Two bumbling con-artists, Pi San (Ku Feng) and Wu Long (Han Kuo Tsai) stumble into a town threatened by the Tiger Gang. The Mayor of the town hires two skilled martial arts fighters to offset the presence of the gang’s nervous boss (Dai Sai Aan). When the townsfolk witness Pi San and Wu Long enter the village and fraudulently proclaim themselves martial artists, everyone thinks that they are the two fighters hired by the Mayor. The people roll out the red carpet for these two con artists, who plan on setting them straight after they wolf down some free meals. The Mayor offers them more money to stand against the Tiger gang, something that the greedy Pi San cannot ignore. The townspeople put them up at the home of a woman called Tigress. Pi San discovers that she has an insatiable sexual appetite which caused her previous husbands to die early deaths. He is horrified when Tigress sets her sights on making Pi San her next husband. Meanwhile, the Tiger Gang learns that the con artists are in town, and believe them to be unbeatable fighters. The thugs follow Pi San and Wu Long around to find out just how good these two Kung Fu fighters are. Through sheer luck and misunderstanding, the con-artists convince the bad guys that they are the real deal. The Tiger Gang leader feels his power slipping away, and hires a legendary martial arts hitman to beat our two heroes. As the dangerous fighter enters the outskirts of town, Pi San and Wu Long accidentally meet up with him and are instantly intimidated by the psychotic behavior of this enforcer (who doesn’t recognize them as his opponents). Both agree to leave town immediately, but Wu Long gets second thoughts when he thinks about how kind the townspeople were to them. Together, the two con-artists hatch a master plan to neutralize the enforcer, and liberate the oppressed town from the Tiger Gang. But can these two bumbling heroes execute their own plan?

If you are looking for a solid Kung Fu fight thriller, you’ve chosen the wrong film. CRACK SHADOW BOXER offers little in the way of plot or martial arts excitement. The martial arts choreography that is shown in the film is very flashy—its Peking Opera style with acrobats leaping under and over the waving weapons. When the skilled Venoms performers do it, it resembles authentic martial arts movement. Never mind the action set pieces, the main reason to see CRACK SHADOW BOXERS is because it’s one of the funniest, goofiest movies to emerge from the shores of Hong Kong ever. Because of this, the movie has attained cult status. It’s like the AIRPLANE of martial arts films, but without the endless sight gags. This is pretty much Ku Feng’s movie, and he gets to really stretch his boundaries into the realm of humor. He’s played villains, old masters, and other undesirables, so his fans get to see him in a new light. Besides Ku Feng, CRACK SHADOW BOXER features Han Kuo Tsai in a key role. He appeared in RAGE OF THE WIND (1974), DRAGON’S CLAWS (1979), and 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (1978). They are joined by supporting players like Fong Yao, who starred in SUPER KUNG FU KID (1974), BLOODY FIGHT (1972), BROKEN OATH (1977), and later went on to direct TEN MAGNIFICENT KILLERS (1980). Dai Sai Aan (Mandarin name Ta Hsi Yen) plays the leader of the Tiger Gang. He excelled in comic villain roles as seen in THE BUDDHIST FIST (1980), THE FOUR INVINCIBLES (1979), and DIRTY KUNG FU (1978). The movie also features San Kuai, better known as Iron Head from DRUNKEN MASTER (1978). Additionally, San Kuai can be seen on DVD in such efforts as 36 CRAZY FISTS (1977), SUPER KUNG FU KID (1974), and MANTIS FISTS AND TIGER CLAWS OF SHAOLIN (1977).

CRACK SHADOW BOXER veers straight into THE THREE STOOGES territory with the goofy comedic antics. Both main characters are not true fighters at all; they are extremely fortunate people who score lucky punches and kicks on their opponents. There is also a ton of sexual humor and innuendo, although it’s all done in a very clean manner. A young woman who has a crush on Han Kuo Tsai requests that he teach her his rare form of the martial arts. The practice requires them to roll around in bed. Tigress has a crush on Ku Feng, and is constantly forcing him to satisfy her appetite. He develops feelings for her, but he’s afraid he’s going to end up her next dead husband. In one scene, Han Kuo Tsai believes he has the hitman helpless inside a sheet. He hangs up the bag, and begins beating the person in it with a staff. Seconds later it is revealed that the person inside the sack is none other than his partner. In the end, when Han Kuo Tsai confronts the hitman, he wraps rubber straps all over his body. The blows of this burly fighter bounce off his squirrel-like opponent. Han Kuo Tsai revels in playing the goofy side-kick to Ku Feng’s character, who always insists that he is a wise Kung Fu master. The facial expressions employed by these two for cheap laughs make Jackie Chan’s antics seem reserved in comparison.

