Disciples of Shaolin Temple Photo Poster

The success of Jet Li’s debut hit ‘Shaolin Temple’ put both the Shaolin itself AND movies about brave Shaolin monks back on the map. In the wake of ‘Shaolin Temple’, producers across China sought to launch similar productions. One of the most accomplished of these is director Hua Shan’s underrated gem ‘Disciples of Shaolin Temple’.

Hua Shan had begun his film career at Shaw Brothers, working as DP for the great director Chang Cheh on ‘The Wandering Swordsman’. He shot such key films as the Wang Yu-directed ‘The Chinese Boxer’  and the hugely successful ‘The 14 Amazons’. As a director, Hua Shan helmed the cult classic ‘Super Inframan’, the Hong Kong remake of Japan’s Ultraman. As an independent film-maker, Hua Shan made the key films of Indonesian martial arts star Billy Chong, including ‘the cult classics ‘Sun Dragon’and ‘Crystal Fist’.

‘Disciples of Shaolin Temple’ saw Hua Shan take full advantage of the expanded canvas of Mainland Chinese locations. The film’s cast were entirely unknowns, including stuntman Fan Dung-yue and actor/director Wang Che. The stand-out role is heavy-set lady boxer Chiu Liu-liu, who had made her debut opposite Jet Li in ‘Kids from Shaolin’.

The film received a wider release than most of Chinese Shaolin movies of its era, largely because it was acquired by Golden Harvest studios for worldwide distribution.

Reel East are happy to share this rare theatrical poster for the film,  featuring photos from the movie.