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Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time
10 Greatest Martial
Arts Movies of All Time
We scoured every forum,
blog and listing we could find to bring you the best there is!
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After hundreds of movies, thousands of eye-popping fight
scenes and millions of punches thrown…which ones are the best?
Which ones have I been missing out on my whole life? Which
ones must I have in my collection in order to not bring shame
upon my family name?
We’ve scoured the internet. Reviews. Forums. Amazon. Postings.
Bulletins. And this list is what we’ve come up with as the
greatest Kung-Fu movies of all time and why you should watch
each one. Pay attention to movies involving Yuen Wo-Ping as
either director or action director, there’s a reason why half
this list is movies where he was involved!
Hint: in case you’re interested in actually watching any of
these…clicking on a movie’s title will show you that movie in
Amazon.com.
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Way of the DragonWay of the Dragon (1979)
Was the only finished film to be written and directed by Bruce
Lee. (Game of Death is the other one but is unfinished) We
could write a lot about the plot, characters or fight
scenes…but all you really care about is watching Bruce Lee
fight Chuck Norris in the final battle.
Trailer: Way of the Dragon Trailer
Martial Artists: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris
Director: Bruce Lee
Shaolin TempleShaolin Temple (1982)
Depicts the amazing history of the Shaolin Temple, the focal
point for Chinese Martial Arts. Think of the Shaolin Monks as
Jedi Knights (an elite group of fighters) and the rest of
China as the messed-up universe that Star Wars takes place in
(people who are afraid of the elite fighters and want to take
them out of power). Much work to do, you have, young Jet Li.
*picture Yoda’s accent on that one* Define Irony: A movie shot
at the site of the Shaolin Temple, telling a story about the
fall of the Shaolin Temple, sparks so much public interest
that the temple was re-opened shortly after the movie
released.
Trailer: Shaolin Temple Trailer
Martial Artist: Jet Li (His debut movie)
Director: Chang Hsin-Yen
Ong BakOng Bak (2003)
Raw action without wires, Tony Jaa brings a new martial arts
style to the big screen and does so in style. Muay Thai (Thai
Boxing) is stronger and more direct than the Chinese styles
you’re used to seeing with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, giving a
new look to how a martial arts movie can be done. You’ll be
seeing more of him…guaranteed.
Trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/ong_bak-tlr.html
Martial Artist: Tony Jaa
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Iron MonkeyIron Monkey (1993)
Doctor by day, thief by night…Iron Monkey is your classic
Robin-hood meets Kung Fu. It’s an action packed flick that
can’t go 5 minutes without an excellent fight scene. It all
comes down to a battle between Iron Monkey (ie Robin Hood) and
an ex Shaolin Monk (remember, these guys are like the Jedi
Knights of Chinese martial arts…they’re elite). Remember that
guy Yuen Wo-Ping I mentioned? Well he’s the director in this
one, so you know it’s good!
Trailer: Iron Monkey Trailer
Martial Artists: Yu Rong-Guang, Donnie Yen
Director: Yuen Wo-Ping
Action Directors: Yuen Cheung-yan, Yuen Shun-yi
5 Deadly Venoms5 Deadly Venoms (1978)
No room form “martial arts beauties” in this one, there’s so
much blood and action that they only cast male actors. Exit
the traditional elaborate costumes and enter the muscular,
skin-bearing, bloody martial arts style that would become a
trademark for director Chang Cheh. Each cast member is trained
in an art resembling one of 5 venemous creatures (Scorpion,
Snake, Centipede, Gecko, Toad) with the 6th cast member being
trained in all 5. Six main martial arts actors = LOTS O’
ACTION
Trailer: 5 Deadly Venoms Trailer
Martial Artists: 6 Martial Artists (yes, 6 main characters)
Director: Chang Cheh
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The Seven SamuraiThe Seven Samurai (1954)
One of the greatest classic kung-fu movies of all time and
arguable Kurosawa’s best work. Some Samurai of the time were
down on their luck (homeless) and willing to do anything for a
meal. A village under attack by bandits recruits a group of
seven such Samurai warriors and asks them to help defend their
village. The movie is about the Samurai teaching the village
how to fight and culminates in a massive battle between a
village and almost 50 attacking bandits. The acting is superb,
the emotions run high and Kurosawa keeps you hooked from
beginning to end.
