Awesome Kung Fu movies


Movies


This thread is about Martial arts movies of all kinds. Most young kids today don't even know what a kung fu movie is and probably just laugh at them but they are a special hidden genre in film. Lots of the films displayed lots of real martial artist who were also actors. Superstars Like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Gordon Liu, Donnie Yen, Sonny Chiba, Sammo Hung, Philip Kwok, etc will be discussed and movie recommendations as well. First off I want to ask who here has sat down and watched a kung fu movie?

Scarab Sages

Kung Fu movies and martial arts movies in general may have changed, but there are still plenty around, and I think at least as many kids today know Ong-bak, Ip man as kids in the eighties knew The 36th chamber of the shaolin.

Oh, that were movies I have watched and I would recommend.

If you allow for a broader definition, House of the flying daggers, Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are well worth watching, as are Kiss of the Dragon and most incarnations of Zatoichi.


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I would highly recommend Little Big Soldier.


I'd add Merantau.


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I have sat down and watched many kung fu movies, and I own many now. Drunken Master II is one of my favorites. I really miss the old days when they showed "Black Belt Theater" on the weekends.


I totally recommend "The Iron Monkey" (Donnie Yen) and "Once Upon a time in China II" (Donnie Yen + Jet Li). In the latter movie Donnie Yen fights Jet Li in once of the classic matchups in kungfu cinema.

Dark Archive Contributor

Here at Flames Rising is one of a several pieces I wrote around the time Master of Devils came out. In the end, I watched or re-watched around 140 movies for research and cool-down. If you like Kung Fu and Pathfinder, this might be the book for you.


As a massive consumer of Martial Arts movies (and even trying to film
some of my own,) I can say without hesitation the best Kung Fu movie
ever, is:

Ip Man (2008)

.

And "Kung Fu Hustle" was very, very funny without being insulting.

.

EDIT: btw, Kung Fu means hard work.


@feytharn: The Ong Bak trilogy is a great Thai film series that relates to Muay Thai kickboxing Starring Tony Jaa. Ip man is a great new trilogy too as they are working on the 3rd one now. Now these other films like House of the flying daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon are more Wuxia films as those usually have more weaponry in them and less hand to hand combat. Zatoichi blind swordsman is a great old Japanese tv show and Movie series.

@Chronocypher: I haven't seen that one yet but I've heard good things about it.

@Fabius. I got that one it's pretty cool Indonesia film.

@Artaven: I agree art and I enjoy the Drunken Master films as well.

@limsk: I have the Iron Monkey blu ray and it rules. Classic film.

@Dave: Cool I'll check it out.

@Tensor: IP man is a great newer film but I feel there are some classics out there that are hard to beat like Fist of Legend with Jet LI. I don't really count Kung Fu hustle as that was all CGI and comedy. Not much of a traditional Kung Fu movie a bit outrageous.


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Every Friday night as a young lad I'd settle in and watch Kung Fu Theatre, which aired a double-feature of movies. (Followed by The Benny Hill Show, but thankfully my parents didn't realize this.) Bad dubbing, the sounds of 2x4s slapping together every time a punch or kick was blocked. Pure entertainment.

Some of my favorites that have not been mentioned:

Raiders of the Shaolin Temple
Fist of Fury
Master of the Flying Guillotine
The Big Boss

Dark Archive Contributor

My favorite recent wuxia films are Reign of Assassins and Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame. Very recently I enjoyed The Sorcerer and the White Snake.


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You realize these are more Fantasy movies with martial "arts" in them, rather
than Kung Fu movies.

Perhaps you should have named this thread "Awesome Asian Fantasy Movies" ??

.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Brotherhood of the Wolf


Tensor wrote:

You realize these are more Fantasy movies with martial "arts" in them, rather

than Kung Fu movies.

Perhaps you should have named this thread "Awesome Asian Fantasy Movies" ??

.

Everything is covered here. Wuxia or Kung Fu movies...anything martial arts movies and there are tons of martial arts movies with fantasy elements in them that's why they are so cool.


