BUDDHA'S PALM is an eclectic fantasy epic that comes to us courtesy of the Shaw Brothers studio. Plot-wise, it has the complexity of a Chor Yuen martial world drama, yet the narrative structure is a mere backbone on which to hang an incessant stream of special effects footage. Anybody familiar with other Shaw efforts from this era like SHAOLIN PRINCE or BATTLE WIZARD, or indeed Tsui Hark's seminal ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN, will know what to expect here.Derek Yee plays the hero of the piece, initially a scarred waiter before he picks up the titular technique, has a face lift, and becomes one of the world's martial arts masters. The story sees him interacting with various other famous figures from the martial world, all of whom have their own allegiances and styles, but trouble beckons when one vengeful old-timer decides to make his mark on the world by killing off his rivals.To be honest, I didn't have much idea of what was going on here, especially in the first half of the movie. Things do coalesce in the film's second half and it builds to a suitably impressive climax that acts as an effects showcase. The actors don't really get much of a look in, although Kara Hui is unmissable and Lo Lieh is a strong enough actor to make his character a real (and delightful) presence. Otherwise, it's all about the effects, from post-STAR WARS computer effects involving magical blasts and magic weapon duels to a life-size Chinese dragon (one of my favourite elements) and various character super-powers, with Shih Kien's extending foot a real highlight. BUDDHA'S PALM is the kind of film it's pretty difficult to describe; the best thing to do is just sit down and be blown away by it all.

Young Chien-Fei Lung is a terrible fighter, until he stumbles upon Ku Han-Hun, the Flaming Cloud Devil, who takes him under his wing and teaches him the eight movements of Buddha's Palm, one of the most powerful martial arts in the world. But Ku is blind and so Chien-Fei sets out to find the one item that can cure him; in addition, he's looking for Ku's rivals from 20 years earlier, including Pi-Ku, Sun Pi-Ling, Heavenly Foot and Liu Piao-Piao, all of whom have secret weapons and skills of their own, not to mention convoluted relationships and shifting allegiances. Can Chien-Fei use his powers for good, or will he be destroyed by all these martial arts masters?I can't actually give a synopsis of this film, it's so completely wacky and ludicrous! It may help to know it's from the famous Shaw Brothers, whose martial arts films were so over the top that the only way to view them is to just forget about logic and go with the flow. This film is no exception - it's a wild mix of martial arts, "Star Wars" style light sabers, maniacal laughter and very strange special effects. Often one can tell if a character is a bad guy by his maniacal laugh, but most of the male characters in this film have maniacal laughs at one point or another, so that's no help. A lovely thing in these movies is that there are female martial arts masters as well as male, although for some reason the women are only allowed to learn four of the eight movements of Buddha's Palm, a restriction that is never explained. But there you have it, there's no point to expecting explanations (or logic or to some degree even continuity) with the Shaw Brothers, just go with the flow and enjoy it on its own very silly merits.

Towards the end of the Shaw film studio's days, they decided to pull out the stops and make their films as wild as possible. Full of gaudy lighting and crazy animated effects. Mainstay director Yuen Chor didn't do so well at this time as his films became studies in excess instead of entertainment. The Shaw's brought in some new directors and so Taylor Wong is here directing his second feature. The plot, if it can be called that, revolves around a jilted lover who falls from a cliff while being beaten by his girlfriend's husband to be. He is caught by Dameng, a sort of flying Dog Dragon, and brought to the Old Devil, a master of the Buddha Palm. Of course he learns the Palm and gets involved with the Old Devil's past. The Old Devil has a number of enemies.Where other Shaw films in this vein are rather stilted and old fashioned, this film is full of energy and inventive camera work. There are a number of camera moves that didn't become popular until the late 1990's. The lighting is frequently garish but done with some artistic restraint. The fight choreography is absolutely bizarre but it's well filmed and works because of it. Other films like this usually have lots of confusing movement that is only effective because it passes so quickly. Everything is very fake but that shouldn't dissuade you from enjoying it. There are two narrators who make comments from time to time. The narrator's comments make it clear that the film-makers didn't take any of this seriously.Probably one of the best films in this genre. Recommended.

I remember I was a little boy whose even cannot read the subtitle or understand what the actors spoke when the first time I watched ‘Buddha's Palm'. But the impression I have that this is really an entertaining flick and I love it instantaneous. It fulfilled my child fantasy. The second view to me was when I'm a junior high school student in a matinee show. Once again I stunned by it charm, and I can appreciate it with more mature value. Now, thanks for the nice effort from Celestial Pictures, I can collect this as my own private home collection.Buddha's Palm combines fantasy and Wu Xia blatantly and with it many colorful characters and novel plot it became one of the classic. Taylor Wong, as the director successfully made it with old school ambience and new wave influence altogether. See it for your self if you claim you're self as a Wu Xia fans. Maybe, the fantasy will disturb you if you seek for the plain Wu Xia plot, but in my opinion the fantasy element doesn't spoil the whole film's structure, instead make it more glorious. The year that the film made (1982) doesn't effected the up-to-date feel for a fantasy or Wu Xia film. Yes, you still can enjoy this even you now the F/X are dated. Buddha's Palm also featuring many Shaw Brothers beloved actors like Derek Yee, Kara Hui, Alex Man, Goo Goon Chung and many others. Their performance is over the top. The only thing bothers me that Buddha's Palm got many character but doesn't build them well. It seem that the fast pace have make them to appears instantly. But, except that, I think this is a superb film that should be appreciated not only for the Wu Xia or fantasy fans.8/10