- English name：Martial arts of Shaolin
- Broadcast time：February 1, 1986
- Starring：李连杰（Jet Li）、黄秋燕（Chau-Yin Wong）、胡坚强、于承惠、于海
- director：刘家良（Chia-Liang Liu）
Introduction
Today, we are going to talk about a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts film, Martial Arts Of Shaolin (南北少林nán-běi shàolín). It is also known as Shaolin Temple 3: Martial Arts of Shaolin. It is notable as the only collaboration to date between film director Lau Kar-Leung and actor Jet Li(李连杰Li Liánjié).
Box office
Martial Arts Of Shaolin performed moderately well at the Hong Kong box office, grossing HK $18,106,589.
Award nomination
6th Hong Kong Film Awards (第六届香港电影金像奖dì-liù jiè Xiānggǎng diànyǐng jīnxiàngjiǎng)
Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Lau’s Stuntmen Association)
Plot
The treacherous minister of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Hesuo, framed a loyal and good man. More than a decade later, two descendants of loyal and good men grew up one after another. One was Zhiming, who was entrusted by his mother to the mountain gate as a child and became a monk in the Northern Shaolin Temple; the other was Sima Yan, who hid in the Southern Shaolin Temple with his uncle Faren. On this day, Hesuo’s birthday, Zhiming, a martial monk from the Northern Shaolin Temple, and Sima Yan, a lay disciple from the Southern Shaolin Temple, came to assassinate Prince Hesuo on his birthday to avenge their father. Unexpectedly, they were surrounded and escaped with the help of their companion Zhao Wei. Zhiming found that Sima Yan had the same silver bracelet on her foot as himself, and then he knew that she was his fiancée, but because she had converted to Buddhism, he could not recognize her. Later, Sima Yan was captured by Hesuo. With the help of many masters from the Northern and Southern Shaolin Temples, Zhiming and Zhao Wei finally killed Hesuo and rescued Sima Yan. Zhiming handed the silver bracelet to Zhao Wei and left alone.
Professional evaluation
Jet Li adheres to the real fighting style in “Shaolin North and South”, with graceful movements and beautiful postures. A group of actors with solid kung fu skills are together, and they are all skilled in swords, guns, sticks and clubs, which is very good to watch. The Hong Kong-style action film style of the Liu family also adds a commercial finishing touch to the watchability of the fighting scenes in this film, with a relaxed humor and a slight adult orientation, which is very different from the 1982 “Shaolin Temple”. To be fair, Liu Jialiang, who is good at martial arts and not literary, handles the literary drama in this film fairly well. Although the story lacks novelty and depth, it is also told satisfactorily.
