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In the course of motion picture history comes an EPIC.

The Ten Commandments, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia.

"King Kung Fu" is like those mentioned aboved. It was made on film.

Possibly not like De Mille, Kubrick or Lean. But film was used. While it may lack in budget,story, acting or comprehensible, well anything...It's a hoot. Completely silly. It does for monster movies what "Plan 9 from Outer Space" did for science fiction. Not much. But for some reason I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame. It's so dated and tacky. But I think that's where part of it's charm lies. It is supremely overacted. Chewing of the scenery by some of the players. Well it needed to be done. I suspect the actors knew how silly things were going to get. I only wish there was an outtake reel on this thing.

But I enjoyed "Mars Needs Women" and "Robot Monster". Classics of low grade B movies. "King Kung Fu" gets five stars. For true goofiness and heart. And just being plain weird.

"King Kung Fu" would have been infinitely more entertaining if it had been played straight and hadn't been done as a broad-brushed farce. I rated it two stars because I genuinely appreciate neophyte low-budget filmmaking, especially when it comes from a locale not known for its cinematic achievements, in this case Wichita, Kansas. The film was made sporadically starting in 1974, and was finally released in 1987, and it actually played in eleven theaters in the US and was distributed as far as Poland according to Producer Bob Walterscheid. That's a genuine accomplishment, and my hat's off to the tenacious team, as that is much more difficult than many people think.

Unfortunately, the movie, while packing a few clever jokes (it was filmed in "SimianScope," for instance) is really quite painfully amateurish and boring. The film opens in China where martial arts master Al Funku (Jim Erickson) trains the man in a gorilla costume the mystical ways of the East. He learns speed ("Will you be quick, little Jungle Jumper?"), agility, and self-mastery, right up until he beats up Al Funku, who then sends him to the US as a goodwill gift. King Kung Fu (John Balee) ends up on display in Wichita where locals protest with signs like "A naked animal is a naughty animal," at which point we meet our primary protagonists, Bo (Bill Schwartz) and Herman (Tim McGill) two local yokels who really want to get into broadcast journalism. (Huh?)

Bo and Herman see an opportunity for their big break, which involves various plots gone horribly awry comingled with the monkey. The chief weapon in their arsenal is a waitress named "Rae Fey" (played by the modestly attractive Maxine Gray.) These plots involve bogus news stories, kidnapping, minor league baseball (where the Wichita minor league team, the Aeros, get beaten after nunchucks are brought into play...or as the script says "It looks like gorilla warfare!"), a terrible law enforcement duo (Police Captain J. W. Duke and Officer Pilgrim, Tom Leahy and Stephen S. Sisley respectively; yes it is what you think, and, no it is not funny,) mayhem in a grocery store and a barber shop, a gorilla in a Carmen Miranda hat, and in the most unseemly spectacle of all, Herman dressed as Betty Lou, the half-ape, half-human hybrid in a pink fur dancing to "Turkey in the Straw." There are even subplots about a caveman and a roller coaster, and ultimately King Kung Fu scales the highest building in Wichita, a Holiday Inn, and in the worst application of miniatures since Ed Wood, Captain Duke confronts the gorilla with a helicopter and a tranquilizer grenade, leading Bo to challenge King Kung Fu to a martial arts showdown. There's a lot going on here, none of it good.

The film drags, and while it does have occasional moments of inspiration (the protestors wanting to clothe animals was actually pretty funny, for instance,) on balance it's a fairly painful experience to sit through. People wrongly compare this to things like "Plan 9 from Outer Space," but to do so misses the point of why Ed Wood movies are funny. Wood was a deadly serious but inept filmmaker who tried to make pieces of genuinely compelling cinema on next to no budget and with dubious talent. "King Kung Fu," on the other hand, is a deliberate spoof which attempts to be funny while simultaneously adopting and mocking numerous low-budget film elements. Wood's films are lasting tributes to genuine but misguided attempts at movie making; this is a topical spoof of the genre, and as such has much less intrinsic entertainment value. I'm not down on spoofs and satire, mind you, movies like "Airplane" and "This is Spinal Tap" are enduringly brilliant. "King Kung Fu" gets credit for trying, but ultimately it is unsatisfying and doesn't have staying power either as a comedy or a B-movie.

This was an extraordinary movie with a forceful performance by Tom Leahy (Major Astro of local Wichita, Kansas TV fame). The story is complex and interwoven. There is humor, drama and romance.

King Kung Fu was an ape raised in a remote monastery. While you might think that most simians would have no heart or intellect, Fu has both. As we romp through Wichita, Kansas it is clear that a surprise climax is in store.

The final scenes shows Rae Fae torn between her love for the confused ape and her previously rebuffed paramour. That tragedy, it seems, has removed the scales from both their eyes.

This movie is a MUST HAVE !! Outstanding acting. Superior cinemaphotography. Excellent directing. You can't go wrong with this movie, a glass of wine and someone you love on a long winter night.

King Kung Fu will clearly go down in movie history ....... Leahy should clearly have received a best support actor Oscar for this movie.

God bless all of those involved in this wonderful production.

Densel Myers
Yukon, Oklahoma
Raised A Hilltop Kid and Major Astro Fan In Wichita, KS

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1.0 out of 5 stars inbred
If Benny Hill inbred with itself and The Monkeys inbred with itself and the two got together and the offspring inbred with itself you'd get something as dumb as this movie. Read more

Published 3 months ago by F. Sod

3.0 out of 5 stars A Must See For Bad Movie Fans...Everyone Else Stay Far Away!
I'm not even sure what to say about "King Kung Fu"??? It's simply, amazing in it's awfulness. Within the first couple of minutes your jaw will drop as scene after scene of inept... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Graboidz

5.0 out of 5 stars King Kung Fu
Its a great movie its one of those so bad its good movies you just have to be in the right mood to see it so go give it a watch

Published 13 months ago by blahbagin

4.0 out of 5 stars the great king kung fu, so bad that it is good, then so much more bad that it is not good anymore, then stilghly worse than that
if you love "so bad it is good" movies, chances are, you already own this. but if you are like me and enjoy them only occasionally, then you should still get this movie. Read more

Published on November 27, 2009 by Al Ias

3.0 out of 5 stars Would be funnier if wasn't a comedy...
I love awful movies from the 70's / 80's as much as the next guy but was pretty disappointed with this one after such a promising box cover and plot. Read more

Published on April 12, 2007 by krangster

5.0 out of 5 stars Does it really get any better then this folks?
For the idiot within this is a must have.

Published on March 10, 2007 by All Powerful Wizard Of Oz

5.0 out of 5 stars EPIC
How many films can righteously claim the adjective "phantasmagorical" in respect to it's inexplainably preposterous, outlandish, fanciful, freakishly dead-on out-and-out totality... Read more

Published on May 5, 2006 by Danny

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Cinema Performance
This fine piece of cinematic history is a part of the rich history of Wichita, KS. It provides a stunning display of A-class acting coupled with cutting edge video mixing to... Read more

Published on December 12, 2005 by B. Kirk

2.0 out of 5 stars It was college
We discovered this movie braving a harsh winter in DeKalb, Il at NIU. It was just soooo stupid we laughed so hard. The writing, concept, and acting were so bad it was funny. Read more

Published on November 15, 2005 by Michael Buccieri

3.0 out of 5 stars A really funny G rated family film
Actually not the worst movie ever made. The film is a comedy, and if you are familiar with some older movies, you'll get the
spoofs and jokes. Read more

Published on October 25, 2005 by Robert E. Walterscheid

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