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Kung Fu: The Legend Continues: The Complete First Season

David Carradine (Actor) Format: DVD
Additional DVD options Edition Discs
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DVD
August 28, 2014 		—
6
—
$32.98 $35.00
Genre Television, Television/Crime
Format NTSC
Contributor David Carradine
Language English
Number Of Discs 6

Product Description

When we last saw Kwai Chang Caine, in Kung Fu: the Movie, he was united with the son he never knew he had in the turn-of-the-century Wild West. Now, the son of that son, also named Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine), must emerge from seclusion to save the son he thought lost. Like his legendary namesake, this Caine is also a warrior monk, operating a Shaolin temple in Northern California. After an evil priest, Tan (Ernest Abuba), destroys the temple, Caine and his young son, Peter (Nathaniel Moreau) each believe the other has perished. The two embark on very different paths -- Caine wanders the Earth, while Peter (Chris Potter) is a cop. When fate brings the two together, they work to overcome their differing philosophies to battle Tan, and then to help the innocent and bring justice to the new Wild West -- 90s urban America. Please note the series' pilot movie is presented here in its international release version, and contains brief nudity.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.5 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ B00KKZ4K1A
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 16 hours and 50 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ August 28, 2014
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ David Carradine
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Warner Archive Collection
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KKZ4K1A
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 6
  • Customer Reviews:

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
407 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

J.G.
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Series!
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2024
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I loved this show as a kid! It's a shame that the last two seasons aren't availible on DVD, but what we got is great! The quality of the disks are really good, would recommend this season as well as the second season if you want alot of action and nostalgia!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Good series
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2023
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I enjoyed watching the series
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Gary Reid
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent quality
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2023
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Video quality excellent. Not quite HD which did not exist in the 1990’s. Will Warner Bros Archive release Seasons 3 and 4?
3 people found this helpful
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Roni Batzion
4.0 out of 5 stars Something different and fun for martial arts and police fiction fans
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
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It's fun revisiting this series, with an aging David Carradine reprising his really marvelous 1970s role as Kwai Chang Caine, the mixed-raced boy who became a Shaolin Kung Fu master. Toronto, where "The Legend Continues" was filmed, was experiencing an incredibly cold winter and the actors spent a lot of time being quite uncomfortable while filming. While the writing in this second series is ok, the plots for episodes about Kwai Chang Caine's grandson (David Carradine) lack the substance of the earlier original series, made when Carradine was in his 30s. Despite the actor's personal life, which went from bad-- a miserable childhood and youth, to a chaotic, unstructured, and drug-ridden adulthood. Carradine had at least four wives plus live-in girlfriends. His life went from worse to worst-- an apparently accidental auto-erotic death in Thailand though this is highly questionable and one of his wives claims he was murdered in a robbery.

David Carradine was nonetheless a gifted actor, and the part of Kwai Chang Kaine in the original series was a brilliant piece of acting by any standard. Though it was lampooned on TV comedy shows at the time, in the original series the writers really did include some good Daoist teaching and the plots of each episode were faithful to the Dao philosophy. Typically for him, in the second series, Carradine brings in a real-life family member in "The Legend Continues" just as he did in "Kung Fu." Considering his actual childhood and youth, this was certainly very forgiving of him, and quite poignant in fact, since he seemed to be trying to create the loving family around himself that he did not have in actuality.

In "The Legend Continues," his real-life daughter Calista, the oldest of Carradine's three children, plays the character of "Cheryl," a street-wise girl who begins to solve her personal problems with the disciplined and introspection of the martial art style known as Kung Fu. With the original "Kung Fu" series in the 1970s, Carradine's performance awakened an interest in Eastern religions, particularly Dao and Buddhism.

In addition to making the hitherto unknown martial art of kung fu a household word, the original series actually began a national craze that saw young people in search of some meaning in their lives, as well as older tourists streaming to India and China to try to learn more about both Dao and Buddhism, and to see the suddenly famous Shaolin temple for themselves. It has since become a major tourist attraction in China, to the point where the Marxist government was forced from sheer embarrassment to leave it alone after persecuting the monks for decades before the original Kung Fu series began in America.

Carradine made other Kung Fu-based movies, but nothing ever reached the technical, artistic, and philosophical heights of the original Kung Fu series. Some of "The Legend Continues" is just plain silly, and Carradine is no longer young, handsome, or supple in this series. But for martial arts fans and people who want something a little different, or who appreciate David Carradine as an actor, will enjoy the second series. Unfortunately the original 1970s Kung Fu series ended after three seasons because Carradine had suffered a number of injuries doing the stunts himself along with the martial arts that are inherently dangerous; and breaking his foot was the last straw for him. It was also clear that the writers of Kung Fu were likewise running out of good plot ideas.

The second series, "The Legend Continues," gets a big boost from one of Canada's hockey stars, Nathaniel Moreau, who plays Kwai Chang Caine's son Peter, long separated from his father. The son has become a policeman, so quite a bit of the story lines in each episode can be considered more police fiction than martial arts. Writers for the second series obviously weren't really all that familiar with either Dao or Buddhism, and the episode where Kwai Chang Caine gets to Shambala is really far-fetched. Nonetheless, "The Legend Continues" is not without its good moments, and some great humor. In real life during the filming, Carradine was continuing on his path to self-destruction, trashing his hotel rooms, drinking heavily, and causing other problems in Toronto. But the series is still enjoyable in itself for anyone who likes martial arts, David Carradine's acting, police fiction, and a different twist on an both police and martial arts movies that are, except for this series, predictable and boringly alike, just as Hollywood westerns had deteriorated into predictable horse operas until the 1970s "Kung Fu" made-for-TV program burst upon the American scene.

