Kung Fu Instructor / Kid from Kwang Tung

Kung fu and training montages go together like Rocky and Apollo Creed.  It’s an almost essential part of the master-student formula that studios like Shaw Brothers perfected.  So, it’s kinda shocking that it took until 1979 for a movie to actually be called Kung Fu Instructor, dispensing with the deadly venoms and iron fists that usually took title precedence.  

Channeling some of that old Yojimbo tension, a village rivalry split along clan lines is disrupted by the arrival of a legendary teacher, Wong Yang (Ti Lung).  Initially accepting a position to train the evil Mong clan, Yang soon realizes they’re not worthy of his knowledge.  So he takes a young go-getter from the Chow clan under his wing in an attempt to even the odds.  But in a battle of two against dozens, it’ll take some serious training montages to come out on top.

 

Produced with the usual Shaw Brothers style and scope camerawork, director Sun Chung takes a classic approach to the set design and shot selection but adds some modern pizzaz to the staff fighting sequences.  His camera is always at the right place at the right time, even if that happens to be 50 yards away from the action.  It helps too that, rather than overstuffing the film with heroes and villains, we simply get to follow Yang’s journey.  There’s a simplicity to Kung Fu Instructor that just works.  


Kid from Kwang Tung (1982) is a different film entirely, crammed with bizarre action sequences and a trendy supernatural angle that delivers a bit of everything.  Wong Yu and Chiang Kam are rival students who take every opportunity to sabotage each other’s careers.  But when they stumble into a group of rebels who need their help, the duo joins forces to take down an evil military officer.

 

A predictable blend of silly comedy and somersaults, nothing else about Kid is predictable at all!  Especially the costumed showdown between a man dressed in a chicken suit and ten guys pretending to be a centipede.  Or the hopping vampire sequence.  Or the…well, I guess I’ve proven my point. This kitchen-sink kung comedy is pretty wild even for those familiar with the genre.  

 

Each film is available separately from 88 Films who has been pumping out one fantastic title after another.  Transfers on both are top-notch – scanned from the original negatives – with an almost 4K level of color saturation.  Extras include trailers, stills, collectible lobby cards and some of the best slipcover artwork you've ever seen!

 

 

 

 

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