Rating: 
Summary: The Message, not the format is what's important!
Review: This Kung Fu series was a watershed for TV. When the series began airing 32 years ago, it left an indelible impact on me not just for the excellent writing, scripting and action, but for the important life messages it brought forth. How many TV shows can we say that about today? My 16 year old son and I have been watching the series, and it's the messages from the series that are important to him and what he really appreciates about the shows. From a technical perspective, the DVDs are of excellent digital quality, sound and color, and as one reviewer mentioned, it looks like the series was shot this year. So many reviewers have focused on the minor cropping and have missed the point of what the series has to offer. In my view, the cropping has been highly over emphasized, and in watching the series, it has not made a real difference at all. When considering to buy the DVD set, you as the viewer need to make the decision whether the issue of cropping is the determining factor, or if a great TV series you can share with your family that has real universal meassages is really what's important. Personally, I believe the value for the money is excellent and I have not been disappointed! Thanks to Warner for releasing this series on DVD - I can't wait for season 2 and 3.
Rating:
Summary: what is the hype about the video ratio
Review: With the show kung fu being shown in widescreen,I dont understand why some reviewers are so angry at how the video came to be on dvd.The picture is twice as better than the one that was broadcast. Why, because you are getting the origianl format, plus the picture as well as the sound is going to be better because it has been remasterd. Now you probably wondaring how i know that the picture is in it's origianl form. Well if you have the dvd,go disc 1 side b and click on the special feature the tao of caine production and beyond. Look for the last segment of the presentation, title, all good things must come to an end. In which david caradine describes how he was getting tired of playing the role of caine. You will see a photo in which it looks like david is preparing for a shoot. He is setting at a table while a camara is shooting him. The camara reads panavision on the top.Panavison is a widescreen lense that camaras use to shoot theatrical movies. So now you are getting more action from the sides in which the brodcast version was missing. I dont understand why the top and bottom of the picture is more important than the left and right.More action is portrayed from left and right than top and bottom. May I also add,that the photo that's in that clip is from kung fu.Why? because each photo illustated what was being told from the producers and stars of the show when they were interviewed. If the dvd gave us the broadcast version would we loose information form the sides?yes. Since the dvd is cropped, and we are losing top and bottom information are we missing any action? no. Since the director shot it in widscreen we are seeing his vision,thus we are seeing it in it's original form not brodcast form. Think about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Mutilated version. Hope it's re-released properly some day.
Review: I was very excited to see Kung Fu finally available on DVD. It is one of my all time favorite shows, and watched them all when they orginally aired. It's hard for me to believe that the show has been mutilated by chopping off the top and bottom to have it in a letterboxed presentation. Here's some news for the folks at Warner Brothers: This show was intended to be seen in 4:3!. My widescreen TV will crop the top and bottom if I use the zoom feature (and I wouldn't use it to view 4:3 material). I don't need to be forced into it. I hope that the Metropolitan Museum of Art dosn't follow Warner Brothers' lead and start cutting the tops and bottoms off of paintings because wider frames become more fashionable. I'm throughly dissapointed.
Rating: 
Summary: on DVD at last!
Review: I was very excited to hear that "Kung Fu" was going to be released on DVD, as this was one of my favorite shows back in the 70's (and in re-runs in the 80's.) It is a real pleasure to be able to watch these episodes in order, with spectacular color and sound. I can't wait for the remaining seasons (and hopefully the inferior but still entertaining "Kung Fu - The Legend Continues") to come out! So why only a 4? Several reasons: (1) I hate double-sided DVD's. Warner seems especially prone to this cost-cutting tactic. Really, just an annoyance. (2) The widescreen cropping - until I read about it I didn't really notice the "missing" picture, though now that I'm looking for it, it's a little bit more noticeable. Again, this is just an annoyance for me. (3) the occasional pops and scratches - I would have thought they could be eliminated during the re-mastering. You guessed it, no more than an annoyance. Yes, there are many aspects of this show that are dated (it is from the 70's after all! Amazingly, this show stands the test of time far better than many other series from that time period, possibly because of its setting and message.) Yes, there is blatant racism and stereotyping in some of the casting (yet the show also addresses racism in many episodes.) Yes, the martial arts are mediocre at best until Kam Yuen is brought in as kung fu advisor. Yes, Bruce Lee was passed over in favor of a Caucasian (and the show would have been radically different had he not been, and not necessarily in a positive way.) All of these points are true, but this is still one of the first shows that used martial arts in a positive light (non-revenge oriented) and which along with Bruce Lee helped bring martial arts into mainstream American culture. If you enjoyed this show as much as I did, and aren't horribly offended (as some are) by the cropping - buy this set. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Pass on this classic
Review: I wanted to jump in with those who, like me, think this is a great buy if you enjoyed the series, and thought it was something special. Considering this was aired over 30 years ago, the color and quality of the DVD are excellent. The sound is average but acceptable. I know it was cropped for the widescreen effect, but I can say that if you are watching it for the enjoyment of the viewing experience, you will not be disappointed. I have watched the first disk and, after a few minutes, completely forgot about this on-line controversy. I think I would have preferred it to be as it was originally aired, but it did not affect my enjoyement of this classic. In some strange way, the widescreen version almost makes it more 'movie-like'. This is one alteration that I don't think matters.
