poe426
Rebel Lin Ah Nan (Chiu Jian Guo) intervenes to help the Tumbling Tigers troupe when they're assaulted by local government thugs; later, when he's wounded, the Tigers help him in return. When the troupe is surrounded by government soldiers during a show, they resort to some great Grand Guignol routines to escape (tossing "severed heads" at the crowd to start a panic, for instance). Still, most of the troupe die on board their junk when it's attacked and put to the torch. In fact, only Lin survives. He meets up with the handful of performers who weren't on the junk when it was destroyed and, led by Wu Bo (Li Zhong Ru), they go to a mountain temple where Lin learns some hardcore knee striking techniques that would impress Tony Jaa. This sets the stage for the final confrontation(s). SOUTH SHAOLIN MASTER boasts some spectacular locations, beautifully shot, and the martial arts on display are most impressive. The only real problem I had with this one was a scene where a puppy is strung up by its tail and its throat slit. If this was just more of the Grand Guignol trickery, fine- but I've seen too many animals slaughtered in these kinds of movies to think they'd bother to try to fake it. What should've been a ten is therefore an eight. Just because.
EyeDunno
You simply feel like you're taking a visual tour of mainland China when viewing this film. The DVD quality is great, as the colors are vibrant for a film completed over 20 years ago. Usually I see films being placed on the market as many generations away from the original film. This one, shot in true letterbox, seems as though it was made from a master print. The colors in SSM are incredible. The filming was done to showcase some of the beauty of China, and it's simply gorgeous.One note is of a warning for those who love animals. A graph at the bottom gives detail that will be forthcoming so those who love animals will consider whether to even watch the film. If some want to call it a spoiler, so be it. But others would want to know about the warning over any sense of what little is "spoiled," plot-wise, which really is not much.As for the film itself, it's definitely a kick your butt kind of film, where the actors actually make some incredible strikes. Watch for the roped knife play somewhere in the film... outstanding filming and character portrayals. The artists (they go WAY beyond simple acting here) are astonishing in how they were choreographed. I wonder if someone wasn't killed, the way they made the stunts and performances. The women kick some butt as hard as any of the men. Can I say this again? Some of the stunts are in-freakin-credible. My jaw drops when I see what these players did. There was a good mix of slow- motion to highlight some of the more jaw-dropping moments. Many of the fight scenes usually have lots of sound effects but you can tell there was no actual strike. In South Shaolin Master, there were some actual solid strikes.The filmmakers truly wanted to go deeper beyond what one usually sees in a martial arts film. Watch for some of the authentic artistry inside one of the temples... it makes one want to buy a ticket to see some of the locations filmed. Having a film about a troupe gliding along a river to visit towns and perform is a charming focus for a movie. How often have we ever seen life inside a junk? Or even a Shaolin temple? Anyone who is fascinated with the traditional lifestyle of China will surely want to see this film. There are way plenty fight scenes, but intermixed is a virtual 2- hour postcard without any modern amenities. There are some gorgeous settings. One thing of note, though. This is not a European- style film. This is Chinese, who aren't so concerned about the animals as those in the west have become. I would consider this as a light spoiler, but if you choose to skip this notation, you could get upset if you are an animal lover. One scene has a man taking his frustrations out by hard- slapping a dog. And a scene inside the junk at night where there was a scene of people inside slaughtered by the enemies has what seems to be an animal in the foreground, struggling while suspended by rope. Is it a real depiction, or not? It can make some very upset. Just an FYI, the DVD I have has Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, plus subtitles for each.
