Inheritor of Kung Fu (1978)



	The Inheritor of Kung-Fu		Return to Review Archive - I
	Year:	1977
	Director:	Chang Hung-Lit a.k.a. Chen Hung-Lieh
	Cast:	Ti Lung, Chi Kuan-Chun, Choi Wang, Lau Kar-Wing, Violet Lee-Ying, Pearl Cheung-Ling, Shih Kien, Tin Mat, Chen Hung-Lieh, Dean Shek Tin, Tino Wong-Cheung, Hsu Hsia
	The Skinny:	Late '70s chop-sockey movie involving battling clans, a hero, a Princess, and a missing kung fu manuscript.
	Review by Magicvoice:	The DVD of Inheritor of Kung Fu is so substandard that it makes reviewing the film a real challenge. The faded, poorly dubbed print is presented in pan & scan and appears to have been heavily edited. The film was produced in Taiwan and since very little information is available, it is probably amazing that prints still exist at all. For that reason alone, it's good that it's been released. However, even if it was restored and complete Inheritor of Kung-Fu probably wouldn't make much sense anyway. Ti Lung stars as the hero, who befriends a Princess (Chang Ling a.k.a Pearl Cheung) and her servant while on the road. Ti tries to help them battle off some masked bandits but ends up being rescued by the Princess because her kung fu is better than his. However, anyone who watches these kinds of movies knows that things won't stay that way for long. Ti perfects his fighting skills while somehow getting involved with a few martial arts clans who are at odds over a special Kung Fu manuscript. Then, in a strange turn of events, the movie takes a somewhat mythical turn. Furthermore, supporting characters come and go, each doing strange things that have nothing to do with the plot. One character, who's supposed to be the main bad guy, even disappears for sixty minutes of the running time! The kung fu is good but a lot of the wirework is poorly hidden. The sets are bad and there are some serious continuity and technical issues. I won't even mention the white guy who comes flying out of the lake during the last act with no prior mention of a reason why such a thing should happen. You know it's springtime when the white guys come shooting up out of the water. Just about the only good thing about this movie is Ti Lung, who kicks serious ass. He plays second banana to no one as was common in his Shaw Brothers films. He really gets a chance to show how good his Kung Fu this time around and rises to the occasion as a charming leading man. The DVD also has a running commentary track with HK movie expert and author Rick Meyers and African American HK stuntman Bobby Samuels. The two don't seem to be able to pick apart the film's plot either and Meyers even had some research issues. He failed to be able to identify Pearl Cheung even though there are resources available that identify her. They also refer to the main bad guy as "The Mad Korean" but upon checking another print of the film, there are no Korean names listed in the credits. Despite these inconsistencies, Meyers and Samuels do offer some interesting information on Ti Lung, Hong Kong and Taiwan Kung Fu cinema in general and are overall very pleasant to listen to. However, everyone involved with the production of the film should disown it. That is, except for Ti Lung. (Magicvoice 2002)
	Availability:	DVD (USA) Region 1 NTSC Tai Seng Video Marketing Video Marketing Pan and Scan Dubbed into English
		image courtesy of Tai Seng Home Video Marketing
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