Son of the Veterinarian wrote:

Brotherhood of the Wolf

Yep, that's a great movie. Marc Dascascos is brilliant and Monica Bellucci's rolling hills are a staple of my gaming group.


Once Upon a Time in China
Fist of Fury
Fist of Legend (remake of Fist of Fury with Jet Li doing an excellent Bruce Lee impression)
Tai Chi Master
The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk

The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires doesn't really count, but is pretty awesome in its own right.

As is Chinese Ghost Story (best ghost-hunter monk evah!)


limsk wrote:
I totally recommend "The Iron Monkey" (Donnie Yen) and "Once Upon a time in China II" (Donnie Yen + Jet Li). In the latter movie Donnie Yen fights Jet Li in once of the classic matchups in kungfu cinema.

The Iron monkey is good, but avoid at all cost Iron Monkey 2. A friend of mine and I, we both love martial arts movies, watched it and a 1/2 hour in looked at each other and asked have you understood any of it?

And don't forget the women stars, like Michelle Yeoh(sp)and Michelle Kwan.


True Legend is a must see as well.


Fist of Legend is my favorite martial arts movie. Jet Li's fight with Yasuaki Kurata is also my favorite fight of all time. So simple, yet complex, with meaning behind the actions each takes while still being technically brilliant.


Lorm Dragonheart wrote:
And don't forget the women stars, like Michelle Yeoh(sp)and Michelle Kwan.

The Heroic Trio!

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Mmmmmm . . . kung fu movies . . .

I absolutely LOVE kung fu movies! The earliest martial arts film that I remember seeing was Enter the Dragon, and I dove in with great abandon once I was an adult with disposable income [being a single guy living in the barracks had some perks]. I think the last time I checked, I've got enough total hours of chop-socky goodness to watch nonstop kung fu movies for an entire week, with only small pauses for bathroom breaks and changing DVDs.

I've got a fondness for the Kurosawa epics, too. Seven Samurai is one of my favorite films of all time. I recommend it to anyone that's interested in a good, solid film experience.

On the guilty pleasure side, I think Crippled Masters is worth a look. Two martial artists with disabilities whooping butt, teaming up to compliment each others weakness.

Kung Pow is cheese-tastic. I thought I was going to hate that movie, but a friend in the barracks tricked me into sitting down and watching it. I went out and bought it that weekend.

Recently, some friends and I went to see The Man with the Iron Fists. Now that is a kung fu movie made by people who love kung fu movies.

Man, so many good memories. Now I'm gonna go root around in my collection and throw something on the tube . . . maybe Thousand Mile Escort, or Man with the Iron Umbrella.


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My favorite Jackie Chan film is Drunken Master II. The end sequence starting from when Jackie enters the ironworks to him fighting Ken Lo is probably my favorite thing ever. Not the Legend of Drunken Master US release, Drunken Master II. Followed by Dragons Forever. I'm not a huge fan of Armor of God but I think the last two fights (Jackie vs the room full of Monks and then Jackie vs. the Amazons) are two of my favorite Jackie Chan Action sequences.

My Favorite Jet Li fights are his fight vs. Iron Robe Yim in the middle and end of Once Upon A Time in China I, followed by his fights vs. Donnie Yen in Once Upon a Time in China II. I also really like his early work in the three Shaolin Temple movies, especially the first one.

Sammo Hung? He's my favorite. Encounters of the Spooky Kind? Prodigal Son? Pedicab Driver? Blade of Fury? Holy Crap the d00d is outstanding in the Magnificent Butcher vs Lee Hoi San at the end. I love that movie like a fat kid loves CAKE. Wei Pai and Yuen Biao vs Lam Ching Ying and the d00d with the Pole? This movie is great. As is Prodigal Son. Yuen Biao and Lam Ching Ying as a student and teacher respectively and really delves into the complex nature of that relationship. I have a real weakness for good student / teacher films and this one is one of the best not only because of the Kung Fu but also because of the nature of the men and the selfishness/selflessness of the characters.

I could go on about Shaw Brothers Venoms era movies for DAYS. But i'll stop here lest I put you guys to sleep...

Silver Crusade

I can't believe I found this thread.

