Invincible Pole Fighter

I bought the 8 Diagram Pole Fighter not expecting much. It has shown on a few enthusiasts lists, but its limited availability left many newer kung fu enthusiasts not knowing its splendor. I literally tacked it onto my Amazon order as an afterthought from a marketplace vendor cheap.What I was treated to was a super fast paced, superbly choreographed spear and pole movie that kept me absorbed until the last frame. The fights in this movie were like nothing I have seen. And it has a darker feel to it than most Shaw Bros. films (largely attributed to Fu Sheng's death during filming). It has battlefield spear fighting, fighting on a horse (that's two people, one horse), a fight on stacked coffins (has to be seen), and a one on one pole fight with the head monk that is among the best pole fights I have ever seen on film.The acting is a bit melodramatic. Which works with Gordon Liu, but not some of the other characters. I think that is mainly because Liu has a great intense look, so he can pull off the quiet, intense, melodramatic. The particular edition I got (I believe a Red Sun edition) is ok, but not great. And it is in English dub only, even though it has an 'original language' option on the DVD. It's still English.If you want this movie, have a bit more money to spend, and have a region free dvd player, expand your search. There are some remastered, original language versions out there. Otherwise, if you want to only spend a few bucks on this edition, go for it. It is definitely worth the money either route you go. This ranks as one of my favorite Shaw Bros., one of my favorite Gordon Liu, and heck, one of my favorite... period.

This DVD is one of the best Kunf Fu flicks around. If you only own 2 Gorden Liu DVDs, it should be this one and Master Killer.This film is a pleasure to watch from start to finish, having superb action, a good story, great costumes, and women who can fight as well. Gorden Liu's superb skills show, especailly while he trains in the pond at Wu-Tang mountain.The costumes and sets give this film a higher visual standard, putting it a different arena than other old school Kung Fu films.The fights in this film are designed beautifully, filled with plenty of traditional kung fu, incredible staff(pole) handling, and a few wire tricks as well.There's even a fight where Gorden Liu takes on a dozen spearmen while his sister is tied to his back. Sounds almost hokey, but its done in a flawless fashion. The final battle is truly phenominal, but I don't want to give a way the ending...go see it for yourself, for the 14 bucks you'll spend, this one's a must buy.

This is a much better than average kung fu film from Shaw Bros. and Lau Kar Leung. After an attack by the Mongols that leaves 4 of his 5 brothers dead, Yang #5 (Gordon Liu) kind of bullies his way into a Buddhist temple to train for revenge. Meanwhile Yang #6 (Alexander Fu Sheng, who died in a car crash during production) returns home with little, if any, of his sanity intact.When the Yang mother finds out about #5's err, uh... aliveness... and monastic residence, she sends Yang sister #8 (Kara Hui) to bring him home. She is, of course, captured by the Mongols and #5 must set out to rescue her. Luckily he has been studying zoological dentistry and is up to the task.Part of the joy in watching these films is the sheer beauty of photography, and while this is no exception, it has a few exceptions. I love the use of sets in Shaw Bros. productions, but this movie has a couple that are rather blatant. Walls painted to look like exteriors are usually placed several yards behind the actors and other props to avoid obvious detection. We're talking about .02% of the movie so the complaint is minor. The fights are all with weapons, which is slightly disappointing, but they're all very good. My only other complaint is that whoever dubbed Fu Sheng's voice as he yells a lot of incoherent psychotic ramblings is terribly annoying, but we're talking like another .02% of the flick, so, no biggie.1984. aka: 8 Diagram Pole Fighter; Invincible Pole Fighter

Let me just say that i have over 200 kung fu movies, most i have recorded as a teen watching black belt theater back in the 9th grade, i am 32 now no lie. this is the kind of kung fu movie i love i thought the story line and fighting was top notch, there should be more family/ clan/monks/females combined, this had all of the above. i love this film, i put it at the top of my collection, i dont remember seeing this on saturday's but then i did not stay up for a few of them. this was Gordons best role as a monk even better then the master killer plus he did not have to go through all the training since his skills were already tight he kick... in this one i would love to see more titles that you thank rank better. TRE'

like most i thought it was a different movie . The Title is mis leading.

I received the dvd in a timely fashion but there was no sound. I checked the dvd and there were no files in the audio folder,I am very disappointed in this purchase and I let the vendor know i was disappointed. It cost me more for the shipment of thisdvd than the price of the product. Why didn't the vendor check the used dvd before shipping?