Inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, The Kung Fu Instructor puts a slightly more cynical spin on traditional codes of honour.
Stylishly directed by Sun Chung (Human Lanterns), 88 Films are proud to present the UK Blu-ray premiere of this martial arts masterpiece!
Trailer
Cast
Veteran of the Shaw Brothers golden era, star of “A Better Tomorrow” and Jackie Chan’s dad from “Drunken Master 2“, Ti Lung takes the lead as “Wong Yang”, the titular Kung Fu Instructor.
Fellow movie veteran Fu Keng stars as “Mong Fan”. He appeared in over 100 films, mostly for Shaw Brothers, including classics such as “Come Drink With Me” and “One Armed Swordsman”, he has also played Jackie Chan’s dad in “Rob-B-Hood“.
Also a veteran of dozens of movies for Shaw Brothers, Wong Yu stars as “Zhou Ping”. He appeared in films such as such as “Dirty Ho”, “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” and “Eight Diagram Pole Fighter“.
Plot
In this bitterly divided town, there’s no middle ground; you’re either with one side or the other – cross the line and face dire consequences.
One clan hires a kung fu master to break the stalemate, but he’s nobody’s servant and his loyalties can’t be bought so easily…
Kung Fu Instructor (1979) original trailer
Action
A great opening credits scene has Ti Lung showing off a fine, traditional style, wooden pole form.
As soon as the credits end, we are straight into a mass street brawl in a Qing Dynasty village.
As the fight action focuses on our leading actors, the choreography becomes more polished in an elegant dance of traditional kung fu techniques and postures.
“Practice is fundamental to kung fu”, Shifu Ti Lung declares to his students, as they diligently work on their stances.
It tees up a challenge from a rival master, who nominates his student to duel with Ti Lung. The student is none other than a young Yuen Wah!
Struggling to defeat Ti Lung, the master steps in. Classic old school action ensues, with the choreography working through open hand, swords, spears and poles.
There is some great use of slow motion and the obligatory power powder, accentuating the precision and power of the traditional kung fu techniques.
Ti Lung gives an entertaining demonstration of his exceptional stability, performing various kung fu postures on some precariously balanced wooden stools. It is not long before he starts putting his new students through their paces with some classical drills.
As the relationship with the Chief unravels, Ti Lung is set upon by several assailants armed with swords. The fight uses genuine weapons applications in some surprisingly long, unbroken takes.
A fight in the countryside pitches the pole against the twin hooks in yet another great example of how each weapon is utilised.
Being a kung fu film of the late 1970s, there is the inevitable master/student training scene, focusing on various innovative and torturous methods to toughen up and improve the skills of the young apprentice. The most impressive part of his preparation is the stunning pole sparring.
The big finale sees all the hard work put to the test as our heroes team up to face Chief Mong.
In order to get to the Chief, they must go up against several guards, armed with swords and shields.
Fittingly for a film that focuses on the various weapons of Chinese martial arts, the Chief joins the battle armed with one of the big bad boys, the Guandao halberd.
Summary
“The Kung Fu Instructor” is a textbook, old school, Shaw Brothers martial arts movie.
Fans and students of traditional style Chinese martial arts will enjoy seeing lots of techniques and skills that they probably practice, being used in the slick fight choreography.
There is no wire work, and very little enhancement with under cranking the camera or mini trampettes.
In fact much of the fight action is shown in clear detail. And if you are a fan, you get plenty of bang for your buck, with an action sequence every five to ten minutes throughout the film’s hour and three quarter running time.
Sadly, the 88 Films release has no real extra features apart from some trailers and a stills gallery. However, the picture and sound quality in this remastered Blu-ray are absolutely superb.
A clean crisp picture with bold, bright colours is matched by English and Mandarin sound options, that are equally clean and crisp, with good tone levels. A proper kung fu flick!
Trivia
- “The Kung Fu Instructor” was the first Shaw Brothers film partly shot with a steadicam.
- Ti Lung and Fu Keng have both played Jackie Chan’s father in movies.
THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR – BLU RAY – KUNG FU KINGDOM
