Shaolin Wooden Men
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009Shaolin Wooden Men (1976) (AKA – Shaolin Chamber of Death, Young Tiger’s Revenge, 36 Wooden Men and Wooden Man). Directed by Lo Wei. Cast: Jackie Chan, Kam Chiang, Her Du Wei, Kong Kim, Yuen Lung, Tien Miao, Yuen Biao, Man Man.
Jackie Chan plays a mute Shaolin disciple who, as we learn through flashbacks, is seeking to learn kung fu for revenge against his father’s murderer. Finding the training punishing and slow, Jackie starts learning properly after finding an old man chained beneath the temple. The bad-tempered prisoner trains him in return for buns and wine, and Jackie also gains some moves from a nun who admire his spirit, and also enjoys watching him fall over.
After a lot of training, Jackie is able to face the Alley of the Wooden Men, dozens of automatic combatants who test those who learn the ways of Shaolin before they are allowed to leave. Once outside, Jackie finds the local village is being terrorised by the Green Dragon and White Tiger gangs, and discovers a nasty secret about their leader as he starts to kill off his rivals.