# Recommend me some Martial Arts films



## progmetaldan (Apr 3, 2009)

Specifically I'm looking for some of the more epic, ancient style storylines, but with more modern cinematics and awesome choreography and weapons etc., I guess I few reference films would be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero; Seven Swords etc. Jackie Chan and Jet Li, are probably my two favourite actors of that style that I know of, but I'm sure there's other awesome ones out there. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## ReSiDeNt JoKeR (Apr 3, 2009)

Tony Jaa is excellent, though hasn't done anything of the "epic" variety from what I can tell so far. But he's 100&#37; genuine, in as far as saying he doesn't use wires at all. He's old school Bruce Lee style and well worth checking out. But honestly, you can't go wrong with Jackie and Jet, the better "epics" usually have Jet in them.


----------



## ShadyDavey (Apr 3, 2009)

Hero, Iron Monkey + Iron Monkey 2 (Don't forget how awesome Donnie Yen is!!), Fearless (In fact, nearly anything with Jet Li in)...._anything _Jackie Chan did after the start of the 80's as prior to that there were a lot of "classic" Martial Arts movies which I'm guessing don't fit your criteria, but especially Drunken Master 2, Project A, Wheels on Meals, Police Story + sequels, Armour of God I/II...

Couple of rarities - Bichunmoon. Korean epic akin to Crouching Tiger. Bride with White Hair (Crouching Tiger's cinematographer worked on this).

Watch out however, most hong kong/asian actors have some absolute howlers hidden in their filmography


----------



## Daemoniac (Apr 3, 2009)

Once upon a time in China (i believe there is also a second one) although this may be too ancient styled...


----------



## Thrashmanzac (Apr 3, 2009)

yeah man get "ong bak" with tony jaa, i think there is a sequel too.
you also cant go wrong with the police storeys. rumble in the brox is a must.


----------



## jymellis (Apr 3, 2009)

the legend of rikky-o!


----------



## ShadyDavey (Apr 3, 2009)

Thrashmanzac said:


> yeah man get "ong bak" with tony jaa, i think there is a sequel too.
> you also cant go wrong with the police storeys. rumble in the brox is a must.



Ong Bak 2 is out, yeah - and don't forget Warrior King or "You killed my Elephant, prepare to die".

Awesome fight scenes, the rest leaves me giggling inanely


----------



## Konfyouzd (Apr 3, 2009)

Mystery of Chessboxing, Drunken Master (old and new), Iron Monkey, Fatal Flying Guillotine, any Bruce Lee, any Tony Jaa, Once Upon a Time in China series, The Legend series, Fist of Legend, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (i know i know...), Five Deadly Venoms, and Ninja Scroll (although that one is anime), and Fearless



Demoniac said:


> Once upon a time in China (i believe there is also a second one) although this may be too ancient styled...



there's 3


----------



## progmetaldan (Apr 3, 2009)

Cheers guys, I think I'm gonna have to make a list of all these movies and cross them off one at a time... I think Ong Bak might be a good one to go with next, I'll have to see what the video hire place down the road has at the time. 

I've seen some of the older 'classics', good for lulz, but I just can't stand the bad acting, wierd storylines and seedy picture quality...  'Armour Of God' is a strange one which springs to memory... 

But I do also love the more recent action/comedies, of which Jackie Chan is the unrivalled master imo.


----------



## lefty robb (Apr 4, 2009)

The Legend and Fist of Legend..2 of Jet Li's best, followed by the OUATIC series, then the grand epics like Fearless and Hero.

Ong Bak and The Protector are SICK, giant 5 min steady cam shot for the win!!. Tony Jaa is the next Jet Li no doubt, I own a fairly large Martial Arts DVD collection and his works sit proudly among them. Of course, a lot of my collection are the classic cheesy ones, especially the ones with the Pai Mai character, because he just pwns all.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 4, 2009)

*MOST RECENT GREAT (AND I DO MEAN GREAT) MARTIAL ARTS EPIC: RED CLIFF 1-2
*


And it's directed by John Woo. 

If you like 3 Kingdoms, Resurrection of the Dragon is another alternative, starring Andy Lau, Sammo Hung and Maggie Q. 

