In the West (and indeed by me), Ringo Lam is perhaps best known as the director of Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicles like Maximum Risk and the underrated In Hell, but like most of the Hong Kong filmmakers who started doing English language work in the ’90s and ’00s, he had a long history in action movies in his home country. He directed many contemporary action films, notably City on Fire, which Quentin Tarantino took liberal inspiration from for parts of Reservoir Dogs.
Burning Paradise, made in 1994, is Lam’s sole wuxia film. A remake of 1965’s Temple of the Red Lotus, starring the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu, it follows Fong Sai-yuk (Willie Chi Tian-Sheng), a survivor of the sacking of Shaolin Temple by the Manchu army. However, he is captured, along with a young girl, Dau Dau (Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung), who helped him and his master hide from the Manchu.
Burning Paradise, made in 1994, is Lam’s sole wuxia film. A remake of 1965’s Temple of the Red Lotus, starring the legendary Jimmy Wang Yu, it follows Fong Sai-yuk (Willie Chi Tian-Sheng), a survivor of the sacking of Shaolin Temple by the Manchu army. However, he is captured, along with a young girl, Dau Dau (Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung), who helped him and his master hide from the Manchu.
- 5/26/2023
- by Sam Inglis
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Martial arts cinema and the Shaolin Temple have always been closely aligned, with numerous stories featuring both the Temple and those that passed through its walls. Any discussion of the best in this genre will inevitably feature Shaolin somewhere in the conversation. This version of “Shaolin Temple” gathers together the stalwarts of Chang Cheh’s features in Ti Lung and David Chiang alongside those that would take on the mantle in Alexander Fu Sheng and Chi Kwan-chun. Also, we get outings for those that would make up the future Venoms. So, like the central narrative on one story ending but others beginning, it becomes a cinematic passing of the torch from one generation to the other Indeed, it was part of a cycle of Shaolin movies that Chang Cheh would explore these characters more in “Heroes Two”, Five Shaolin Masters” etc. With there being countless retellings of the temples last days,...
- 1/31/2022
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
During the early 1990’s there was an incredible array of outstanding films to emerge from the final embers of the Hong Kong New Wave. So much so, that inevitably some would get lost and become fragmented memories waiting to be rediscovered. “Burning Paradise” in my home country of England received a video release from the “Made in Hong Kong Label” that was responsible for converting many like myself to this incredible cinematic world. After that, nothing. Whilst Ringo Lam would forever be remembered for his contribution to Heroic Bloodshed with “City on Fire” and “Full Contact”, this, his sole attempt at the period action genre, has largely been ignored. A gothic horror infused martial arts epic with its canvas seeped in blood and arguably his finest achievement.
After the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, Fong Sai Yuk (Willie Chi) and a monk are chased into the desert.
After the destruction of the Shaolin Temple, Fong Sai Yuk (Willie Chi) and a monk are chased into the desert.
- 4/28/2021
- by Ben Stykuc
- AsianMoviePulse
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.