Shaolin Rescuers (Chinese: 街市英雄; alternately titled Avenging Warriors of Shaolin) is a 1979 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Chang Cheh, produced by the Shaw Brothers, and starring Jason Pai Piao and the Venom Mob.
Contents
Plot
Wu-Tang leader Pai Mei (Chow Kin-Ping) and his head disciple Gao Jinzhong (Lu Feng) launch an attack on the Shaolin Temple, killing its disciples San-De and Fang Shiyu while a wounded Hong Xiguan (Jason Pai Piao) narrowly escapes.
Chen Ah Jin (Lo Mang) is a local tofu maker and mantis style practitioner. He is a close friend to Yang Dabao (Philip Kwok) a waiter and Hei Hu disciple. Although the two work menial jobs with which they are unhappy, they dream of one day becoming great heroes and dying for noble causes. They befriend Zhu Cai (Sun Chien), a light skill student at a local martial arts school after they save him from a beating initiated by Zeng (Ku Kuan Chung), one of the students there.
Meanwhile, Pai Mei and Gao continue tracking down Shaolin disciples. They murder a man named Huang (Wong Lik) and the abbot of Qing Yun Temple, Master Zhishan (Tai Kwan-tak), but not before the latter tasks Han Qi (Chiang Sheng), a young boatsman, into locating Hong. Hong, meanwhile, arrives at Zhu Cai's school as the master there, Zhou Cheng (Chan Shen) is an old friend of his. Zhou, however, rejects Hong’s request for help. Secretly in liaison with the Wu-Tang clan, he immediately reports his visit to Gao and sends his students to search for him. Hong later eats at Yang's restaurant and enquires about Han Qi, to no avail. He later collapses from his wounds and is discovered by Chen, Yang, and Zhu. They find a prescription on his person and manage to collect enough money to acquire the medicine and nurse him back to health. He recuperates at Chen's tofu shop and thanks the trio by teaching them some of his techniques. When Zeng later causes trouble at Yang's restaurant, Yang fights him off, receiving unexpected help from Han Qi and later informs him of Hong's location.
When Zhu goes to get more medicine for Hong, he is spotted by Zeng who manages to get a hold of the ingredients and surmises it is for Hong. Zhu is confronted by Gao and his men but accidentally reveals Hong's hiding place. Yang and Han create a distraction, allowing the group to escape and hide out at Zhu's martial art school. There, they join Hong in attacking Zhou Cheng and the rest of his students. Gao and his men arrive to find Zhou and the students dead. They track Hong's group down to the cloth dyeing building nearby where Gao decides to wait until morning to attack and have his men alert the Qing troops so as not to risk one of the fugitives escaping in the dark.
Morning arrives and Gao, upon learning the Qing troops have been alerted, launches his attack. In the ensuing fight, Hong, Chen, Yang, Zhu, and Han manage to kill Gao's men but he succeeds in killing Zhu and mortally wounds Chen and Yang. Eventually, the group take him on together whereupon they succeed in killing him. Chen and Yang bravely opt to stay behind and fend off the encroaching Qing soldiers to buy Han and Hong enough time to escape, achieving their dream of dying for a noble cause.
Cast
Jason Pai Piao as Hong Xiguan
Lu Feng as Gao Jinzhong
Lo Mang as Chen Ah Jin
Philip Kwok as Yang Dabao
Chiang Sheng as Han Qi
Sun Chien as Zhu Cai
Chiang Nan as Huang
Walter Tso as Chen's Sifu
Yang Chi-ching as Restaurant boss
Wong Ching-ho as Dye factory boss
Wong Lik as Wang
Chan Shen as Zhou Cheng
Yu Tai-ping as Zhou Feng
Ching Miao as Magistrate
Ku Kuan Chung as Zeng Shiguang
Yang Hsiung as Fan Tiancong
Tony Tam as Tiger Boy
Paul Wong as Fang Xiaoyu
Lau Fong-sai as Leopard Kid
Chow Kin-ping as Pai Mei/Student
Chan Hung as Nian Ruiqing/Student/Soldier
Lai Yau-hing as Li Jinlun/Student
Hsiao Yu as Fang Shiyu
Chan Fai-kei as Monk San-De
Reception
Sylvia Rorem of Funimation praised the actors' athleticism and highlighted Ku Kuan Chung's comedic performance as "impressive and memorable". However, she criticized the film's action and its overly comedic nature, and found the film lacking in emotional engagement. She recommended the film for diehard fans of the Venom Mob but felt that it would "disappoint less specialized, drama oriented kung fu cinema fans".
Awards
For his portrayal of Gao Jinzhong, Lu Feng won Best Supporting Actor at the 25th Asia-Pacific Film Festival in 1979. Lu has cited the award as "the greatest honor" and lists the character as one of his favorite roles.