Product Details

• Actors: David Carradine, Keye Luke, Philip Ahn, Season Hubley, Radames Pera
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: March 16, 2004
• Run Time: 780 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00013F38K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,615 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Kung Fu: The Complete First Season" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

KUNG FU:COMPLETE FIRST SEASON - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

312 of 326 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the Complete First Season, March 22, 2004

By 

Keith Sargent (Rockville, Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kung Fu: The Complete First Season (DVD)

Although I have not watched all 15 episodes yet, I was disappointed to discover that a total of one to two minutes in each episode were cut. While the short scenes that were cut were not crucial, they do create noticeable gaps in the smooth telling of the story.

It appears that the master tape used to make the DVD was not taken from the original series, but from a shortened version that was edited to make room for additional commercials when the show was shown in recent years. The total run time for each episode is 50 minutes.

It is also not "complete" because the top and bottom of the screen have been cut to make it fit a widescreen format.

I purchased the DVD because, although I had recorded the series on VHS, I did not have all the episodes. Therefore, I am happier with the DVD than without it; but I can only give it three stars since this is not the "complete first season." It has been cropped and shortened.

80 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible cropping of image is unacceptable...AVOID!, March 22, 2004

By 

S. Phillips (Las Vegas, NV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kung Fu: The Complete First Season (DVD)

A TV series from 1972 is not intended for widescreen presentation. The original image has been cropped, cutting off heads, feet, and other things in the process.

I am all for widescreen presentations of widescreen movies, because I want to see the image as intended. However, in this case, they are doing the opposite, by changing the image to fit new 16X9 monitors, they have destroyed the original composition.

Do not sit still for this. Can you image I LOVE LUCY with the top and bottom of the picture cropped out? The converyor belt scene in the chocolate factory would be ruined....

Widescreen movies and recent widescreen TV shows should be widescreen on DVD, no question.

However, older non-widescreen movies and TV series should be presented as intended, not edited and cropped to placate owners of 16X9 sets who don't know any better. Besides, if those owners want to crop the images to fit their widescreens, they can do so with a button on their remotes.

Cropping a 32 year old TV series? Ridiculous.

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Love and destruction, April 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Kung Fu: The Complete First Season (DVD)

I was 11, and I loved this series. I love it now, at 43. A gentle man tries to survive while doing as little damage as possible, and sometimes offering a bit of help. However skillfully written or choreographed the episodes were, the central message of kindness remained. I see many flaws today that I didn't at age 11, but who cares? Caine was one of my most beloved teachers. That will never change.

I subtract TWO STARS for the cropping. I swear it did not even occur to me to look at the box for the ratio! Who on earth would crop a TV show? Listen, I always check the ratio on films, and I was in the vanguard of widescreen proponents, in the 80's when no one gave a damn about it. But the whole point is to RETAIN INFORMATION, to avoid destruction of the artist's creation. Somebody decided Kung Fu did not deserve that much respect. They were wrong.

So I have mixed feelings. I'm sorry I bought the tattered version, but I have watched a few episodes and they made me as happy as they did in 1972. Clean look, clean sound. If you love this series, buy it and enjoy it. But I am still hoping for an untattered version. If they produce that, I will buy it instantly, and give the widescreen version to an 11 year old.