American Shaolin (1991)
American Shaolin is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Lucas Lowe and starring (among others) Reese Madigan, Kim Chan and Daniel Dae Kim.
Plot:
During a martial arts tournament, the American finalist Drew Carson (Reese Madigan) is humiliated by his opponent, ruthless and sadistic kickboxer Trevor Gottitall (Trent Bushey) who pantses him during the match, leaving the embarrassed Drew in his briefs as the audience mercilessly laughs at him. To add to the insult, Drew’s teacher Master Kwan (Kim Chan) confesses that he is not—as he had claimed—a Shaolin monk, and therefore he had not passed on the actual knowledge of Shaolin kung fu to Drew.
Determined to learn the actual art to prevent another such situation, Drew departs for China and arrives at the Shaolin Temple. At first, the monks do not let him enter, but with the help of a pretty tea shop waitress, Ashena (Alice Zhang Hung), and an old monk (Henry O) who gives him a decisive advise, he waits outside of the temple for a week, after which he manages to be admitted. The old monk also turns out to be the abbot of the temple, Master San De, and he and his stern taskmaster train Drew and a number of other young apprentices in the ways of the Shaolin.
Production:
During the only day of filming within the walls of the Forbidden City, the entire film cast and crew were inexplicably ordered to leave by the government, despite having been granted permission to shoot there. The principal photography on American Shaolin took place from May through late August 1991, two years after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and the filming, particularly within Beijing itself, was under heavy governmental scrutiny.
In the United States, the film was released on video by Academy Entertainment as American Shaolin: King of the Kickboxers 2. Although both this film and The King of the Kickboxers share the same director, they are completely unrelated in terms of plot and characters. The film has never been released on DVD in the United States.
The film was the debut performance of Daniel Dae Kim, who at the time was a Taekwondo black belt.
The DVD is available in Australia.