Chia Laing), who advises him that his only recourse is to disappear and one day hopefully reclaim his families honor. With one brother lost, presumed a coward, and another insane, the Yang family is unable to defend their name and quickly are under the shadow of their rivals.

Yang No.5 secrets his way to a Buddhist monastery and reveals his identity to them, seeking asylum within their walls. Although the Abbot is sympathetic to his plight, the Abbot denies him, because Yang No. 5 is selfish, revenge driven, and still consumed with worldly concerns. Yang No. 5 pleads with them to accept him. When the monks will not shave his head, he does it himself (and the sight of Gordon Liu shaving his head is a very symbolic sight for old school fans). The Abbot still refuses to officially take him in, and Yang No. 5 becomes a sort of cast-off, fringe monk, who dresses like they do, eats and lives with them, but is not allowed to learn. The contrast between his warrior upbringing and their spirituality becomes apparent when he observes their stick fighters practicing on wooden wolf dummies with steel teeth. They use wolves instead of men, because wolves are the monks only real opposition in the outside world. Yang No 5 attacks the dummy and breaks it apart, noting that his way, the wolf is mortally wounded and bloodied, serving as a warning to other wolves. The Abbot informs him that that is not their way. They consider all life precious, "Though ferocious, they are still living beings and should not be mistreated", so they defang some of the wolfs teeth, keeping it alive, but less likely to attack. Yang No. 5 notes that wolves travel in packs, and their way, letting the wolf live to possibly regrow its teeth, only teaches the wolves to gather up strength in numbers.

The Abbot attempts to contact the Yangs and inform them that their son is alive and is intercepted by the Mongols. The Yang Sister No. 8 (Kara Hui- Brave Archer, Mad Monkey Kung Fu, Fist of the White Lotus) attempts to make her way across the hostile land filled with Mongols and Pu Mei Clan members in order to find the lost bother but she is captured and used as bait to lure Yang No. 5 out. Accepting this dire fate, alone against impossible odds, Yang No. 5 has no choice but to try to rescue his sister, yet, in the end, the monks decide to lend a hand and help drive away, "defang", these new wolves that have arrived in their territory.

The Film: Invincible Pole Fighter (1983, aka. Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, Magnificent Pole Fighters) , aside from being a great kung fu film, is also an important film in kung fu history. Having been made at the very end of the Shaw Brothers reign, it marks a sad time in kung fu filmdom because of the tragedy that came about during filming. Golden boy, Alexander Fu Sheng, favorite son of the Shaw Brothers, a reliable martial star whether you needed a good looking youthful lead or some comedic relief, was killed in a car accident fairly early on during the filming. This accident seemingly cast a mournful shadow over the film, and director Liu Chai Liang, known for his usually more lighthearted or character driven films, made Pole Fighter the darkest, meanest film of his career and one of the darker films in the Shaw Bros. library (and considering Chang Cheh's movies, that's saying a lot). Somehow, in an odd way, Fu Sheng's death did help make Pole Fighter a better film; one wonders if it would be nearly as interesting without the bleak tone. It's pretty certain that without the death it would just be another solid Liu Chai Liang film, and not the dark masterpiece that, although a flop at the box office, has now gone down in kung fu history as one of the better films in Shaw Brothers studios, and Liu Chai Liang-Gordon Liu's prolific careers. But, the film ends sadly, with a hollow victory, and it is quite symbolic since this is one of the movies that helped mark the end of the classic kung fu film. In a short amount of time, Shaw Studios would go tv only, and audiences would find themselves flocking to a new style of action picture, the Jackie Chan adventure (Project A, Police Story), the fantasy film (Mr Vampire, Chinese Ghost Story), and the crime film (A Better Tomorrow, Long Arm of the Law). The classic days of and style of martial films would never really resurface.

Aside from the backstory, the action itself is top notch old school. It is one of the earlier affective use of wirework, weaving it into the sequences without over relying on it, often enhancing the actors just enough. Its not wild, otherworldly Yuen Woo Ping spinning, jumping, and flying constantly wirework. Liu Chia Laing uses it as a device to give a character just a little more jump, just push the unreality a little, like an added spice. Every fight- from the slaughtering of the Yangs- to Gordon Liu's training at a pond and with the wolf dummies- to his fight with the Abbot- the Hunter fighting the Mongols- to Yang Sister No. 8's skirmish in a village- to the awesome finale, is just perfection from Liu Chia Laings masters touch. But, once again, it is also really, really brutal. Alexander Fu Sheng doesn't get to do too much other than be crazy, and one assumes in the story he was supposed to go looking for Gordon Liu?, but upon his death they may have changed it so that Sister No 8 is the one to leave. Regardless, the film fighting is primarily all weapons, poles, spears, and such, and you really cant ask for better combination of great fight work choreography, star power, and story.

Since the first time I saw it, Pole Fighter has long been my constant favorite. Out of all the classic films in the age of old school kung fu, it stands as one of my all time top choices. Some people say, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin. Some people say Five Deadly Venoms or Chinese Super Ninjas. Others say Drunken Master. I say, give me Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, because I want good fights, a good star, a decent story, and I want it bleak and mean.

The DVD: A new company, called Venom Mob, presents a pretty mediocre but (if you are into kung fu) average DVD of a film deserving a much better edition someday.

Picture- Basically, the DVD looks like (and in all likelihood is) a poor vhs copy of a typically worn out and blemished kung fu print. Although the color and sharpness are often pretty fair, the film does suffer from some wavy flutters on the print. The full screen, pan&scan, is unfortunate, but for those of us who don't already own the film and have seen worse copies on vhs, based strickly on the films merits, it is a DVD worth owning. On the day a better, letterboxed DVD comes out, I'll drop this one like a bad habit, and you'll see Pole Fighter get a "Highly Recommended " rating instead of "Recommend". Until then, this edition will suffice.

Sound- A very undynamic 2.0 mono English dub, with typical minor bits of reverb, hiss, and dropoff, but overall adequate for old school fans.

Extras- 12 Chapters, with quite a large pause as the DVD switched between them.- Photo Gallery- Nice biographies for Alexander Fu Sheng, Gordon Liu, and Liu Chia Laing.

Conclusion: I am totally biased. One of my favorite kung fu films. Terrible copy, but better than any I've previously owned so I'll have to give it a passing grade until better comes along.