Hong Kong Synopsis
十字鎖喉手
As an expert of the 'Cross fists' technique, a reclusive kung fu master Li Pai perfects a lethal maneuver called the 'Shaolin Handlock' while an old wolf-in-sheep's-clothing friend Fang Yun-piao pays the unwitting Li a visit. Armed with the deadly Handlock maneuver, Cheng-ying & Kun Shih joins forces to exact revenge on the evil Ling Hao after the truth is unraveled.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Shaolin Hand Lock. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From Shaw Brothers
Action + Thriller in Hong Kong
121 Hong Kong titles in our catalog blend the Action and Thriller genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Shaolin Hand Lock itself).
The 1977–1979 Hong Kong Window
In the crowded 1977-1979 Hong Kong release window, Shaolin Hand Lock sits at #40 of 56. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1970s Hong Kong Landscape
1978 was the decade’s peak output year for Hong Kong — 22 titles released, including Shaolin Hand Lock. Bars below show how the 1970s stacked up year by year (122 total).
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 21 other Hong Kong films in 1978.
The 97th Hong Kong title from Hong Kong we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1955).
Our Hong Kong catalog contains 836 titles in total (828 films).
Audience Engagement
10 audience reviews — more than 6% of Hong Kong films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 24th percentile among Hong Kong films.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Shaolin Hand Lock, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- kung fu master · 9
- martial arts · 369
- revenge · 210
- murder · 155
- kung fu · 121
- thailand · 56
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #540 of 836 Hong Kong films indexed here (35th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Hong Kong Action productions specifically: #356 of 516 (top 69%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Hong Kong |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Chinese |
| Production Companies | Shaw Brothers |
| Runtime | 1h 29m |
| Release Date | June 10, 1978 |
| IMDb | tt0078253 |