Wow! Where to begin?

....

Ahh, here we go...

Return of the Fist: The Legend of Chen Zen (2010)

Flashpoint (2007)

Dragon Tiger Gate (2006)

Seven Swords (2005)

Killzone (2005)

Wing Chun (1994)

New Dragon Gate Inn (1992)

Donnie Yen is an awesome martial artist. The Ip Man movies and Iron Monkey were already listed...

Heroic Trio and it's darker sequel The Executioners (1993)
Michelle Yeoh, the late great Anita Mui, and Maggie Cheung....

And if you liked Brotherhood of the Wolf, you may like the live action Crying Freeman movie (done by the same director with Marc Dacascos)...

The Legend of Zu (as opposed to Zu Warriors which was a shorter version of the same movie)

Storm Riders (1998) and its sequel Storm Warriors (2009)
Ekin Cheng and Aaron Kwok as Whispering Wind and Striding Cloud got me back into watching martial arts movies again...

Ekin Cheng in A Man Called Hero (1999) and The Duel (2000)....

Of course, there are the true classics

Five Deadly Venoms

Five Fingers of Death (King Boxer)

One Armed Swordsman

Killer Meteors (Jackie Chan as the bad guy)

36th Chamber of Shaolin (Return to the 36th Chamber was not nearly as good as the first film but it wasn't bad either...)

Shoalin and Wu-Tang (another Gordon Liu classic)

Merantu is a good film (Gackt surprised me with his acting in this one) as is True Legend.


Ip Man and Ong Bak were mentioned.

Several Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies were also.

I REALLY agree with Kung Fu Hustle.

Thought I would toss in Chocolate

Greg


I don't know a single person in my life, kid or otherwise, who DOESN'T know what a Kung Fu movie is.

They used to make them. They still make them. They've always made them. My 12-year-old is in love with Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, just to name a couple of recent ones.

I'm a big fan of the recent Western take on Kung Fu films, such as... well, SUCH AS THREE OF THE LAST FOUR MOVIES QUENTIN TARANTINO HAS MADE.

Kung Pow, anybody? Insanely stupid and ridiculous flick, yes, but its biggest target audience and the people who saw it most, were teen and twenty-somethings. That was 2002, so some of those people are still "kids," for the most part. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was one of the biggest hits of the year it came out. It launched a slew of similar flicks. Bruce Lee is still a legend and is still decorating the doors of college kids everywhere. (Not to mention ganstas.)

And do you realize how many millions of people in the US love Anime? Millions, and a huge section of them are kids. Now, I only go to about ten Anime conventions per year (NOT an exaggeration), but at every one of them Kung Fu movies are a big deal. And I'm talking, the vintage crap, shot on bad film in the gnarly days of the early '70s, with limbs flying and the worst dubbing imaginable.

So, sorry, but the notion that kids don't know what Kung Fu movies are, is too sad to even laugh over.


Speaking of bad dubbing, don't remember the specific movie, but one line was translated as:

Quote:
And now I will paralyze your sinuses

Grand Lodge

Bunraku is a good western/samurai movie. With kung-fu. Filmed a little like Sin City.

The list of some of my favorite samurai and kung-fu movies. A lot of Warring States period (china and japan)

My Asian List:

Big Trouble Little China
13 Assassins
Bodyguards and Assassins
crouching tiger hidden dragon
Harakiri
Hero
house of flying daggers
Legend of the black scorpion
little big brother
Red Cliff
Samurai Assassin
the forbidden kingdom
The Warlords
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the dragon
Zu Warriors
True Legend
Goemon
The Twilight Samurai
Shaolin
IP Man
Iron Monkey
Onmyoji
Ong bak 1-3
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
Detective Dee
The Sorcerer and the White Snake
The Lost Bladesman
Shadowless Sword
Battle of the Warriors
Azumi
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
Seven Swords
An Empress and the Warriors
Run
The Good the Bad the Weird
The Warring States
White Vengeance
Salvage Mice
(Any Bruce Lee)


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Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I grew up with the Saturday Afternoon Kung-Fu Theater on the local UHF.
Shaw Brothers, all the way.
When you saw their logo come up, you knew you were in for a treat.
Lau Kar-Leung and Chang Cheh probably directed almost everything I saw there and almost everything by them was good.

