Spiritual Kung Fu (拳精) is a 1978 live-action theatrical Hong Kong film directed by Lo Wei, produced by Lo Wei, and written by Pan Lei. The film stars Jackie Chan, James Tien, Dean Shek and Yuen Biao, with music composed by Frankie Chan. It was theatrically released in November 1978 for Hong Kong and distributed by Lo Wei Motion Picture Co., Ltd. and Fortune Star.
Background:
“Made during Jackie Chan’s early apprenticeship to director Lo Wei – the man who made Bruce Lee a star – Spiritual Kung Fu sees Chan as a novice at the Shaolin Temple who learns martial arts from a very unusual set of masters: the ghosts who haunt the temple. Under their spectral tutelage, he gains the skills he needs to defend Shaolin during its darkest hour…“
Plot Synopsis via 88 Films, October 2020.
88 Films continues to deliver more Hong Kong cinema goodness with the next batch of Jackie Chan related films he’s featured or directed in. The first of the batch is Spiritual Kung Fu, which is from the well-known director Lo Wei and was before Jackie Chan worked with Golden Harvest on many more projects. The other films featured in the batch are Shaolin Wooden Men, New Fist of Fury and The Young Master so look forward to those!
Jackie Chan as I have mentioned with the unboxings on the previous 88 Films titles, is a very popular actor from China and Hong Kong. Before he ventured into the Hollywood scene, he worked on a ton of Hong Kong and martial art films with Spiritual Kung Fu being one of them. His work in Hong Kong cinema has a ton of classics, great action and fun entertainment throughout and they are much better than his Hollywood counterparts.
Spiritual Kung Fu has received an international release before with an English dub to go with it. In the UK it has been previously distributed by Sino Cine Co Ltd in 1982, Videosino Ltd in 1989, and then followed by Eastern Heroes and Hong Kong Legends for DVD in 2001 & 2007 respectively.
First Print Edition Contents:
88 Films follows a trend similar to Arrow Video and Eureka Entertainment where they offer a first print edition that includes an o-card slipcase and a couple of physical extras to go with the package.
Spiritual Kung Fu comes with a slipcase, fold-out poster and art cards made exclusively for this release. This style is similar to 88 Films’ previous titles like Dragon Lord, Snake & Crane Arts of Shaolin, and To Kill with Intrigue.
The SRP is £24.99 and has 3000 unit print run. Once the print run is out of stock, they’ll re-release the film without the O-card slipcase, folded poster and post cards.
Physical Contents:
- Limited Edition O-Card slipcase featuring unique artwork by R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien
- Folded Poster with artwork by R.P. “Kung Fu Bob” O’Brien
- 4 Art Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: 88 Films
Released: 26th October 2020
88 Films’ Blu-ray release for Spiritual Kung Fu has one cut but multiple audio languages available; the Cantonese audio, Mandarin audio and English audio. Both Cantonese and Mandarin audio options offer English subtitles, and there’s an additional alternate Cantonese audio option that includes different music. The Blu-ray transfer is based on a 2K restoration from the original 35mm negatives of the Hong Kong theatrical release.
The film was also released in South Korea and this Blu-ray release does include scenes that were included in that region as a bonus feature. Audio Commentary is also available from Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to B for Blu-ray.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Cantonese, English, Mandarin |
| Audio | Cantonese (Original) DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Cantonese (Alternative) DTS-HD Master Audio Mono English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono Mandarin DTS-HD Master Audio Mono |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 2:35:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Audio Commentary from Hong Kong cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
- Rick Baker on Spiritual Kung Fu
- Fighting Style: Interviews with Jackie Chan, Stanley Tong & Sammo Hung
- Scenes from the Korean Version
- Alternate Shot
- Hong Kong Trailer
- English Trailer
- Japanese Trailer
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Spiritual Kung Fu is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. The first print edition will sell out pretty fast like 88 Films’ other Jackie Chan titles. Both Amazon UK and the official 88 Films website will be the best option to secure a copy. Once sold out, the slipcase, poster and art cards won’t be reissued.
The Normanic Vault 
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