18 SHAOLIN RIDERS
(Taiwan 1980)
Original Title: Xuan Feng Shi Ba Qi (aka) 18 Swirling Riders; 18 Riders To Justice; Eighteen Swirling Riders
Directed by Lin Fu Ti Produced by Ng Yuen Cheung Action by He Ming Hsiao Starring: Wong Tao, Chen Sing, Judy Lee, Lo Lieh, Wen Chaing Lung, Ko Yu Min, Fan Dan Fung, Lee Man Tai, Chen Hui Lou, Yi Yuan, Liu Li Tsu Reviewing: Amazon Prime UK Release Genres: Traditional Kung-Fu / Drama
Rating: 3 / 5
Synopsis: The 18 Riders of Shaolin are a group of kung fu philanthropists who use their deadly skills to protect the weak and needy. But trouble brews when an evil kung fu master infiltrates the group and attempts to use trickery to rob them and destroy their clan. (85 Mins)
Views: A gang of Robin Hood type warriors known as the Swirling Riders, like to steal from the rich to give to the poor. They are also masters of disguise, pulling off latex faces here and there, as well as being some of the finest fighters in the land. They also happen to be a very odd bunch of people! After being tricked by a girl in a box who reveals a tiny paper knife, the team agree to help find out who killed her teacher...? Well I think that's what they agreed. The print I was watching was pretty rough on the edit, suffering from fast cuts on certain scenes that most probably meant something got lost along the way. While it has a lot going on in terms of cast, locations, sets and fights, 18 Shaolin Riders gets a little bit tripped up in itself to start with. Seemingly shot on a decent budget, this Taiwanese made classic aims for mystery and hidden motives with its disguises, double-crossings, and secret meetings. It's not that it fails to do so, it just doesn't do it so wonderfully to begin with and may lose viewers too early...
The cast is great, of course, with the fantastic Wong Tao, Wen Chiang Lung, Chen Hui Lou and Judy Lee getting the most of the screen time. This was only one of thirteen films that Wong would star in throughout 1977, and had only started in the business 3 years before with roles in films such as Chinatown Capers, Yellow Faced Tiger/Slaughter In San Francisco, The Hot The Cool & The Vicious, and the classic Secret Rivals. Of course, Don Wong would go on to star in over 80 films overall quickly becoming a hugely successful kung-fu star, and entertaining fans over the decades – even making appearances in modern films such as Born To Be King, Wolf, Ballistic, The Gap, and Yes Sir 7 in 2016. The equally popular Wen Chiang Long co-stars, and already had over 30 productions behind him before joining the party. Many of these were for the prolific Joseph Kuo including The Death Duel, Triangular Duel, Rikisha Kuri, Iron Man, and Shaolin Kung Fu, as well as films such as 18 Shaolin Disciples, The Super Riders, Eight Hundred Heroes, and The Fighting Of Shaolin Monks (which I really enjoyed as a kid). Much like her co-star, the fantastic Judy Lee also had 30 titles behind her before this production – 30 titles over 5 years – including the classic Queen Boxer, The Girl Named Iron Phoenix, The Blazing Temple, Story In Temple Red Lily, The 8 Masters, and The Fighting Of Shaolin Monks along with Wen. Lee would go on to star in almost 60 titles over her 14 years in the industry, and would quickly prove herself to be one of the true 'queens of kung-fu' cinema before retiring from the big screen in the mid-80s. It was also great to see Chen Sing and Lo Lieh lending their star power as the bad guys of the piece, albeit as extended cameos overall, along with plenty of other regular faces of 70's Hong Kong and Taiwanese kung-fu cinema who show-up throughout...
Although there are never really ever 18 riders in the film (well, not until the final shot), 18 Shaolin Riders is a very interesting piece overall. I found it to be somewhat experimental in many ways with its cinematography, editing, and choreography aiming to give something a little bit different to what other films from that era were offering. The fights themselves are far from boring and often mix wire-fu with fast hand-to-hand combat, as well as offering some nice stunt-work also. I saw shades of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers at times, which was an interesting mix with the more grounded action. I know I say it often, but it would be great to see this film cleaned up in its original language and ratio, as I believe the English dub and chopped release has some major issues that clearly take away from a much better film!
Overall: Stick with it as 18 Shaolin Riders gets better as it moves along, delivering an interesting kung fu film with some nice moments!
