DVD Synopsis: Ong, a chief of the Green Dragon Association, has been playing havoc in the Shan Tung area. Knight Yin comes to visit his fiancee Tik, but finds her house has been deserted. He is shocked and lets his frustration out on Ong's henchmen. One-legged Wolf, Ma and some people. Only Ma manages to escape from death in the ensuing fight. Tik goes back home to get some warm clothes for her mom and ambushed by Ma and his guys. Yin fights a way out but Tik is captured. At dawn, he returns to the town and asks for help from Suen who arrives in town with a valuable consignment in his escort. Yin wants to use Suen's consignment as a bait for the bandits but Suen refuses. Finally, yields to the demand after being defeated in a duel. Ong and his gangsters come back for the consignment. He brings Tik along as a hostage. As a result, Yin gets Tik back and watches Ong takes away the consignment. Back at the stronghold, Ong is exasperated and discovering that the consignment is faked. Tik is safe now, so Yin dispatches the notorious bandits right at their stronghold... (79 Mins)

​

Views: Director Huang Feng, who delivered one of Golden Harvest's first feature films with Angela Mao Ying's Angry River, brings another fun kung-fu adventure packed full of wild and colourful characters, exciting kung-fu battles, and Sammo Hung in a big hairy waistcoat. Bandits Of Shantung tells the simple tale of a visiting swordsman that stands-up to a gang of bullies in the province, after his fiancée is kidnapped by them. While the film opens with a bit of a slower first half hour than one would hope for, things very quickly pick-up as Yan Tie Yi arrives in town and soon comes face-to-face with the infamous bandits. It is here that we are treated to the first real fight of the film as Yan goes up against the 5th boss of the bandits in blistering showdown of blades and sharp moves, in a neatly choreographed battle with some highly entertaining moments, before he goes on to trade moves with Green Dragon Tong – another one of the bandit leaders. Yan is played by genre favourite Chang Yi, an actor and martial arts star that began his career at the Shaw Brothers in the late 60s with films like The Thundering Swordsman, The Silent Swordsman, King Cat, and the awesome Bells Of Death. It would only be a few years later that he, along with a number of other Shaw Brothers stars, would follow ex-studio producer Raymond Chow to his new company with the beloved Golden Harvest. Impressing as both an actor and on-screen fighter, Chang very quickly gained a following and went on to star in almost 100 films into the early 90s, with Sammo Hung's awesome Moon Warriors providing one of his final roles. Of course, the pair had gone back years, with Bandits From Shantung being one of their earliest after The Fast Sword and Brothers Five – with both going on to share the screen many times over the years in films such as Lady Whirlwind, The Traitorous, and Where's Officer Tuba?

​

As the 5th Boss, Sammo Hung doesn't really get past the previously mentioned fight scene as he gets pulverised into the ground by Chang and killed off pretty quick. Although it is safe to say that as the choreographer, Sammo most certainly gave himself one of the more entertaining fights of the film – of course, sticking around to choreograph the rest of the action in the film which were all pretty enjoyable. This was an exciting year for Hung with the birth of the new studio that allowed him a bit more freedom to do what he wanted, having already spent a good decade in the industry as an actor and choreographer flitting between Shaw Brothers productions and more – fast making a name for himself as a man of many talents. The always wonderful Pai Ying co-stars as the bandit chief, holding back all his moves until the final battle against Chang Yi. As well as starring in King Hu classics like Dragon Inn and A Touch Of Zen, Pai joined the Golden Harvest train early on to appear in films such as The Invincible Eight and Angry River, as well as starring in a number of other independent productions. Much like Chang Yi, Pai would continue to work with Sammo over the years from Lady Whirlwind and Hapkido to The Fate Of Lee Khan and The Valiant Ones, going on to star in over 100 films through to the turn-of-the-century.

​

Director Huang Feng has certainly delivered a number of classic titles over the years, and many of which saw the participation of Sammo Hung and Angela Mao Ying, in one way or another. These include films such as The Angry River, Lady Whirlwind, Hapkido, When Taekwondo Strikes, Stoner, The Tournament, The Legendary Strike, and the awesome Shaolin Plot. I must also point out that Bandits From Shaolin is pretty neatly shot thanks to cinematographer Danny Lee Yau Tong, who started his career in the Shaw Brothers in the late 60s before he joined everyone else in their move to Golden Harvest only a few years later. Lee would go on to shoot many of Huang's titles as well as films such as The Skyhawk, Iron Fisted Monk, Encounters Of A Spooky Kind, Police Story 2, Armour Of God, Duel To The Death, and many more. While it wasn't amazing in any way or as crammed with martial action as I had hoped, Bandits From Shantung was still quite an enjoyable flick and offered enough great fight action courtesy of the legendary Sammo Hung!

​

Fans should also keep an eye out for young stuntmen and actors such as Mars, Chin Suet Yang, Wilson Tong, Law Keung, and others...

​

Overall: An early classic from Golden Harvest studios, Bandits From Shantung proves to be a lot of fun and offers plenty of great kung-fu action!

​

DVD Extras: Trailer, Photo Gallery