The Rebel of Shao-lin

Young men, angered by the repressive and corrupt Ching government, come to the Shaolin Temple to study. Fearing that the Shaolin Temple is a harbor for rebels wanting to overthrow the government, the Ching Emperor Yungzheng kills the monks wherever he can find them. After the Emperor orders the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, his name becomes the most feared and hated in China. After years of struggling, the surviving Shaolin disciples, led by Carter Wong, move to assassinate the Emperor. This epic tale of Manchu China has all the scope and action you'd expect from Hong Kong master Joseph Kuo.

An aged Kung Fu practitioner travels across China, challenging the best Grandmaster from each province to prove his mastery of martial arts. Meanwhile is a plot developing behind his back.

A Ming princess and her faithful bodyguard are chased to Shaolin Temple by the Ching army.

Despite the national resistance, the Manchurians have taken over China, but the Ching Emperor fears that the Shaolin Temple disciples would overthrow the dynasty. So he disguises himself as a disciple, in order to become a kung fu master and control the Shaolin monks. But according to custom, he must pass the test of the legendary 18 Bronzemen before he can leave the Temple.

Patriotic swordfighters, for and against the Ching Dynasty head towards the Martial Inn. Three old men with long silver hair are key characters, along with a number of young men and very pretty young women, all very capable swordfighters. Buried under the smouldering looks, suspicions and even lines spoken in dialogue poetic couplets, there is even a murder mystery.

Cheung Ching Ching is superb, as usual, playing a blind girl who learns martial arts from an old master and who takes revenge on the Red Devil who murdered her entire family. Brilliant sword film as you'd expect from master auteur Joseph Kuo. —Wu Tang Collection