Gordon Liu vs. Lo Lieh. What more could a kung-fu fan ask for?
Clan of the White Lotus (also known internationally as Fists of the White Lotus) is a 1980 Shaw Brothers Martial Arts Movie starring Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh, on opposing sides, and Kara Wai in a supporting role.
The White Lotus Chief (Lieh), a fearsome and dangerous practitioner and leader of the White Lotus cult, is on a killing spree, intending to wipe out all Shaolin-affiliated clans. His rampage left scores and scores of dead bodies behind, and when a lawful Shaolin practitioner, Man Ting-Hung (Liu) lose all his friends, his brother-in-law-slash-best friend, and nearly his life in a battle against the White Lotus Chief, he must train himself to defeat an otherwise invulnerable, invincible enemy.
This film have been often compared with Executioners from Shaolin, also starring Gordon, where it serves as a Spiritual Successor due to sharing numerous themes, backstories and concepts.
Clan of the White Lotus or Fists of the White Lotus (depending on where you live...) contains examples of:
- Achilles' Heel: The sole weak spot of the White Lotus Chief is his palm.
- Big Brother Mentor: Or Big Sister Mentor, with Mei-Hsiao as the tutor helping Man Ting-Hung learn a new skill necessary to defeat the White Lotus Chief.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: The White Lotus Chief have really impressive white eyebrows, which matches his flowing white hair.
- Blood from the Mouth: Man Ting-hung suffers this fate after a humiliating defeat in the hands of the White Lotus Chief, where after he threw up blood, he Know When to Fold 'Em and quickly scrams. He barely survive the battle.
- Brother–Sister Team: Man Ting-hung and his older sister, Mei-Hsiao, are both seasoned martial artists and expert fighters in their own rights. However, Mei-Hsiao doesn't get to see any action due to her becoming a mother and is busy raising her baby.
- Cool Big Sis: Mei-Hsiao to Man Ting-Hung. It was her advice and idea of training with paper dummiess which allows Man Ting-Hung to figure out a way to bypass the villain's dangerous qi powers.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The White Lotus Chief vs. everyone else. Man Ting-Hung notably gets his ass handed back to him while watching all his friends die, and have to undergo a training sequence to figure out a way to bypass the chief's dangerous qi attacks.
- The Dreaded: The White Lotus Chief.
- Duel to the Death: The final, one-on-one duel between Man Ting-Hung and the White Lotus Chief. The hero wins, predictably.
- Epic Flail: Man Ting-Hung uses his flail to take down the Priest's followers in a few fights.
- Groin Attack: Attempted on the White Lotus Chief. It doesn't work.
- Impaled Palm: This is how the White Lotus Chief finally gets defeated, when Man Ting-hung drives a hairpin through both his palms. Which kills him.
- Leave No Survivors: The White Lotus Chief issued these orders on an entire temple of people. It's pretty much his schtick the whole movie.
- Light Is Not Good: The White Lotus Chief has flowing white hair, brow and beards, is clad entirely in white clothing the entire film... and is a nasty piece of work.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: The film's Big Bad, the White Lotus Chief, is absolutely invulnerable and can either dodge, reflect, or absorb every single attack thrown at him. His qi can even No-Sell a Groin Attack, while he rips his opponents apart with his bare hands. The only way to kill him is by puncturing the Pressure Point that serves as his sole weak spot, which is located in his palms.
- Nonchalant Dodge: Often performed by the White Lotus Chief during fight scenes. He dishes out pretty much a curb-stomping to almost everyone that dared to challenge him, with no effort at all.
- Power Floats: The White Lotus Chief's main power; his inner qi buildup is so massive that his opponents couldn't even get close to him, since he can literally float away from their punches in an instant.
- Pressure Point: Man Ting-hung's attempted methods to defeat the White Lotus Priest, by jabbing scores and scores of needles (given to him by his sister) into various pressure points on his opponent's face, back, limbs, and basically everywhere, but to no avail. Yeah, the Priest is still capable of fighting even after becoming like this
◊. It takes a pin through both the palms to finally take him down. - Retired Badass: Mei-Hsiao, Man Ting-hung's older sister who stopped becoming a fighter after having her first baby.
- Training Montage: Man Ting-hung had to undergo one of these to figure out how to defeat the White Lotus Chief, by getting over his enemy's powerful qi and inflicting a fatal blow on his opponent.
