Favorite Martial Arts Movies, need help

[Bode]

What are your all time favorite martial arts movies? I am doing some research and want to make sure I have not missed some of the best.
Also, a few other questions that would help.

1) What annoys you the most about martial arts movies?

2) What style of choreography is preferred? Matrix like, with wires and a highly choreographed feel. Or more realistic, gritty, UFC style fighting.

3) What movies had the best fighting? (Regardless of the quality of the movie)

4) What do you see as MA movie cliches?

I appreciate the responses. All answers are valid.
Thanks.

 

[hongkongfooey]

What are your all time favorite martial arts movies? I am doing some research and want to make sure I have not missed some of the best.
Also, a few other questions that would help.

1) What annoys you the most about martial arts movies?

2) What style of choreography is preferred? Matrix like, with wires and a highly choreographed feel. Or more realistic, gritty, UFC style fighting.

3) What movies had the best fighting? (Regardless of the quality of the movie)

4) What do you see as MA movie cliches?

I appreciate the responses. All answers are valid.
Thanks.

Most annoying? The way that the hero of the film is beaten for 20 minutes, then turns around and wins the fight.

Choreography? I hate the flying and other acrobatic mess that is common in MA movies today. I perfer realistic fight scenes.

Best fighting? Thats a tough one.

MA cliches? That the hero of the movie must only use his skills in an moral way, such as avenging a death or some other wrong that was done to someone else. The whole there is no first strike in Karate mumbo jumbo.

 

[terryl965]

Really best movie probaly Best Of the Best
What do I Hate seeing a ma fighting 250 people and winning every time

Really every MA movie is based on fake movement with little exact ma experience.
Terry

 

[arnisador]

Most annoying? The way that the hero of the film is beaten for 20 minutes, then turns around and wins the fight.

Agreed.

I tend to like Kung Fu style fighting in the movies, though it's nice to see styles that are new and distinctive too.

Best fighting? Hard to say. None are too realistic. Steven Seagal's stuff is interesting, but not the best. I'm not sure how to answer this.

Good movies to see if you like fight scenes? Enter the Dragon, Best of the Best, Kill and Kill Again, Transporter I and II, much Steven Seagal stuff, much Bruce Lee stuff...the list goes on.

 

[Doc]

What are your all time favorite martial arts movies? I am doing some research and want to make sure I have not missed some of the best.
Also, a few other questions that would help.

1) What annoys you the most about martial arts movies?

American style editing which tends to focus on the expressions of the actors in tight shots to convey the emotion of the fight - versus "Hong Kong Style" editing which concentrates on the wide and medium shot to display the fight itself, and only moves to close ups when the actors virtually stop to convey facial emotion briefly - than quickly back to the fight.

2) What style of choreography is preferred? Matrix like, with wires and a highly choreographed feel. Or more realistic, gritty, UFC style fighting.

UFC style doesn't "sell" on film. Let's face it, realistic fight scenes are for the most part boring. But that being said, the best fight scenes are a combination of styles depending upon movie genre. Period Hong Kong style films are cool because they are basically fantasies. But, even modern day gritty realistic fight scenes are fantasies as well, but just from a different perspective. All in all, it doesn't matter as long as they are well done, with good editing that allows you to participate in the action.

3) What movies had the best fighting? (Regardless of the quality of the movie)

(In no particular order) "Lady King-fu," "Darker Than Amber," "Point Blank," "Once Upon A Time In China," "Chinese Connection," "Above The Law," "Searching For Bobby Fisher," "Blazing Saddles," etc

4) What do you see as MA movie cliches?

The fact you know who the two guys who are going to fight at the end of the movie, in the first 5 minutes of the film.

I appreciate the responses. All answers are valid.
Thanks.

Don't Bode me man!

 

[mc811]

5 vemon's or the 5 deadly venom's heard of it titled as both, best kung fu flick ever in my opinion........but you know what they say about opinion's..

:asian:


Mitch......

 

[evenflow1121]

I really dont like martial arts movies that much. I mean sure when I was smaller they were all exciting but as I grew older and really began to appreciate the arts, I realized that most of the martial art movies are just crap. Crappy actors, crappy plots, and unrealistic techniques.


1) What annoys you the most about martial arts movies? I can deal with the lack of realism simply because afterall it is a movie, but I can not usually deal with the last fight simply based on what has already been said the hero beaten for 20 min then somehow miraculously he beats the villian or final boss in 30 secs.

2) What style of choreography is preferred? Though I do like realistic scenes, I agree with DOC that UFC type stuff probably would not sell, thus I did enjoy the Darth Maul / Jedi fight in Phantom Menace, take the light sabers out and something along those lines.

3) What movies had the best fighting? I really enjoyed The Perfect Weapon, now I know its your typical 1990's martial arts film, but the techniques at least were there for the most part. I also liked Best of the Best for the same reasons.

4) What do you see as MA movie cliches? you will know who is going to fight who at the very end, like already stated within the first 5 min of the movie. The hero is a cop and turns in his badge to do his own investigation. The hero usually has to go through 500 henchmen to get to one boss and this includes dodging bullets, grenades, ninjas, tanks, machine guns, helicopters, cows, ect. The hero will get the crap beat out of him by the boss for a generous amount of time only to remember a deadly technique taught to him by his master before his training is over and use the technique and beat the boss/villain in 30 secs. Hero saves the girl or the city or whatever, and an entire squad of police is waiting for him outside, roll credits. /rolls eyes.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Although obviously not realistic, I particularly enjoyed "House of Flying Daggers" (except the ending where a character "dies" twice). "Million Dollar Baby" is also good. "To Live and Die in L.A." had a realistic fight scene - so realistic that it was over very quickly and had no fancy moves.

 

[TheBattousai]

1) Most annoying would be things that don't fit the plot as far as physics or realism. The Matrix fighting is fine in the matrix, not in what should be the real world (i.e. Crouching Tiger...)

2) I tend to like more realistic fighting but in the right aspect it doesn't matter so much.

3) I really loved the older samurai movies like Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, The Baby Cart Series (lone wolf and cub) and Zatoichi, (but their is still plenty more good ones, plus anime)

4)MA cliches would mainly be "let me find the great master to train me to defeat this foe of evil." Nothing real bad but thats a common one.

 

[OnlyAnEgg]

1) What annoys you the most about martial arts movies?

As many said, the zillion vs one scenes

2) What style of choreography is preferred? Matrix like, with wires and a highly choreographed feel. Or more realistic, gritty, UFC style fighting.

Well choreographed; such as Hero, Crouching Tiger, Legend of the Drunken Master

3) What movies had the best fighting? (Regardless of the quality of the movie)

Legend Of The Drunken Master

4) What do you see as MA movie cliches?

Returning things that were stolen from a village. Avenging a brother/sister/mother's death and/or dismemberment. Jean-Claudde VanDamme.