Kung Fu

Martial arts movies are full of great action and well choreographed fights, from the days of Bruce Lee to the stunning visuals we have with todays wire work and cgi. But Kung Fu is not a martial arts movie/series.....

Kung Fu is about a shaolin monk; Kwai Chang Caine. He travels around the wild west, seeking to help others and avoiding bounty hunters. The amazing thing about kung fu is that the flashbacks show Caine's past, we see that he has been trained to use kung fu, but he is a monk and would not harm a fly if it wasn't necessary. Caine chooses not to fight but when he has no other choice he proves that he can take anyone. The character is really brought to life by David Carradine, it would have been great to use Bruce Lee (Another of my idols) but I don't think the energetic Bruce would have been able to pull of the calmness of Caine.

I was expecting to see a martial arts series in the wild west but kung fu is its own genre. The teachings of Masters Po and Khan are wonderful and make you think about life. Apparently after seeing the series people seeked more information because they wanted to raise their children under the same morals.

It doesn't matter if you don't like martial arts or westerns, you need to see this. It has changed my life and the way I think about life.

I also loved this show when it started airing in 1972. (I was 17!) I enjoyed the artistry involved as the series followed the journey of Kwai Chang Caine as he looked for the American half-brother he had never known. There was a wonderful variety of characters and situations that he encountered, and I liked the way they used flash-backs to his years of training in the temple, and specific situations that somehow related to the situation he was now in, in America. There was a morality, peacefulness and goodness to his character, and Caine was usually able to bring those qualities out in people he met as he taught them lessons by example. Now, here comes the weird part (cue Twilight Zone music)...I had an urge to watch the original movie today (March 14, 2004) on videotape; I have owned it for many years. I had always hoped they would put the series out on tape, or even better, DVD. So, I did some Internet searching today and found that the first season is to be released on DVD in two days!!! Now how's THAT for a spiritual connection?! I look forward to exposing these shows to my kids...

While the show had some clever action and martial arts scenes, it was the integration of western and eastern culture that made Kung Fu such a good show. The pilot was especially brilliant, the cinematography, action and David Carridine's amazing acting and dialogue made it worthy of being a full length cinema feature. Caine actually appeared to be more of an honest biblical wanderer than a half chinese-half american mystic. The series was excellent too, but a bit repetitive. My favorite episodes were The Sign of the Dragon, The Way of the Tiger (the pilot) King of the Mountain (especially the final combat scene) The Well (one of the few hour long dramas to authentically depict the plight of blacks in frontier america), and The Squaw Man. Watch for many of your favorite tv and movie actors (including Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Don Johnson, and William Shatner) in their early careers and note the fine music (especially in the opening and closing credits).

David Caradine plays Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin priest wandering the 19th century American west in search of his half-brother while being sought by the Chinese government on a charge of murder back in China. He mostly does his wandering barefooted, but carries his shoes just in case he has to enter a saloon with a "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" policy. Generally Caine is a magnet for trouble, and although he'd rather resolve the conflicts through peaceful means, he inevitability relies on his highly developed martial arts skills. When I was a kid enjoyed watching hippie Carradine beat the crap out of red necks. As an adult I favor the Shaolin temple flashbacks and the words of wisdom offered up by the priests. The music, the cinematography (love the lens flare), direction, acting and overall production all contribute to making "Kung Fu" an excellent television classic.

This is one of the first TV drams I've seen. In 1980, TV was a new luxury in Sri Lanka. One of the first came on TV was Kung fu.

Though I am a Buddhist the philosophical aspect of it never did hit me till I see this. But this did help me to look in to my own religion in a different way. As a kid I always watched Kung-Fu to see him kicking off people. But the story of the grasshopper was always in my mind...

It's a lovely story. With well narrated script and well controlled action. The best part of this is that it never took more action than needed in the show. After all he is "Kung-fu" master it will be childish to have a full scale fight with any one doesn't know any fighting other than grumbling over a Whiskey...

I wonder whether this is available on DVD. Something I'd buy..