Executioners from Shaolin (1977)
Executioners from Shaolin is a 1977 Shaw Brothers Kung Fu film based on the life of Hung Hsi Kuan directed by Lau Kar-leung. The film is a multi-generational story of revenge pitting the disciples of Shaolin temple against the historical figure of Pai Mei, founder of Pai Mei Kung Fu.
Later, the movie was released on DVD by Dragon Dynasty.
A 1977 martial arts film – Executioners from Shaolin – stands out as one of the best of the decade, a notion that’s reinforced by the villain’s inclusion in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 2. Directed by Lau Kar-leung, Executions of Shaolin is an old-school kung fu movie from the library of Shaw Brothers, the most prominent Hong Kong studio associated with martial arts films. (ScreenRant)
This is the number 1 KUNG FU film ever made. No other martial arts film comes close to the depth of this one; I can’t fathom how Lau Kar Leung slipped a film of this depth out to the masses, it’s massively misunderstood. I haven’t seen a single accurate write up of it on the internet. Everyone misses what it’s really about. It wasn’t made for regular punters. It’s musicians music; it’s LKL’s Giant Steps. So many missing the point; people don’t deserve this film. It doesn’t matter if it’s entertaining. This is LKL’s breakdown of his kung fu system in film form – it’s a testament to practitioners. No other film has characters that are there to represent tenets of martial principles like this. What you think this film might be about possibly doesn’t even matter. Once you get it, everything’s almost inevitable & pre-planned; you just have to be shown first. Indeed the film even shows you the way. Why do I pretend to be so know-it-all? Well, I’ve learnt the tiger & crane form under the Lau family, so I guess I got an advantage. (Kung Fu Fandom)
