Top 10 Kung Fu Movies
- Thread starter Xue Sheng
- Start date
Senjojutsu
Blue Belt
All you young whippersnappers have no knowledge of history. 
Five Fingers of Death (1972)
Tian xia di yi quan (original title)
Country: Hong Kong
Language:Mandarin
Release Date: 21 March 1973 (USA)
Production Co: Shaw Brothers
IMDB Trivia Factoid:
The English dubbed version, released through Warner Brothers, was the film that launched the craze for "Kung Fu" movies in the United States.
This movie taught me that elderly Chinese men could jump over ten feet high from a static posture. Three deacdes later I am still working of developing that leaping technique... one day soon.
:mst:
Five Fingers of Death (1972)
Tian xia di yi quan (original title)
Country: Hong Kong
Language:Mandarin
Release Date: 21 March 1973 (USA)
Production Co: Shaw Brothers
IMDB Trivia Factoid:
The English dubbed version, released through Warner Brothers, was the film that launched the craze for "Kung Fu" movies in the United States.
This movie taught me that elderly Chinese men could jump over ten feet high from a static posture. Three deacdes later I am still working of developing that leaping technique... one day soon.
:mst:
OP
OP
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
Top 10 Martial Arts Movies to Watch 2011
Reign of Assassins
The Lost Bladesman
The Grandmasters
Ong Bak 3
Shaolin
A Chinese Fairy Tale (A Chinese Ghost Story 2011)
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
Priest
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Wuxia
Just Call Me Nobody
Reign of Assassins
The Lost Bladesman
The Grandmasters
Ong Bak 3
Shaolin
A Chinese Fairy Tale (A Chinese Ghost Story 2011)
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
Priest
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Wuxia
Just Call Me Nobody
OP
OP
Xue Sheng
All weight is underside
Jenna it is nice to see you back on MT :asian:
I would add another movie to the list "Painted Skin" if for nothing else the one sceen where Donnie Yen is using a guan dao to fight a whole lot of bandits on a ridge
CrushingFist
Blue Belt
My favs if I remember correctly
- Confucius
- Fearless
- Shaolin (2011)
- Kung Fu Hustle
There's this 1 movie I can't get the name of, where JetLi was hit by the JinxPalm (style) and couldn't learn martial arts then long story short he learned a secret style "Solar Stance" and cured him from the disease etc.
- Confucius
- Fearless
- Shaolin (2011)
- Kung Fu Hustle
There's this 1 movie I can't get the name of, where JetLi was hit by the JinxPalm (style) and couldn't learn martial arts then long story short he learned a secret style "Solar Stance" and cured him from the disease etc.
When I saw it out in public about 20 years ago, it was billed as Kung Fu Cult Master if that helps.
My Top 10 Kung Fu Movies (Chinese):10.Heroes of the East A new favorite of mine thanks to Netflicks. Gordon Liu as usual delivers an awesome physical performance as well as playing a good straight man in this mainly humorous piece. But the action is amazing as he fights a host of different practitioners of Japanese martial arts. I'm no expert, but a lot, not all - but a lot of the stances and moves of the the Japanese practitioners looked pretty authentic and Gordon Liu is at his best while opening up a can of whup-*** on the Japanese intruders, starting with his Japanese wife.9. Drunken Master 2 ( also called Legend of the Drunken Master) The three big fights will stay in your brain for the rest of your life. For starters , the fight with spears under the train sets the standard for fights in cramped spaces. Only Jet Li in The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk comes close . And there's the restraunt fight against dozens of machete wielding opponents. Never has Jackie Chan looked closer to certain death for a whole 10-15 minutes. And it feels like you're holding your breath the entire time. And the finale, which is Chan versus what seems to be the man with the loosest pelvic muscles in the world. Ever since I first started paying attention to actual martial artists and one of them whose opinion I respected told me that a kick anywhere above the knee was wasted, I've always been fascinated by bad-assed kickers. And the villian for Drunken Master 2 is one for the books. Must be seen to be believed.8. Dragon Inn For me, the best of the art house cinema type kung flicks. Made before Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon gave artistes like Ang Lee liscence to treat the kung fu flick as a canvas for indulging in in art school impulses on the Chinese government's dime. Inventive and creative with the story, fighting and camera work, the action is still very coherent and quite satisfying. And as if Donnie Yen as the evil head eunuch is not enough of a reason on its own to see this movie, you've got Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as well. Tsui Hark at the top of his game.7. Return to the 36 Chambers The Ambassador of kung fu flicks. With very little blood and absolutely no corpses you can watch it in front of your mom. And Gordon Liu as a young man was perhaps the most non threatening badass ever put on celluloid, making his on screen journey from bullied weakling to unstoppable Shaolin fighting machine all the more plausible. What's funny is that its a retooling of the original, harder edged 36 Chambers with the standard revenge plot replaced by a mere labor dispute. With a plot that an 8 year old could understand (thank god!), half of the blood and none of the dead bodies of the original, Return to the 36 Chambers went on to overshadow the original in all ways. And the action, of course, is first rate. A classic in every sense of the word.6. Legend of Fong Sai Yuk Though Jet Li's more recent Fearless is perhaps a better movie overall, this one tops it as a better kung fu flick. The fight settings are so clever and outlandish that when Jet Li and company actually deliver the jaw dropping fight scenes while crouched under platforms or standing on the heads of a moving crowd, it kinda doubles and triples the effect of the fight on the viewer. While the production values of Jet Li's movies seem to be improving over the yearsand he continues to be a stunning performer, the manic energy and the everpresent humor of the 80's and 90's Hong Kong flicks is a thing of the past. And this movie is one of the best showcases of that era as well as Jet Li during his rather extended primeTo be continued.....
