The Shaw Brothers

Posted on Aug 31, 2008 in Films/Theatre, Martial Arts | 1 comment

Upon reading the title of this post, did you immediately hear the “thwap, thwap, thwap” of exaggerated sounds of blocks and strikes that are the hallmark of kung-fu movies in the 60s and 70s? If so, then you already know and respect the name “Shaw Brothers.” If not, let me introduce you…

Everything you probably know about kung-fu movies—poor subtitles, bad English dubbing, extreme close-up zoom, hard-to-follow plots, etc.—has its genesis from the films of this amazing movie production house. A number of websites do a great job explaining the history and prolific nature of their movies and stars (including household names like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung), so I won’t try and replicate that here.

Instead, a brief list of Shaw Bros. kung-fu movies you simply have to see:

Two Champions of Shaolin (1978) – Brotherhood and revenge are the central themes, which is typical of a Shaw Bros. production. Exceptional fighting and an intricate plot with characters conflicted about where their loyalties lie make this a great one. Oh, and the Chemical Brothers masterfully edited and “enhanced” this movie to create the video for their song Get Yourself High:

Heroes of the East (1979) – My favorite aspect of this film is its inclusion of Japan’s martial arts, not just China’s. The story revolves around a Chinese man’s arranged marriage to a Japanese woman who practices martial arts. Naturally, they argue about what is better, kung-fu or karate. This leads to a contingent of Japan’s best martial artists coming to China to face Ah To (played by Gordon Lui). Sword, spear, staff, darts, fists and feet clash as Ah To uses forms of kung-fu (including drunken boxing) against karate, kendo, ninjitsu and other Japanese arts. What I loved about this is although kung-fu wins out, it’s done respectfully to Japan’s martial arts rather than vilifying them. Take a peek:

Five Deadly Venoms (1978) – A total classic! This film features kung-fu based on five animal forms (centipede, snake, scorpion, lizard, and toad), each of which is practiced by a student of the same master. One student must seek out and end the tyranny of these rogue pupils. This film (and other SB films) heavily influenced the hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. It’s better seen than described. Here’s the final fight of the film:

There are a ton of excellent Shaw Brothers films. My recommendation is to get some friends together and watch the three above; if you like them, check out more. It’s helpful to have friends to watch with since the plots can be hard to follow, especially if you’re not familiar with kung-fu story lines or can’t read two lines of subtitled dialog in under 2 seconds, which seems to happen sometimes. It’s just part of the magic.

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