Men from the Monastery (a.k.a. Disciples of Death) - 1974 (review)

Continuing with our Kung Fu-bruary series (which was picked by you, the listeners!), tonight's movie is Men from the Monastery (a.k.a. Disciples of Death)!  I initially picked this movie because of just one scene that a friend told me about during a monthly film discussion - I knew absolutely nothing else about this movie other than that one scene.  And while it is certainly a memorable scene, this movie was so much more awesome than I expected!  There are certainly some flaws (most notably, pacing issues and the fact that the plot does tend to get a bit lost in the action....the awesome, awesome action), but the impressive fight scenes, serious plot (once it gets around to it), and characters that you genuinely care about...it's no wonder why Men from the Monastery (while not perfect) is one of Chang Cheh's stand-out films in the Shaw Bros. catalog!!  So, join The Gargyle and The Chimerican as we discuss why we love Men from the Monastery as much as we do!! Since February is both Black History Month as well as Women in Horror Month, each episode in our Kung Fu-bruary series will start with segments honoring African Americans in cinema, as well as women in horror.  For tonight's episode, we honor Dope and Dayveon - two coming-of-age movies with drastically different tones (but, both awesome in their own right!!).  For Women in Horror Month, we honor Slumber Party Massacre and Stacy Title, director of... among other things... Hood of Horror (for an additional tie-in with Black History Month) and The Last Supper. Also, as we've done on the last few episodes, we continue to highlight the Chattanooga Film Festival - April 11-14.  Tonight, we highlight that Mallory O'Meara's book, The Lady from the Black Lagoon, is available for pre-order on Amazon!  We also remind you of the programming that has been announced so far:  Joe Bob Briggs, Everything is Terrible, Shock Waves Podcast, Junkfood Cinema Podcast, a screening of The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and a presentation by author Mallory O'Meara. As a reminder, the CFF fundraiser to be able to provide classes and workshops for free during the festival is still going on!  To donate, click on the following link:  CFF Fundraiser GargyleReviews.wixsite.com/thegargyle  music by Bensound.com