I saw CLAN OF THE WHITE LOTUS aka FIST OF THE WHITE LOTUS before I saw this film, and it's hard for me to say which version of the story of Pai Mei, the White Eyebrow Monk, is the better one. This film plays it serious for the most part, with comedy brought in at the right moments...while the remake (1980) had an undercurrent of comedy that crested into a wave from time to time in spite of the pathos. I suppose Lo Lieh wanted to direct the remake so that he could have more fun with the character, crafting a villain more than one-dimensional and less serious than the original. Either way, both movies have the same structure and virtually the same plot turns -- Pai Mei and a governor conspire to burn down the Shaolin Temple and cull the monks, but eventually the monks get their revenge. In the remake, it was Gordon Liu who played the hero...here it's Chen Kuan Tai, then Wong Yu, who teach the monk the error of his ways!

Some things mark this movie as a bit better than the more exuberant remake...the detailing of the fugitive Shaolin monks' taking sanctuary with Peking Opera actors using the Red Boats, the often hilarious and bittersweet romance between Chen Kuan Tai and Lily Li Li-Li, and some very inventive set-pieces and fights that err on the side of realism (unlike some of the more fantastic moments of the remake!).

I'd say go see both this film AND the remake! You can't go wrong with either one!