Executioners from Shaolin

Executioners from Shaolin
Hong Kong theatrical poster
Directed by	Lau Kar-leung
Produced by	Run Me Shaw
Written by	Kuang Ni
Starring	Chen Kuan-tai Li-Li Li Wong Yue Lo Lieh Gordon Liu
Music by	Yung-yu Chen
Distributed by	Shaw Brothers Studio
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Mandarin

Executioners from Shaolin or Hung Hsi Kuan is a 1977 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Lau Kar-leung. It is released as Shaolin Executioners outside of Hong Kong and as Executioners of Death in North America.

The film is a multi-generational story of revenge pitting the disciples of Shaolin temple against the historical figure of Pai Mei, founder of Pai Mei kung fu.

Later, the movie was released on DVD by Dragon Dynasty.

The title scene is a battle between Pai Mei and a master of the Shaolin temple in an empty red backdrop (this type of opening is a trademark of director Lau Kar-leung). Here we get the first display of Pai Mei's mastery of internal kung-fu techniques that allow him to retract his privates into his groin. After using his body protection techniques to ward off a clawing attack to the face, he traps a kick to the groin from Master Zhishan and delivers his own coup de grâce.

Master Zhishan's vision blurs as the scene changes to a more realistic scene of the aftermath of the temple's destruction. Pai Mei's protégé, area governor Kao Tsin-chung (Kong Do) and his army, chase the fleeing ex-students of Shao Lin. Tung Chin-chin, (Gordon Liu) after watching waves of other students fall to the pursuing army's arrows, makes a heroic last stand to divert their attention. He falls to a hail of arrows, crushing the throats of the soldiers he is closest to. It is left to Hung Hsi-Kuan to lead the remaining students to safety.

They join an itinerant opera group which travels from town to town on iconic red junks as a front for anti-Qing forces. Along the way he encounters the comely Ying Chun, herself a master of the Crane style. Together, they have a son, whom both of them train. When area governor and student of Pai Mei, orders the destruction of the red junks, the couple retreat to a modest home where they raise their son (Wen-Ding) and Hong begins mastering the Tiger style of kung fu in preparation for challenging Pai Mei. In the meantime, Wen-Ding seems to develop a taste for piggybacking on his father after training sessions...