Clan of the White Lotus

1980
7.1| 1h35m| en
Details

Shaolin practitioners and brothers Wu and Hung kill the merciless Pai Mei. However, Pai Mei's even more merciless brother White Lotus takes revenge; killing most of the Shaolin disciples, including Wu and Hung's girlfriend, leaving only Wu's pregnant wife and Hung as the only remaining practitioners of Shaolin left to avenge the deaths. But Hung's kung-fu will not be powerful enough so he must learn feminine kung-fu techniques to help him try and defeat White Lotus.

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Reviews

Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.
Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
chatch16 - The Ninja Sam Seed Another Gordon Liu classic, Clan of the White Lotus was directed by White Lotus Chief himself, Lo Lieh, and is old school Kung Fu fun at its finest! This one features such crazy concepts as the White Lotus Chief having the ability to suck his testicles into his stomach (as a means of defense) and some insane use of "acupuncture-fu" toward the end of the film. Liu trains in some uniquely interesting 'woman's style' Kung Fu as he battles Lieh 3 times, each fight growing in intensity. And his fights with Wang Lung-wei are absolutely fierce! These two square off in several flicks, with every encounter being great (check out "Instructors of Death" aka "Martial Club" for one of their absolute best). COTWL is hands down a MUCH better version/remake of "Executioners From Shaolin."
bobcobb-84371 So yeah, I was looking forward to watching this, being a fan of old school kung fu flicks and all. But somehow this really didn't do it for me. The main problem I had with it were the action scenes: they lack ouch. You see, mostly when I watch martial arts flicks I cringe when I see people get hit, kicked or when they fall down. But in this flick it was all so... painless. These guys and girls were all dancing around beautifully, pretending to hit and kick each other but you never believe it. I know, a lot of old kung fu flicks have the same problem. But still, a lot of them don't. I mean, look at some of the stuff Jimmy Wang Yu did in the early seventies. That stuff still kicks major ass. This Clan of the White Lotus doesn't anymore. To think it was made around the same time Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung were already making a name for themselves with daring stunts and amazing fight choreography makes this seem even more dated.
Alison 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!
lost-in-limbo Another churned out Hong Kong production by the Shaw brothers in what can be seen as a Kung Fu cult classic starring the likes of Gordon Liu and Leih Lo as the priest white lotus in colourful performances. The story follows that Shaolin students being released from prison, to only be hunted down by members of the white lotus clan. Survivor Hong Wen-Ting seeks revenge against the priest white lotus for killing his best friend and his fiancé For me there's something nostalgic about the sub-genre, which always brings a smile. Fun, brash and exciting all rolled into one. "Clan of the White Lotus" spends a lot of time either on the masterfully shot and heart racing choreographed martial arts involving the many attempts to take the priest white lotus' life and that of Hong Wen-Ting constantly training to change and strengthen his fighting style to do so. While frequently violent and bloody, it stays rather comical. These tend to be around the training and the constantly amusing charades involving the White Lotus and Hong Wen-Ting. Lieh Lo also directs; crafting out eccentric set-pieces with precision and impressionable images clocking in with creative slow-motion and detailed backdrops. The only thing is that a uniformity pattern starts to work its way in.