continued.
(sorry for pt.1 - i wrote it on my smart phone)
5. Master of the Flying Guillotine
This movie has way to much cool stuff going for it not to make the top 10. First, it's got Jimmy Wang Yu as the One Armed Boxer. He might not have been the best on screen martial artist ever, but he was more than serviceable as well as being charismatic enough to carry off more than a couple kung fu classics. Then there's the flying guillotine itself, one of the coolest, most outlandish weapons ever come up with for a kung fu flick. There's also the blind, seemingly indestructible government agent dressed like a monk who is wielding our titular weapon which looks like a collapsible top hat lined with blades. And lets not even talk about the awesome (especially its conclusion) tournament/deathmatch and one of the best line up of bad guys ever. A must see for any fan of the genre.
4. The Heroic Ones
The best (that I've seen, at least) of the Chang Cheh swordplay movies. Featuring David Chiang and Ti Lung, two of the better actors who could still pull off a decent fight scene in what has to be one of the most violent films ever committed to celluloid. That is, if one were not comparing this to other Chang Cheh movies. At any rate, Chang and Lung give a couple of their best performances in this reenactment of a classic piece of Chinese literature and one can easily see in the way that Cheh handles the themes of loyalty, brotherhood and betrayal as well as the extended, harrowing battle scene where Ti Lung basically takes on an army while his guts are hanging out, where Cheh's assisstant director John Woo's later revolutionary style has some of its roots. Epic. Violent. And quite the genre classic.
3. Enter the Dragon.
This movie literally has everything. Prerequisite kung fu tournament/multi-ethnic deathmatch? Check! Bass-heavy 70's soundtrack? Check! Seriously high production values thanks to an american partnership? Check! Oh, and quite possibly the baddest dude who ever walked the earth? Check! You've even got a young Jackie Chan getting his neck snapped, for crying out loud! Now some people don't think that Bruce Lee's style was as photogenic as Jackie Chan or Jet Li's and thus, that Lee is not quite the action star as the others. To this I would say perhaps. His choreography isn't done to the same rhythms that later kung fu flicks would establish, but I think Lee, more than most, tried to make his fights as realistic as possible. And what does come through for every second that Lee is on screen is that this is a man who could hurt you and everyone you knew. All at once. Within seconds. Even without knowing of his reputation for being always willing to fight anyone, anywhere and at anytime and usually beating them so quickly that he freaked out and came up with Jeet Kun Do after not being able to beat up some other super badass quick enough for his tastes, one can sense from his mere presence that this is perhaps the most dangerous (and let's not forget cool!) dude anyone will ever meet. Watching him beat up a room full of people or watching him sit at a bus stop is almost the same thing. Its like watching a tiger thats not quite hungry yet walk through a classroom full of overweight third graders. And it still comes through on film almost 40 years later.
2. Fists of Fury.
Again with the man who was basically 100% menace wrapped in a layer of Steve McQueen-strength cool. And what better way to start a movie starring The Baddest Man Who Ever Lived than to have him have promised his mom to never fight again. Watching him resist the urge to whup some *** is almost as much fun as watching him whup it. And when the whupping starts, whew! By the time the cops finally haul him off you're almost relieved. And then you think, " But what if someone starts some crap with him in jail? He'd have to beat up everybody in prison! Then he'd never get to take a nap! And everyone knows that giant cats like to take lots of naps. Seriously, the guy probably sent more guys to their local kung fu/karate/tae kwon do schools than any other single factor in the last 40 years and in Fist of Fury we get to see him at his rawest.
