Rating: 
Summary: OK movie, but video transfer is pretty bad
Review: A must-see for Jet Li fans, but I wish this had been subtitled, rather than dubbed in English. The film is not letterboxed.The inclusion of the original theatrical trailer is a nice touch, but parts of the video transfer, especially low-light scenes such as the drunken pole/sword fight, are so low-contrast that it's difficult to see the action at times. The dubbing isn't terrible, but the translation takes a few liberties with the story line, such as disguising the fact that the animal he's roasting is his girlfriend's dog! The musical numbers, at least, have been kept from the original.
Rating: 
Summary: off the hook
Review: after around two months waiting to get this movie in off special order i finally have it and its worth the wait let me tell ya! jet li's debut is just hot. i really liked the fact that it ws more real than just wire kungfu were people fall 50 yards back. i thought the freestyle fighting was real hot too. the fighting sequence at the end was off the chain as well! i don't want to spoil it for you so just get it. i recommend this to any hard core kungfu fan. i also recommend iron monkey, fist of legend and twin warriors.
Rating:
Summary: Jet Li makes the movie
Review: Contrary to the package labelling, this movie is not in its original language. I watched this movie when it was released on the big screen, and it was in Mandarin, not Cantonese. However, the video and audio quality was just as bad in the original film format as it is in the videotape. But technical difficulties aside, once you get your eyes and ears adjusted, Jet Li will blow you away. You can easily see China's wushu champion at work in this movie; all of his movements are crisp, clean and very graceful, in top form. Add to that the acting ability he shows and the fact that he's still just a kid, and it's a truly awe-inspiring film. The supporting cast is no slack-off either. Even if the movie seems like pure show-and-tell at times, the martial arts demonstrations are just fabulous. This movie is a must for all martial arts fans and for all Chinese culture lovers!
Rating:
Summary: Not to be missed for action buffs
Review: Forget about the story. I already have. The martial arts on display in this film are just amazing. Although it is not as slick as most Hollywood productions and many later Asian action flicks, it generates more energy than any film that I have seen for a long time. That energy does not come from fast cuts, loud music, or any the other standard tricks of the film trade. It comes from the fast and furious movements of highly trained human bodies. The actors are the best martial artists that China had to offer at the time and it shows. This is the real thing.
Rating:
Summary: THE True Shaolin Classic
Review: I am admittedly an addict of kung fu films. Ever since I was 10 and saw Enter the Dragon, I have watched literally hundreds of kung fu movies, practiced various styles and read the Toa Te Ching. I love all Chinese martial arts films from plotless two dollar chop sockey flicks of the 70's to modern day crime saga's to swordsman fantasies with sexy ghosts, hopping vampires and enchanted swords. Shaolin temple and it's warrior monks are revered by movie goers and film makers, to the same extent they are admired by martial arts students the world over, so naturally shaolin and it's monks are featured as agents of virtue fighting for good in almost half the kung fu films out there. But no other film is as historicly significant and few are as visually spectacular as this one. Firstly Shaolin Temple was the first martial arts film made in communist mainland China. Funded by the Chinese government in the early 80's to cash in on the kung fu film market in Hong Kong's success. One should consider the significance of this alone since religion of any kind was pretty much forbiden by the government of China, yet this film was made with quite a lot of Buhddist phylosophy and ceromony featured. Secondly this was the debut film of Jet Li, who has since became the 3rd biggest star in martial arts film history (Bruce Lee #1, Jackie Chan #2) and his star continues to rise today. At the time Jet Li was the national Wu Shu champion of China. His performance in this film so amazing that after it screened in China, people walked great distances to see Jet Li at his home village, some days the line of people outsides of his house stretched for miles! No BS. Also along side Li, the cast was made up of many other Wu Shu champions, unfourtunatly Li and all actors in the cast were paid about the equivelent of $0.20 a day, which is the same rate factory workers were paid! A few members of the cast are also real shaolin monks. Another amazing feature of this film is that many of the scenes were filmed in the real shaolin temple. The temple itself is as stunning as most ancient Chinese structures, but there is something truely special when scenes are filmed in the forest of Pagodas, where the most respected monks are buried and also the hall with the holes in the floor is a true training hall in Shaolin and the holes in the stone floor have actually being worn down by centuries of practice. Something about the reality just astounds you in a way that mere cinematic specials effects never will. If that is not enough, Shaolin Temple features some of the most lengthy and exciting, action packed and dazzling, skillfull and well executed fight scenes ever caught on film. The scenes feature plenty of different fighting styles and some of the more exotic Chinese weaponary, not usually seen in action on film. There is a great piece too where Jet Li peeks over a fence to watch monks practice, once again the REALITY (of their skill) is more stunning than any explosions or laughably phony CGI. Shaolin Temple is a true classic of the kung fu genre and landmark film for many reasons. Ever since this film hit the screens, the Shaolin temple in China has received renewed fame and people the world over have flocked to the real temple in the hopes of learning from the monks. Hundreds of schools, a few are run by actual monks, have set up all around the actual temple. The power of the film Shaolin Temple has inspired countless people East and West and I am sure that it will continue to inspire.
Rating: 
Summary: The real kung fu
Review: I have seen both VHS and DVD versions of this movie. You must get the DVD one to watch the full widescreen (about 2.35:1 which tell you how much were missing in P&S VHS version) and to enjoy the excellent video / audio quality. It offers both Chinese Mandrin and dubbed Cantonese sound tracks.(with English subtitle) The shaolin monks in the movies were students from Chinese official martial art schools. Most of the action were real stuff, not like those camera tricks or fake stuff in modern kung fu movies.
Rating:
Summary: the shaolin temple
Review: I like this movie and I want to bye it
Rating: 
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: I'm a Jet Li fan, and own a couple of his films...but I wouldn't recommend this DVD to anyone. It was a big waste of [money]!! If you must see this movie...rent it or borrow it, but don't buy!! I should have listened to the other "one star" reviewer who described the horrible pan and scan quality of this DVD. I must admit that there are a few moments of interest in the movie...one can't deny the skill involved when viewing the individuals display their use of weapons. But the story is bad, the acting is bad, the camera work is bad, the sound is bad (especially the repeated use of a single "horse whinney" sound effect used over and over and over...). If you are at all squeemish about watching a group of hungry monks eat a roasted pet dog, don't see this movie. I'd recommend "Twin Warriors" or "Fist of Legend" for a better show of Jet Li's talents.
Rating:
Summary: This is the real gong-fu
Review: I'm chinese and let me tell you, this movie is the closest to real gong-fu from ancient China. The scenes were taken in the real ShaoLin temple. There's an old saying in China that all gong-fu originated from ShaoLin. This movie rejuvenized our gong-fu tradition in mainland China just like Bruce Lee started the kungfu trend in Western world. Bruce Lee's style is not pure Chinese gong-fu. It's a mixture of Chinese gong-fu and other styles like karate or taekwondo, plus his own creations. In this movie you can see what real gong-fu is like. The movie was shot with very little wiring or "special effects", and because at that time in China making a movie was taken very seriously, the gong-fu in it were of high standard. See this movie for real gong-fu!
Rating:
Summary: A DEFINATE CLASSIC
Review: Jet Li's first film and one of his best. While the plot is a thread bare revenge story (You killed my father!) the dynamic and furious fight scenes make up for it. Traditional pre-wire and almost always authentic Chinese Kung Fu at it's best and plenty of it. Some people might not like this film being that it's obviously so dated, but it's never-the-less a classic, and while it might not have the visual panoramas that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon had, it does have some sumptious martial arts scenes which are frequently performed by real life Shaolin monks.
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