The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

I saw THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN tonight, which marks my first visit to Kung Fu Theater at the Hollywood. You'd think someone who goes to the Hollywood as much as me would have been to Kung Fu Theater by now but you'd be wrong. Normally I'm just the guy annoyed that the line for Kung Fu Theater is interfering with the other movies I've showed up to check out. Tonight it snowed, though, so I didn't want to drive anywhere and the only movie the Hollywood was showing that I haven't seen before was Kung Fu, so there you have it.

Hollywood programmer Dan Halstead introduced the movie, which didn't surprise me, because his 35mm Kung Fu film collection is the stuff of legend. What did surprise me, though, is the fact that he told the tale, complete with visual illustrations projected on the screen, of how he came across his 35mm treasure trove. I won't recount it here except to say he used detective work and moxie to track a mother's lode of prints buried beneath the stage of long-closed Vancouver BC movie theater. I love you, Dan Halstead, but I'd love you even more if you'd show "Ed Wood."

The movie itself stars Gordon Liu, known to me as the guy Quentin Tarantino cast in KILL BILL vols. 1 and 2. Any film buff worth their salt has probably seen Liu's entire catalogue but I haven't so there. Liu stars as a student of a radical teacher in ancient China who is involved in a local rebellion against the occupying Manchu government. Liu and his buddies sign up to help out with the rebellion but it isn't long before the rebellion is exposed, Liu's schoolmates are captured, and Liu's father and the family business are destroyed.

Liu knows the monks from the Shaolin Temple know Kung Fu and wishes he knew it, too, so he could fight back. So, he goes there to learn it and learn it he does. There's a legendary one-hour-long training sequence, taking up about half the movie, showing Liu's progression through the 35 chambers of Shaolin -- each teaching him a valuable Kung Fu skill until he eventually graduates.

After mastering the art of Kung Fu, Liu challenges his masters by saying he'd like to set up a 36th chamber of the Shaolin by teaching outsiders Kung Fu so that they might fight back against their oppressors. With a wink and a nod, Liu's masters send him back into the world to recruit some students and kick some Manchu ass.

So, it goes without saying that this flick is considered among the best of the Kung Fu genre but one could argue the majority of the genre sucks so how good could the best possibly be? In this case, pretty good. It both created and suffers from some of the trappings of the genre, mostly stemming from the overly aggressive use of the zoom lens and the unrelenting assault of over-exaggerated sound effects.

But it only suffers if you let it. If you take the flick on its own terms, it's a pretty great crowd pleaser. If you're annoyed by entertainment and fun then you probably won't like it. But if that's the case, stop going to movies.