Yi-Lang is a smart-alec martial arts student at a Shaolin Temple. An anonymous thief steals a book from the library which teaches a potentially fatal style of Kung Fu. Yi-Lang, along with a group of five other monks, is punished for not stopping the thief, but his bravery leads to him signing up to defend a supposedly haunted portion of the school. Upon discovering the ghosts, who are masters of a supposedly lost style of fighting known as The "Five Style Fists", Yi-Lang offers himself as a student, masters the form and uses it to progress quickly through the ranks of the school. In order to defend the school against the very thief who stole the book from its library, Yi-Lang demonstrates his new style and defeats the invading troupe, with a little help from his five spiritual masters.
Cast
Jackie Chan
Kao Kuang
Dean Shek
James Tien
Yee Fat
Wang Yao
Jane Kwong
Hsu Hong
Chui Yuen
Peng Kang
Li Hai Lung
Li Chun Tung
Yuen Biao
Wang Kuang Yu
Li Chnig Fu
Wu Te Shan
Chung Wai
Production
Along with Dragon Fist, Spiritual Kung Fu was filmed in early 1978. As Lo Wei's studio was running out of money, they shelved both films due to cost-cutting measures and Chan was loaned out to Seasonal Films for a two-picture deal. Whilst there he made Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master with Yuen Woo-ping. The success of these two films at the domestic box office prompted Lo to give belated releases to Spiritual Kung Fu and Dragon Fist. Spiritual Kung Fu was Lo Wei's response to Chan's earlier attempt at blending comedy with kung fu in the film Half a Loaf of Kung Fu. The supernatural elements of the film were brought to life by some early examples of Hong Kongspecial effects. Much of the scripted comedy in the film centred on Chan's exaggerated facial expressions and reactions to his ghostly teachers.
The "Five Style Fists" kung fu style is based on the Five Fists Pattern, one of the early Martial Arts practiced at the Shaolin Temple, as discussed in Qiu Yue Chan Shi's book "The Essence of the Five Fists". This system contains Dragon, Tiger, Snake, Crane and Leopard / Panther styles.
Box office
During its Hong Kong theatrical run, Spiritual Kung Fu grossed 2,397,558. Upon its 1982 release in South Korea, it sold 80,440 tickets in Seoul, equivalent to an estimated gross revenue of approximately . Combined, the film grossed an estimated total of approximately in East Asia, equivalent to adjusted for inflation.
Versions
The film was made with the intention of releasing in Mandarin in early 1978 but shelved. Prior to its belated theatrical release late that year, a Cantonese soundtrack and some small edits were made. It wasn't until 1980 that the film was finally given a release with the original Mandarin soundtrack.
Two Chinese versions of the film have surfaced to date. The most notable difference is during a scene depicting temple duty. In one version, Yi-Lang is knocked unconscious with an attack to the back of the neck. In the other version, he is knocked out with poison from a burning joss stick; this has caused issues on home video due to mismatched audio/visual.
The Korean theatrical version contains a completely different opening.
