Clan of the White Lotus (1980)

So yeah, I was looking forward to watching this, being a fan of old school kung fu flicks and all. But somehow this really didn't do it for me. The main problem I had with it were the action scenes: they lack ouch. You see, mostly when I watch martial arts flicks I cringe when I see people get hit, kicked or when they fall down. But in this flick it was all so... painless. These guys and girls were all dancing around beautifully, pretending to hit and kick each other but you never believe it. I know, a lot of old kung fu flicks have the same problem. But still, a lot of them don't. I mean, look at some of the stuff Jimmy Wang Yu did in the early seventies. That stuff still kicks major ass. This Clan of the White Lotus doesn't anymore. To think it was made around the same time Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung were already making a name for themselves with daring stunts and amazing fight choreography makes this seem even more dated.

Once again KING BOXER Lo Lieh's FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH are on display as the Evil Twin of the Evil Bai Mei (see EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN). As author Craig Reid points out in his excellent book THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970s, the opening of CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS (an "unofficial sequel" to EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) is at odds with the ending of the "prequel." Ah-Piao (Lin Hui-hang) falls to Bai Mei II (hereafter referred to as "Priest White Lotus") and Hung Wen-Ding (Gordon Liu) after we see Ah and Hung defeat Bai Mei I. Liu escapes with Mei (Hui Ying-hong), sister of the mangy Ah-Ching. Director Lo Lieh follows the proper form(s) as Liu combines tiger and crane kung fu in preparation for another showdown with White Lotus. Hung fights his way into the White Lotus palace using his new kung fu combo, but Priest White Lotus has mastered the art of Air Displacement (as good a name for it as any, I guess): he's able to use one's Chi or Momentum or Air Pockets or something to avoid blows. Liu bolts, as would anyone with a lick of sense in such a situation. (Remember the last of the unfortunate guards to face "Bolo" in ENTER THE DRAGON? The guy, having seen his companions brutally slain one by one, opts to turn and run...) Mei gives birth, then shows Liu how to attack paper dummies without disturbing the air around them. "It's a special woman's style," she tells him- so he learns to babysit and knit... (Sew many styles, so little time...) He weaves the knitting moves into his threadbare routine. (He's now in touch with both his Yin and his Yang sides...) Yet again, he sets off to do battle with the White Lotus Clan. Will his crazy-quilt kung fu work, or will danger still loom over his every move...? Only Time (and acupuncture) will tell...

The story of this movie is almost identical to that of Executioner from Shaolin, and it might be even appropriate to title this movie Executioners from Shaolin II. The similarities are as follows:1. An evil master who has white hair and beard (both played by Lo Lieh in the same make up) attacks Shaolin Temple, and one of the monks swears to avenge the dead comrades. 2. The master has weak spot that moves around his body. 3. He can give a vice grip on an opponent with his groin area. 4. A woman teaches kung-fu style which eventually helps to defeat the enemy. 5. Hero challenges the enemy twice. 6. Eventually the evil master is defeated by accidentally getting struck in his weak spot.So there you have it, the main plot of these two movies are identical. Both are fantastic old school kung-fu movies with actual story and not just one mindless fight scenes after another. I kind of like the original because I'm a Chen Kuan Tai fan, but either movie in my opinion is a great martial arts piece from that era.

FISTS OF THE WHITE LOTUS (aka CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS, 1980) has a standard kung fu storyline of a student forced to learn different kung fu styles in order to defeat the superior skills of a villainous master who killed his brother and other family members. This simple structure, however, allows for a succession of expertly staged kung fu bouts and imaginative training scenes featuring some of the genre's top-ranked performers. Gordon Liu (MASTER KILLER) stars as the student. Kara Hui Ying Hung (MY YOUNG AUNTIE) co-stars as his sister-in-law who teaches him women's kung fu styles, a soft response designed to counter the opponent's hard blows. (She makes Gordon learn embroidery at one point.) Their training scenes together are quite graceful and laced with humor and give the impression of an elegant dance team at work. After Gordon's use of women's kung fu fails to defeat his enemy, he turns to another teacher to learn an acupuncture-based style which targets an opponent's pulse points, a technique which finally does the trick.Lo Lieh (FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH) plays the white-haired villain and is credited with the film's direction. The great Wang Lung Wei plays one of Lo's henchmen and fights Gordon early in the film. Lau Kar Leung choreographed the fight scenes, but his directorial touch is evident throughout the film, which closely recalls his own EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN (1977), which has a similar structure and also features Lo Lieh as a white-haired villain.