Die Brüder vom Shaolin-Tempel (1984)

Die Brüder vom Shaolin-Tempel: Directed by Hsin-Yen Chang. With Jet Li, Lan Ding, Qiuyan Huang, Chunhua Ji. Romance blossoms between two rival families practicing Shaolin and Wudang kungfu respectively. despite familial opposition – until they overcome a gang of scheming bandits together.

“Brilliant movie. Itu0026#39;s taken me a long time as an average white dude from America to appreciate Chinese comedy. Itu0026#39;s definitely of a different sort. Jet Li is brilliant when he gets to show emotion other than stoic determination (his last 6 films or so). The ensemble cast was brilliant. This is sort of a Chinese 7 Brides for 7 Brothers (which, actually has a very similar feel and great choreography as well, worth checking out, seriously. Iu0026#39;m not kidding.) Most of the characters are archetypes, but never stereotypes. A lot of people will be turned off by this film, but I really feel that that would be due to an understanding of Chinese comedy. A particular instance would be when a character nearly gets his face planted in dog leavings, and it turns out he hadnu0026#39;t taken the fall. If you havenu0026#39;t seen Jui Kuen (Drunken Master, starring Jackie Chan, you wonu0026#39;t get it). I have. I did. If you watch enough movies, you tend to understand the genre more. And if you havenu0026#39;t fast forward to the end battle and enjoy the mayhem. I bought this movie on DVD at my local Wallgreens for $3.99 and after watching it, I would easily pay $15 or more for this great piece of film. Jet Li in drag, little kids kicking ass, musical numbers, what more could you want? Great DVD transfer from Saturn Prodictions, as well. Subtitles that are easy to read, full widescreen. Great stuff.”