Burning Paradise (1994).
I’m most familiar with Ringo Lam’s work in the modern crime genre. His Chow Yun Fat films, City on Fire, Full Contact, and Prison on Fire, are all great films, and even his American experiments like Maximum Risk and Simon Sez are really entertaining. I had never heard of Burning Paradise, which was Ringo Lam dipping his toe into Chinese historical Qing Dynasty folklore, until it arrived on my doorstep courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome. From the back of the box: “A staggeringly violent martial arts epic, BURNING PARADISE is considered one of director Ringo Lam’s (City on Fire) best and most underrated films, as well as his only foray into the Wuxia genre. Produced in collaboration with visionary filmmaker Tsui Hark, BURNING PARADISE separates itself from other kung fu films of the time by incorporating dark fantasy elements and bloody fight choreography with a slick production value and bleak storyline. Vinegar Syndrome is proud to present this seldom seen gory martial arts shocker in its first English-friendly Blu-ray release, restored in 2K from the original camera negative.”
This is a Fong Sai-yuk film. Fong Sai-yuk is a Chinese folklore legend who was first mentioned in wuxia stories dating back possibly as far as 1928. The tales about Fong Sai-yuk start with his upbringing - his father, Fong Tak (方德; Fang De), was a wealthy merchant, while his mother, Miu Tsui-fa (苗翠花; Miao Cuihua), was a martial arts expert and the daughter of Miu Hin, one of the Five Elders of Shaolin who escaped the Shaolin massacre. Sai-yuk trained in martial arts from his mother from an early age.
When he was still 10 years old, Sai-yuk was challenged by Lei Lao Ho to a duel and accidentally killed him in a battle. Following the fight, the local authorities were ordered to find Sai-yuk and beat him to death. To escape those who pursued him over the killing of the aforementioned master, Sai-yuk ran to Fujian Shaolin Temple to hide from pursuers. There, he was accepted by the temple occupants and trained with them in martial arts.
Due to this incident, Bak Mei and his disciples decided to seek revenge on Sai-yuk. Because of this, Sai-yuk left the Shaolin temple to train more in Shaolin Martial arts and traditional techniques.
Obviously this exciting backdrop is perfect for dramatic action films. The first film made about him was called Fong Sai-yuk Sets Fire to Hung Wan Temple back in 1949, and since then he’s been the subject of many films and television series. The Shaw Brothers put out various kung-fu films centered on him, including Shaolin Temple (1976), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), Return to the 36th Chamber (1980), and Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985), all of which they produced, as well as distributing Heroes Two and Men from the Monestery in 1974. The two most well known films are probably Fong Sai-yuk and Fong Sai-yuk 2, both of which released in 1993 and star Jet Li as the titular legend.
So now that you’ve gotten a little history lesson, back to Burning Paradise. This film starts with Fong Sai-yuk and his master Chi Nun fleeing from Manchu government agents. Chi Nun is hurt, so Fong Sai-yuk puts him on a horse and sends him away, ready to face an army of horseback riding warriors on his own. Almost right away, we see the skill Fong Sai-yuk has and we understand the brutality we’re going to see on screen, when he splits a Manchu warrior in half at the waist, leaving his bottom half still riding the horse while blood squirts out like a fountain. That was the moment when I went from interest to attention. He gets away, but his time on the lam is short lived - he, Chi Nun, and a prostitute named Tou Tou are eventually surrounded - they kill Chi Nun and capture the other two, taking them to the Red Lotus Temple, a prison that there is no escaping thanks to a sadistic warden named Kung and his unrelenting booby traps. The rest of the film is about motivating the captured Shaolin Monks to rise up and try to escape the Red Lotus and rescuing Tou Tou from Kung.
There are a few really cool foils to go up against Fong Sai-yuk. The first is the leader of the Manchu soldiers, Crimson. Fans of the film Master of the Flying Guillotine will appreciate the influence here, as his staff topped flying guillotine is the coolest weapon in the film. The second is a mysterious masked female warrior named Brooke, and the third is Hung Hei-gun, a master of Tiger Claw style and Shaolin Monk traitor who now works as Kung’s foreman. The fight scenes, which are unrelenting, are very exciting and well done. The fights between former brothers in arms, Fong Sai-yuk and Hung Hei-gun, are the best of the bunch. Both men want to win, but deep down they don’t want to severely injure the other, so it’s a delicate balancing act of hurting and helping their opponent. The booby traps are also a fun added wrinkle, as spikes, trap doors, hidden guns, and more are waiting around every turn to cause destruction and death. Like I said before, the film is also pretty gory in parts - heads are ripped off, spikes impale people, someone even gets cut in half by one of the trap doors.
Dissenters of Burning Paradise normally cling to the changes in tone, but that never bothered me. There are a few moments of oddly placed comedy and a romantic subplot between Fong Sai-yuk and Tou Tou that never felt genuine, but I still really dug the film. I think this is an easy recommendation if you’re into Kung-fu films, wuxia films, or just want to see Ringo Lam doing something way different than his modern crime films. Unfortunately, Hong Kong audiences weren’t as kind in 1994. The film was considered a big box office flop, making only around $23,300. Unsurprisingly there’s no Roger Ebert review on this and it doesn’t look like Kevin Thomas reviewed it for the LA Times, but I was able to find a review from Joey O’Bryan from the Austin Chronicle from 1994. It reads, “As usual, Lam dazzles with a combination of violent action, wicked irony, and down-and-dirty script mechanics, while producer Hark provides the generous production values that give the whole affair that extra gloss. Newcomer Kwan Tin Sang's performance as Fong has made him the hot new action star in Hong Kong, and his stylish acrobatics are sure to keep audiences happy. However, it's Lam's bizarre direction that makes this one of the better chopsocky efforts in recent memory. He manages to make the genre's clichés seem brand new again, creating a considerably darker and more sinister piece than your typical martial arts picture. Picture Abel Ferrara directing a Jet Li movie and you'll get the idea. Although the finale is a slight letdown, for the most part, Burning Paradise is a terrific movie that tells an old story with a new attitude.” Now, he mentioned Kwan Tin Sang’s performance has made him the hot new action star in Hong Kong, but unfortunately, his career never really took off after this. Also known as Willie Chi, he starred in just four movies total - this one, Drunken Master III, The Little Drunken Masters, and The 18 Shaolin Golden Boys, all within a 3 year span. After 1996, he just kind of disappeared and I cannot find out what happened to him.
Film4 from the UK reviewed the film eleven years after it’s release in 2005, saying, “Creative effort by the chop-socky-tastic Lam to rework an old story (first told in 1928) of some Shaolin monks imprisoned in the Red Lotus Temple for instigating an uprising against Manchu. Lam gives the story a new twist by envisaging the temple as a kind of Quake-type fortress complete with bottomless pits, traps, poison gases and other nasties that await the two fighters who are assigned to free the monks. Some amazing cinematography and art direction lift this endeavour out of the ordinary - but horse-lovers should beware.” And yeah, they’re right - a horse gets its head ripped clean off by that flying guillotine at one point.
The Vinegar Syndrome Blu-ray is beautiful, and contains the following special features. A Commentary track with film historian & author Samm Deighan, “A Rare Confidant” (16 min) – a brand new interview with actor Wong Kam Kong, Archival interview with Producer Tsui Hark (5 min), Video essay by filmmaker Chris O’Neill (20 min), Original theatrical trailer, a 12-page booklet with essay by martial arts film historian and author Grady Hendrix, and newly translated closed captions.
