The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a 1978 Hong Kong martial arts film produced by Shaw Brothers Studio, directed by Lau Kar-leung from a screenplay written by Ni Kuang, starring Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh. The film follows a highly fictionalized version of San Te (Liu), a legendary Shaolin martial arts disciple, who lived in the Qing dynasty during the 17th-century. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is widely considered to be one of the greatest kung fu films and a turning point in its director’s and star’s careers.
Plot:
A young student named Liu Yu-de is drawn by his activist teacher into the local rebellion against the Manchu government. The government officials, headed by the brutal General Tien Ta, however, quickly discover and suppress the uprising, liquidating the school and killing the students’ friends and family members. Yu-de decides to seek vengeance and liberation for the people, and heads for the Shaolin temple to learn kung fu.
Wounded by Manchu henchmen during an escape, Yu-de reaches the temple and seeks sanctuary. Initially the monks reject him, since he is an outsider, but the chief abbot has mercy on the young man and lets him stay. One year later, Yu-de – now known as San Te – begins his martial arts training in the temple’s 35 chambers, in each of which the temple’s novices are trained in one aspect of the kung fu fighting arts.