1. Five Deadly Venoms.
While Bruce Lee, for me, is an example of the human form and spirit taken to its natural limits, Chang Cheh's work with the famous Venom Mob, a collection of mostly Opera House trained stuntmen, is the ultimate expression of the dark, violent fantasy world inherent in a genre where the standard hero is trained to mete out death in an as stylistic and visually entertaining manner as possible. Gone are the righteous heroes played by charismatic actors that marked Cheh's days of making swordplay movies. At this period in his career, mildly photogenic and barely competent actors who could do amazing stuntwork were all that Cheh needed to crank out some of the true classics of the genre. And while most individual members of the Venom Mob couldn't carry a whole movie by themselves, the more of them featured in the same movie, the more likely it is that that movie is not only cool, but one of the coolest movies you'll ever see. And none more so the the Five Deadly Venoms, which of course, has them all. And just because the acting skills on display are not the strongest does not mean that all the movie has to offer is action. The story, worthy at least of a Sergio Leone, serves the action very well and if you've never seen it before there's even a bit of mystery to it. There are enough interesting characters that the movie never has to linger with one long enough to notice the actors' flaws and the action, as with all of Chang Cheh's work with the Venoms is standard setting. Again, most of these guys were Opera House trained and the fight scenes are some of the most photogenic, intricate and downright cool fights ever put to film. It's way past time this movie was remade. And if you haven't seen it yet, its way past time you did.
(sorry for pt.1 - i wrote it on my smart phone)
5. Master of the Flying Guillotine
This movie has way to much cool stuff going for it not to make the top 10. First, it's got Jimmy Wang Yu as the One Armed Boxer. He might not have been the best on screen martial artist ever, but he was more than serviceable as well as being charismatic enough to carry off more than a couple kung fu classics. Then there's the flying guillotine itself, one of the coolest, most outlandish weapons ever come up with for a kung fu flick. There's also the blind, seemingly indestructible government agent dressed like a monk who is wielding our titular weapon which looks like a collapsible top hat lined with blades. And lets not even talk about the awesome (especially its conclusion) tournament/deathmatch and one of the best line up of bad guys ever. A must see for any fan of the genre.
4. The Heroic Ones
The best (that I've seen, at least) of the Chang Cheh swordplay movies. Featuring David Chiang and Ti Lung, two of the better actors who could still pull off a decent fight scene in what has to be one of the most violent films ever committed to celluloid. That is, if one were not comparing this to other Chang Cheh movies. At any rate, Chang and Lung give a couple of their best performances in this reenactment of a classic piece of Chinese literature and one can easily see in the way that Cheh handles the themes of loyalty, brotherhood and betrayal as well as the extended, harrowing battle scene where Ti Lung basically takes on an army while his guts are hanging out, where Cheh's assisstant director John Woo's later revolutionary style has some of its roots. Epic. Violent. And quite the genre classic.
3. Enter the Dragon.
This movie literally has everything. Prerequisite kung fu tournament/multi-ethnic deathmatch? Check! Bass-heavy 70's soundtrack? Check! Seriously high production values thanks to an american partnership? Check! Oh, and quite possibly the baddest dude who ever walked the earth? Check! You've even got a young Jackie Chan getting his neck snapped, for crying out loud! Now some people don't think that Bruce Lee's style was as photogenic as Jackie Chan or Jet Li's and thus, that Lee is not quite the action star as the others. To this I would say perhaps. His choreography isn't done to the same rhythms that later kung fu flicks would establish, but I think Lee, more than most, tried to make his fights as realistic as possible. And what does come through for every second that Lee is on screen is that this is a man who could hurt you and everyone you knew. All at once. Within seconds. Even without knowing of his reputation for being always willing to fight anyone, anywhere and at anytime and usually beating them so quickly that he freaked out and came up with Jeet Kun Do after not being able to beat up some other super badass quick enough for his tastes, one can sense from his mere presence that this is perhaps the most dangerous (and let's not forget cool!) dude anyone will ever meet. Watching him beat up a room full of people or watching him sit at a bus stop is almost the same thing. Its like watching a tiger thats not quite hungry yet walk through a classroom full of overweight third graders. And it still comes through on film almost 40 years later.
2. Fists of Fury.
Again with the man who was basically 100% menace wrapped in a layer of Steve McQueen-strength cool. And what better way to start a movie starring The Baddest Man Who Ever Lived than to have him have promised his mom to never fight again. Watching him resist the urge to whup some *** is almost as much fun as watching him whup it. And when the whupping starts, whew! By the time the cops finally haul him off you're almost relieved. And then you think, " But what if someone starts some crap with him in jail? He'd have to beat up everybody in prison! Then he'd never get to take a nap! And everyone knows that giant cats like to take lots of naps. Seriously, the guy probably sent more guys to their local kung fu/karate/tae kwon do schools than any other single factor in the last 40 years and in Fist of Fury we get to see him at his rawest.
