AKA Disciples of Death, Dragon’s Teeth
Starring Chen Kuan-Tai, Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-Chun, Chiang Tao, Lo Dik, Bruce Tong Yim-Chaan, Wu Hsueh-Yan, Wong Ching, Fung Ngai, Wu Chi-Chin, Fung Hak-On
Directed by Chang Cheh
Expectations: High, I like this one.
Men from the Monastery was the second film in Chang Cheh’s Shaolin Cycle, and it serves as both prequel and sequel to Heroes Two. The story is broken up into segments like an anthology film, except it’s more like being fed pieces of the narrative in chunks that eventually add up to something. The first two segments occur prior to the events of Heroes Two, while the third and forth segments act as the continuation of the combined stories of both films. It’s a structure unique to Men from the Monastery (at least up to this point chronologically), and while I’d generally prefer a standard narrative, it works very well here, especially with the events of Heroes Two fresh in my mind.
We begin with Fang Shih Yu (Alexander Fu Sheng) while he is still a student at the Shaolin temple. Within a few minutes, he’s challenging the “Wooden Men Alley” to prove that he has the skills to leave. At this point, Chang Cheh also subtly introduces us to Shaolin’s perennial villains: Wu Dang (better known in the Western world as Wu Tang) and Pai Mei, the White Eyebrow Priest (who only appears in shadow for a moment). Flashes of Fang’s wooden-man trial and his subsequent battle on poles are shown in Heroes Two when we first meet him, but it’s great fun to see these sequences play out as full scenes. It’s almost like Chang Cheh originally had a three-hour cut of Heroes Two and decided to split it up into two complimenting films. I honestly think this may have been the case, as there are possibly some other indicators of this (such as Chi Kuan-Chun’s inclusion in the Hung Fist intro to Heroes Two). So feel free to add “out-of-order, chapter-based films” and “splitting a long film in two” to the list of things Tarantino co-opted from the Chang Cheh playbook. 🙂
Around this time, probably within the years that Hu is training at Shaolin, the events of Heroes Two take place. I initially thought the burning of the Shaolin temple in both films was an error or miscalculation, but Chang Cheh and Ni Kuang are better writers than that. It’s key to remember that at the end of Heroes Two, the Shaolin disciples talk about heading to Fang Shih Yu’s hometown (and then presumably close to the Northern Shaolin Temple where he trained). That would mean that this Northern temple is the one burned down in Men from the Monastery, as well as the temple where Hu seeks his training.
A good portion of the finale plays in black and white, with some flashes of red here and there (used in a similar way to Heroes Two, but not exactly). The black and white is gorgeous, and it makes me want to see more monochrome Shaw films, even though the broad color palette is one of my favorite things about the Shaw output. It might seem like it was done to get buckets of blood past the censors (maybe add that one to the QT list, too!), but it feels more like an artistic choice. The black and white section primarily focuses on Hu and some lesser Shaolin students, so I took it as a statement on their characters, specifically Hu’s.
Man… all those words and I never once mentioned my favorite part! The bit where Pai Mei talks about how Fang Shih Yu is invincible because his mother bathed him in tonic wine since he was a small child. Fang’s only vulnerability is a sword pierce straight up through his balls while he’s jumping! Goddamn! And people wonder why I love Hong Kong movies so much!
Next up in this chronological journey through the Shaw Brothers Martial Arts catalog is a side jaunt into Golden Harvest territory for context! I’ll be checking out Lo Wei’s box office smash Chinatown Capers, the sequel to his 1973 film Back Alley Princess. See ya then!