Overview: After one of its lead actors (cherub-faced action icon Alexander Fu Sheng) unexpectedly died midway through production, master director Lau Kar-leung (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) retooled his latest martial arts epic, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, as the ultimate action spectacular in tribute to the fallen star.

Loosely based upon the legendary Yang dynasty chronicled in Chinese folklore, the film starts as the family patriarch and all but two of his sons are brutally wiped out in a bloody battle. One surviving son (Fu Sheng) returns to his mother and two sisters, deeply traumatized; the other (Gordon Liu) escapes and joins a nearby monastery while in hiding.

Once he learns his sister (Kara Hui) has been captured by their enemies, however, the warrior-turned-monk realizes he must renounce his peaceful ideals in order to mount a rescue mission and avenge his family.

Made during the legendary Shaw Brothers studio’s twilight years as a filmmaking powerhouse, The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is often regarded as director Lau’s masterpiece, as elegiac and suffused with anguish as it is thrillingly violent (not least in its bone-crunching, teeth-smashing climax).

Blu-ray Verdict: This is the last film Liu Chia Liang (aka Lau Kar Leung) made for Shaw Brothers Studios and in my opinion, it is probably his best. After doing much lighter, comedic fare like My Young Auntie (of which I personally champion and highly recommend), Liu Chia Liang took this project in a darker, more violent and much more serious direction.

Gordon Liu stars in this kung fu epic and is in top fighting form and gives an excellent acting performance as the lead. He plays a brother from a royal family who was betrayed and his father and brothers were slaughtered in an ambush. He finds sanctuary in a Shaolin temple and becomes a monk.

As usual in a Gordon Liu/Liu Chia Liang production, the storytelling is fluent, the acting is solid and the fights are awesome. The old Shaw sets look great and there is an abundance of fights as well, of which they are all oh-so very well choreographed, but also oh-so very brutal and bloody.

Shaw Brothers is well known for having quality productions, but The 8 Diagram Polefighter is a flawless production where all the elements come together for a perfect martial arts film.

Great storyline, wonderful acting, awesome direction and some of the best and most intense fight scenes ever filmed, put The 8 Diagram Polefighter heads and shoulders above most other martial arts films.

In closing, The 8 Diagram Polefighter is a must have for any martial arts fan and this title gets my highest recommendation. On a sad note, it is unfortunate that Alexander Fu Sheng died in a car accident during the making of this film as his role would have been so much larger, and deservedly so based on what we see. This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.35:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Brand new 2K restoration from the original camera negative by Arrow Films
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Original lossless Cantonese, Mandarin and English mono audio
Optional English subtitles, plus hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
Brand new commentary by Jonathan Clements, author of A Brief History of China
Newly filmed appreciation by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
Interviews with stars Gordon Liu, Lily Li and Yeung Ching-ching, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2004
A Tribute to Fu Sheng, a short film commemorating the late actor that played before early screenings of The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, presented via a German-dubbed telecine (the best available copy) with English subtitles
Alternate opening credits, as The Invincible Pole Fighters
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Marc Aspinall
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collectors’ booklet featuring new writing on the film by Terrence J. Brady

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