Rating:
Summary: Bring on Season Two
Review: Forget the DVD technical flaws. This is one of the best TV series ever made. My 9 year grandson(brown belt karate)and I watch an episode every night. I don't know who enjoys the series more. We are ready for Season Two.
Rating: 
Summary: Kung Fu - The Complete First Season DVD
Review: I was really looking forward to watching these classic shows but when I saw they cropped the picture, I returned my set for a refund. The producers of this set must be insane. I'd rater watch bootleg VCDs than this butchered mess.
Rating:
Summary: A T.V. Program Too Good For T.V.
Review: Seeing this beautuful show again brings back a flood of memories from the martial arts golden era. Bruce Lee was the greatest of 'em all--but he would not have portrayed "Cain" better than Carradine.
The picture and sound quality are impeccable. I did not notice any cropping of the picture. I noticed a couple episodes do not run as long as the VHS editions. It appears a few seconds off the lengthy "snatch the pebble from my hand" intro's and closing credits were masterfully altered. Most intro's are intact, and redundent anyway if you watch a few shows at a sitting.
The set is well worth it, and I hope the following seasons come out soon.
If you were a big fan of the show 30 years ago, you'll probably enjoy it more so today.
Rating:
Summary: A Great DVD Despite Editing Problems - Kung Fu Rules!
Review: A classic TV series is resuscitated through this new, season 1 episodes, DVD collectors edition boxed set. As an added bonus, the pilot movie is thrown in with two documentaries (really, they look like one and probably should be). While the documentaries are good enough to hold one's interests, they are quite standard fair. The pilot movie, is like most pilots, establishing a backdrop for a series. And that is what really makes this set special: the 15 episodes. As a kids, I never really liked this show much. After all, I wanted action, but maturity set in and now I find the action for this show fits the time period and the softer wisdom philosophy of Kwai Chang Cain. It is amazing, how the writers, without selling out Eastern philosophy, nicely interweave Eastern and Western ideas into the hour lessons. Kung Fu is a movie that teaches and entertains. The fight scenes are well, average at best. But David Carradine, and actor/dancer was hired for the dramatic elements, and for lack of martial training, pulls off the character in spite of poor martial skills. Still, the scenes are enjoyable because the plot is well scripted and directed and therefore, when Cain fights, which involves a purpose completely understood whether displayed visually or through audio message, one ends up enjoying the fights of this show. Certain episodes which would spark much debate today are "eye for an eye" because of an overtly pro-life position "Sun and Cloud Shadow" because it was probably polemic then, but quite accepted now. These episodes are actually marvelous as well as "Nine Lives" which is light hearted with a good message and "Dark Angel," a show about redemption, greed, and hope. Dark Angel provides a powerful performance from Dean Jagger. The problems with the DVD are the cropping, which others have noted here and well, lets face it, Carradine is not a great martial artists or very Chinese looking. Even though the producers in the documentary explain why he was hired, this weakness still presents a problem. It must be noted that, this is also a strength for the show, for Carradine does deliver the lines wonderfully despite lacking martial and Chinese physical characteristics. Look for: Jodie Foster, Robert Urich, Gary Busy, John Saxon, and many many more actors who have in one way or another left their mark.
Rating:
Summary: An old favorite finally on DVD
Review: There are series from the 60s and 70s that I never thought I'd see on DVD, and this is one of them. I adored this series when I first saw it on TV, and of course in those days there was no way to see episodes over again without waiting for them to come around in syndication. So when I read on Amazon all the complaints from people about the wide-screen format and their dislike of David Carradine, I paid them no mind. Yeah, the wide-screen format, which sounds like a good thing, really isn't, but the production values are fine otherwise, the set is nicely packaged, and the special features are amusing, if not totally spectacular. Best of all, I get to see this series as many times as I like. If you've never seen Kung Fu, and westerns are one of your guilty pleasures, take a chance. For the time, it's pretty P.C., despite the fact that you'd have to be on drugs to think that David Carradine is Chinese. Also the treatment of Native Americans is pretty shabby. The main attraction is Carradine himself, who has never acted this well at any other time in his career. The character of Kwai Chang Caine obviously really spoke to his heart.
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