Customer Reviews

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Your enjoyment of this film will probably depend on how many traditional martial arts films you've seen before, as it attempts to poke fun (pretty successfully) at the cliches of such films.

Chan plays a young man lacking any Kung Fu skills, but possessing highly developed chaos skills. Everywhere he goes he inadvertantly causes people to die and as the film progresses he builds up quite a list of enemies. After a chance encounter with an old beggar (who is naturally also a Kung Fu master) Jackie gets the chance to learn some Kung Fu, but only if he does an errand first.

The errand turns out to be protecting a transport of treasure (by the beggar's nephew) from bandits. Chan's bumbling results in the nephew getting near fatally injured so the exasperated beggar gives him a book of Kung Fu to learn from. Within about a day Chan is an accomplished martial artist. This is fortunate as all the bandits decide to attack at once and the inevitable mass fight at the end occurs.

Very funny in places (like when Chan, in mid-battle, rips the fake moustache of one of the cheesy bad guys) but offering more to the veteran martial arts fan than a newcomer.

Being a huge Jackie Chan fan and catching up with times when he made certain movies and why he made those movies, I felt compelled to write reviews for all of the ones that I've seen. You see, this movie was made when Jackie first realized that kung fu movies were too serious and didn't have enough comedy in 'em, so he tried to make fun of 'em with this parody. This is a funny movie. In opening sequence you see him attacking a wooden dummy, and then when the camera pulls back you see that it's a short (maybe less than 1 foot tall) dummy. Jackie stars as a guy that is out to prove that he's a kung fu master, put all he could do is acrobatics and gymnastics. There are plenty of funny scenes, like when he gets beaten up by a group of guys and finds some spinach. He gobbles it down and the "Popeye the Sailorman" music plays. Then Jackie beats up the bad guys. I like funny kung fu flicks, but I gave this one a four instead of a five because it was a parody that made fun of a genre instead of adding comedy to it, which Jackie does in later movies.

"Half a Loaf of Kung Fu" is probably one of my favorites out of Jackie Chan's earlier movies. There are several funny fight scenes, and the actual Kung Fu is pretty decent. The movie is not at all serious as it is poking fun at movies in the genre that came out around the same time. I would definitely recommend this movie to any fan of Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan stars in the first kung fu parody ever. The film was very witty, and had some good fights.

Jackie plays a happy-go-lucky wanderer, who is hopeless at kung fu. When he is employed by a group of people to help them protect the 'Emerald Jades' and 'Soul Pills', Jackie calls on a kung fu master to help him.

I quite enjoyed this film, and I think you problbly will to.

This is one of Jackie Chan's old style Kung-Fu movies (set in old days and no stunts), but it's very funny and full of Jackie's trademark slapstick charm. The supporting characters are very enjoyable too.

Frustrated by the weak box office returns of New Fist of Fury and Shaolin Wooden Men, Lo Wei gave Jackie Chan creative control over the slapstick comedy Half a Loaf of Kung Fu. With Chan's friend Chen Chi-hwa as director (Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin), Jackie wanted to make a film that was the antithesis of the current martial art dramas that were being shown. Jackie called this movie a "ninety-minute-long practical joke," but Lo failed to find the humor and decided to vault this film and created his own comedy for Jackie the insipid Spiritual Kung Fu. Half a Loaf of Kung Fu would remain unwatched until 1980.

One of the most interesting segments of the film is the beginning which parodies the normal use (at that time) of the main actors showcasing their martial-art ability. He spoofs the Zatochi series, he tries to catch arrows but fails and there is a great scene that has him using a fighting dummy for practice only the have the camera pan away to reveal a mini dummy. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is not as inventive as the starting sequence, though there are many good scenes. The problem is that the plot is not that different from many other films that Lo Wei has done.

Jackie plays Gon Tou, a wandering hungry man in search of a job. He eventually gets a housekeeper position for Mr. Man who houses the witch Lady Mui. He spies on her while she was doing a poison experiment, inadvertently gets his new friend San killed and narrowly flees. After his escape he came across a fight between Se Tai Chung and Lao Yung Lung - the man with the whip. This battle resulted in the death of both and Gon assumed the identity of Master Lao to collect the bounty on Chung. Now Gon is mistaken for a man with fighting skills even though his combatant acumen is very small. He gets beat up quite a bit.

He stumbles across a flatulent beggar (Dean Shek) who teaches Jackie such moves as "Lady Draws Arrow" and the ever impressive "One Finger Stops Mountain" (guess which finger.) Dean is funny in this Cantonese comedic role. Gon is then helped by another beggar (Lee Man Tai) who prevents Lady Mui from killing him. At first the beggar does not want to help Gon anymore, but he acquiesces and will help him if he takes something to Fong Wan. He later meets him at Fung Yu's Stone House with his daughter (Doris Lung) and friend (James Tien.) Together they are protecting the "Thousand Year Jake", which cures any poison, and "Potion of new Life" which is the fountain of youth. Since these are so powerful and priceless many criminals such as Lady Mui, Iron Hand Lui and The Man of a Thousand Faces (Kam Kong) want these. Gon helps Fong while learning more and more Kung Fu.

The plot is a bit chaotic and it ultimately fails as a spoof because so many martial art films have had plots much more ridiculous then this movie. But, it is an important film in Jackie's career because it is a turn from the grim-faced stoic hero that Lo wanted him to be. It is also a funny film with many inventive, though sometimes broad, scenes such as a dream sequence with Jackie becoming Popeye or Jackie reading a manual while fighting. It is also hilarious when Jackie knows that the flatulent beggar is approaching before we even see him. There is also a great reference to Bruce Lee when Jackie uses a wig as nunchucks while making Bruce-like sounds.

The fighting of the film is much more traditional, with the exception of the nunchuck wig, than Jackie's later films. But there are some good shots, especially the ten-minute ending fight scene. There is also a nice teaming of Dean and Jackie towards the end that was fun to watch. Overall, I like the film. It was better than the early Jackie Chan movies, though not as good as his later films. If you are a Jackie Chan film and have not seen it, then there is a good chance you will like it -- as long as you like flatulent beggars and goofy plots.

If you are a Jackie Chan fan this is a must. This spoof of kung fu films displays Jackie's great sense of humor and love for comedic action. Unfortunately this movie sat on a shelf for many years until after Jackie became a big star. Its humor is quite crude at times and the plot is kind of goofy, but it will make you laugh out loud. It is great to see a young Jackie in action doing what he loves to do.

Great action and comedy mixed together in this classic Jackie Chan movie!
5 star rating

A well done kung fu parody. Although some of the fights without Jackie are really quite bad, it is a very enjoyable film, well worth a watch.

This film is the ultimate in late night entertainment. Originally shelved by Lo Wei this was Chans first comedy and many of his trade marks can be seen. The final fight is great alone.