Shaolin kung-fu practitioners and brothers Wu and Hung (Gordon Liu) attack and kill the merciless Pai Mei; they and other Shaolin disciples are jailed, but their release is ordered because "the people" want them to be free. However, Pai Mei's even more merciless brother White Lotus (Lo Lieh) has other ideas; he kills off many members of the Shaolin Temple, including Wu and Hung's girlfriend, leaving Wu's pregnant wife Mei-Hsiao (Kara Hui) and Hung as practically the only members of Shaolin left to avenge the deaths. But Hung can't defeat White Lotus with a combination of the tiger and crane kung-fu moves that he and his brother used to defeat Pai Mei; instead, it is up to Mei-Hsiao to teach him feminine kung-fu techniques, the styles of embroidery and acupuncture. Will those be enough to defeat the evil White Lotus, or must Hung pay the price that his brother and their people did? Kung-fu movies, particularly those of producers the Shaw Brothers, don't really require much in the way of close attention to the plot, as the plot primarily exists to move the characters from one fight sequence to another. And the sound effects accompanying those fights are just sublime! Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh were international stars of the form, prior to the advent of Bruce Lee even; and ironically, in Tarantino's "Kill Bill Vol. 2," Liu plays Pai Mei, the character his character in this film kills off at the beginning of the movie, setting the story in motion. FantAsia 2012 was lucky enough to locate the last surviving celluloid copy of this classic film, complete with garbled English subtitles and faded-to-red colour scheme (the result of the passage of years, not an intentional part of the film), and as long as you check your logical brain in at the door, it's a hoot to watch, 30-odd years on!

I've just finished watching Fists of the White Lotus for about the 12th time. Finally, I decided to check the web for information on the actor who played Priest White Lotus (sadly, he has been dead several years, now). Yet, I find that there has been a continuing saga on the role of Pai Mei, once who tried to destroy student Hong Wen-tin, played by Gordon Liu, who ends up playing the evil priest decades later in Kill Bill II.

***SPOILERS CONTAINED*** So here's this white- haired priest, shown with these almost supernatural powers of being invincible. At some point in the film, he even seems like a magnet, repelling the force of attempted blows. The harder the protagonists punch, the more difficult it is to actually hit him. It seems just too much to fathom, if the viewer watches the film as simply a martial arts fan. But there may be some truth to the story... ***END SPOILERS***

With Pai Mei's popularity spanning decades, I found through several search engines about how much influence Pai Mei (known as the very real Taoist priest Bak Mei) has on the martial arts world. All the references to Tiger style kung fu actually originate with Bak Mei, and there are many schools now calling themselves various forms of "White Eyebrow School" for kung fu.

It turns out that the basic story of Pai Mei's vengeance being taken out on the Shaolin temple and its monks and followers in this film is followed in many forms. And when I discovered that the real Bak Mei had so trained and practiced his "White Eyebrow" style so proficiently that blows to his body made by punches or weapons barely had any affect on him, I had to return to view Fists of the White Lotus again.

So now, it seems to me that these almost incredible films on such legends are perhaps loosely based on the lives and deaths of real people who made significant contributions to the history of Chinese culture.

FOWL is a ride through the early days of interjecting some form of humor to break up the endless and tiring mass production of the basic storyline of Hong Kong kung fu films: Character kills another. someone gets angry, seeking revenge. Someone else is just as angry, revenges trade and escalate until the two dueling characters duke it out. Sometimes the humor in FOWL is a bit dull or bland, or simply not funny. But the action sequences still are terrific! It seems like director Lo Lieh (who is also the lead antagonist) filmed everything in normal speed for many of the sequences, and the mastery of Lo and Gordon Liu are incredible.

Add a splash of super slow motion with a continual flow of groovy music, and you have a decent HK action flick for the lover of the martial arts flicks from the late 70's and early 80's. Shaw Brothers classic, to say the least, and it delivers you with a solid- hitting palm technique. It's not the best one out there, but should be in the DVD library of Gordon Liu and Shaw Bros. fans.

Once again KING BOXER Lo Lieh's FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH are on display as the Evil Twin of the Evil Bai Mei (see EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN). As author Craig Reid points out in his excellent book THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970s, the opening of CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS (an "unofficial sequel" to EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) is at odds with the ending of the "prequel." Ah-Piao (Lin Hui-hang) falls to Bai Mei II (hereafter referred to as "Priest White Lotus") and Hung Wen-Ding (Gordon Liu) after we see Ah and Hung defeat Bai Mei I. Liu escapes with Mei (Hui Ying-hong), sister of the mangy Ah-Ching. Director Lo Lieh follows the proper form(s) as Liu combines tiger and crane kung fu in preparation for another showdown with White Lotus. Hung fights his way into the White Lotus palace using his new kung fu combo, but Priest White Lotus has mastered the art of Air Displacement (as good a name for it as any, I guess): he's able to use one's Chi or Momentum or Air Pockets or something to avoid blows. Liu bolts, as would anyone with a lick of sense in such a situation. (Remember the last of the unfortunate guards to face "Bolo" in ENTER THE DRAGON? The guy, having seen his companions brutally slain one by one, opts to turn and run...) Mei gives birth, then shows Liu how to attack paper dummies without disturbing the air around them. "It's a special woman's style," she tells him- so he learns to babysit and knit... (Sew many styles, so little time...) He weaves the knitting moves into his threadbare routine. (He's now in touch with both his Yin and his Yang sides...) Yet again, he sets off to do battle with the White Lotus Clan. Will his crazy-quilt kung fu work, or will danger still loom over his every move...? Only Time (and acupuncture) will tell...