Not that this is a bad thing. A fusion of the Western and the Hollywood musical with elements of silent comedy, Boxer sets down with its complex but effortless narrative the classic kung-fu-movie conventions that appear in such later Shaw Brothers offerings as Lau Kar-leung’s cult favorite THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (1978; June 7 at 7 pm). The pugilist of the title is kung fu student Chao Chi-ho (Jacoby Ellsbury look-alike Luo Lie), who has a high opinion of his skills until he gets his come-uppance after entering Sun Hsin-pei’s school. One teacher mops the floor with him, and in the first of many humiliations, he ends up on KP duty. Practicing in his spare time, he rises in the master’s esteem, and when it comes time to face off with rival Meng Chen’s school, Sun teaches him the lethal “Iron Fist” technique so he’ll have an edge as the school’s representative in the competition.
But with great power comes great responsibility — not to mention innumerable ass-kickings. Since the victor in the competition gets control over the territory, Meng Chen and company don’t shy from dirty tricks. Meng brings in a ringer who proceeds to whip the butts of an entire classroom of students and faculty at Sun’s school. When the ringer proves beatable, Meng imports a trio of sinister Japanese samurai. After several attempts, they finally get Chao tied to a tree, whereupon they bash his hands to a pulp with clubs. But he still has enough grit left for one last series of High Noon–like showdowns.
Unrelenting in action, visually dynamic, driven by a terrific soundtrack, and boasting a charismatic and invincible hero, King Boxer opened the world to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and ultimately the flowering of Hong Kong cinema with John Woo and Wong Kar-wai. Not to be forgotten, however, are the exquisite, strange, subversive, and gender-bending films from the early years of the Shaw Brothers studio that were abandoned along the way.
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