english title | Shaolin Mantis |
original title | 螳螂 |
aka | Deadly Mantis |
french title | La Mante Religieuse |
year | 1978 |
country | Hong-Kong |
genres | kung-fu period |
duration | 1h30 environ |
production studio | Shaw Brothers 邵氏 |
Arguably the best film director for traditional style kung-fu action, Liu Chia-liang (aka Lau Kar-leung) was a pioneer in exploring authentic martial arts technique and training procedures in kung-fu films. So although David Chiang is a kung-fu film veteran, it's no wonder that in The Shaolin Mantis, where he plays a man who learns martial arts from a praying mantis then seeks revenge for his wife's death, the movie features some of his best kung-fu fights to date.