In 2013, EL REY acquired the rights to what is arguably the finest collection of Kung Fu movies ever – vintage Shaw Brothers films. EL REY is showcasing two to three Shaw Brothers films in their original uncut versions on Flying Five Finger One Armed Eight Pole Shaolin Exploding Death Touch Thursdays. Available through Comcast, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable, EL REY is masterminded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, known for his unique film franchises like Machete, From Dusk till Dawn, Sin City and Spy Kids. For my Chollywood Rising column in the March+April issue of Kung Fu Tai Chi, I had the opportunity to chat with Robert Rodriguez about Shaw Brothers.

GC: What was the first Shaw Brothers film you remember seeing and what did you think at that time?

RR: Five Fingers of Death (1972) and One-Armed Swordsman (1967). A friend of mine in high school turned me onto them and we immediately started making our own backyard Kung Fu movies. They were so inspiring. I must have made about 30 Kung Fu short films. That's all we did for about a year.

GC:  What made you want to pursue the distribution rights to Shaw Brothers’ catalog for EL REY?

RR:  I've loved these films for so long and I thought the collection of kickass stories and rebelliously heroic characters fit perfectly with the EL REY brand.

GC: How many Shaw Brothers films does EL REY have?

RR:  EL REY acquired 255 films.

GC:  What are some of your favorite Shaw Brothers classics?

RR: Five Fingers of Death, One-Armed Swordsman, 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), Heroes of the East (1978), Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976),  The Five Deadly Venoms (1978).

GC:  I recently caught The Web of Death (1976) for the very first time on an EL REY Flying Five Finger One Armed Eight Pole Shaolin Exploding Death Touch Thursday.  What an awesome film! What are some of your guiltiest overlooked pleasures from the Shaw Brothers?

RR: Well, I'm not sure if it’s overlooked but Five Element Ninjas (1982) is great. It's one of director Chang Cheh's best and it’s an interesting take on the Japanese ninja that eventually became a craze in the United States.  The beginning is almost non-stop action featuring Bushido versus Chinese Kung Fu. Then the ninja scenes are gory but in a great way.

GC: Is there a Shaw Brothers title that you fantasize about remaking?

RR:  Five Fingers of Death (a.k.a. King Boxer) and The Five Deadly Venoms would be great. Five Fingers of Death could even be translated into modern times. And The Five Deadly Venoms are awesome anti-heroes in a world of great characters filled with shades of good and bad.

GC: Who are your favorite actors in the Shaw Brothers stable and why?

RR: Alexander Fu Sheng – It’s tragic that he died so young; he had true martial art talent and charisma. He was Jackie Chan before Jackie Chan.

Lo Lieh – Awesome bad guy, awesome good guy!

Gordon Liu of course – He set the standard with 36 Chambers, Heroes of the East, Eight Diagram Pole Fighter (1984) and with Kill Bill 1 (2003) and 2 (2004). He's still badass today.

Philip Kwok – Brilliant as playing the muscular anti-hero, from the Chinatown Kid (1977) to one of the Five Deadly Venoms, and his turn as "Mad Dog" in John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992) is classic.   He was Shaw Brother's Machete!

I also loved that Lau Kar Leung directed and also fought on screen.

GC:  Kung Fu cinema is marginalized as B-grade films in American pop culture.  What do you say to people who look down on the genre?

RR: I’d say that people who look down on the films might not have really given them a chance.  That's what’s great about the El Rey Network; it’s a place to share these films with a new audience and it’s a place where people who remember them can see them again and again.

GC:  What recent martial arts films have caught your attention?

RR: The Raid (2011), The Raid 2 (2014), Ip Man with Donnie Yen (2008), Ip Man: The Final Fight with Anthony Wong (2013). The influence of the martial arts film has raised the standard of what everyone considers a great “fight scene” to be. Look at Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) for example – fantastic martial arts fight scenes throughout, stylized but clean and clear so the audience can really see what is happening without having to resort to quick edits to cover up what’s not good. And the fights advance the story, not bring it to a halt.

GC: Anyone who is into Kung Fu cinema thinks of the ‘70s-early ‘80s period of Shaw Brothers films as the “golden era” of the martial arts genre. What do you think made these films so magical?

RR: So many things made them magical – the colors, the action, the music, even the dubbing made seeing these an experience that was different than what I’d seen before.  BUT, they also dealt with themes that I could relate to.  There was always a villain, or group of bad guys that were bullying a town or group of people, and it comes down to one guy who gets defeated but doesn't quit, trains and comes back to win the day.

GC: How might you describe Shaw Brothers films to someone who has never experienced one?

RR: Over-the-top portrayals of good vs. evil, filled with great fight choreography, costumes, drama and humor.  Also watch it for the technical aspects; the camera work and editorial pacing still influences how action scenes are done today.

GC:  Which titles might you recommend for newbies to the Shaw Brothers?

RR: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Heroes of the East, Five Fingers of Death, The One-Armed Swordsman.

GC: Dubs or subs?  Which do you prefer?

RR: For the older films I like the dubs. It takes me back.  The voice casting and translations are classic.

GC: Have you considered acquiring distribution rights to the Golden Harvest catalog for EL REY?

RR: Well, that is some fantastic product – Bruce Lee classics through the golden age of Jackie Chan. I’d love it and so would our fans!

GC: When you see that opening title card with that SB shield logo, what goes through your mind?

RR: Puts a smile on my face because I know I'm in for visionary, no-holds-barred entertainment.