The Water Margin, Five Deadly Venoms, Five Element Ninjas (aka Chinese Super Ninjas), 36th Chamber of Shoalin (aka Shaolin Master Killer), The Brave Archer Series, Shadow Whip, etc, etc. just tons of fun films in there. Legendary Weapons of China and Heroes of the East (aka Shaolin challenges Ninja) were required viewing to know what all the different weapons were.

I love the fact that Celestial Pictures is releasing them out in restored formats (mainly through Dragon Dynasty) and I can get rid of my bootleg DVDs of VHS copies off those old UHF stations.

Maybe people here can help me track down one film I have been trying to find for some time. I know it has flying guillotines as the main weapon, BUT it isn't Flying Guillotine, Flying Guillotine II, The Fatal Flying Guillotine, nor Master of the Flying Guillotine. I think it may have been one of those hack jobs where two films were cobbled together and all I have to go on are the main weapon and a scene involving booby trapped rickshaws. But that ambush scene is forever seared into my memory and I will know it the instant I see it.Does anyone know of any other films that prominently feature the ridiculous weapon?
(Master of the Flying Guillotine is probably the best of those I've found and its even a sequel to another classic, One-armed Swordsman)

Silver Crusade

Gackt was in Bunraku, not Merantu.

Sorry I got Merantu mixed up with Bunraku... I own Merantu, but just got done watching Bunraku on Netflix when I made my list so it was still fresh in the brain.

Try watching Chocolate. It's a Thai martial arts movie that's really good.

EDIT: Chocolate was already recommended.


Some non-wuxia movies:
Pedicab Driver (Sammo Hung) - My favorite of all the Sammo movies. Watch Sammo mess up all your preconceptions on what is athletically possible for guys with considerable bulk.
Flast Point (Donnie Yen) - cops vs. gangsters with explosive fight cheoreography by Yen
Sha Po Lang (aka SPL) (Donnie Yen + Sammo Hung) - another cops vs. gangsters movie with Sammo facing off against Donnie at the movie climax


Yeah Sammo Hung rules and Yuen Biao. Also the classic Shaw Brothers martial arts films set an early standard for the genre. I have about 90 Shaw Brothers films and my collection is almost complete. Then Golden Harvest came along and made a bunch of cool films. The Donnie Yen movies Flashpoint is cool, I call those Gun Fu movies. I see lots of good recommendations, it's good to know the genre is still alive and healthy. I just watched the fantasy Blade of Kings last night.


Wuxia is a Chinese genre of literature concerning fantasy swordplay, chivalry, and romance popularized by authors such as Jin Yong and Gu Long. It has since broadened into television shows, comics, video games, and of course, films. Wuxia films are not like the traditional kung fu film, as they usually display more weapons, fantasy, and swordplay than the hand to hand combat martial arts/stunts seen in a Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen or Tony Jaa movie.

This list showcases some famous or interesting films, listed in no particular order, as an introduction to world of wuxia. There are many great movies out there, and I hope this will interest you, help you to understand these films better, and inspire you to seek more.

The Bride with White Hair
The Swordsman II
The Storm Riders
A Touch of Zen
Killer Clans
Come Drink with Me
Ashes of Time
Clans of Intrigue


Bodyguards and Assassins (2009) (Donnie Yen) - bloody and violent battle between the protectors of Dr. Sun Yat Sen and government assassins. Cantopop singer Leon Lai has a minor but memorable role as an iron fan fu master who defeats a dozen assassins single handed.

Wu Xia (2011) (Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro) - Takeshi does a CSI as he unravels the fight from the dead victims of Donnie's kungfu. Stupidest ending I have ever seen in a martial arts movie though...


Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon: "Who's the Master!" -Nuff said.


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As a hung ga player for a long time, I like the more traditional styled movies:

Iron Flag

Kid With The Golden Arm

Crippled Avengers

Shaolin Challenges Ninja

Return of the Master Killer

10 Tigers of Kwan Tung

The Brave Archer

Martial Club

Challenge of the Masters

... those are my faves.


