Kung Fu - The Complete Third Season

Thoroughly enjoyed this series from childhood and was always a dream to be able to buy them someday to add to a vinyl recording I had from the late seventies of some dialogue. For my part personally I've always been moved by the temple scenes and the extraordinary meaningful dialogue of the Shoalin priests and the growing Grasshopper. I have already sat through the second series and the record and marked and then recorded the entire flashback dialogue onto CD and use it often as inspiration when feeling at a loss. Being of mixed race I always empatized with Cains plight, especially feeling something of a social isolate and somewhat bullied in my little village in the sixties and seventies when the series first aired.
However superlative Bruce Lee might have been - and he was a true Master in his own right - I think he would have been just a little robust for the part of Caine who was superbly cast in David Carradine. Just as David would have been totally wrong for Bruce's part in Enter the Dragon for instance. There is much to impart in his soft tones and delivery against so much bigoted antagonism. Radames Pera as the young man in question was another inspired piece of casting and around my age at the time, and the whole project embodied so much morality and peaceful resolution which I think was the main inspiration for me. The underdog gaining victory through a humble resposte... It cannot be underestimated either the rich acting abilities of the Shaolin Masters Keye Luke etc. who had to sell their part convincingly, and a huge credit should go to all who produced the series in full and researched the more philisophical readings which are so meaningful.
Regarding obtaining these three series, Amazon had the products to me within days, even allowing for a Christmas period, and the no fuss delivery and ease of purchase for something that worked out about sixty pence an episode including delivery, is one of those bargains that one is happy to enjoy, for the years of pleasure the philosopy alone might bring, when balanced against the cost of a single almost forgetful night at ones local pub.
10 out of 10 on all fronts then, and a Huge Thank You for allowing me - almost like Caine himself - to be able to Complete this Thirty Year Journey...

Any Kung Fu fan will love this release! The stars in some of the episodes are awesome. Great messages abounding!

Ths is fantactic viewing of an old series I remember as a kid, though I still have not finished it watching all the espidoes it is slowly building up to a meeting with his long lost brother. Each episode has a good story and of course a little soft kung fu as it was then not like you see over the top moves in new films.
For some reason this is not available in the UK, however order from Amazon USA and I found the DVD's region free. Also cheaper to buy from USA.

I bought this with low expectations. My experience had been the same as another reviewer: I loved the first 2 seasons back in the seventies when they first came out. In fact the show had a profound effect on shaping my life. But I was eventually turned off by the mysticism of the 3rd season and stopped watching.
But now that I've watched the entire 3rd season on DVD I see that my giving up on the show was premature. There are treasures here. Some of these episodes do indeed rank right up there with the gems of the first 2 seasons. I particularly enjoyed the four-part ending (follow the order given by another reviewer so as to watch these last and see Caine's final bow at the end.)
The mystical aspects are really few and far between. Don't let that put you off. If you enjoyed the first 2 seasons you won't want to miss the 3rd.
The extras are also good. I felt a real warmth from David Carradine as he reminisced about the show, and the trip to China captured the sense of camaraderie amongst the travelers.

This series is a blast, and I love the philosphical underpinnings of the study of martial arts - as a way of seeking Tao. This series, its stars and characters take me back to the '70's, where as a kid, I fueled my desire to study the martial arts.

One key thing, this series deals with violence in a highly sophisticated manner - there is never any reason to show blood - in fact, it's highly unusual to ever see anything graphic or a even a drop of blood - it's stories are so well directed.

A great gift for a forty-something martial artist!