1. Five Deadly Venoms.
While Bruce Lee, for me, is an example of the human form and spirit taken to its natural limits, Chang Cheh's work with the famous Venom Mob, a collection of mostly Opera House trained stuntmen, is the ultimate expression of the dark, violent fantasy world inherent in a genre where the standard hero is trained to mete out death in an as stylistic and visually entertaining manner as possible. Gone are the righteous heroes played by charismatic actors that marked Cheh's days of making swordplay movies. At this period in his career, mildly photogenic and barely competent actors who could do amazing stuntwork were all that Cheh needed to crank out some of the true classics of the genre. And while most individual members of the Venom Mob couldn't carry a whole movie by themselves, the more of them featured in the same movie, the more likely it is that that movie is not only cool, but one of the coolest movies you'll ever see. And none more so the the Five Deadly Venoms, which of course, has them all. And just because the acting skills on display are not the strongest does not mean that all the movie has to offer is action. The story, worthy at least of a Sergio Leone, serves the action very well and if you've never seen it before there's even a bit of mystery to it. There are enough interesting characters that the movie never has to linger with one long enough to notice the actors' flaws and the action, as with all of Chang Cheh's work with the Venoms is standard setting. Again, most of these guys were Opera House trained and the fight scenes are some of the most photogenic, intricate and downright cool fights ever put to film. It's way past time this movie was remade. And if you haven't seen it yet, its way past time you did.
ilhe4e12345
Green Belt
Top 10 Movies...hmmmm
10) The Legend Begins: IP Man - liked this movie, good fighting, neat story and great cast
9) Fist of Legend (Jet Li) - Excellent movie, great story and some of the best on screen fighting i have ever seen
8) Hero - beautiful story, deep thinking, great combat
7) True Legend (2010) - Great movie about Drunken Style, i suggest you watch it if you havent seen it or heard of it.
6) The Legend Of Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) - What can i say? great movie, good story, good fighting on screen and i love drunken style
5) IP Man 2 - great story, great on screen fighting, loved seeing the different styles within the movie, the boxing fight at the end won me over
4) Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) - This was one of the first martial arts movies i have ever seen, and it is the reason im so interested in drunekn style. Great movie, great acting, amazing fighting
3) IP Man - I saw this movie and my jaw hit the floor. Its the reason i looked into WC and havent turned back. Great acting, greating fighting, great story!
2) Shaolin (2011) - i loved the cast of this movie, the story was beautiful and it really opened my eyes on how someone can change with lifes events. The acting was top notch, the action was incredible and the ending brought a tear to my eye.
1) Fearless - I have seen this movie so many times because of how great the story is. Jet Li is fantastic and his fight scenes have always caught my eye. The story was out of this world, the acting perfect and the ending was one that i will never forget. This movie is amazing, and will always be one of top favorite movies.
10) The Legend Begins: IP Man - liked this movie, good fighting, neat story and great cast
9) Fist of Legend (Jet Li) - Excellent movie, great story and some of the best on screen fighting i have ever seen
8) Hero - beautiful story, deep thinking, great combat
7) True Legend (2010) - Great movie about Drunken Style, i suggest you watch it if you havent seen it or heard of it.
6) The Legend Of Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) - What can i say? great movie, good story, good fighting on screen and i love drunken style
5) IP Man 2 - great story, great on screen fighting, loved seeing the different styles within the movie, the boxing fight at the end won me over
4) Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) - This was one of the first martial arts movies i have ever seen, and it is the reason im so interested in drunekn style. Great movie, great acting, amazing fighting
3) IP Man - I saw this movie and my jaw hit the floor. Its the reason i looked into WC and havent turned back. Great acting, greating fighting, great story!
2) Shaolin (2011) - i loved the cast of this movie, the story was beautiful and it really opened my eyes on how someone can change with lifes events. The acting was top notch, the action was incredible and the ending brought a tear to my eye.
1) Fearless - I have seen this movie so many times because of how great the story is. Jet Li is fantastic and his fight scenes have always caught my eye. The story was out of this world, the acting perfect and the ending was one that i will never forget. This movie is amazing, and will always be one of top favorite movies.
blindsage
Master of Arts
It's bad enough it took so long for someone to mention Tai Chi Master and Five Fingers of Death, but four pages, FOUR PAGES?!?!?!?!, before Five Deadly Venoms is mentioned?! That's just criminal. For everyone who didn't mention it in their posts (so everybody except jake1), stop reading this post and go watch it right now. No...no...I said stop reading and go watch....right now. Right now! Go.
