BEHIND THE 36th CHAMBER: Some notes on the creation of a martial arts masterpiece (part one).

“Teen ha mo gung; yoon chut Siu Lam:
Every martial art under heaven comes from Shaolin”
Traditional Chinese folk saying.

36th Chamber of Shaolin has a special significance for me, both as a long-time devotee of kung fu cinema and as a practitioner of Chinese martial arts. The word ‘classic’ perhaps too often shows up on DVD sleeve art, but, in the case of 36th Chamber, and our other forthcoming Shaw Brothers releases, the term is richly deserved.

Our LA office put together such an A team of talent to provide bonus features for these DVDs, I’m happy to appreciate the films again, simply as a fan. However, given my long-time fascination with these movies, I decided it might be fun to give my own overview on them, starting with 36th Chamber, exclusively on the Dragon Dynasty website. Hopefully, the information below will further whet your appetite for the forthcoming release, and supplement the wealth of material provided on the disc itself by the illustrious line-up of Andy Klein, David Chute and, from Wu Tang Clan, the RZA.

After the brief, bright comet that was Bruce Lee had flared in the Eastern skies, the prolific Shaw Brothers director Chang Cheh turned to his regular action choreographer, Lau Kar-leung, and asked if there were any other kinds of action they could show on-screen that, though different from Bruce Lee’s style, might be just as exciting. Lau suggested that they make films showing the traditional ‘Shaolin’ fighting styles, forms of combat using the movements of the tiger, crane, snake, leopard and dragon, as well as the temple’s legendary 18 weapons. In Chinese folk-lore, Shaolin Temple is regarded as the birthplace of kung fu. Though earlier Chinese action films had referenced the temple, none had provided any kind of realistic depiction of its traditions and training methods.

Lau himself was well-versed in all aspects of the Shaolin system. His father, Lau Charn, had been a disciple of Lam Sai-wing, who had in turn been a student of the legendary kung fu master Wong Fei-hung. It was Wong who had first codified the traditional Shaolin fighting styles into a system called Hung Gar Kuen, Hung’s Family Fist. This rigorous Southern Chinese fighting art had passed down from Wong to Lam to Lau Charn, and thence to Lau Kar-leung.

Lau cut his teeth as a martial arts movie performer on the black-and-white Wong Fei-hung films. Hugely popular, these early kung fu movies detailed the romanticised adventures of the great master. In the earliest of these films, Lau Charn himself played Lam Sai-wing, and the late, great Kwan Tak-hing became synonymous with his role, that of Wong Fei-hung. Lau Kar-leung is visible in many of the movies, a skinny youth with extraordinary physical skills. At that time, Hong Kong film-making technology was very basic. There was little in the way of camera trickery to enhance a performer’s prowess. Lau had to perform long sequences of complicated martial arts moves in lengthy, uninterrupted takes.

Lau Kar-leung moved up through the ranks of early kung fu cinema, becoming an action director on numerous black-and-white martial arts epics. He then made the move to the mighty Shaw Brothers studio, where he and another talented choreographer, Tong Gai, were teamed with the acclaimed and prolific director Chang Cheh.

Chang Cheh’s initial reaction to Lau’s suggestion that they make a film about kung fu fighting monks was negative. He observed that, as Buddhist monks had shaved heads, the leading action stars of the day, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Alexander Fu Sheng, would refuse to play these roles. Lau Kar-leung replied that they could find new stars. The studio was concerned that a film about a monk would necessarily limit the size of the female roles, and it was commonly believed that Shaws’ lovely lady stars were a major box office draw. Lau argued that, providing they were sufficiently entertained, audiences could accept new forms of Hong Kong action cinema.

At Lau’s urging, Chang Cheh’s proceeded to direct his four film ‘Shaolin cycle’, consisting of Shaolin Martial Arts, The Men From The Monastery, Five Shaolin Masters and Heroes Two. Lau was the martial arts choreographer on all these films. The studio got around their issues regarding stars and starlets by having the lead characters be lay students of the temple, meaning that, unlike monks, they could keep their hair (and chase girls!).

It was not until Lau split from Chang Cheh and started to direct his own films that he went back to his idea of making a movie about a kung fu fighting monk. Working with Ni Kuang (surely the world’s most prolific screenwriter?), he began to develop a story about the legendary Shaolin hero nicknamed San Te or Three Virtues. The proposed movie would begin the hero’s journey with him as an underdog Han Chinese student, oppressed by the foreign Ching forces who had usurped the Ming dynasty to govern China. After his family is murdered, he travels to the Shaolin Temple, where he masters the disciplines of the institution’s 35 chambers. He re-emerges into the world as a Shaolin master, and creates the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, from which the film derives its title.

In the lead role, Lau Kar-leung cast his adopted brother, Gordon Liu aka Lau Kar-fai. Gordon’s real name is Sin Gum-hay. Unlike many of the other kung fu movie heroes, he grew up in a comfortably middle class Hong Kong family, learning English in school and playing guitar at home. His other passion was kung fu, and he became a student of Lau Charn. He proved so popular with the Lau family that he became the adopted son, the kai jai, of Lau Kar-leung’s parents.

Given that the whole Lau family was devoted to working in both the martial arts and movies, it followed that even an extended family member would follow suit. Gordon began his acting career as a martial arts player with small roles in the films his adoptive brother Lau Kar-leung choreographed for Chang Cheh, including Shaolin Martial Arts and Boxer Rebellion. Lau delivered on his promise to give Gordon a leading role of his own when he cast him as a young Wong Fei-hung in Challenge Of The Masters.

The role that would define Gordon Liu’s career came with 36th Chamber Of Shaolin. Though he did play other characters during his years at the studio, Gordon would reprise his kung fu monk performance in a dozen Shaw Brothers releases, as well as several independent features and TV series.

Another former Hung Gar student played a key role in the production. Director of Photography Arthur Wong combined his technical skill as a cinematographer with his physical experience of kung fu, and so brought a new clarity to the scenes of training and combat.

I first saw 36th Chamber of Shaolin in the truncated ‘international’ version released on video in the UK on the Warner Bros label. It was some years later that a fellow fan gave me a tape of the full-length Dutch print, and I saw what I’d been missing! I’m happy that fans buying the Dragon Dynasty DVD get the long-version. (In my next blog, I’ll detail the scenes deleted from the international cut.) I have to admit that even the shorter version blew me away. Up until that time, most kung fu heroes, and especially my idol Bruce Lee, seemed to be invincible from the opening reel. 36th Chamber was the first time I’d seen what purported to be an authentic training system through which an ordinary man could become a master.

The film was first released on the 2nd of February, 1978. Amazingly, next year marks its 30th anniversary. 36th Chamber is one of those rare films that I wish I could watch for the first time again. With the Dragon Dynasty release, a new generation of kung fu film fans will get that chance.

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