This italian cult movie was not a Big Boss spoof, It was not made in Sicily (Rome is the setting) and It was not influenced by TV serial Kung fu, so the previous review miss completely the point, since story and personages clearly came from Shaw's King boxer while Carradine's Shaolin monk stayed unseen in Italy until the 80's, and Ku fu was made in the Spring of 1973 and released September of the same year. Incredibly this poorly made comedy outnumbered both Shaw's King boxer and BRUCE's Classics in Italy grossing almost 1 million of italian lira, a huge box office back then. This because his main star Franco Franchi was incredibly popular and because the movie captured the craze for the Kung fu films, theyr stereotypes and childish formula Just like an instant photo could made. By all his many flaws and few merits, Ku Fu stand as a vulgar and vivid testimoniance not only of a Lost Italy and filmgenre (even the poor dressing of the personages resembles the shoestring budgeted costumes of many Kung fu pix), but also as a portrait of the suburban and so called "underdog" audience who went for It, as the ragged and noisy crowd surrounding Franco Franchi in the final tournament, genially staged on a clownesque circus floor almost in Fellini style, shows in a so clever and lovely manner. More THAN a movie, Ku Fu Is a joke from the 70's strictly for Italian fans of Franco Franchi and Kung fu films as they were seen here. A silly movie as well as a guilty pleasure for nostalgia. Still well remembered here.
