Return to the 36th Chamber (Dragon Dynasty) – DVD Review
The Film:
For most of us, the Shaw Brothers logo that precedes each of their films, was something that instantly gets us jazzed up. The studio, a long and prosperous kung fu film company, has had a resurgence in the North American market thanks to DVD and Celestial Pictures, all to our benefit. This 1980 sequel to arguably the studio’s best film, 1978′s The 36th Chambers of Shaolin, offers fans more fun with its differences than the first film. Loosely connected trilogy, is oddly handled, since star Gordon Liu (Kill Bill), plays in each, yet different named characters, but each of equally a good film.
That’s it, Mr. Wong. I will hurt you if we continue.
Getting back to Return to the 36th Chamber, Gordon Liu plays Chu Jen-chieh, who strangely looks like a Shaolin monk named San Te (who Liu played in the first film). Using this to his advantage, his dyeing plant co-workers are facing pay cuts after their boss hires some local Manchu to oversee the operation. This doesn’t sit well with the employees, and Chu Jen-chieh acts as Abbot San Te to convince the Manchu to give the workers their pay back. It’s convincing at first, but when Chu Jen-chieh gets a little more cocky and greedy, the plant’s boss realizes the ruse and calls him out, which eventually leads to more hardship. His brother is not pleased with his act, and soon Chu Jen-chieh leaves his town in order to get some training from the Shaolin Temple.
The film twists the notion of our expectations from a 36th Chamber sequel, mixing more comedy into the mix, that allows Gordon Liu some range outside the seriousness of the first film. It’s often said that this film is on-par with the original, labeling it as a classic. Certainly, it’s a blast from start to finish, especially with Chu-Jen chieh comedically playing around with his boss and at the temple. The martial arts that the film displays aren’t as rampant throughout the film as most Shaw films, since Chu-Jen chieh never really develops his kung fu skills, or at least not in the terms we would conceivably think. Director Lau Chia Liang offers actor Gordon Liu a chance to used his martial art skills in some interesting bamboo scaffolding kung fu techniques.
So Chu Jen-chieh is using plenty of defensive skills gained from the repetitive work at the temple, since he never learns kung fu. This gives the film a unique flavor, something that makes the film memorable. The film has gone onto pop culture status as well, with Ol’ Dirty Bastard (from the Wu Tang Clan) naming his first solo album, Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirtier Version. Shaw Brothers deliver consistently awesome martial art films like nobody else ever had, even with their sequels.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: Dragon Dynasty film is in a beautiful widescreen transfer. It won’t be confused for HD, but for a standard def release, colors are bold, detail is decent, and clarity somewhat high. We get both original Cantonese and Mandarin audio tracks in their original mono an d the goofy English dub. Both are really good; no pops or issues.
Sadly, no extras as Dragon Dynasty is pretty much done releasing new titles and outside of The Killer, they’re pretty much just re-releasing Blu-ray version of their catalog. One wishes for at least a commentary from vet Bey Logan. Still, it’s wonderful having this on a solid Region 1 DVD.
Conclusion: Fun film on a decent and sadly, extra-less DVD.
The Film: Rating: 
The DVD: Rating:
