Chewers' 100 Best Martial Arts Films!

ChopTop, I concur, with your...concept.  

#2) The Shaolin Handlock!  My favorite Shaw Bros film.  David Chiang and his on screen sister, battle to reunite their family, and destroy the one whom murdered their father.

3) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Gorgeous and moving, it's a story that sticks with you, along with its unforgettable imagery. It's the movie that made Chow Yun Fat - a non martial artist - look like the most bad ass martial artist of all time, which I think says it all

PS Great idea for a list!

4.  36 CHAMBERS OF SHAOLIN (AKA SHAOLIN MASTER KILLER)

Pretty much the best Kung Fu movie ever made.  The film spends most of its runtime chronicling the training that Gordon Liu undergoes.  He starts the film as one character and ends the training process as another...all of the rage and violence inside of him has been tempered into a well oiled machine, and he's found a certain degree of serenity.  Amazing film.

5. Chocolate.

An autistic girl with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.

Never would have seen this movie without CHUD.

6.  KUNG FU PANDA

Sure, it's a cartoon, but the martial arts on display is amazing well done.

7) BLACK MASK

I'm no expert in the MARTIAL ARTS genre, but this has been a favorite of mine. It has an agreeably zany story with a dark, mean spirited edge, and Jet Li was at the top of his game, pulling off some truly impressive kung fu

I showed this to people in FILM CLASS in highschool, and it was generally a big hit

8.  FIVE DEADLY VENOMS (WU DU)

One of the biggest films from the Shaw Bros.  In a nutshell: a dying master tells his new student to seek out his 5 former pupils, all of whom he taught a different style of kung fu.  You've got the Centipede teamed up with the Snake, and the Lizard teamed up with the Toad.  The Scorpion is the wild card, and his identity is kept secret until the end (although it isn't that hard to figure out).

The budget was larger than most of the other Shaw Bros films, and it shows onscreen with the more ornate sets, detailed props, and lavish costumes.  It isn't the most action packed film, but what IS there is really high quality.  It's a very, very well made film.

9.  KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM

With the massive success of FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, the Shaw Bros did what they could to capitalize on the popularity of the main group of actors.  The actor who played the Snake in FDV didn't appear in too many more movies, but all of the others had long careers.  One of the few movies that completely reunited the FDV cast (including the supporting roles) was KID WITH THE GOLDEN ARM.  The production values aren't as high, but the film is literally filled with fantastic martial arts fights.

The plot: Gold is being transported to another province, and word has gotten out that the Chi-Sa gang (let by Golden Arm) is going to go after it.  The soldiers guarding it hire some mercenaries (Long Axe and Short Axe) and a master swordsman (Snake from FDV) to help guard the gold.  They are joined by Sheriff Hai-To (Lizard from FDV), a drunken master.  Golden Arm (Toad) is a badass.

Great film.

Since I have already seen some Animated martial artistry, I will include...

10) Fist Of The North Star The Series...The Film...The Legendary Post Apocalyptic Martial Arts Anime!  There are...109 episodes of Fist Of The North Star.  Fist Of The North Star 2 includes another 30+ episodes.  The Anime series was cut into a film in the mid 80's.  No list of top Martial Arts Anything, would be complete with the tale of Kenshiro Fist Of The North Star, his adoptive brothers, and a...Fist full of Ultraviolent Bad-Assery filled with...Kicks, Punches, and Head Exploding Gore.  It is...Glorious and Awe-Inspiringly...Awesome!

11. BLACK BELT JONES (1974 d. Robert Clouse)

A well-deserved star vehicle for Jim Kelly, then hot off Enter The Dragon. From the opening titles, in which Kelly makes light work of some crooked cops to the sound of Dennis Coffey's classic theme song, you know you're in for a bone-crunching but pleasingly silly good time.

12. Iron Monkey (1993) d. Woo-ping Yuen

The fights in this movie are very impressive!

13.  Enter the Dragon (1973)

14) Legend of Drunken Master

Great action choreography that's graceful, brutal, and funny.

Enter The Dragon should be number one, just for how goddamn important it is.

But my anger at that aside? I can get into this thread like a motherfucker, and here's what I've got.

15. Prodigal Son

It's little wonder Sammo Hung was the fight director for Ip Man, considering that for years he's been a perpetual champion of showcasing Wing-Chun on film. Starring his Chinese Opera friend Yuen Biao(a perpetually underrated Hong Kong figure) Prodigal Son is a stand-out early Wing-Chun smash-up.

16. Dirty Ho

Giggle-worthy title aside, this film's one of the great underrated old-school Kung-Fu flicks and showcases the directorial passion and skill of Lau Kar Lueng, one of the great fight choreographiers in the history of Martial arts cinema.

Also Legend of the Drunken Master is GODLY.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaurenOrtega 

Enter The Dragon should be number one, just for how goddamn important it is.

 

But my anger at that aside? I can get into this thread like a motherfucker, and here's what I've got.

 

 

15. Prodigal Son

 

It's little wonder Sammo Hung was the fight director for Ip Man, considering that for years he's been a perpetual champion of showcasing Wing-Chun on film. Starring his Chinese Opera friend Yuen Biao(a perpetually underrated Hong Kong figure) Prodigal Son is a stand-out early Wing-Chun smash-up.

