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Shaolin vs. Lama

Shaolin vs. Lama

List Price: $14.95
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bhudda Bless you!
Review: " If I had not given it 5 stars, I would regard myself as an idiot!"

I came across this movie in a video store and had to get the DVD to add to my collection! The dubbing is beautifully done, and transfer to DVD id very good. FULL screen but hey, it's a great movie.

This movie is classic kung Fu. It has a great story and excellent fight scenes. There is drama, comedy, philosophy and it really gets the adrenaline pumping. A great blend of action with many, many kung fu styles.

"Allow me to demonstrate the skill of Shao-lin, the special technique of Shadow boxing!" Oh.. what a joy! No WIRES like today's so called stars. Yes, some trampoline is done but it is minimal, occurring in one or two of the countless scenes and does not take away from the fight scenes!

"loooky here.. Look who has become a Shaolin monk.. Are you ready to die now?" Then begins a pure attack that is unstoppable!

The villain's skill is breathtaking! If you know anything about fighting then you can see that this guy means business. He attacks with a series of blows, chops, kicks and punches to the vital organs in one smooth continuous movement which gives almost no chance to the opponent...PURE attack! Beautiful!

You will see many styles here tiger, snake, mantis, butterfly fist, monkey, sword techniques, Bhudda finger, drunken boxing...

Our hero is out if his depth.. His master tells him " Your kung fu is still poor- you won't last long out side!" J Ah.. the comedy!

Then the final encounter- masterly!

Thoroughly enjoyable. I watch it over and over... it is that good!


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Why would I want such a lousy student?"
Review: "He would upset me every time I saw him."

What a wonderful surprise. I had heard this was a wonderful film from several sources, but I did not think this movie could be better then Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang or Masterkiller, but it definitely is. There is not one aspect of Shaolin vs. Lama that is better then those two movies, I would say every aspect of the movie is better.

The plot and story line involves a stolen Shaolin book, which describes all the secrets of the Shaolin martial arts techniques. The individual who stole the book, a member of the Lama who pretends to be a Shaolin student, and by using the book becomes a master fighter.

A young street fighter, who travels the world challenging martial arts teachers trying to find a new master, eventually finds his was to the Shaolin temple seeking the opportunity to learn their styles. In a classic Shaw brothers fashion, he is not allowed to learn their ways, and the teacher he wants refuses to teach him. Only after showing his dislike for the Lama who stole the book is he allowed to start learning the Shaolin ways.

"He started drinking from that day on, he hasn't missed one day."

Tso Nam Lee did a wonderful job of portraying the friendship between the current Shaolin monk student, and the street fighter. That relationship was remarkable. I also enjoyed the scenes where the street fighter tried to talk/manipulate the situation to get accepted as a student of the drunken, dirty, feisty Shaolin monk.

"I know I am still ignorant."

Shaolin vs. Lama was a wonderful film, and I would strongly recommend it as one of the first martial arts movies in your DVD collection. I have it listed in my listomania of martial arts movies as #15, but it could easily be closer to #10 depending on what day you ask me. Definitely a movie you can feel comfortable buying before having seen it, yes, it is that good of a kung-fu flick.

"You're a stupid, young, fool."

Grade: A


Rating: 5 stars
Summary: shaolin vs. lama
Review: Anyone with any interest in this genre NEEDS to see this movie. It is one of the best I've seen, and possibly one of the best ever made. This movie has it all: quick and realistic acrobatics, strange and visually stimulating styles, and incredible effects. There are also moments of humor as well, and a fairly interesting plot. It worth watching just to see the lead actor start out pretty tough, and realize he is nothing when he is introduced to an entirely different group of fighters (the monks). It is at this point that the fun, fury, and intense training begins. This is TOP NOTCH viewing entertainment for anybody, and not just fans of the genre.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Best...of The Worst!
Review: Brought to you by the same team who brought us another great fighting/bad acting/bad writing non-Shaw Brothers/independently produced martial-arts classic "The Invincible Kung-Fu Legs", "Shaolin vs. Lama" is a comfortable joy to watch for Hong-Kong kung-fu movie fans.

The fighting, as already stated, is great. (The villain, who's name escapes me at the moment, executes three kicks in a row from a jump & this is accomplished WITHOUT wires. You can catch him in another "Shaolin" movie, "The Shaolin Temple Strikes Back.") The costumes are elaborate & attractive & for that matter, so are the sets. The acting is bad (but that may be attributed to the bad dubbing. Maybe if the film was in it's original language, the acting might appear better.) As for the plot, well....

Basically, it's about a young man who challenges various kung-fu instructors in friendly matches so that he can find someone better than he is to teach him kung-fu. With the help of a young monk, he finds such a man, an elder monk who, against Buddhist traditions, enjoys eating meat & drinking wine. This teacher had been betrayed by another student, a villain who is in fact, a Tibetan lama. In the end, the young man must take revenge against the other student for killing his the elder monk, his teacher! (That ALWAYS happens in these movies!)

This movie is one of several dozens that followed in the wake of Jet Li's first film, "The Shaolin Temple" (1982.) Besides the obvious "Shaolin" plot device, the inclusion of monks who don't act like monks are supposed to (by eating meat & drinking alcohol) are directly taken from Jet Li's movie.

If you want to just sit back, relax, & enjoy a light-hearted "kick-butt" film, then "Shaolin vs. Lama" is for you. However, after watching this, I suggest you check out the original "Shaolin Temple." It's still a better film & the fighting, in spite of the great choreography in "Shaolin vs. Lama", is still better! (And the acting & cinematography is actually good, too!)

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: classic ol school status
Review: buddha be praised....a bad seed monk returns to his old stomping grouds to wreak havok til someone good enough can stop him.who stops him?not his former wine-n-chicken consuming master who's no slouch but a student with a thirst for kung fu knowledge.a little comedy lots of hand to hand action and very little wire fu.quality for a movie of this type is pretty good...scratches and artifacts don't hinder your viewing pleasure with good color throughout the film.the movie is dubbed in typical old school fashion which is very satisfactory.this film is not widescreen but a decent transfer for these rare movies is what matters most-n-this no exception....pick this one up if you can....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best classic Kung fu ever
Review: First off how can you not rate this a 5 star it has everything you want from comedy and kick ass martial arts.This is a must have dvd for yall martial arts fans im for real. this is the shiiiizzzzznitt.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buddha be praised
Review: I bought this movie today, popped it into the DVD player, and enjoyed a good ol' kung fu movie. The action was fast and furious, the acrobatics were mesmerizing, and next to zero wire-fu. Overall this movie was great. It didnt have a english subtitle option, with the original language track, but that didnt seem to matter since this english dubbed version didnt suffer from any "sappiness." The story was good from beginning to end. If youre a big fan of fight scenes, this is definitely one you want to check out. Aside from the exciting fight scenes, it has a good blend of comedy (not over the top), and a little bit of "Shaolin philosophy." If you are looking for a good movie, just check this out. You wont be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My fave
Review: I remember seeing this a couple years ago on TV actually. (For those of you with cable, Encore action channels on weekend nights is the coolest because they play pretty good kung fu movies, not just bruce lee movies). The martial arts in this movie is some of the best I have seen, and since I am a practicioner of Shaolin myself, I love to see movies like this and see new things I can learn. As many of us know, Shaolin fighting styles are some of the most powerful fighting styles out there. Even just the basics of it (mastered , perfected or at least adept) are extremely powerful when applied right, and have quite an advantage over other styles (since the first, and original style of Shaolin is actually supposedly the origin of Karate, TKD, and kung fu).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MASTER PIECE!!!!!!
Review: Shaolin vs lama is one of the best kung fu movies. It has everything you're looking for. Great fights, comedy, good plot. This movie will have you laughing hard. It features a alot of styles, but the main one centers around the technique of shadow boxing, which the lama student learned from the secret manuel he stole from the shoalin monks. This is a classic, and a must have for every kung fu fan. Easily 5 stars!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kung Fu craziness and awesome overdubbing make this the best
Review: Shaolin Vs. Lama is a great movie and quite possibly the best Kung-Fu movies of all time. It has great training scenes as well as fight scenes. This is truly one of those movies for everybody. Even those people that don't like Kung Fu movies can enjoy it's rich comedy and even get a laugh at the british voices that are used to overdub this movie. It is Great.


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