ANd I thought Kung Fu Colt Master had a confusing plot and a story crammed with too many characters. Obviously inspired and perhaps adapted from Chinese adventure tales, The Story in Temple Red Lily overflows with bad and good guys, multiple motivations, and plenty of action. As a matter of fact, it is probably the action- mainly consisting of swordplay- that saves the film because it is frequent, decent, and saves the film from its tedious nonsensical plotting.

It is all about the giant eagle. From the first moment you see it, obviously flying on wires, looks like it was ill-glued together by a special education kindergarten class, and later it comically picks up the little kid. Well, based on the eagle alone, you can tell it is a no-budget independent Taiwanese production. So, you just cannot take it seriously. Just sit back and enjoy the cheesiness and watch a bunch of monks who use giant bells on the end of chains as weapons.

The story is lame. The action fairly lame. And the fx is definitely lame. Characters are thrown at you constantly, some of them, like the drunken master, are just there because every kung fu movie needs a drunken master somewhere. Yet, it all comes together in a pleasing manner, a fun lame b-movie stew of sorts. Story in Temple Red Lily was directed by Liao Chiang Lin who also helmed Angela Mao's Moonlight Sword and Jade Lion. The notable faces include Lung Fei (Beach of the War Gods, Screaming Tiger, Master of the Flying Guillotine) as the corrupt sheriff/constable. Safe to say his performance here doesn't rank high in his long roster of villain roles but he gets the job done. The two main virtuous leads are kicker Dorian Tan (The Hot the Cool and The Vicious, Tattoo Connection, Dual Flying Kicks) and Judy Lee (Revengeful Swordsman, Lady Constables, Eight Masters).

The DVD: Crash

Picture: Non-Anamorphic Letterbox. Print shows the expected amount of wear for a older independent kung fu feature- some dirt and lines, one scene with a huge "hair in the gate", and general age wear. Picture is a tad soft but the contrast and color hold up nicely. In the realm of kung fu prints it is a pleasing image and an adequate transfer, certainly beating out the tape transfers wee too often see as our only option.

Sound: Mono English dub. Well, usually the dub is the silliest thing about a kung fu movie, what with all of the bad voice actors, but the movie here is so silly even the dubbers cannot get more goofy. The track has the usually dub muffle and is hampered by some age distortions, bit of buzz in the background, as well as some pops and drop-off. But these are all things familiar to kung fu fans ears, so its not too terrible.

Extras: Chapter Selections--- Trailers for Story of Temple Red Lily, Shaolin Tiger Claw and Amsterdam Connection--- Screen capture photo gallery--- Production Notes--- Extra Fight Scenes from Cantonen Iron Kung Fu, Incredible Kung Fu Mission and Bloody Fists.--- Filmographies and Bios for Dorian Tan, Judy Lee, and Lung Fei.

Conclusion: Okay, so what if it meanders around and you need a chart to keep track of all of the characters? As far as earnestness and frequency of fight scenes, the film is a winner. Add to that some chop socky stars and some unintentional giggles and it is a decent enough b-film. As far as this cult material goes, Crash's transfer gets the job done and continues to prove they are one of the few companies who will go that extra step farther than their competitors.