alexanderdavies-99382
This was the feature length pilot episode for what would become the popular television show, "Kung Fu." 83 episodes would be broadcast from 1972 to 1975 and the overall quality was maintained effectively. A few changes were made before this pilot went before the cameras. Future Hong Kong star Bruce Lee was the one who created the outline for the show's premise and central character. However, "Warner Bros." didn't take Bruce Lee seriously in wanting to cast him in the central role of a wandering monk from a Shaolin temple who is a fugitive from justice. In hindsight, it was the right decision as Bruce Lee's brand of Martial Arts was too violent for television audiences and would have greatly diluted his impact. As student and actor James Coburn correctly stated: "Bruce was too big for television." Also, the series was going to be called "The Warrior" which would have been a good title in itself. Casting David Carradine was nothing short of inspired - even though he was no martial artist and had never heard of the style of Kung Fu when he began filming the pilot. He made the character of Caine his own for all time. To begin with, Caine doesn't speak very often in that his sentences are short but to the point. He has been on the run for quite some time at this juncture but has managed to leave Asia and to find himself in the Old West in America. Giving "Kung Fu" a period setting was the best thing that could have happened as we bear witness to two completely different cultures and that that is how a lot of the dramatic tension results. After securing work as part of a work force that is building a new railway line, Caine is soon discovered as being a fugitive and is held prisoner. As with the regular series, he harks back to his days at the Shaolin temple and all that he has learnt from his Masters. The acting and the dialogue are amongst the best I have seen and heard. There is genuine intelligence and insight in the teleplay and this elevates the pilot episode to being a masterpiece. The violence that occurs is fairly tame by today's standards and Caine never uses it unless there is no alternative. Highly recommended and one of the definitive television shows that successfully introduced Kung Fu martial arts to Western television viewers before Bruce Lee would do the same in cinema.
kevin olzak
The movie pilot for the original series starring David Carradine, "Kung Fu" (1972) is set approximately 100 years before, the American West during the 1870s, and a Shaolin priest trying to atone for the sin of killing a man, the nephew of the Emperor of China's Royal House, in an unfortunate provocation defending his beloved Shaolin Master Po (Keye Luke). An elderly blind man, Po simply defends himself against one of the royal guards, and is callously shot dead by the heartless nephew, with an angrily grieving Caine throwing a spear toward the murderer, which fatally finds its target. The dying Po grants his favorite pupil forgiveness ("sometimes one must cut off a finger to save a hand"), and advises Caine to leave the country. The pilot begins with Caine walking through the Mojave desert, apparently in America only a short time, finding work with a railroad company headed by Dillon (Barry Sullivan). In preventing an accident, Caine's arms bear the signs of the tiger and the dragon, revealing him as a Shaolin priest, treated with much reverence by the all-Chinese laborers. The railway's path is fraught with danger however, and many deaths result from both greed and cowardice. During the course of Caine's Western adventures, we are introduced to flashbacks to his days as a student and disciple at the Shaolin temple in Northern China. Radames Pera was excellent as the student Caine, and an unbilled Keith Carradine appeared as the Middle Caine, a role which he would go on to play just once more in the first season episode "Chains." Roy Jenson plays Fuller, the first opponent to discover how skillful Caine can be when provoked (he would go on to do one first season episode "Superstition," plus the 1986 TV movie sequel, also titled "Kung Fu"). Barry Sullivan returned for the second season episode "Crossties" (another railroad villain), while Albert Salmi appeared in "Nine Lives" the first year, and "Cry of the Night Beast" the third. Among the Asian cast were many veterans of the Charlie Chan movie series spanning 1931-1949: as the blind Master Po, teaching Caine to hear the sound of his own heartbeat, Keye Luke proved most durable (he had played Lee Chan, #1 son, in 8 Chan films opposite Warner Oland, 2 Chans opposite Roland Winters, and one Mr. Moto film opposite Peter Lorre). Doing 6 episodes during all three seasons, Victor Sen Yung had replaced Luke as Jimmy Chan, #2 son, when Sidney Toler took over the role of Chan, doing 13 opposite Toler, and another 5 with Roland Winters. Benson Fong appeared in 3 episodes, one per season, and played Tommy Chan, #3 son, opposite Sidney Toler in 6 Chan features. Philip Ahn, as head Master Chen Ming Kan, was a veteran of two Chans and two Motos, while Richard Loo, who worked with both Karloff and Lugosi during the 1930s, here plays Master Sun, a role he would play again in "Blood Brother" and "Besieged: Cannon at the Gates," doing different characters in 3 others. Robert Ito, later best remembered for his co-starring role opposite Jack Klugman on QUINCY, returned in the second season for "The Assassin" and "The Way of Violence Has No Mind," but the champion guest star from this pilot was James Hong, who played different characters in all 8 of his return episodes, from "The Tide" to "The Thief of Chendo." David Chow, as the monk who does battle with Caine in the climax, served as technical adviser on the subsequent series, and appeared in "The Tong" and "The Soldier." This successful pilot from Feb 1972 was followed by the actual series 7 months later.
callanvass
This is a classic martial arts film that i enjoyed very much!. It's very engrossing, and all the performances were fantastic, plus i loved the flashbacks!. The film moves along very nicely, and there is an awesome fight near the end, plus David Carradine is amazing in this!. I loved the scenes with Caine, and The Old blind man, they were engrossing and very interesting, plus it's smart,and intelligent. If your looking for all fight scenes, stay away, but if you want a smart intelligent martial arts film, that moves along nicely with a couple cool fight scenes, good character development and great performances, definitely rent this right away!.The Direction is great!. Jerry Thorpe does a great job here, with good camera work, creating a nice style, and keeping the film at a very fast pace!. The Acting is brilliant!. David Carradine is AMAZING as always, and gives an amazing performance here, he is very likable, great at martial arts as always,was mysterious,had awesome chemistry with Keye Luke and was just brilliant all around! (David Rules!). Barry Sullivan, is decent here and does what he has to do adequately.Keye Luke is great as the old man, i loved him!. Philip Ahn is good here as one of the teachers i liked him. James Hong is great, in his screen time.Radames Pera is very good as a young Caine. Rest of the cast are great. Overall a must see!, i can't wait to buy the Kung TV series!. **** out of 5