Trailer: The Seven Samurai Trailer
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Legend of Drunken MasterLegend of Drunken Master (1994)
Some will say this is the greatest martial arts movie of all
time because of it’s balance between plot-line, comedy, drama
and amazing kung fu sequences. Probably Jackie Chan’s best
martial arts performance. You’re going to love the final scene
where you learn what “Drunken Master” really means. We’re
talking box-splitting, fire-spitting craziness!
Trailer: Legend of the Drunken Master Trailer
Martial Artist: Jackie Chan
Director: Lau Kar-leung
Crouching Tiger Hidden DragonCrouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
(2000)
Based on a Pentalogy (yes, that’s 5 books) written by Wang
Dulu, this movie covers mostly the 4th book. Critically
acclaimed to cross international borders with it’s amazing
character development, intricate plot, martial arts ideals,
stunning special effects and quicker-than-the-eye fighting
scenes, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon set a new standard for
martial arts movies. Telling Zhang Ziyi (the lead female
character and an amazing martial artist) to get back in the
kitchen would likely cost you 50 punches to the “bags”. Be
ready for subtitles, ‘cuz turning on the English track is like
watching…uh…like watching a kung fu movie in English.
Trailer: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon Trailer
Main Martial Artist: Chow Yun-fat
Other Martial Artists: Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen,
Cheng Pei-pei
Director: Ang Lee
Action Director: Yuen Wo-Ping
Kill Bill vol. 1Kill Bill vol. 1 (2003)
You’re going to want your home theatre room for this one. It’s
tough to beat beautiful women beating the crap out of each
other in fast-paced, action-packed, make you cringe, bloody,
gory, cut-’em-up (more buzz words go here) movie jam packed
with as much martial arts death as possible. Tarantino
expertly uses every camera angle and a plethora of special
effects to deliver a better-than-real visual experience that
gives this blood-and-guts thriller an artistic feel you’ll
appreciate at the end. Did I mention is has Uma Thurman in it
“?Kill bill vol. 2″ brings closure to the set, but hey…we had
to choose one movie. Say “Five-Point-Palm Exploding Heart
Technique” 5 times fast.)
Trailer: Kill Bill Vol. 1 Trailer
Actors: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah,
Vivica A. Fox
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Action Director: Yuen Wo-ping
Fist of LegendFist of Legend (1994)
A classic story of Chinese vs. Japanese martial arts, Fist of
Legend is actually a remake of the original Bruce Lee movie,
Fist of Fury. If Bruce Lee is like the original James Bond,
Jet Li is the Pierce Brosnan. He’ll never be the original, but
the modern film-making and larger budget bring the
entertainment value just a hair above the original Fist of
Fury. (The ghost of Bruce Lee is probably going to strike me
down for writing that) The Yuen Brothers are known for amazing
action choreography, and they totally deliver on this one.
(Casting Jet Li may have helped them a little too.)
Trailer: Fist of Legend Trailer
Martial Artist: Jet Li
Director: Gordon Chan
Action Directors: The Yuen Brothers
The fun doesn’t stop there… We tried to keep this list to just
10…really, we did. But we just couldn’t control ourselves.
“Once it hits your lips, it’s so good!” – Will Ferrell in Old
School
So here are a few more that deserve honorable mention.
KnockaboutKnockabout (1979)
Yuen Biao’s kicks and acrobatics will make your jaw drop and
the plot turnarounds will make it feel like a great episode of
Mission Impossible. Almost every main character is either a
con-artist or con-artist/criminal, creating deceit after
deceit after deceit. One of the funnier movies of it’s time,
this will keep you on the edge of your seat while laughing and
trying to figure out what the hell each character is really up
to.
