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The end result is a compelling, sophisticated martial arts film.
Gordon Liu plays Liu Yude, a working class student in Qing Dynasty Guangdong.
Most of the chambers are iconic and imaginative.
There are chambers devoted to the practice of individual weapons.
Its almost like aSawtrap!
The rest is, literally, history.
So what makes36th Chamberso special?
Well, for one, its beautifully made.
Sometimes were watching as many as 20 different moves by 20 different people in just one unedited shot.
The blades are real and the camera doesnt flinch.
Technical accomplishments aside,36th Chamberhas genuine emotional resonance.
Its characters are well-drawn and it has more political and philosophical depth than your average revenge plot.
As a black man in America, I didnt know that story existed anywhere else.
Obviously, a sequel would have a lot to live up to but the films success demanded one.
Gordon Liu returns not as San Te but as a con man called Chao Jen Cheh.
Return To The 36th Chamberis perhaps second-tier Shaw material but Lius presence and Laus creativity make it nevertheless watchable.
This givesReturnan edge over the final part of the trilogy,Disciples Of The 36th Chamber(1985).
While San Te in the first film went on an intense spiritual journey, Shiyu never really does.
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