Hong Kong martial arts cinema: some of the best kung fu scenes ever filmed, in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
- Lau Kar-leung persuaded Gordon Liu, who learned kung fu from his father Lau Charn, to go into films. His scenes in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin were memorable
- Liu plays a mythical monk, a graduate of the Shaolin Temple who passes through its 35 chambers before becoming a roving martial arts teacher
The entire middle section of The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), a classic kung fu movie by a master martial arts director, is devoted to the training of the hero as he works his way up from novice to master.
Director Lau Kar-leung (also known as Liu Chia-liang) trained in southern martial arts styles – the lineage of his instructors can be traced back to Cantonese hero Wong Fei-hung himself – and has said that the main reason that he made movies was to “exalt the martial arts”.
The exceptionally talented Gordon Liu, the star of the film, studied the hung ga fighting style under Lau Kar-leung’s father, Lau Charn, and moved into films at the director’s behest.
In The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Lau and Gordon Liu deliver some of the most powerful and elegantly choreographed kung fu scenes of the genre.
The story, set during the early 18th century when China was ruled by the Manchus, is loosely rooted in history and legend. Gordon Liu plays Liu Yude, a student whose parents are killed by the Manchus because he dares to speak out against their rule.