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Shaolin Prince...WOW!


massa_yoda

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A couple weekends ago I saw SHAOLIN PRINCE for the first time and WOW it was just what I needed. What a pick me up.

This one had pretty everything you could want out of an old-school classic, goofy humor, blazing choreography, creative weapons, crazy kung-fu monks, and so on.

The opening fight was crazy good, though I must say those were some of the most serene babies ever! The fighters protecting them were flipping all over the place. The three monks were also great, perfectly over-the-top. I loved the scene where they were on pogo sticks to keep off the ground. Other highlights were the sword duel between Derek Yee and his teacher, the flaming sword and water sword team-ups (they lit Yee on fire and he still continues a sequence of movements before the camera cuts!!!), and the big finale with the bad guy sitting in a chair full of surprises. They really put a lot of work into this one.

I have not seen director Tong Gaai's (AKA Tang Chia) other works, Shaolin Intruders and Opium and the Kung Fu Master, but I hear they are good too. What's everyone's favorite here? Do these other two have the same tone as Shaolin Prince?

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did you spot Yuen Biao in the opening scene? (well, when Yuen Wah got to the temple with the baby)

Tong Gai also has a cameo

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ShaOW!linDude

I watched this, like, last week from when I'd dvr'ed it off of FuelTV the other weekend. It's definitely one of the better Shaws they've shown since I started tuning in. I'd consider scoring this on dvd at some point.

I thought I recognized Yuen Wah but I totally missed Yuen Biao. Drag!

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did you spot Yuen Biao in the opening scene? (well, when Yuen Wah got to the temple with the baby)

Tong Gai also has a cameo

I saw Yuen Wah, but missed Biao. I'll have to re-watch when I track this down on DVD. I see FUNimation released this, but I'm sure the availability is terrible.

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FYI, its not my channel..;

However I clicked on the CC after reading your post and selected English and there they were displayed. Then I selected TURN OFF and they were not displayed. Same for the Turkish subs

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FYI, its not my channel..;

However I clicked on the CC after reading your post and selected English and there they were displayed. Then I selected TURN OFF and they were not displayed. Same for the Turkish subs

Oh I see!:tongue: you need to click the little CC button on screen. All I could see was the interactive thingy beneath the picture presumably translating or showing a translation but I couldn't see the film at the same time as seeing that . Is it possible to download the movie with the subtitles? Knowing my luck by the time I get around to watching it and will be gone.

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A couple weekends ago I saw SHAOLIN PRINCE for the first time and WOW it was just what I needed. What a pick me up.

This one had pretty everything you could want out of an old-school classic, goofy humor, blazing choreography, creative weapons, crazy kung-fu monks, and so on.

Well said bro! Yes, this movie is a ton of fun. :bigsmile:

I have not seen director Tong Gaai's (AKA Tang Chia) other works, Shaolin Intruders and Opium and the Kung Fu Master, but I hear they are good too. What's everyone's favorite here? Do these other two have the same tone as Shaolin Prince?

They're all really good. Hard for me to pick a favorite among them. In OPIUM Ti Lung gives a superb performance, and tears up some baddies with his usual grace. But SHAOLIN INTRUDERS features bad guys with three-piece staffs which they throw through people! Too hard to choose a favorite among them. Highly recommend that you see them all. :wink:

did you spot Yuen Biao in the opening scene? (well, when Yuen Wah got to the temple with the baby)

Tong Gai also has a cameo

I remember seeing this film on VHS back in the late 80's or early 90's under the title DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA. Which I must say, is one of the most inappropriate titles ever! I love it's other aka. IRON FINGERS OF DEATH. :nerd: At the time I hadn't seen a ton of Shaw Brothers films, but had watched lots of Golden Harvest stuff. I was shocked to see Biao and Wah in this film. Before that, I'd had no idea that they ever appeared in SB stuff. It was an exciting geek moment for me when I spotted them in there.

I'll have to re-watch when I track this down on DVD. I see FUNimation released this, but I'm sure the availability is terrible.

I've seen this on both eBay and Amazon for cheap. Well worth owning. I loved this movie!

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But SHAOLIN INTRUDERS features bad guys with three-piece staffs which they throw through people!

DUDE!

I remember seeing this film on VHS back in the late 80's or early 90's under the title DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA.

Check out imdb.com and they have the old cover art and everything. Needless to say, half the reviews for the movie start with 'well I expected to see ninjas, but...'

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Am watching Shaolin Prince and was wondering if the strange weapon that the monks are training with in the monastery is a real weapon. It looks like two sabres joined together by a half moon guard. What weapon is this? What style uses it?

Also, is the iron fingers a real weapon or a Shaw Brothers fantasy creation?

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Tong Gaai was a very creative man. He love to make weapons for pictures. Whether it be something in itself that was different, or something that morphed into something else(Fu Sheng's Boot/Sleeve knives, Ti Lung's 3SS that became 2 weapons, Lo Lieh's staff that became a 3SS in Vengeful Beauty, Chan Wei Man's singular blade(Proud Youth) that became that blade you mentioned in regard to Shaolin Prince, Wang Yu's umbrella sword, his spinning blade crew RotOAS, Chen Kuan Tai's pole/spear from RwD, the swords from Death Duel, the Magic Blade, fish bone swords, etc)

Nobody did it, or came up with the things he did. Great man.