Well close enough -

Sho Kosugi movies, the hight point being Revenge of the Ninja

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Legend of the Tsunami Warrior.


Good idea Shifty ninja movies are in there. Revenge of the ninja and Enter the Ninja are old school classics. Check these other classic ninja movies out too.

Ninja in the Dragon's Den
Pray For Death
5 Element Ninjas
Shaolin VS Ninja
American Ninja series
Duel to the Death


SuperSlayer wrote:


Shaolin VS Ninja

I would not qualify Shaolin Challenges Ninja as a ninja movie since it's purpose is to show how far superior kung fu is to ninjitsu. The ninja are quite dumb in their tactics and get pwned by Gordan Liu at every turn. The only 'smart' ninja is the judo guy, and even he gets outsmarted by Liu ...


Ip man, house of flying dagers, enter the dragon, hero, shaolin soccer are a few


Run, Just Run wrote:
shaolin soccer

Yes! And Kung Fu Dunk is awesome, too!


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Dirty Ho, it has a great tea service/ceremony fight without spilling a drop. I know that sounds weird, but it is a really well choreographed martial arts fight, and is fun to watch.

Silver Crusade

WampaX wrote:

I grew up with the Saturday Afternoon Kung-Fu Theater on the local UHF.

Shaw Brothers, all the way.
When you saw their logo come up, you knew you were in for a treat.
Lau Kar-Leung and Chang Cheh probably directed almost everything I saw there and almost everything by them was good.

The Water Margin, Five Deadly Venoms, Five Element Ninjas (aka Chinese Super Ninjas), 36th Chamber of Shoalin (aka Shaolin Master Killer), The Brave Archer Series, Shadow Whip, etc, etc. just tons of fun films in there. Legendary Weapons of China and Heroes of the East (aka Shaolin challenges Ninja) were required viewing to know what all the different weapons were.

I love the fact that Celestial Pictures is releasing them out in restored formats (mainly through Dragon Dynasty) and I can get rid of my bootleg DVDs of VHS copies off those old UHF stations.

Maybe people here can help me track down one film I have been trying to find for some time. I know it has flying guillotines as the main weapon, BUT it isn't Flying Guillotine, Flying Guillotine II, The Fatal Flying Guillotine, nor Master of the Flying Guillotine. I think it may have been one of those hack jobs where two films were cobbled together and all I have to go on are the main weapon and a scene involving booby trapped rickshaws. But that ambush scene is forever seared into my memory and I will know it the instant I see it.Does anyone know of any other films that prominently feature the ridiculous weapon?
(Master of the Flying Guillotine is probably the best of those I've found and its even a sequel to another classic, One-armed Swordsman)

USA Network's Kung Fu Theater was how I got into chop socky flicks when I was a knee-high to a grasshopper. I liked them but after a while it lost its appeal and I fell to the way side (mostly due to everyone wanting to be the "next Bruce Lee" but some part due to the arrival of anime). But then I was introduced to Storm Riders while in the Navy. That one movie reignited my love of martial arts films. I went back and sought out the movies I had missed between the time I stopped watching and Storm Riders.

Jet Li (Once Upon a Time in China I & II, Tai Chi Master, Fist of Legend).

Michelle Yeoh (Tai Chi Master, The Heroic Trio, Wing Chun)

Donnie Yen (New Dragon Gate Inn, Once Upon a Time in China II, Iron Monkey, Wing Chun)

These were movies and actors that I enjoyed and it made me want to see more. Oh sure there were (and are) more that I missed, but the fun is in finding them as well watching the newer films that come out.

I'm glad that I'm back in the game as it were; martial arts movies are one of the few things my wife and I can agree to sit down and watch on the plasma when there's nothing else on.


I just watched The Sorcerer and the White Snake last night and loved it.


Whiskey Jack wrote:
I just watched The Sorcerer and the White Snake last night and loved it.

I've been eyeballing that one on Netflix. I might have to give it a view tomorrow.

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