CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS is a fine piece of Shaw Brothers martial arts spectacle and a follow-up to both EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN and the less well-known SHAOLIN ABBOT. The opening of the movie re-posits the climax of EXECUTIONERS before moving on to a different tale about a Shaolin monk (played by the inimitable Gordon Liu) and his grievance against the White Lotus priest, played with relish by a delightfully evil Lo Lieh.

Lo Lieh directed the movie too, in one of his rare forays behind the camera, and the result is a professional-looking film with strong cinematography and a slick pace. Lau Kar-Leung handles the fight choreography and ensures that the fights are tremendously exciting, as you'd expect from Shaw. I loved the simplicity of the story: it simply involves Liu suffering loss at the hands of the baddie, and then making repeated attempts on his life, training up each time he fails.

The mystical aspects of the fighting are portrayed very well, and Lieh's invincibility had me chuckling with delight. Liu is on top form as he always seemed to be while Lieh is simply having a ball. The bit where he's attacked in the bath is a real highlight, but the thing you'll remember about this one is the acupuncture-fu at the climax. Trust me when I say you'll never have seen anything like this before. Overall the film is light on plot but tremendous when it comes to the visuals and action.

Once again KING BOXER Lo Lieh's FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH are on display as the Evil Twin of the Evil Bai Mei (see EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN). As author Craig Reid points out in his excellent book THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES OF THE 1970s, the opening of CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS (an "unofficial sequel" to EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN) is at odds with the ending of the "prequel." Ah-Piao (Lin Hui-hang) falls to Bai Mei II (hereafter referred to as "Priest White Lotus") and Hung Wen-Ding (Gordon Liu) after we see Ah and Hung defeat Bai Mei I. Liu escapes with Mei (Hui Ying-hong),sister of the mangy Ah-Ching. Director Lo Lieh follows the proper form(s) as Liu combines tiger and crane kung fu in preparation for another showdown with White Lotus. Hung fights his way into the White Lotus palace using his new kung fu combo, but Priest White Lotus has mastered the art of Air Displacement (as good a name for it as any, I guess): he's able to use one's Chi or Momentum or Air Pockets or something to avoid blows. Liu bolts, as would anyone with a lick of sense in such a situation. (Remember the last of the unfortunate guards to face "Bolo" in ENTER THE DRAGON? The guy, having seen his companions brutally slain one by one, opts to turn and run...) Mei gives birth, then shows Liu how to attack paper dummies without disturbing the air around them. "It's a special woman's style," she tells him- so he learns to babysit and knit... (Sew many styles, so little time...) He weaves the knitting moves into his threadbare routine. (He's now in touch with both his Yin and his Yang sides...) Yet again, he sets off to do battle with the White Lotus Clan. Will his crazy-quilt kung fu work, or will danger still loom over his every move...? Only Time (and acupuncture) will tell...

Lo Lieh directs himself in this serio-comic kung fu outing.The best part of the film is the way Lo Lieh and Liu Chia Hui interact and get into their larger than life roles. There's lots of mass killing and tragedy at the beginning but by the time the film ends the whole thing has become very comic. The way the evil White Lotus is defeated is one of the strangest scenes in kung fu cinema.

The pacing of the film is slower than comparable films from Liu Chia Liang, who provided the fight choreography here. While the first fight scenes are just average, the final fight scenes have his visual touch on them and it seems he may have directed them.

The whole film is very colorful in the restored Celestial Pictures DVD and I recommend finding that over the U.S. TV print that is around.