Shaolin Traitorous

Rating:
Summary: Could have been a contender!
Review: Carter Wong, Samo Hung, and a star studded martial arts cast added with a great story line full of hate , revenge, and lies. The only thing wrong with the movies was the fight scenes. A little to choppy, and the flow was not what you would expect from such classic stars. A must see for fans, but could have been much better. Should have been.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been a contender!
Review: Carter Wong, Samo Hung, and a star studded martial arts cast added with a great story line full of hate , revenge, and lies. The only thing wrong with the movies was the fight scenes. A little to choppy, and the flow was not what you would expect from such classic stars. A must see for fans, but could have been much better. Should have been.

Rating:
Summary: Good quality edition of an unsung kung fu masterwork
Review: SHAOLIN TRAITOROUS (aka TRAITOROUS, 1976) is a well-produced kung fu film with excellent cinematography, location filming in Taiwan, clever fight choreography and a top-notch cast. Carter Wong (BORN INVINCIBLE) and Polly Shang Kwan (LADY WUTANG) play the hero and heroine while the villains are portrayed by Chang Yi (EAGLE'S CLAW) and a future star-director of the genre, Sammo Hung (MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER).

The plot is a standard revenge tale told in a concise manner that involves a boy witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of corrupt officials and growing up to achieve vengeance. The boy goes to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu in a superb training sequence that ranks with some of the better-known Shaolin Temple scenes in kung fu cinema. By the time the boy has completed his training, he has grown up to be Carter Wong and soon sets out on his mission. He meets Polly Shang Kwan along the way and, after some initial antagonism, the two become allies and confront the villains.

The bad guys employ a particularly clever maneuver involving dozens of imperial guardsmen performing a variety of formations on cue (including standing on each other's shoulders, three men high) as Sammo Hung bangs out different drumbeats. Sammo and Carter engage in a particularly exciting bout against the backdrop of a mountainous landscape midway through the film.
The surprisingly high-quality VHS edition offers a pristine letter-boxed transfer in its original language (Mandarin) with English subtitles.

Rating:
Summary: An Unkown Classic
Review: Shaolin Traitorous is a well made film with a very good cast. The main characters in the film are played by Carter Wong, Polly Shang Kwan, Chang Yi, and Sammo Hung. Their fight scenes are very well done, and their acting in this film is also very good. This is one of the better films that Polly Shang Kwan has starred in, and she stands out as one of the better actors and martial artists in the film. The film's cinematography is excellent, especially in the outdoor scenes, and this high quality widescreen version lets the viewer enjoy it.

The plot consists of a young boy (Carter Wong) who sees his family killed by government officials (Chang Yi & Sammo Hung). The boy enters the Shaolin Temple to learn kungfu in order to get revenge, and when he is grown up, he sets out to do so. Polly Shang Kwan plays the adopted daughter of Chang Yi's character.

The fight scenes were well choreographed, especially Carter Wong's and Polly Shang Kwan's, and well executed also. These two actors were very good in this film. Sammo Hung is very young in this film, and one of the highlights of the film is a weapons fight in the mountains in the middle of the film, between him and Carter Wong. The fight scenes, like the rest of the film, were filmed very well, using a mix of hand held camera and tripod shots, and also a mix of close ups and long shots, and nothing ever went out of the frame. The sets as well as the outdoor settings were very good, giving the film an excellent backdrop. The only things I didn not like about the film were the corny fighting formations of the villain's hechmen, and the overly dramatic deaths. I would say this is a generally well made film, and this is a high quality VHS version.