SIGHT
CRACK SHADOW BOXER is presented uncut in the original theatrical ratio of 2.35.1. Crash Cinema somehow dug up a pristine 32MM print to use for the transfer. The image exhibits occasional wear and blemishes, but old school fans used to poor video presentations will drool over this one. The picture is sharp and provides great depth. Colors are also very good, though overall the production values are weak--you won’t confuse this with a Shaw Brothers martial arts film, that’s for sure. The black levels are perfectly tweaked, and the rich detail level allows you appreciate the finest points of the cinematography. Most of the action takes place in the outdoors, with the rolling hills of China in the background. Thanks to the widescreen compositions, Lee Han’s circus-like fight choreography is not compromised in the least. I say circus-like because it’s so planned out and unrealistic. But an absurd movie like CRACK SHADOW BOXER needs absurd Kung Fu to complement the levity. I don’t know how or where Crash Cinema dug up such a clean print in this day and age, but I hope they continue to do so on future releases.

SOUND
In the past, Crash Cinema has suffered in the area of poor audio mixes. On some of their DVDs like SHAOLIN MASTER KILLER, the dialog is all but inaudible. Crash Cinema breaks their reputation with a nicely remastered Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Unlike most other martial arts soundtracks where the sound is used to deliver the violence, the sound effects for CRACK SHADOW BOXER mostly provide humorous jabs and whimsical musical cues to accentuate the humor. There are numerous clashes though, with the sounds of daggers, swords, and other weapons rushing through the air. CRACK SHADOW BOXER is made even more humorous by the sounds of the English dubbers, who are clearly having fun here. The musical score is rather generic, but at least I can say it doesn’t sound like library stock music. The sound effects track, dialog, and score mesh together very well, and without background noise, tape hiss, or distortion. The digital sampling of the source elements (removing any analog deficiencies) really makes for a pleasing aural experience.

FEATURES
No extras on the disc.

CONCLUSION
I must confess to not being a big fan of Kung Fu comedies. I have always preferred the dramatics and flair of the Shaw Brothers movies over the clownish antics of Sammo Hung and company. I’m burnt out on old Drunken Masters, martial artists who practice Kung Fu while performing house-hold activities, and Jackie Chan wannabes. However, after sitting through so many martial arts blood-baths (much as I love them), it is refreshing to view a Kung Fu comedy that not only satirizes the genre, but is genuinely funny. If you remove all the Kung Fu from CRACK SHADOW BOXERS, you’ll find the movie is still full of laughs. This movie is as close as Hong Kong came to THE THREE STOOGES. Right now, Hollywood has an obsession with Kung Fu comedies with parodies like KUNG PAO: ENTER THE FIST playing on movie screens. I say skip the American Kung Fu comedy and go for the real thing instead. Rent a copy of CRACK SHADOW BOXER and see why this comedy achieved a cult following over hundreds of other martial arts comedies.

REVIEW:
This is a silly little film. Okay, I'll elaborate further. The story is actually refreshing for an old kung fu yarn and reminded me of the farcical antics of Danny Kaye in The Inspector General which shared a similar plot. Unfortunately, the acting is too over-the-top for any real laughs giving one the impression that the actors were trying outdo each other with contorted facial expressions.

The main character's kung fu is meant to look bad in a comical fashion but never comes close to the charm and creative movements found in comedy classics, Encounters of a Spooky Kind and The Drunken Master. An opportunity to spoof the styles of kung fu is never fully exploited by the likes of the "Stumbling" or "Nasty" used in the film. And you'll definitely get a chuckle out of the surgical tubing that miraculously becomes a defensive kung fu style. Then again, maybe you won't.

Of course, if your tastes in kung fu lean towards the absurd, you might still enjoy the film. It does feature many recognizable Shaw Brothers regulars and the bald-headed lead plays a great ignoramus.

Despite its few entertaining moments, Crack Shadow Boxer's lackluster story, humor too juvenile even by classic kung fu standards, and sleep-inducing fight scenes lead the film to not only "stumble" but fall flat on its face.