 

16. Dirty Ho

 

Giggle-worthy title aside, this film's one of the great underrated old-school Kung-Fu flicks and showcases the directorial passion and skill of Lau Kar Lueng, one of the great fight choreographiers in the history of Martial arts cinema.

 

 

Also Legend of the Drunken Master is GODLY.

 

My knowledge of kung fu movies isn't very deep, but a list of this type without Drunken Master is blasphemy.

17> Once Upon a Time in China.  First JetLi movie I saw and it blew me away.  Thematically very similar to Kung Fu Panda 2 which I'd also add to this list.  The team kung-fu dynamic is amazing.

18) Once Upon A Time In China II!  Jet Li Vs Donnie Yen.

19) Sister Street Fighter! Sonny Chiba's Protoge Etsuko "Sue" Shihomi vs EEEEvil Drug Dealers!  One of the early...Kung Fu Cuties, to grace the silver screen.  She retired as her husband didn't want his wife to be an action star.

20) Street Fighter II The Animated Movie, and Street Fighter II V!  SF II is the...Best film in the Street Fighter Franchise, but it is not anywhere near as great as Street Fighter II V. This series introduces younger versions of the World Warriors of Capcom!  29 Episodes of Sheer...Awesomeness, as we follow teen Ryu, Ken and co.  Now if Capcom could only produce an anime series of...Marvel Vs Capcom, it would be...Epic!  Street Fighter II The Animated Movie features the Street Fighters we know and love, but without the...Volumnus backstory in Street Fighter II V The Series.  I guarantee you will get alot of...Kicks, with whatever...Punch you sip, as if you were a...Drunken Master!

21) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles Forever!  The...Greatest TMNT film yet.  Not one, nor 2, but a Titanic...Triple TMNT Team Up, that should have been on the silver screen.  There was a deal announced by Fathom Entertainment (I think that is the company that puts, concerts and opera on movie screens), that TMNT Forever would get a special one night screening that never happened.  Basically the Shredder from the 2003 TMNT series wants to end the timelines of...All Ninja Turtles.  Original Shredder and Krang appear.  Bebop and Rocksteady, 2 April O'Neill's, one Casey Jones, 2 Splinters etc.  This film is definitely worth the...Dough, with enough Cheesy...Saucy humor, to get all ages want to be involved with a...PIZZA The Action, onscreen with...The Green Machine!

24. But BLACK DYNAMITE ... I sell drugs to the community ...

25. Police Story (1985) dir. Jackie Chan

The best of latter day Chan.

26. "Infra-Man/The Super Infra-Man" (1975), Directed by Shan Hua

I'm not a big martial arts fan, but I love this movie. It looks like "Mighty Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers", but predates it by many years and is way better. Not better because it's less cheesy or more serious, but because it's cheesy in a superior way, if you can wrap your heard around that idea. It's about an alien princess with Power Rangers-esque monster henchmen who wants to enslave the human race/take over the world, and a scientist who builds a cyborg suit for his heroic friend to wear so he can save the world by defeating she and her monsters.

I once read a quote that said all Jackie Chan movies are like porn, in that you sit through the dialog-heavy scenes between the fighting scenes bored, impatiently waiting for the next action sequence. In this movie, I sometimes had the opposite reaction as I actually found a lot of the fighting more tedious and enjoyed the dialog scenes more because they were so amusing. Some of the fight scenes were really entertaining too, though. It was always fun to see Infra-Man do a bunch of flips (for no apparent reason) before swinging into action, fly with his rocket boots, and cross his wrists to shoot lasers.

I love the charmingly low-rent special effects that show the earth being ripped open as the villain wreaks havoc, her goofy-looking monsters skulking around, and the hero using his crazy powers, but the dialog is what elevates this movie most. I'm usually vehemently opposed to dubbing, but it really is an asset to this movie. Even in the Chinese version of the movie, the names of the characters and their words are delightfully wacky, but both are so much better in the English dubbed version. For example, the villain becomes "Princess Dragon Mom" instead of "Princess Elzebub" and we get priceless exchanges like this.

Scientist (to group of government officials): "Things are so bad, they're worse than they've ever been."

Scientist: "Ten thousand people have died!"

Government Official: "Oh."

When Siskel and Ebert talked about the movie after they'd both seen it, Siskel singled out that last line as especially memorable, and I agree with him wholeheartedly. That line made a scene in the original that was played totally straight one of the funnier ones in a movie full of funny scenes, and it was all thanks to dubbing. One reason I'll always be indebted to Roger Ebert as a movie fanatic is because of his championing movies like this. He raved about it both in a print review and on the "Siskel & Ebert" show (twice!), and I'm so glad he did. He and Siskel's affection for this movie and its ridiculousness inspired me to track it down, and watching it was one of my best movie-related experiences this past summer.

I came here to post Fist of Legend. I love how the film charts the evolution of a personal style, and how the key fights clearly illustrate the philosophies of the combatants.

