Liu Chia-Liang Movies

Action maestro Lau Kar Leung helms the martial arts saga Drunken Monkey - the tale of a bitter feud that erupts between two siblings. For years, Biao and his brother have co-run a security company - until Biao discovers that the latter is engaged in illegal, underground activities. When Biao disappears for a short time, everyone thinks him dead; he soon turns up again, however, determined to take on his wayward brother in a grueling battle-to-the-death. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Hong Kong filmmaker Lau Kar-leung followed up the outstanding Drunken Master II by directing this mostly unrelated martial arts comedy which still manages to garner a few laughs despite its dubious reputation and the absence of Jackie Chan. In Chan's place is comedian Willie Chi as Wong Fei-hong, who is assigned -- along with his partner, Wong Kei-ying (Adam Cheng) -- to protect a Manchu princess named Sum Yu (Michelle Lee). Princess Yu is being hunted both by the malefic White Lotus Cult (actually run by white people in this spoof) and by nationalists loyal to Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Fei-hong receives additional help from a wine merchant, Uncle Yan (played by the film's director), who instructs him in special martial arts techniques. Unfortunately, the Manchu leaders fall in with the White Lotus Cult and relinquish Princess Yu to them to be ritually sacrificed, causing Fei-hong to undertake a daring rescue mission. Simon Yam appears as a gay villain aboard a bus, and the supporting cast also includes such familiar genre veterans as Andy Lau, Gordon Lau, and William Ho. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Lau Kar-leung directs this action-comedy yarn about lazy police veteran Francis Li (Chow Yun-fat) and his eager beaver partner Michael Cho (Conan Lee Yeun-ba). The two are assigned to investigate the murder of a drug dealer who was known to be associated with crime boss Johnny Law (Norman Tsui Siu-keung). The duo interrogate comely bar girl Marydonna (Nina Li Chi) who is the sister of "Poison Snake" Ping (Phillip Ko Fei), one of Law's associates. Marydonna eventually caves under the intense pressure and fingers Law. Though the criminal soon winds up in the clink and Li gets his long overdue promotion, Law is hell-bent on revenge. Gun fights, explosions, and a wild and woolly duel with chainsaws ensues. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Hong Kong filmmaker Yau Kar-hung directed this standard Shaw Brothers historical action-comedy released at the tail end of the famous studio's mid-'80s decline. It tells yet another story about the oft-filmed heroes Hung Hei-kwun and Fong Sai-yuk, played here by Lo Mang and Wong Yue. Hung gets in trouble for offending the Ching chieftain Chih (genre veteran Lo Lieh), so he and Fong seek refuge in the Shaolin Temple, where they join the newly arrived South Pupils to learn the martial arts disciplines. Many of the students seem more interested in chasing girls and fooling around, upsetting the North Pupils (the Shaolin monks). Chief Chih shows up looking for Hung and Fong with fighters in tow, and the obligatory battle scene results, with the men of the Shaolin emerging victorious. Afterward, however, the monks come to the conclusion that Hung should be expelled from the temple because his primary goal in coming there was not to study, but to hide from Chief Chih. Naturally, Hung affirms his devotion to the ways of Shaolin and they let him stay, setting up yet another raid by Chief Chih and the obligatory final battle. Some interesting fight sequences are dragged out to feature length with extended comic scenes featuring the students playing pranks on the monks, but genre enthusiasts will still find enough to keep them interested. Also released in a drastically cut 84-minute version as Enter the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the film co-stars Gordon Lau, Chin Siu-ho, and Phillip Kwok. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Hong Kong filmmaker Lau Kar-Leung directed this excellent period-action film, one of the most highly acclaimed productions of the Shaw Brothers studio's later years. Its success is rather remarkable considering its troubled production. Young martial arts star Alexander Fu-Sheng -- who plays the sixth son of the Yang family -- died tragically in the middle of production, causing a hasty rewrite which shifted the film's heroics to the fifth son (Gordon Lau). The flow of the story doesn't suffer much, if at all, but it tends to veer from accepted legend as it tells the supposedly true story of a Sung dynasty-era massacre perpetrated on the Yang family by General Pan Mai (Ku Ming) and his Mongol allies which leaves only two of the large family's males alive. The sixth son manages to get home to tell the horrifying tale, but has been driven mad by his experiences (the plot device used to write out Fu Sheng). The fifth son has been aimlessly traveling the countryside, where he has another encounter with General Pan's troops and barely escapes with his life. Hungry for revenge, he decides to wait and become a Buddhist monk at the Ching Ling Temple in the meantime. As might be expected, his burning fury and lust for blood don't sit very well with Buddhist philosophy, and he is quickly asked to leave the temple. Yang number five is not so willing to do so, and promptly shaves his head and insists that he is staying, much to the monks' chagrin. It isn't long before word of her son's survival reaches Lady Yang (Lily Li), who orders her daughter (Kara Hui), the eighth Yang, to disguise herself as a man and bring the fifth Yang home. Yang number eight does as she is told, but is captured by General Pan's troops on her way to the temple, causing Yang number five to leave his hiding place and try to save her. The family's legendary pole-fighting technique is amply demonstrated throughout in superbly choreographed martial arts scenes orchestrated by the director, Ching Chu, and Hsiao Hou. Johnny Wang co-stars with Phillip Ko and Lau Kar-wing. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Liu Chia-Liang spins this Shaw Brothers period kung-fu flick about a pair of scalawags -- Chi Ta-po (Alexander Fu-Sheng) and Chau Chu-chi (Chan Chang-peng) -- who decide to track down some ill-gotten booty from a long-dead pirate named Chang Po-chu. They first manage to find a letter written by Chang and owned by a sly old antique collector who also happens to be a kung-fu whiz himself. From the letter, they learn of an evil priest named Wu Sheng (Gordon Lau) and a wicked lord named Mo Chung (Johnny Wang) who systematically killed anyone claiming a piece of the treasure. Wild high-flying kung-fu fights ensue. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