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Well said bro! Yes, this movie is a ton of fun. :bigsmile:

They're all really good. Hard for me to pick a favorite among them. In OPIUM Ti Lung gives a superb performance, and tears up some baddies with his usual grace. But SHAOLIN INTRUDERS features bad guys with three-piece staffs which they throw through people! Too hard to choose a favorite among them. Highly recommend that you see them all. :wink:

I've seen OPIUM. It's pretty good. Has some fun fights. Lots of wire-fu. A LOT of melodrama about the students sifu being addicted to drugs. But, at least it was a change up from the typical "revenge" plot in most Shaws.

I remember seeing this film on VHS back in the late 80's or early 90's under the title DEATH MASK OF THE NINJA. Which I must say, is one of the most inappropriate titles ever! I love it's other aka. IRON FINGERS OF DEATH. :nerd: At the time I hadn't seen a ton of Shaw Brothers films, but had watched lots of Golden Harvest stuff. I was shocked to see Biao and Wah in this film. Before that, I'd had no idea that they ever appeared in SB stuff. It was an exciting geek moment for me when I spotted them in there.

I'll have to go back and check this. I didn't notice him.

I've seen this on both eBay and Amazon for cheap. Well worth owning. I loved this movie!

Yes, Funimation has it. I just watched my DVD of it for the first time tonight. It was awesome! I put it in the player tonight and saw this thread on the forum and was totally stoked to watch it!

The chair scene was insane! I have to say, the bizarre kung fu weapons in this film were great too! The iron fingers were strange. Were there ever real weapons like this?

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Been a while since I seen this, I definitely liked Shaolin Intruders better, I think the part with Ti Lung's teacher's got on my nerves a bit on Prince, that chair was awesome though -

sprince.jpg

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yay. shaolin prince!! one of the best kf movies ever period. theres so much stuff EXPERTLY squeezed into it- lavish sets, original weaponry, diverse characters, change of moods, fun plot, amusing wackiness, seriously badass gung, great cast, high replay value. 10 of 10.

choreography-wise, the intruders are equally awesome and even more over the top crazy in an amazing way. other aspects of SI are not quite on par with SP, hence "only" 8.7/10. OATKFM is kind of a different animal. still great- 8/10. so much for my 2 cents.

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DUDE!

Yes! The three-piece staff is one of my favorite weapons- both to watch on screen, and to train with- so I freaked when I saw this scene. My buddy Mike and I both sat up straight and started yelling "No way!" when that scene came up. :nerd: Though I've tried to replicate this three-piece staff body-piercing technique, so far I've had no luck, and I'm rapidly running out of willing participants and spots to bury bodies in my yard. :xd:

Check out imdb.com and they have the old cover art and everything. Needless to say, half the reviews for the movie start with 'well I expected to see ninjas, but...'

I actually owned that original VHS. Silly ninja-filled cover painting too! I picked it up from a video store in Philly that was going out-of-business. I don't think I have it anymore though. If memory serves me, it was one of the (hundreds of :sad:) tapes that I lost in a basement flood.

I used to recommend this one to martial arts fans when I worked at a video store. I would always preface my rec with "Now despite the title, there aren't any ninjas in this film". :tongue: Lots of older dudes would return it and say "I saw this in the theater when I was a kid, but it had a different title. It was a great surprise to see it again". :bigsmile:

Thats not Biu.

Not to be argumentative, but I'm pretty sure it is him. I zoomed the picture in enough to fill my 52" screen with his face, and I'm certain that's Yuen Biao. :nerd:

Yes, Funimation has it. I just watched my DVD of it for the first time tonight. It was awesome! I put it in the player tonight and saw this thread on the forum and was totally stoked to watch it!

Right on! :bigsmile: That's what this forum is supposed to be about. Sharing joy and knowledge of this stuff, and seeking new info. Love it!

The iron fingers were strange. Were there ever real weapons like this?

Indeed! I actually just took off my Iron Fingers so that I could type this response. (You only need to lose one keyboard to know that they aren't meant for typing! :xd:) LOL Kidding aside, I'm not sure about that weapon being an actual historical artifact. It doesn't seem too far-fetched though.

Been a while since I seen this, I definitely liked Shaolin Intruders better, I think the part with Ti Lung's teacher's got on my nerves a bit on Prince, that chair was awesome though -

I agree with you Tosh. I could have done with a little less slapstick. And "The Chair"? Awesome! You know a villain is a bad ass when he doesn't even have to get down from his chair to whoop some ass!

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Undoubtedly some of the weapons in Shaw movies were created by Tong Gaai and others, although there do seem to be a lot of weird weapons in the real kung fu traditions. I was hoping this article was online with the pictures, but all I could find was the text:

http://www.kungfumagazine.com/info/weapons.php

And not to argue with myself, but one of the MA teachers I've studied with is also a dealer in historical/antique Chinese arms and armor, and he's said that antique spears, sabers and swords are fairly common, but actual historical examples of some of the stranger weapons are very, very rare---they're probably more popular in movies and modern kung fu practice than they ever were in real combat.

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