Martial Art Films

[manslayer]

Snake Crane Secret! Any of the early Jet Li stuff tends to be good. Lots of good ones mentioned already.

[Szlia]

Oh! Time and Tides (ultimate cop and gangsters action movie... with martial arts!)

[Vorph]

Originally Posted by Szlia

Oh! Time and Tides (ultimate cop and gangsters action movie... with martial arts!)

Another good one. Have you seen Saat po long (2005) (a.k.a. SPL or Kill Zone)? It's not quite as good as Time and Tide, but it's one of the better HK martial arts flicks set in modern times I've seen.

I can't believe the same people who made SPL were responsible for Dragon Tiger Gate, which pretty much sucks ass to the point where the only way to watch it is to just fast forward to the fights.


The Princess Blade (a sort of futuristic/post-apoc retelling of Lady Snowblood) and Legend of the Wolf are excellent too.

[Ronne]

Begining of Mr.Vampire, audio sucks though.

[Chanur]

A bitter sweet life.

I really enjoyed it.

[swedish chef]

The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1/2
TwinWarriors (Tai Chi Master)
Kung Fu Hustle

[Duppin]

Lots of good suggestions here. This is an area of expertise of mine.

I will say that I am very specifically going to avoid talking about Bruce Lee because people have stupidly strong opinions about him. But you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not watching his films at least once. Even those who knock on him have to admit that he's largely responsible for the audiences in the US having any clue what martial arts film even IS.

Other than that:
Oldschool Jackie Chan, particularly Snake in Eagle's Shadow (his first starring role) and the original Drunken Master. I found the newer Drunken Master movie disappointing aside from the hilariously funny Anita Mui (RIP) and the fight under the train, which is some of the best weapons work I've seen outside of some of the old swordplay flicks.

Master of Flying Guillotine (not the greatest pure martial arts action but Jimmy Wang Yu was the man even with one arm tied behind his back, and it's great kung fu cheese.)

Dirty Ho. Despite the name that makes those of us who don't speak Cantonese giggle, it's a classic.

Kung Fu Hustle. It's the maturation of Stephen Chow's filmmaking combined with great martial arts action and some of the all-time classic kung fu actors (go look up the other roles played by the landlord and the tailor from that film).

Anything with Donnie Yen, too, as Vorph says. He combines great intensity with technical precision. He's a ton of fun to watch.

I'm actually not that big of a Jet Li fan; his technical skills are very good but he has zero screen charisma. He's the Keanu Reeves of Asian cinema.

[Grimmlokk]

Originally Posted by Duppin

I'm actually not that big of a Jet Li fan; his technical skills are very good but he has zero screen charisma. He's the Keanu Reeves of Asian cinema.

My brother's ex-wife disagrees. She wants to sex him up because of his smile.=P But for the most part you're right. They tend to build roles around his stony visage most of the time. Worked amazingly well in Fist of Legend, which I absolutely love. Great, more subtle, wire work. No flying, just exxagerated power and grace.

Donnie Yen was already suggested but I'll 2nd and 3rd him. You'll probably recognize him from a lot of other flicks. Hero(guy with the spear), Iron Monkey, Shanghai Knights. Unfortunately for us he's only recently getting noticed over here so we get him at the tail end of his career much like we did Jackie Chan and Jet Li both. He does a lot of fight/action choreography though so his touch will still be around at least. Next Woo-Ping maybe=)

[ziggyholiday]

It all depends on what you’re looking for in a kung fu movie really. I enjoy all types but would rather see one without wire work.

Look at Jackie's early movies for the best examples of this. The best scenes are the training sessions where he just punishes his body e.g. being in the push up position, pushing off with the palms of his hands and coming back down resting on the back of his hands. That's all real. Sometimes the comedy can be hard to deal with if your sober but then you see him do a front hand stand flip using his head has his hands and it makes up for it. (Both examples are from Drunken Master which has the same main character as Jet Li's Once Upon a Time in China)

I could write a lot more about Chan but it's best to just go watch some of his older movies or read his book. There is no way in hell anyone, that takes about 30 minutes of their time to learn about him, won't come away respecting him for what he did with his life.

[Zarcath]

Any of Jet Li's older films, watch all of the Once Upon a Time in China series. Also all of Jackie Chan's older films, police story series. Donnie Yen is an old school favorite. Stephen Chow's movies for martial arts comedy.

I have Chan's biography book. Gotta respect him for the enormous amount of training he did as a child and he's still a down to earth guy as an adult and after he's become an international star.

[ziggyholiday]

Yeah, one of my favorite sections in his book is where it shows all his injuries: Dislocated cheek bone....how the hell do you dislocate your cheek! That and how he finished shooting Operation Condor with a hole in his head.

[Hatorade]

Anything to add to this?

[hamrlik]

Le pacte des loups (released in the US as Brotherhood of the Wolf)

The Street Fighter with Sonny Chiba (guy who played Hatori Hanzo in Kill Bill)

[Regime]

this and this



and to get you guys pumped up

[Tred]

Childhood favorite. Chinese Super Ninjas!