WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

gavin6942 The anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters. During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape and devotes himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge.I do not happen to watch a lot of "kung fu" or martial arts films. But from what I understand, the Shaw Brothers made the best and this was among the best of the best. I can believe that, because it really has a sharp look to it while still being full of butt-kicking goodness. Which, you know, is what we want.I wish I knew more about the genre so I could recognize the names involved. Beyond Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Donnie Yen, I just do not know the martial arts world very well. Perhaps it is something to look into and then re-visit this film.

dirtyharry167 I first came across this film when it was listed as number 1 on the total film best Kung Fu movies list. I then decided to watch it on viooz. overall its a very good film, I can understand its reputation as one of the best of its genre. as I understand the movie was released in the late 70s 1978. for its time its flawless and ahead of its time. the movie tells a story of revenge. the main character who finds himself in a village taken over by government forces. as a result of this knowing himself and his friends will not be able to stay calm under occupation join rebels. however the government end up killing the rebels his friends and family resulting in him fleeing to shaolin temple in order to learn Kung Fu in which he plans to use against the government forces in revenge for the deaths of his friends and family. overall for a kung Fu movie this is a well deserved classic.

johnm3591 Considered one of the finest martial arts films ever made, Shaolin Master Killer stars popular old school kung fu badass Chia Hui (Gordon) Liu as San Te, a young man who becomes involved in the struggle against the malevolent Manchus, seditious anti-Ching patriots. Steered by Ho Kuang-han, the Manchus have surreptitiously set up a headquarters in Canton. When his family is murdered for being linked with rebels, San Tse narrowly escapes and eventually makes his way to the Shaolin monastery. Here he requests to stay and learn the fighting techniques of the Shaolin, and after brief discussion among the elders, he is allowed to remain.The better part of the film is dedicated to the painstaking and exhaustive training San Te undergoes. San Te hones his skills over several years, and the tasks he must complete are within an arduous, and sometimes torturous, series of thirty-five distinct chambers (or phases) of instruction - ordeals intended to develop strength and agility. San Te?s initial failures are amusing (such as attempting in vain to balance on bound wooden logs in the water while also trying to eat lunch from a bowl), but when he finally begins to grasp the Shaolin techniques, he progresses past the other pupils and becomes the greatest student the temple has ever seen. Though there are only thirty-five chambers, Liu's character argues for the creation of a new one. This "36th chamber" in the temple would teach Shaolin kung fu to the general population so that they might effectively fight the Manchus. This idea doesn?t go over at all, and San Te is sent back into the world as a beggar monk. However, San Te has already learned what he needs in order to whip some severe amounts of Manchu ass.Shaolin Master Killer is the epitome of the classic post-Bruce Lee kung fu flick. While background story concerns revenge, the true focus of the film is San Te?s training at the Shaolin temple. These sequences were under the direction of Lau Kar Leung (who also directed Jackie Chan in Drunken Master 2), and their scope and perfection take martial arts filmmaking to new heights. The training scenes not only serve the purpose of furthering the story, but also allow the viewer to learn about and care for the protagonist before the climactic showdown. There aren't as many fights as one might expect from a Shaw Brothers film, but this does not detract from the overall story in the least. As a matter of fact, the occasionally languorous pace helps to enhance the mood of the film as a whole.Gordon Liu was a mainstay for more than a decade at legendary Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong. His first major role was in director Chang Cheh's Shaolin Martial Arts. The success of Shaolin Master Killer (the original title was 36th Chamber of Shaolin) propelled him to stardom. Liu can be seen in the high-profile role of Pai Mei in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, and in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 as the gangster Johnny Mo - dual roles in the same film showing the esteem Quentin Tarantino holds for this veteran actor.Shaolin Master Killer is dubbed in that oft-maligned and mocked kung fu movie manner (the lips don?t match the mouth), but most of the translation seems to be precise. The choreography is superlative and demonstrates why Liu is inarguably one of cinema?s greatest martial arts stars. Better than Bruce Lee? Well, that?s a fan-boy debate for another time and place. Shaolin Master Killer is definitely not-to-be-missed by kung fu, cult film, and action flick aficionados for any reason.

poe426 Lo Lieh, the man you love to hate in kung fu movies, takes out a rebel general in hand-to-hand combat (because he CAN), and displays the body in a public square. When San Te (Gordon Liu) sees the dead body and laments the death of the "patriot," he immediately goes to the top of Lord Tang's **** list. His family members are killed and he's a hunted man. Wounded, he nonetheless makes it to a Shaolin Temple (by hiding in a basket of vegetables). As soon as he comes out of his coma, he becomes a student- a devout student, who eventually (but not at first) excels at kung fu. Practice makes perfect; or, as Ray Bradbury put it: "From quantity comes quality." Before long, he's walking on water. THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN is understandably hailed as a classic- due in no small measure to the performance by Gordon Liu: as he would demonstrate in the sequel (and elsewhere), he was a very gifted actor.