As a sequel to Executioners from Shaolin, this standard kung-fu actioner features Liu Jiahui as the fighter Hong Wending whose friends have been killed by the seditious White Lotus Society. He wants revenge. In order to prepare himself for the great confrontation with the head of the White Lotus fighters, White Eyebrow--otherwise known as Pai Mei--who has two remarkable skills: He can achieve weightlessness and he can draw his reproductive organs up into his stomach in order to protect them. Wending is trained by a woman (Hui Yinghong) in how to use her more flexible style of combat. From his boss, he also learns the secret of acupuncture points that are connected with specific parts of the body. Armed with needles placed in his braided hair, he is ready to shut down his opponent like a toy whose batteries are disabled. His opponent, it so happens, is an aged abbot (played by director Lo Lieh) who looks like he could not harm a fly. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

As a sequel to Executioners from Shaolin, this standard kung-fu actioner features Liu Jiahui as the fighter Hong Wending whose friends have been killed by the seditious White Lotus Society. He wants revenge. In order to prepare himself for the great confrontation with the head of the White Lotus fighters, Wending is trained by a woman (Hui Yinghong) in how to use her more flexible style of combat. From his boss, he also learns the secret of acupuncture points that are connected with specific parts of the body. Armed with needles placed in his braided hair, he is ready to shut down his opponent like a toy whose batteries are disabled. His opponent, it so happens, is an aged abbot (played by director Lo Lieh) who looks like he could not harm a fly. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Lau Kar-leung follows up on his 1978 classic with this comic kung-fu flick which is more of a parody than a sequel to the original. Two-bit con artist Chi (Gordon Lau Kar-fai) convinces a group of desperate workers at a dye mill who have been denied their pay by their evil Manchu bosses that he is none other than the legendary martial arts master San Te. Chi tries to hide his utter lack of kung-fu ability until he gets humiliated by crack kung-fu fighter Boss Wang (Johnny Wang Lung-wei). Chi scurries to the Shaolin temple hoping to develop some real ability. Initially he is turned away by the monks until San Te himself takes pity on the guy. There Chi learns the skills he needs to take out Wang and thwart the baddies. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Popular Hong Kong martial arts star Gordon Lau headlines this entertainingly comic Shaw Brothers production from prolific action director Lau Kar-leung, who also choreographed the film's fight scenes. Lau plays Wang Chin-chin, who is both the 11th prince and an expert fighter. Wang has fun secretly subverting a local con-man, the inept Ho Chi (Wong Yue), but blackmails the crook into becoming his student after making it look like a B-girl named Choi Hung (Kara Hui) has poisoned Ho and beaten him up in a nightclub. Prince Wang is on his way to the palace for the announcement of the heir, but doesn't really want to rule. His major function has been to prevent his brothers from falling victim to assassins, so Wang knows that there are forces who wish to see him killed before he reaches the palace. He brings Ho along with him, because, although his new sidekick can't fight very well, he could still prove useful in the event of an ambush. The two face various perils together, including a spectacularly staged attack in the wastelands near a village's typhoon wall and a group of comically effeminate attackers who seem to masochistically enjoy being beaten up. Eventually, Wang teaches Ho enough about kung-fu for the reforming con-man to protect him so they can get to the palace. Veteran supporting actor Lo Lieh co-stars with Johnny Wang, Hsiao Hou, and Peter Chan. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Lau Kar-leung directs this revenge thriller, widely considered to be the greatest kung-fu flick of all time. Liu Yu-te (Gordon Lau Kar-fai) is a gentle ethics scholar until his family and friends are brutally slaughtered by a band of Manchu troops. Vowing revenge, he ventures to the fabled Shaolin temple hoping to become a one-man martial arts killing machine. Rechristened San Te, his first year at the temple is spent largely doing menial chores. His begins training during his second year, which involves passing through 35 chambers where he learns the finer points of kung-fu through grueling and excruciating tests. After a year of training, he moves on to learn about weapons. He soon proves to be the finest student in the history of the temple, mastering the entirety of the training in mere five years. He is cast out of the temple, however, for wanting to teach his skills to the masses. Once out of the temple, he assembles a team of fighters and sets out to get revenge. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This classic kung-fu flick, directed by Lau Kar-leung, opens with the legendary Shaolin temple getting burned to the ground by Manchu troops and its head monk, Chi San, getting murdered by treacherous priest Pai Mei (Lo Lieh). The surviving Shaolin follows escape, posing as an itinerate opera troupe. Along the way, ace Shaolin student Hong Hsi-guan (Chen Kuan-tai) marries the beautiful though deadly Fang Yung-chun (Lily Li). Soon the couple gives birth to a son named Wen-ding. As Hong practices the Tiger style, Fang teaches her son the finer points of the Crane style. Ten years later, Hong challenges Pai, but manages to barely escape with his life. Seven years later, Hong is a much improved fighter, but sadly, so is Pai. Soon Hong's son, Wen-ding (Wong Yue), vows vengeance and starts training in earnest. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi