Spiritual Kung Fu 4K 1978

For fans of Eastern martial arts (namely kung fu; the title is completely misleading, as there is no karate in the film), this film will not be a disappointment. It's just a little unusual to see Jackie Chan, who is so beloved by the masses for his popular comedy action films, in a film that is essentially just a demonstration of various styles of kung fu and nothing more. The entire film is almost one continuous fight scene—the action, time, and place hardly change at all.

The entire film takes place within the walls and courtyard of an ancient Shaolin monastery, where a young Jackie Chan, as agile and nimble as a monkey, methodically destroys his enemies one by one. The plot, the characters, the meaning—none of that matters, not even the terrible camera work, whose main feature is a constantly shifting camera. The main thing is the spectacular fights, the magnificent choreography of true masters of their craft. Well, Jackie Chan wouldn't be Jackie Chan if the film didn't have a lot of humor and jokes. Jackie's character acquired his main traits in this old film.

The film was directed by the cult director Lo Wei, who made five more films with Jackie, but neither this one nor the others were very successful. Only now can we appreciate the brilliant staging of the action scenes, which are so blurred and primitive today.