The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter

The Yang family has a tradition of military service. They are betrayed in a battle: an official has come to terms with the enemy and led them into a trap. Nearly all the men are killed. The fifth son escapes and takes refuge at a monastery in the mountains. The monks accept him on one condition: he must give up violence. He takes his spear, cuts off the head and makes a pole of it. He stays, learns to fight, and when his sister finds him he has to go back. Lau Kar-leung directs. Gordon Liu takes the lead; Kara Hui and Alexander Fu Sheng are in the cast. It was made at the Shaw Brothers studio. During shooting Alexander Fu Sheng was killed in a road accident and the screenplay was changed because of it; his part was shortened. Lau Kar-leung is among the directors who worked traditional martial arts in the greatest detail, and the pole technique is presented here as a system. The matter the narrative builds is whether giving up violence is possible; the monks teach not to kill and the finale tests it. The training section built on pulling teeth is its most cited scene and among the harder examples of the genre. The sister played by Kara Hui carries the second half and an important part of the fighting is hers. The film is counted among the best examples of Hong Kong martial arts cinema. Who it is for: viewers who like classic martial arts films and the Shaw Brothers period. Who it is not for: the violence is explicit, the plot thin, and the ending abrupt.