Also known as Abbot of Shaolin, this is all about Chi San (David Chiang), who has been sent by his Shaolin masters to learn a special kung fu from a Wu-Tang priest. There, he befriends Wu Mei (Lily Li) and runs afoul of the priest’s brother Pai Mei (Lo Lieh) and nephew Dao De (Ku Kuan Chun), who support the Quin. Well, before long, those evildoers have burned the Shaolin Temple to the ground and with his dying breath, the master tells Chi San he must travel to bring the Shaolin back to life. Drunk with power, Pai Mei kills his brother and attempts to seek out our hero, who has been gathering new students and preparing to rebuild the Shaolin Temple.

Director Ho Meng-Hua gets a Shaolin monk vs Tibetan lama fight in this, as well as a giant white eyebrow villain in Pai Mei that can shut off all of his body’s pressure points, which makes him one of the unbeatable Shaw Brothers final bosses that seemingly can defeat two or more good guys at the same time.

I’ve seen the Shaolin Temple burn so many times and even another film with Pai Mei — Executioners from Shaolin — and his brother White Lotus try to get revenge — Clan of the White Lotus — but I’ll watch it over and over again. Gordon Liu even showed up as Pai Mei in Kill Bill Volume 2, so when Westerners think of Shaw Brothers movies, he may be the exact character they imagine.

Thanks to Erich Kuersten, who correctly pointed out that I confused Lo Lieh with Gordon Liu. Check out his site, Acidemic. It’s awesome.