Sun Chung is widely regarded as the third best director of the Shaw Brothers studio, after Chang Cheh and Liu Chia Liang. Chung directed some of the studio’s best films such as AVENGING EAGLE (1978), DEADLY BREAKING SWORD (1979), and KID WITH A TATTOO (1980). Later in his career, Chung garnered accolades for his direction of the highly-regarded Hong Kong New Wave picture HOT WAR (1988), starring Ti Lung and Chow Yun Fat. Ti Lung toplines THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR as the title character, a teacher of the martial arts who is thrust into a world of deception and intrigue. Ku Feng plays opposite Ti Lung as the charismatic villain, Mong Fan. Ku Feng is a veteran Hong Kong character actor whose resume is just as long as Ti Lung’s. You can see his genius in action on such DVDs as CRACK SHADOW BOXER (1977), AVENGING EAGLE (1978), and BRAVE ARCHER (1977). Wang Yu is the heroic costar of THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR, and is best known for his performances in EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLOIN (1977), YOUNG AVENGER (1980), and DIRTY HO (1979). Theresa Chu is a femme fatal from HEROES SHED NO TEARS (1978), THE SECRET (1979), and SHAOLIN INTRUDERS (1983). Chiang Tao played mostly villains as seen in WARRIOR FROM SHAOLIN (1981), TEN MAGNIFICENT KILLERS (1980), and MASTER OF DEATH (1982). THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR also features cameos by Ngai Fei (HEAVEN SWORD AND DRAGON SABER, LEGEND OF THE BAT, DEADLY BREAKING SWORD), Tin Ching (MASK OF VENGENCE, DEADLY SNAIL VS. KUNG FU KILLERS, CLANS OF INTRIGUE), Dick Wei (CHINATOWN KID, BRAVE ARCHER, AVENGING EAGLE), and Wang Lung Wei who appeared in just about every Venoms movie. Pan Media International released this movie on disc in 2001 under their Galaxy Home Video banner.

In the town of Ho Si, two prominent Chinese clans have a family feud dating back centuries. The ancestors of the malevolent Mong clan and the righteous Chows split up their territories with a property line and instituted laws to keep each faction from crossing those lines. Those brave enough to traverse the line have their legs cut off by the opposing clan. The Chows want to do away with this ridiculous law and establish relations with the Mongs. But the clan leader Mong Fan (Ku Feng) wants nothing more than to totally eradicate his hated enemies. He seeks to recruit the best Kung Fu teacher in the land, Wong Yang (Ti Lung) to train his family members. Teacher Wong refuses because he knows that Mong Fan’s men will use his teachings only for selfish purposes. Mong Fan comes up with an idea to frame Teacher Wong for murder. He arranges for a hired hand to start a fight with Teacher Wong in the center of town in front of the townsfolk. The man who challenges Teacher Wong is no match for him, and when the guy stumbles backwards after Teacher Wong pushes him away, he ends up falling onto wooden spikes that puncture his flesh. The guy promptly dies in view of everyone, and the townspeople turn against the respected Kung Fu instructor. Rather than face arrest, Teacher Wong flees so he can prove his innocence. An emissary of the Mong clan finds Teacher Wong hiding out, and claims that in exchange for martial arts lessons, Mong Fan will use his political clout to clear his name. Rather than face the alternative, Teacher Wong agrees to educate the Mongs in the ways of Kung Fu.

Chow Ping (Wang Yu) is a member of the Chow family who risks life and limb to traverse the boundary lines in order to witness Teacher Wong’s agonizing lessons. Then Chow Ping returns to his makeshift training room to practice what he learned from the training sessions. At the Mong palace, Teacher Wong meets Chao Cheh (Therea Chu), a beautiful young lady (adopted by the Mongs when she was an infant) who takes a liking to him. The careless Chow Ping is captured on the Mong territory and brought to Mong Fan for sentencing before they remove his limbs. Teacher Wong overhears and speaks up on behalf of Chow Ping. Teacher Wong tells Mong Fan he is taking Chow Ping back to the Chow’s territory. Both Teacher Wong and Chow Ping fight their way through the Mong hordes and cross over the border where the Chow clan are happy to welcome them. Teacher Wong is impressed with Chow’s Ping’s desire to learn Kung Fu and offers to teach him the martial arts. One of Mong Fan’s lackeys crosses the border to deliver a message to Teacher Wong. Mong Fan insists there is no hard feelings and begs Teacher Wong to continue training the Mongs. Teacher Wong insists they meet up to discuss the matter. During the negotiations, Mong Fan requests that Teacher Wong teach his men the unbeatable Shaolin Pole Style. Mong Fan firsts tries to bribe him, and then tries to blackmail him. Teacher Wong responds by accusing the Mongs of setting him up on the murder charge. Mong Fan tells him to collect his belongings and leave the Mong property. As Teacher Wong starts to do so, he is assaulted by Mong soldiers and seriously wounded. Chao Cheh hides him and tends to his wounds while the Mongs continue to search for him. Mong Fan then orders his men to murder some monks, so he can use his clout to place the blame on the Chow clan. The police soon round up the Chows and it looks like Mong Fan will have his way. But Teacher Wong vows to tutor Chow Ping in the ways of the Shaolin Pole Style. After some intensive training, Chow Ping comes up to speed. Teacher Wong insists that they pay a visit to the home of Mong Fan and expose the truth and clear the name of the Chow family. However, Mong Fan learns of their upcoming arrival, and plans a trap to eradicate his enemies!

THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR is another outstanding Shaw Brothers picture with a tight script courtesy of I Kuang. The plot contains all the earmarks of Kuang’s best themes like deceptions, conspiracies, camaraderie, and redemption. The idea of a family feud between two major clans is an original one and a nice touch to the script which enables it to rise above the usual revenge fable. This is essentially the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys with Ti Lung stuck in the middle. As good as Kuang’s script is, the cast take the material to the next level. Ti Lung, Ku Feng, and Wang Yu bring more depth to their characters than the roles call for. Ti Lung is physically commanding as usual, and strikes up a unique master-pupil relationship with Wang Yu. Theresa Chu plays Ti Lung’s romantic interest, which is typical of a Kung Fu movie. Their relationship is never fleshed out or consummated, as their interaction consists of mainly bailing each other out of trouble. Ku Feng is awesome as the calculating schemer Mong Fan, whose scowls and two-faced demeanor never fails to be anything other than compelling. Wang Yu, who is often wooden, really proves that he can act with the right direction. His performance here is nearly as good as that in DIRTY HO. THE KUNG FU INSTRUCTOR is not without a few story flaws however. In the conclusion, it takes Ti Lung and Wang Yu to beat Ku Feng which tells me that Mong Fan is the superior fighter. This becomes a major plot contradiction--why does Mong Fan want Teacher Wong to teach his men so badly when he could have trained them better himself? The choreography is top notch (as usual) for a Shaw Brothers film of this stature. There is some early usage of cables when the actors fight among the rooftops. Some highlights include Wang Yu’s rigid training sequences, the fateful final fight, and Ti Lung vs. the entire town of Ho Si!