David Carradine really did make social history in the 1970s with the first series, "Kung Fu." The fact something that should really be studied for its unforeseen but very real consequences, but so far has not been. Besides that, he was an extremely good actor who was the perfect choice for the character he played in the original series. He brought his fractured life to the character of Kwai Chang Caine the original series, resulting in a sensitive and innovative performance of a half-Chinese, half-American young man in search of a family in the Old West while trying to live up to the purity and vision of his Daoist monastic masters. "Kung Fu" actually mirrored Carradine's own far from happy real life in a some unexpected ways, but made for a great series nonetheless. Too bad it was at the expense of an actor who was capable of a great performance, but whose real life was marred by personal problems and failings. His acting legacy, however, speaks for itself in the original Kung Fu series, a case where his art will live on for decades, and we can only mourn what might have been had he been able to get his life in order to take on even more serious dramatic roles. Rest in peace, David; you were more sinned against than sinning, and you gave the world an unforgettable character to enjoy, study, and learn from.
45 people found this helpful
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L. Dupre
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this show and thrilled to see Season One finally ...
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2015
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Loved this show and thrilled to see Season One finally released on DVD. This is a no-frills set - no extras, no inserts, nothing - just the complete first season and I'm happy to have it. That said, I'd recommend viewing the episodes in a different order than what is presented on the DVDs. I don't recall where I first heard of this different order, but viewing it this way makes more sense - it shows the progression of the father/son relationship and the development of Peter's kung fu skills in a more linear fashion. This order was fairly common knowledge among Fu Fans back in the day. The order is: Initiation (Pilot); The Lacquered Box; Sunday At The Hotel With George; Force Of Habit; I Never Promised You A Rose Garden; Secret Place; Sacred Trust; Pai Gow; Shaman; Shadow Assassin; Dragon's Eye; Rain's Only Friend; Reunion; Challenge; Disciple; Blind's Eye; Illusion; Straight Jacket; Dragon's Wing; Redemption 1 & 2.

As for the nudity mentioned in another review - it is only in the Pilot episode. Not sure why they chose to have it in this release as it did not air as such in the U.S. The nudity is women dancing in the background of some bar scenes. It adds nothing to the show but it is there and it is noted on the back of the DVD box.
37 people found this helpful
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Robyn A. Garner
5.0 out of 5 stars "Bloody Marvelous"...... Just Don't Call Him Pop!
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2015
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As a fan who watched the show when it originally aired and (im)PATIENTLY waited and waited and waited - did I mention waited for this to come out on dvd, I was not disappointed. David Carradine stars as Kwai Chang Caine, the grandson of his character in the original Kung Fu series from the 1970s. This time around he is joined by his street smart, wise cracking cop son played by Chris Potter. Seperated (believed dead) when a renegade preist named Tan destroyed their Shaolin temple, they are reunited 15 years later.

There are a myriad of AMAZING secondary characters including The Ancient (Lo Si), Kermit Griffin, Captain Blaisdell and a very underrated coroner character Nicky Elder. There are some excellent villains as well, Tan, George. It also amassed an impressive list of guest stars - Patrick Macnee, Robert Vaughn, Kate Trotter. The storyline in the premier tells a great backstory and sets up what will be recurring theme of flashbacks throughout the entire series. The "lessons" from the temple will carry through this season and all others. This is very much a show about relationships and is excellent at that aspect. The Kung Fu is not spectacular and the effects can be cheesy at times, but even after all these years, it made my heart glad to see Caine and the gang back together again and I will buy every single season as soon as released.
33 people found this helpful
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Gina McCraw
5.0 out of 5 stars Great dvds
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2023
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Exactly what I was searching for.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Elizabeth
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this show
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2024
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Each episode is interesting and there are always takeaways with wisdom about life. I watched both this series and the original Kung Fu show when I was younger and found it calmed me and made me think. I hope Seasons 3 and 4 will be released sometime soon.
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Daniel Vázquez Zamarripa
5.0 out of 5 stars Como volver a ver a un viejo amigo...
Reviewed in Mexico on September 27, 2023
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Continuando con las aventuras de Quan chan kaine, el chino-americano más famoso pero en tiempos más modernos con el bisnieto y tataranieto, una serie si bien de Kung fue, también con una filosofía budista zen que aún en estos tiempos de intolerancia sigue siendo una bonita forma de ver la vida, la calidad es suprema en esta colección son buenas copias, lástima que no viene ni subtitulada ni doblada al español
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Anne McG
5.0 out of 5 stars Memory Lane enjoyable side road!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 13, 2022
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Bought this because I enjoyed the original Kung Fu. This is so very different but hugely enjoyable. Lots of humour. It is a shame that the whole series is not available. Perhaps someone can resolve that problem.
Would love to see the Kung fu original revived or reimagined.
A real memory lane pleasure.
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HipPop
5.0 out of 5 stars パイロット版が最高！
Reviewed in Japan on February 18, 2018
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パイロット版(第１話)が入っててとても嬉しかったです。過去と未来を繋ぐ、その後の物語の導入としては、最高です。
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Breck Liles
5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel comes through as expected.
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2024
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Sequel picks up where original series ended. Well acted and stories were believable. Looking forward to getting the second season.
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