Kung Fu on Sale (1979)

So much average

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

KUNG FU ON SALE is another cheap Taiwanese martial arts film that openly copies the Jackie Chan movies DRUNKEN MASTER and SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW. This is one of the most inept rip-offs I've seen, a film which never overcomes the paucity of a non-existent budget and feels cheap and slapdash throughout. The plot, about a kid who is banned from learning kung fu and who ends up hooking up with a wise master to learn the ropes, is as derivative as they come.The film's one familiar cast member is Dean Shek, playing a chap who runs a martial arts school. Otherwise, the main character is an idiot who keeps getting beaten up because people think he's ugly. There's a twist in the tale which feels a bit silly and unbelievable. The only time the story picks up is in the extended climax which is as familiar as they come. Unfortunately, the team dubbing this one into English seem to have decided that as it is a comedy/action film, they'll supply the most stupid and exaggerated voices ever. It's really irritating.

Our guy takes a beating simply because the bullies do not like his face. He goes to an egg seller for a job and the same trouble follows him. He needs a job for money to learn kung fu. He hooks up with three beggars. He tries to learn at Dean Shek's school but again, folks just do not like this guy. It escalates to the point where he can only make money by charging people $1 to punch him. A moustauche guy fights off the big guy who keeps punching him without payment then just walks off. He meets the drunken master Simon Yuen clone at a tea house. He becomes his grandfather and teacher. The movie then takes a twist that makes it more than a comedy and adds substance. Our guy's father was behind the scenes using his money to thwart his martial arts ambitions. Father comes clean and admits it and just wants his son to forget about martial arts and embrace the true power of money since it can buy anything. He doesn't want his son to be like his father who went off to become the man we already met, the drunken master called Grandfather. Son does not accept that premise of the power of money and he leaves. Father continues to use his money to pay people to stop the son but now those people extort him and demand even more money not to kill the son. The cliché of the thunderstorm indicates the final fight is near. Grandpa teaches him "Sleepy Crane" for the final fight. Most reviews indicate they liked this movie despite its shortcomings. This movie hits on the secret to low budget success, a likable sympathetic lead character in a story that is all about the martial arts. The grandfather, father, son, martial arts, money and power story points are all there if you care to pay attention. Those points take the movie above the ordinary or you can just enjoy the comedy and fights. Unfortunately the deeper story line is not well written nor well edited and comes across as if it came out of nowhere. I rate this above average and highly recommend it for all fans of the genre.

ej's kung-fu capsule review for films of the chop-socky old-school - 1. basic plot type - young man comes of kung-fu age 2. plot construction - pretty good 3. dramatic - okay 4. funny - sometimes 5. dialog - not too bad 6. cast performance - pretty good all around 7. crew performance - solid 8. amount of fighting - fair amount 9. quality of fighting - okay 10. special any cast or crew notes - appears to be a transitional film for director Joseph kuo, made roughly at same time as the superior 'cavalier' 11. big positive - rarely dull 12. big negative - annoying leading actor who looks too old for the part bottom-line - who should see this movie - a solid martial-arts entertainment for any seeking such

nobody famous,nothing too original. the son of a wealthy man cares nothing for business -he just wants to learn kung fu. he finds the stereotypical kung fu movie old man with martial arts skills who teaches him 'sleepy crane style'. the father hires a kung fu expert to dissuade his son by outclassing him -but the expert decides to try and kill him instead leading to the big showdown. there's a lot of entertainment in this film even though it's nothing too special -worth seeing and it even features the hawai 5 o theme in a comedy scene -of which this film has quite a few.