Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Yazmin Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

MisterWhiplash This is considered an all-time classic and, after seeing it for the first time, I more than see why. It's focused most of all on the training of martial arts, specifically the Shaolin style (if there is one, I could be wrong on that). We get the set up that the movie needs - a warlord crashes into a village, takes over (and called 'Tartars' no less), and a young man who is the son of a seafood shop-owner, runs off to get training with the Shaolin monks.For me, this may be the greatest action movie I've seen having to do with training. I don't know if it's a completely great film overall - by the third act some of the characters are a little over the top in their mannerisms who the new San Te (the masterful Gordon Liu, later utilized by Tarantino in the Kill Bill movies) wants to recruit for his "36th Chamber", which is only to train new monks.Of course one will have to wait for the sequel to see how the entire 36th Chamber operates. But for now, with this film, I'd say about over an hour in the middle, probably more, is just dedicated to showing how San Te grows through each and every Chamber. Every obstacle is gripping and wonderful to watch, some of them we see how rigorously he has to practice (walking across small logs on a small body of water is one of them, a highlight for me), and some of them are nearly ridiculous (how the older monks keep tapping for a wrist-tapping exercise on a gong which reaches a frenzied pace).I think though, certainly if one is in the mood for it, this is what I love seeing in a martial arts movie: growth, experience, gaining not always so much full attack strength but just the ability to focus or moving your eyes really quickly from one point to the next. Does the hero use all of these skills in the climax? Eh, maybe he will later if not now. It's just a lot of fun and it's exciting and almost kind of enlightening in a wholly B-movie way to see this guy become tougher and stronger and ready to be ready to defend AND attack.Oh, and the fights are bad-ass, to be sure, when they do finally come, as the director Liu Chiang-Lang (also the choreographer) cuts and shoots his fight scenes so that there's total intensity, but really it's all on the performers to make it work, not relying on the equipment. So, if you like some fast-zooms and some wicked sound fx and, most importantly, a story that is simple enough you can follow it (a problem sometimes with kung fu flicks for me is the plots are needlessly complex, not all but a good portion of them), 36th Chamber hits the spot. It's the kind of action flick that gave me energy after I watched it, like I wanted to do 100 push-ups or something. But I digress.

bryan-mconnor there are many reasons why 36th chamber of shaolin is considered by many to be the greatest kung fu movie of all time. the training sequences are among the best and most iconic ever filmed, the story is well plotted and well crafted, and the fight sequences are pretty magnificent along with other iconic kung fu movies such as Enter the dragon and crouching tiger hidden dragon. an amazing fictional tale that attempts to offer a possible history of the bringing of shaolin kung fu to the masses. I highly recommend this film to anyone especially those who are mad into kung fu movie especially Shaw brothers and golden harvest.

drewconnor Gordon Liu (also known as Lau Kar Fai) stars as a young man who's friends and family have been killed by the new government. He wakes up at the Shaolin Temple, a place he has only heard about a couple of times. When he realizes he is at the best place possible to learn kung fu, he begs and begs to learn so that he can revenge his family. He does finally get taught, but has to start with the basics. Every part of his body must become stronger before he can learn how to fight. After he finishes the first stages of training in record time, he is now highly respected and moves onto learning actual fighting styles. He breezes through this and becomes a great fighter in only 5 years or so. This is not one of those movies that has 1 or 2 training sequences. Gordon is shown in at least 13 of the chambers and half of the movie is spent at Shaolin. So after he has become a master fighter, he is given a high honor and told that he can become second in charge of any of the 35 chambers. A senior monk played by the great Lee Hoi San objects to this and says that he can't have this honor unless Gordon defeats him in a weapons duel. Lee Hoi San does not play a villain, but he does not think that Gordon is a good enough fighter to receive so much praise. His plan works better than he could have ever imagined. He ends up helping Gordon improve as a fighter and as a person. Gordon is told he can leave Shaolin now, and he goes to take revenge on the evil General who killed his family.One thing that sets this movie apart is that it tries to be a real movie, and it succeeds. Watching Gordon grow up into a man is remarkable to see. The commentators didn't notice, but a lot of the stuff in this movie is very real. When Gordon has to use the pole with the wieght on the end to hit the bell over and over again, that is a real weight on the end of the pole! Gordon talks in the interview (included on this disc) about how the sabres that Lo Lieh uses in the final fight are real, and it just makes the movie that much better. Don't expect your average tale of revenge. I was touched deeply when I first saw this and there are not many kung fu movies that have as much meaning and feeling, making it one of the best if not the best kung fu movie of all time.

poe426 Lo Lieh, the man you love to hate in kung fu movies, takes out a rebel general in hand-to-hand combat (because he CAN), and displays the body in a public square. When San Te (Gordon Liu) sees the dead body and laments the death of the "patriot," he immediately goes to the top of Lord Tang's **** list. His family members are killed and he's a hunted man. Wounded, he nonetheless makes it to a Shaolin Temple (by hiding in a basket of vegetables). As soon as he comes out of his coma, he becomes a student- a devout student, who eventually (but not at first) excels at kung fu. Practice makes perfect; or, as Ray Bradbury put it: "From quantity comes quality." Before long, he's walking on water. THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN is understandably hailed as a classic- due in no small measure to the performance by Gordon Liu: as he would demonstrate in the sequel (and elsewhere), he was a very gifted actor.