The movie poster drives in the point of the film being Alexander Fu's breakthrough to fame.
The New Shaolin Boxers is a 1976 Shaw Brothers Martial Arts Movie directed by Chang Cheh, starring Alexander Fu Sheng.
Chung Chien (Fu), a righteous but reckless young martial arts trainee, gets himself in trouble after interfering with street brawls one time too many. His constant picking of fights ends up having him expelled from his martial arts school, where his father, the esteemed Master Chung, decide to have Chung Chien sent to train under a hermit in the hills. At the same time, a dangerous local gang leader have plans to take over the town by eliminating all the martial art families.
The New Shaolin Tropers:
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: Feng Tien-shan managed to inflict a painful gash through Chung Chien's stomach by ambushing the hero with his clawed gauntlets. Chung Chien must finish the fight while bleeding his guts out.
- An Arm and a Leg: The final battle concludes with Feng Tien-shan fatally stabbing his gauntlets into Chung's midsection, but ends up getting Left Stuck After Attack. Chung, who still have one of his swords, hacks off Feng's gauntleted arm before going for the killing blow.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Chung Chien just can't stick his nose away from interfering with bullying thugs, street punks and hooligans picking on civilains, getting himself into all kinds of trouble which he could've avoided just by ignoring. His scuffle with Tien-shan's punks pretty much kickstarts the plot.
- Deliberately Monochrome: Chung Chien's training flashback (spliced with footage of him fighting) is in sepia.
- Dual Wield: Chung Chien in the finale wield twin daos against Feng Tien-shan, who uses his clawed gauntlets.
- The Hero Dies: Not surprising considering this is a Chang Cheh film.
- I Surrender, Suckers: Chung Chien in the finale had beaten down Master Feng, but decides to ultimately spare Feng's life to make him live with the knowledge of his defeat for the rest of his life. Feng instead grabs his clawed gauntlet and lashes out at Chung Chien.
- Match Cut: Used in the final battle when Chung Chien flashes back to his training, which is inter-cut with Chung Chien fighting Master Feng. So in the flashbacks we see Chung lashing out at trees and training dummies — that is cut with Chung hitting Master Feng in the precise spot with his fists.
- Mutual Kill: The final battle between Chung Chien and Tien-shan ends in this manner, Chung stabbing Tien-shan to death while succumbing to his injuries. While the villain dies in a graphic way onscreen, the audience see Chung Chien stagger a bit — and then cuts to his Meaningful Funeral.
- Training from Hell: Chung Chien's training from the hermit definitely qualifies. He's assigned to fill a twenty-gallon tank of water on a hill in three days by carrying two buckets of water from a river at the bottom; and as soon as the tank is filled, it's emptied again. Rinse and repeat.
- Violence is the Only Option: Chung Chien is a Martial Pacifist who, despite picking on various thugs harassing the locals, refuse to resort to murder. But against Feng Tien-shan's legion of killers, he had no choice but to start killing his way through them.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Chung Chien, who trains and fights bare-chested.
- Wolverine Claws: Master Feng Tian-shan's personal weapon, a gauntlet with hooked claws which he carries in a case everywhere he goes during his fights. He use this weapon to ambush and kill Master Chung, and later use it again to wound Chung Chien in the finale.
- You Killed My Father: The vendetta between Chung Chien and Feng Tian-shan becomes personal after Feng killed Chung's father.
