Shaolin

This movie is in Mandarin with English subtitles if you turn on closed captioning (CC). This is a wonderful fable teaching the importance of kindness and how karma can strike when you least expect it. The story focuses on a general who shows no mercy for anything. He had all the riches beyond what he needed but still wanted more. One day his world collapsed in front of him and his only solace is the Shaolon Temple where he made real friends and learned the true meaning of kindness beyond the importance of the material things he once had. He became a different person based on principles learned at the Shaolin Temple. The special effects and kung fu choreography are excellent in this movie. The movie is action packed and has moments of humor just as expected in all Jackie Chan's movies. Great story and action. You do have to scroll back a few times to read the subtitles though, which you have to expect when watching foreign movies.

Fascinating epic with beautiful martial arts scenes. Gives at least some historical insight into the Shaolin Temple, which has been destroyed and rebuilt more than once, "Martial Zen" and the culture of the monks inside, alongside the murderous removal of Chinese artifacts for European museums under sleazy and scandalous circumstances. The lead actor and actress and main supporting actor are splendid and their characters are unique and fairly well developed. The story is by turns dramatic, epic, tragic, heartwarming, moving, and entertaining. Jackie Chan has a touching supportive role. The Temple Abbot is the epitome of life time commitment to martial arts and meditation, an elder who is compassionate and wise who also holds his own in a fight is and far from frail, and there's a wonderful scene at about 1:07 involving a repenting former warlord who is learning deep reflection, practicing with a school-aged monk who is already very proficient on a cold night while the Abbot and the Cook watch on, unnoticed. For me this scene is touching in how much the man misses his own daughter, but gets along with such sweetness with the boy, who holds his own with the adult, and watching them moving in sync is rather beautiful. It's a violent action blockbuster, combined with historical fiction, combined with family and village drama, combined with the humble grandeur and legend of Shaolin. Is it perfectly accurate in its depiction of things in all details? Likely not, but how it approaches and blends so many elements is fascinating and rewarding, with themes of sin and redemption and our shared humanity that are woven throughout but in ways that are not heavy handed.

Brutal movie, but realistic, as opposed to many overdone "action" films. The story-line is one that young people see frequently in "gaming". But cartoon characters don't bleed, or cry. So this is tough for teens, in a way, but the discussion that follows is very thoughtful. Of course if you love Shaolin, and Kung Fu, you appreciate that most of the action was"wire-less" and authentic. Jackie Chan's segments were amusing and well-done, but since "comic relief" only appeared in one segment, it seemed a bit odd and out of sync. We might have liked to see more of him, a little less humorously, for balance throughout. Worth watching with parents, friends, teacher(?) for discussion of moral an ethical meanings.

*NOTE: This review is for the "Shaolin (Collector's Edition) [Blu-Ray]". Amazon merged reviews with another edition that is Blu-Ray + DVD combo. This is a beautifully made film with a compelling story and profound meaning. There is everything in this film: realistic kung-fu actions, human greed/power, undeniable love for family, and seeing an absolutely cold-hearted person becoming all heart. Andy Lau was the star so was Jackie Chan (as special guest) and other supporting actors. One can argue this is a drama-first (my believe), and action second. The package comes with a blu-ray and a DVD. blu-ray comes with two Chinese audio tracks (5.1 and stereo), and two English audio tracks (5.1 and stereo). The main menu says the Chinese is Cantonese dialect, but both tracks are Mandarin. There is subtitle for English and Spanish as well. The English 5.1 seems to have better fidelity and decoding to all 5.1 speakers than the Chinese 5.1 version overall. The English dialog is translated well. The English subtitle is slightly different, but also translated very well. This is pretty rare. Kudos to the translators. The Full HD (1080p) is clean, detailed, sharp but properly softened as needed in the right places. As far as special features on the blu-ray, the deleted scenes are LONG and have pretty interesting "side stories". Many are actually quite significant to properly develop characters and bring out the strength of the overall story, but I can understand the movie would've been close to 3 hours long! There are also two international trailers. The second disc is a DVD, and it contains additional bonus materials. There are interviews of the cast and director, and behind the scene clips and documentaries. The interviews are in Mandarin and Cantonese dialects (no English).

What a fabulous film! Moving, suspenseful, fast moving, marvellously filmed and edited and full of rip roaring action. After watching this late into the night, I wondered why we in the west can't make films of such stature. Hollywood has lost the plot and all the British Film "Industry" seems to churn out are sleazy efforts about local pond life. The acting here is top notch, the action scenes fantastic and the story one of carefully plotted twists and turns, with a vein of nobility running through it that makes other films of the genre pale into insignificance. If you haven't seen it, do so and if you haven't bought it yet, BUY IT NOW! Pity I can't give 10 stars.

Ottimo

Me ha sorprendido agradablemente que este doblada en español. Altamente recomendable?

Für mich ist es wirklich ein wunderbarer Film mit einer toller Handlung, tollen Schauspielern, einer positiven Botschaft usw., mag ihn sehr gerne. Mich hat eigentlich nur etwas gestört, dass bei einem realistisch angelegten Film so viel mit Seilen gearbeitet wurde, beim Koch nahm das z.B. schon groteske Formen an. Was ich aber noch Neues schreiben wollte: Toll waren auch in den Extras die entfernten Szenen! Da gibt es quasi, wenn man alle gesehen hat, noch 3 weitere Geschichten zu entdecken: Lau ist keineswegs gleich ein anderer, als er ins Kloster kommt. Er ermordet fast nach einem miesen Trick einen Mönch, wenn Jackie Chan nicht vorher in weiser Voraussicht gehandelt hätte. Dann gibt es noch die Geschichte über die schwierige Hassliebe eines Mönches zu seiner Mutter, die ihn einst verlassen hatte. Und eine junge Sängerin will unbedingt einen Mönch heiraten, der ihr bei einer versuchten Vergewaltigung zur Hilfe kam. Man bekommt also nicht nur irgendwelche Schnipsel, sondern 3 richtige zusätzliche Geschichten, wobei ich besonders die von Lau toll fand. Der Sinneswandel verlief doch nicht so schnell und glatt wie im Film. Die über 2 Stunden Interviews sind allerdings in der Tat wie hier schon geschrieben wurde recht ermüdend.

Love the story behind this film. Set during the warlord period in China when certain parts of the country were ruled over by military warlords it shows the state of one warlord losing his family and his dominion to his subordinate and then taking refuge within the shaolin temple. He comes to find peace only to go to war with his old subordinate who took over as warlord over his domain. Like Jackie Chan, and he has a small role within the film and was used largely for his name's star power. Still he role is really good and the film is very enjoyable. Nice martial arts sequences, but nothing too spectacular or over the top. Great film in my opinion.