The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter

The Yang family serves the Song court as generals, but a treacherous official in league with the Mongols arranges their destruction. In a battle that becomes a massacre, the father and most of his sons are killed; only two brothers survive. One returns home, his mind shattered by what he witnessed, while the other takes shelter in a Buddhist temple on Mount Wutai. There the discipline of monastic life clashes with his desire to avenge his family, and the skills he learns in the temple become the means by which he might one day face those responsible.

Lau Kar-leung directed this 1984 Shaw Brothers production, which he also co-wrote with Ni Kuang, with Mona Fong producing. It followed his earlier martial arts films such as The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and preceded Disciples of the 36th Chamber. Gordon Liu Chia-hui plays the fifth brother, while Alexander Fu Sheng, who died before the production was completed, appears as the sixth brother, with Kara Wai Ying-Hung, Lily Li and Phillip Ko in supporting roles. The picture runs 98 minutes.

Released in Hong Kong in February 1984, the film has held up well with viewers. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.4 from roughly 4,100 votes, and on TMDB a score of 7 from about 116 votes, suggesting a smaller but appreciative audience outside its home territory.