Member teako170 Posted February 23, 2014 Member Share Posted February 23, 2014 I finally rewatched all the Shaolin Cycle, so here is my ranking: 3. Disciples of Shaolin (1975) 1. Shaolin Martial Arts (1974) 2. Shaolin Temple (1976) 4. Five Shaolin Masters (1974) 5. Shaolin Avengers (1976) 6. New Shaolin Boxers (1976) 7. Heroes Two (1974) 8. Men from the Monastery (1974) Excellent ranking. Been rewatching the cycle over the last few weeks. I can understand why H2 is so popular, though in the overall scheme of things, I felt it belonged farther down the road as you put it. Never got the love from MFTM. The only thing I would change is moving DOS to the third spot. I first saw SMA and ST on Black Belt Theater and highly enjoyed the training sequences and the larger cast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tex Killer Posted February 23, 2014 Member Share Posted February 23, 2014 5 shaolin masters and shaolin temple are best of bunch for me. Weakest are shaolin avengers(I do not like that flashback thing) and heroes two. There is nothing badly wrong in h2 but few small things bother me. Like how easily fang shih yu is tricked to help manchus and tunnel thing is pretty silly, on plus side in movie end brawl is great...All 8 are good movies(some better than others) and I can`t sort out order of rest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member OpiumKungFuCracker Posted February 23, 2014 Author Member Share Posted February 23, 2014 I might be the only one but I thought Five Shaolin Masters was the boring one of the bunch. Anyone else or just me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member teako170 Posted February 23, 2014 Member Share Posted February 23, 2014 I might be the only one but I thought Five Shaolin Masters was the boring one of the bunch. Anyone else or just me? The first half was a bit yawn inducing in spots but things picked up once they started training. The final 5 battles were top-notch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted February 23, 2014 Member Share Posted February 23, 2014 Wow, we all have different opinions on these. Disciples of Shaolin---watched it once, liked it, but it didn't seem to grab me as much as it diid some of you guys. Also, it doesn't really feel like a Shaolin Temple story. New Shaolin Boxers---LOVED this one, some of Fu Sheng's best on-screen fighting, but it also didn't feel like a temple movie. Heroes Two---probably my favorite of the bunch. Fu Sheng and Chen Kuan Tai in their prime, and the music just puts it over the top for me. Shaolin Temple---another favorite--like an all-star Shaw movie. Men From the Monastery---loved this one as well---especially the b&w flashbacks. Shaolin Martial Arts---Wow, I think I've watched it twice, and liked it a lot, but I just don't remember it that well. Five Shaolin Masters---Classic, and also improved by the music. The outdoor settings look fine, but without some of the great Shaw sets, it feels like it's missing a little something. Shaolin Avengers---I like it well enough, although there are some kind of bizarre elements in it, as Cold Bishop mentioned earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator KUNG FU BOB Posted February 23, 2014 Administrator Share Posted February 23, 2014 I finally rewatched all the Shaolin Cycle, so here is my ranking: Excellent post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these films. Personally I like Men From The Monastery more than you - primarily for Chi Kuan Chun, who is a BOSS in that film, and probably for nostalgia reasons. Same here. I owned this one before many of the others, and had watched it more. I enjoy it a lot. Thing is, when I watch one, I usually wind up watching them all in a row. So they do blend together for me sometimes, and without going back and re-watching them while taking notes, I couldn't make a ranking order of my preferences. Makes me want to go and watch these in the order you mentioned In fact, I think I might do that starting tonight. I recommend- Start from the bottom of his list, then finish with the stronger entries (according to Cold Bishop). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member QueMuchita Posted February 24, 2014 Member Share Posted February 24, 2014 I've seen all these movies before, most of them numerous times. I just want to rematch them in some sort of order of timeline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted July 8, 2014 Member Share Posted July 8, 2014 I've seen two "Shaolin cycle" movies so far: Disciples Of Shaolin: great cinematography (love the B&W parts, it makes the drama stronger and gives a certain style to the scenes where it's used), fun soundtrack, nice action and great characters (love the chemistry between Fu Sheng and Chi Kuan Chun here, these guys fit well together IMO) - a top-notch movie in my book. Men From The Monastery: people don't seem to think highly of this one, and I can see why. As Cold Bishop pointed out earlier, it suffers from an anthology format that isn't really suited. The stories of the characters are merely glanced over and it seems a bit rushed at points - I'd have like to see more about the third character, how he got to know the other 2 notably and the gathering of the freedom fighters in Shaolin, the impact the burning down of the temple really had on them... On the other hand, the action is nice and I enjoyed the cinematography with the use of B&W and filters as well as the plain red screen for the violent/death scenes. Not the greatest Shaw Brothers film I've seen, but surely not one of the worst films I've ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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