But there it is on post #22, so:

27. God of Cookery. Because the 18 Brassmen will teach you everything you need to know about looking cool during a fight scene.

28. The Victim. One of the greatest finale's in kung-fu history, the energy and intensity is unbelievable. Beardy and Chang Yi go at it like tigers, it's absolutely amazing to think Leung Ka Yan had no formal training.

29. The One Armed Swordsman (1967)

30. The Chinese Boxer (1970)

Not my personal faves, but to ignore them on a list like this would just feel wrong. Plus Jimmy Wang Yu was pretty cool.

31. Wheels on Meals (1984)

The ultimate "3 Brothers" team up featuring Jackie, Sammo, and Yuen all at their very best. Jackie vs Benny the Jet is fucking epic (when I was a lad, this scene was more rewound than Elisabeth Brooks by the fire in The Howling... yeah)

32. Dragons Forever

The perfect follow-up to Wheels on Meals with Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, and Jackie re-teaming again to deliver more wince inducing knockabout fight scenes. With a badass rematch between Jackie and Benny Urquidez to go with it.

33. The Lama Avenger (AKA The Three Avengers) (1979)

A staple of the Kung-Fu Theater era. Outside of Dynamo, it's probably my favorite Bruce Li film. It has an oddly charming innocence about it, along with a pretty likable trio of heroes.

34) District B-13

Proving that not all Martial Arts need be Asian, this French thrriller takes place in a dystopian France inside a particularly violent slum. Great and beautiful and brutal use of Parkour, the stars David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli will make you think they were bitten by a radioactive spider because they move so damn gracefully along walls.

Can Dialectics Break Bricks?

...nah, kidding.

35. Queen Boxer.

"Pai Lai Lee, I've come to avenge my murdered brother, I don't care if it kills me but YOU WON'T LIVE EITHER"

One of the longest fights I've ever seen.

36. Yes Madam

Michelle Yeoh emerges on the screen as one of the coolest women of action, and teams up with an equally great Cynthia Rothrock in a kickass buddy-cop Girls-with-guns spectacular.

37. Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)

I love this whacked out flick! The guy with the arms that can grow is just awesome.

38. Hapkido.

You know what this list is missing?

39. The Protector. Tony Jaa performs some of the most amazing martial arts cheorography since Bruce in "Game Of Death". The entire film is quite awe-inspiring but the scene below has to be one of the greatest action sequences I've ever seen.

http://youtu.be/VVyfmeyO898

40. The Street Fighter. The unrated Sonny Chiba classic. If you've seen it, it's need no explanation. If you haven't, you're the one with some explaining to do.

41. Fatal Contact

One of the better highlights from Dragon Dynasty, it also has one of the goofiest out of place endings for any martial-arts film ever.

Sammo Hung was always a phenomenal martial arts director and choreographer, but let's not forget he was also an awesome and unconventional main hero of chop socky films. Don't mess with Fatty, cos he'll kick your ass!

42. Eastern Condors (1987)

Hong Kong does The Dirty Dozen and to a lesser extent The Deer Hunter. This is must see Nam Fu, with an awesome cast including Sammo at his leanest and meanest, his future wife Joyce Godenzi as a tough and deadly guerrilla fighter, the superb Yuen Biao, Lam Ching Ying, and the wonderfully villainous (and agile) Yuen Wah.

43. Pedicab Driver (1989)

You have to get through a lot of the usual drama/comedy to get to the real meat, but holy shit when this film gets to the action it fucking DELIVERS. Highlight is the fight between Sammo and Billy Chow (real life kickboxing champ and one of the most intimidating HK bad guys ever) which is an absolute classic of the genre. Brutal and badass.

44: The Tongan Ninja

not a good martial arts movie by any stretch of the imagination but a fantastic parody.

And if you get the DVD the "making of" is legendary.

#45. Haters gonna hate, but Forbidden Kingdom is a solid fantasy and features one of the greatest ever matches in martial arts -- Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li.  Behold:

46. Sha Po Lang.

Incredible. Just incredible.

47. Righting Wrongs. Absolutely brutal finale.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yt 

#45. Haters gonna hate, but Forbidden Kingdom is a solid fantasy and features one of the greatest ever matches in martial arts -- Jackie Chan vs. Jet Li.  Behold:

 

It pales against their Glory Days though. Jackie and Jet are slowing down and its shows here.

But yeah, it was nice seeing them in a film together.

48. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Tarantino, 2003)

49. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (Tarantino, 2004)

Silly Caucasian girl likes to play with samurai swords.

A literate, visceral, and endlessly cool saga of revenge and ass-kicking in a way only Quentin Tarantino could realize it. I'll never forget the adrenaline rush I had the first time I saw the first film, and it only continued in the second half.

52) OK, I'm not a huge martial arts fan, but I'm thinking as far as a modern, fun take on things, one might do worse than nominate Kung Fu Hustle. 

Also, not going to "list" it, but put it out for discussion - the Enter the Dragon parody in Kentucky Fried Movie is fucking great. Actually it kinda ruined EtD for me, since I'd seen KFM parody a million times before I watched the original. 

I'll leave it to someone else to add to the list if they think it's worthy.