Trailer: Knockabout Trailer
Martial Artist: Yuen Biao
Director: Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
The MatrixThe Matrix (1999)
A revolutionary movie that mixed sci-fi and martial arts into
a computer-generated world where rules don’t apply. This was a
dream come true for Yuen Wo-Ping who was given the freedom to
do anything he wanted to with martial arts…effectively
creating one of the most visually stunning movies ever! Let go
of reality on this one and enjoy the special effects for what
they are. In fact, enjoy them so much that you don’t notice
Keanu Reeves acting. The martial arts aren’t as technical as
the other movies on this list, but give the actors credit for
only learning martial arts after they were casted for the
roles. The plot-line is sick and there are two more movies in
the trilogy that will keep feeding you eye-candy all weekend.
The Wachowski bros. are huge fans of Kung Fu films and use the
same type of camera angels as the classics.
Trailer: The Matrix Trailer
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburn, Carrie-Anne Moss,
Hugo Weaving
Directors: Andy and Larry Wachowski
Action Director: Yuen Wo-Ping, Yuen Shun-yi
Pedicab DriverPedicab Driver (1989)
Watch this one for the action scenes, not for the plot. While
there is enough drama and character development to keep you
interested, Sammo’s masterfully choreographed martial arts
scenes are why you should watch this one. Plus he’s a bigger
guy who can do moves like Jackie Chan, NO JOKE! (He had his
own TV series for awhile.) Billy Chow made a name for himself
in this movie with his unequaled kicking mastery and later
went on to be Jet Li’s Japanese nemesis in Fists of Legend.
Trailer: Pedicab Driver Trailer
Martial Artist: Sammo Hung, Billy Chow
Director: Sammo Hung
Drunken MasterDrunken Master (1978)
No stunt doubles. Jackie Chan’s breakout movie and the best
Kung Fu comedy of its time, setting a new standard for
entertainment value among kung fu movies in the late 70′s.
With a small-budget feel and humor that was still perfecting
itself, this film is obviously a classic kung fu film…but
nonetheless a masterpiece. Want to be pummeled by mind-numbing
kicks in rapid succession Hang out with Hwang Jang-lee for an
afternoon.
Trailer: Drunken Master Trailer
Martial Artist: Jackie Chan
Director: Yuen Wo-ping
Kung Fu HustleKung Fu Hustle (2004)
You know how “Scary Movie” makes fun of anything and
everything it can? Well, this is the Kung Fu version of it!
Jokes, laughs, imitations mixed in with some awesome fighting
sequences. Nothing is taken seriously in this movie,
especially the violence. Dance routines are inspired by
someone’s gruesome death (computer-enhanced of course!),
random sound effects are tied in with pain like an old Batman
re-run…the whole time you’re expecting people to keep fighting
after having their head blown off. A great plot, good acting,
violence and death are all rolled into a martial arts comedy
that you’ll be laughing at the entire way through. A different
type of martial arts movie done brilliantly!
Trailer: Kung Fu Hustle Trailer
Action Director: Yuen Wo-Ping
AkiraAkira (1988)
An animated film that’s not for children! The almost cult-like
following of fans that this movie created will tell you Akira
is the greatest animated film of all time. Originally released
in Japan and adapted for U.S. theaters via some bad voice
dubbing, this is like “The Matrix” of animated films. Set in
the year 2019, “Akira” isn’t a character, but rather a
government top secret project. You won’t find many animated
films with the amount of violence and fighting that Akira will
throw at you, but rest assured you’ll leave with a taste of
respect for animated films when all is said and done.
Trailer: Akira Trailer
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Actors: None Really…its Japanimation yo!
Whether you liked this list or feel that we snuffed your
favorite martial arts movie, we’d love to hear what you think.
So by all means, comment away….
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