Shaolin Soccer [2001] | ![Shaolin Soccer [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51TF178VXZL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Stephen Chow
Actors: Stephen Chow, Vicki Zhao, Man Tai Ng
Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £19.99
Buy New: £3.18
You Save: £16.81 (84%)
New (15) Used (4) from £3.00
Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 7016
Format: Dubbed, Pal
Languages: English (Subtitled), Cantonese Chinese (Original Language), English (Dubbed)
Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region: 2
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 86 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5060034571742
ASIN: B0006M4S28
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: March 14, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: All of our items are brand new and take approx 4-6 working days (excluding weekends) from order to delivery. We only deliver to the UK.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Computer generated special effects have seldom been so giddy as in Shaolin Soccer, a gleeful fusion of kung fu and a classic Bad News Bears sports story. A former soccer star--whose "golden leg" was broken by a hired mob--assembles a team of former students of Shaolin martial arts, whose assorted skills (indicated by their nicknames, like Mighty Steel Leg and Iron Head) lend themselves to the swift interplay of the world's most popular game. Along the way, the team's leader (Hong Kong comic superstar Stephen Chow) meets a sticky bun baker (Vicki Zhao) whose kung fu is the equal of any of his teammates. Shaolin Soccer is supremely silly--in the final match, their opponents are called Team Evil--but that's part of the fun. American movies rarely achieve this perfect balance of the absurd and the sincere. A delight. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 A bit of a letdown January 16, 2008
Mr. Jan Tari (london)
Starts off as a really first-class bit of slapstick, visual puns and self-mick-taking but then seems to conk out in a frenzy of CGI and wirework.
Probably worth watching for the first half alone but I much preferred Kung Fu Hustle (q.v.)
This movie is ridiculously funny!, June 29, 2007
Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada)
Stephen Chow did an amazing job of creating a story involving real characters in not so real, but agreeable situations. He has given each character a personality of its own; just to create comedy, with a humor that is sometimes honest and others rough. It has some great comedy moments although, coming from the characters, very peculiar ones.
It basically all comes from the characters. You have different persons, united by one thing: Shaolin Kung-Fu. And then you have one man, with one passion: Soccer. This premise helps to create human emotions in the characters. They all have a past that, for some reason, want to forget. Except one of them, who could be living in the past, and still thinks in the goodness of Shaolin Kung-Fu. He believes in it so much, that he gives speeches to people about the qualities of his culture, and the improvement it could do in society. He is right, and sooner or later, she will remind these things to some people, and they will all remember. They will all be prepared to get together again.
What a good-hearted film this is, and how it is filmed, it's beyond imagination. You will find special effects from other world. In occasions, these will seem slow for you, and you will think they are not well managed or handled; but then you will watch. Watching will make you connect all the elements of the story, to make it one. In elements I include special effects, and say again: they couldn't be done better, especially in a movie like this one.
The entire cast did a wonderful job in their roles by giving their characters the personal development they need. They are not playing the most complex people in the world, but they still know what characters they're playing. Some of the scenes, such as the first time we see Mui making bread, are absolute genius; so funny that you can't help but to laugh. I felt Mui seemed like she should have been in more of the film, and I've read that a lot of her part got cut out of the American release, which is a shame. A number of people are saying the original is vastly superior to the edited U.S. version, but this version is so great that I would be mightily impressed if that were true.
The idea of this movie is ingenious, using the style of extravagant martial arts films in a soccer movie, and is done beautifully. You will probably find something you've seen before, I can't deny that. You will find the ending you expect, the situations you imagine, the resolutions you anticipate, or not. You'll have the old coach, the person with the dreams and the heart, the girl; it's just that you'll have them differently (you'll realize what I mean). This is another type of cliché, a very different one, so different that I would say it is not a cliché at all.
 Too stylised June 15, 2007
Steven R. Potts (Hampshire, England)
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Unless you're a fan of Chinese wire-work movies and the stylised approach that they take, there are better things to do with your time.
Not sure that the humour or suspension of disbelief that is required suits a traditional Western audience.
 I'm all for the suspension of disbelief... May 10, 2007
Mr. Zaid Al-zaidy (London, UK)
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
...but this was absolutely ridiculous. An incredibly predictable and boring plot, not salvaged at all by special effects or kung fu. The hyperbolic cut to ridiculous dance scenes were cringe-worthy. I am a major fan of martial arts movies and usually, I'm incredibly forgiving of most films. In this instance, I couldn't help but push down on the chapter forwarding button, again and again. Sorry.
A Chinese Comedy Classic April 20, 2007
Jay (Mauritius)
The action combines wire fighting, actual kung fu moves, and cgi to make a very good movie. It has just enough cheese factor to make it silly but doesn't go overboard (Thriller - just watch the movie :p). I haven't laughed this much watching a movie in a long time. There will always be people that'll point out the wire fighting and say it is no Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but so what? If you are looking for a movie that will keep you interested with the perfect blend of comedy, action, and even a touch of romance (just a little) and no big name celebrities to muck up a good film, this is the way to go. The goalkeeper of Chow's team got me in splits - the punishment he took..wow
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