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| Images courtesy of 88 Films |
Shaw Brothers near the end of the 1970s had amassed quite a
prolific and sizable film library consisting of martial arts action flicks and/or
erotic period dramas usually filmed in ShawScope 2.35:1 widescreen by the time
they arrived upon Human Lanterns director Sun Chung’s 1979 masterwork The
Kung Fu Instructor. A reworking of
Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo which itself influenced Sergio Leone’s A
Fistful of Dollars, the film overseen by martial arts directors Tong Kai
and Huang Pei-Chih is notable for being the first Shaw Brothers film to make
use of the handheld Steadicam resulting in some striking tracking shots
previously unseen in Shaw efforts.
Starring A Better Tomorrow actor Ti Lung, it represents another scenic
outdoorsy escapist kung fu flick with tons of wild training and ornate
camerawork.
In the small town of Ho Si, the residents are divided into
two Chinese factions the Mong and the Chow, separated by property lines dating
back centuries. Keen on eliminating
opposition, Mong Fan (Ku Feng) hires the best kung fu teacher in the land Wong Yang
(Ti Lung) to train his family members.
But when the instructor refuses knowing the training will be put to ill
use, Mong Fan turns up the heat trying to frame him for murder before an angry
mob of witnesses. However, after the
instructor goes into hiding, he reluctantly agrees to train the emissary of the
Mong faction in exchange for clearing his name.
As he’s training him, however, a member of the Chow family stumbles onto
the training grounds and the instructor intervenes on the youth’s behalf,
sparking an all-out war between the feuding clans as Wong Yang fights to the
death to survive.
Boasting arresting cinematography by Lam Nai-Choi in scope
widescreen, moving between the traditional fast zooms and the aforementioned Steadicam
photography and featuring an exciting score by Eddie Wang, The Kung Fu
Instructor is a wild and wickedly entertaining martial arts action romp. Featuring stunning physical feats on camera,
amazing set pieces and numerous scenic landscapes including a fight on the open
plains that is positively graceful, Sun Chung’s entry into the Shaw Brothers
martial arts subgenre evokes Kurosawa and Leone while finding its own
distinctive footing as a Hong Kong period actioner. While featuring a strong ensemble cast
including but not limited to Wong Yu and Ku Feng, Ti Lung all but completely
carries the film himself and like most of the characters who encounter him in
the film can’t help but drop to our knees in slack jawed awe.
Coming to blu-ray for the first time in the US and UK thanks
to boutique label 88 Films who alongside Arrow Video and Shout Factory have
undertaken ongoing efforts to unearth and published almost the entire Shaw
Brothers library, The Kung Fu Instructor arrives in high definition
thanks to a new transfer from the original camera negative and lossless 2.0
original Mandarin audio or English dubbed audio. The disc itself comes with a newly commissioned
cover by 17th & Oak that looks splendid and the slipcover
edition comes housed with reversible sleeve art for those wanting to peek at
the original theatrical poster art. 88
Films was and still is more or less a British company but in the last few years
with their efforts to bring more titles to the United States, they’ve made
themselves known to western consumers through their 88 Asia Collection line as
a formidable boutique label to pay attention to and be reckoned with.
--Andrew Kotwicki