Once Upon a Time in China had plenty of sequels. Jet Li was only in 1, 2, 3 and 6. 

Actually, any movie with a bald Jet Li is good. 

Fung Sai Yuk 1-2 is another good series with a bald Jet. 

You have the Young and Dangerous series 1-6... not exactly martial arts but decent story. 

All those Ekin Chen movies as well - Storm Riders (has Sonny Chiba ), Storm Warriors (sequel), A Man called Hero, The Duel...

...there's Donnie Yen movies as well, Tiger Cage series, Iron Monkey...

I guess you can add Curse of Golden Flower, that's alright. Pop boy Jay Chou actually fighting. 

If you want to add humor, there's the Twins Effect 1-2, movies that literally try to please everybody. 

Other good humor is the Stephen Chow staples (Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle), Shaolin Girl (Japanese answer to Shaolin Soccer)...

Also there's Musha, which is essentially a Korean retelling of the Seven Samurai. Bichunmoo is another Korean epic as stated earlier. 

For modern Korean martial arts, there's Arahan and Volcano High. Daita did the soundtrack to Volcano High too. 

Ice Man Cometh - Hong Kong's answer to highlander. 

There's also Chinese Ghost Story 1-3, more with a lite horror twist starring the late great Leslie Cheung.

Tony Jaa movies are great, but focus towards more on actual pure biffo than actual story... not that there's anything wrong with that. 

For some Samurai flavour - anything by Ryuhei Kitamura is good for modern tech martial arts: Versus, Aragami, Azumi 1-2, Death Trance... though Azumi is the only one with an in depth story. 

There's also Ichi, a retelling of a blind samurai in a female perspective, starring the gorgeous Haruka Ayase.  

As for Jackie Chan, Police Story 1-2 still stands the test of time. 3-4 not so, and New Police Story's alright. But I could go on forever with his list, Young Master 1-2, Project A 1-2 (obviously), Operation Condor, Drunken Master 1-2 (not 3)... etc etc. 

I'll find more, I've got a truckload of these but didn't bother putting them on database...


----------



## Azyiu (Apr 4, 2009)

Yep, *Red Cliff 1 & 2* are definitely the choice here!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 5, 2009)

Oh, and how could I forget Shinobi? Yukie Nakama is just gorgeous on that.


----------



## ShadyDavey (Apr 5, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Oh, and how could I forget Shinobi? Yukie Nakama is just gorgeous on that.



Hot ladies in martial arts movies = win. I have a thing for Michelle Yeoh atm 

Fantasticly good movie with comedic moments and tap dancing - Zatoichi (2003 version) is definately worth watching.

Akumi and Akumi 2 are epic in every way.


----------



## MFB (Apr 5, 2009)

Zatoichi is the shit man, definetly check out almost any version of it


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 5, 2009)

MFB said:


> Zatoichi is the shit man, definetly check out almost any version of it


 

True dat. 

How could you say no to a female Zatoichi looking like this?


----------



## AK DRAGON (Apr 5, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> True dat.
> 
> How could you say no to a female Zatoichi looking like this?



That's not a female LOL

+1 for Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman


----------



## playstopause (Apr 5, 2009)

Anything Bruce Lee.


----------



## MFB (Apr 5, 2009)

I went to my nearest Bullmoose Music and they had 0 Bruce Lee movies! I wanted Game of Death so bad and it wasn't there  But there was a deluxe edition of Zatoichi which was like $30


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 5, 2009)

AK DRAGON said:


> That's not a female LOL
> 
> +1 for Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman


 
 Here's a better pic


----------



## progmetaldan (Apr 7, 2009)

Anyone seen House Of Flying Daggers? What's that one like?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 7, 2009)

progmetaldan said:


> Anyone seen House Of Flying Daggers? What's that one like?



It's got it's fair moments, focused a lot more on a love triangle between Zhang Ziyi, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro, but I won't spoil it. 

It's good for what it is, but I preferred Hero/Crouching Tiger and Golden Flower.


----------



## AK DRAGON (Apr 7, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Here's a better pic



I must have been watching a different Zatoichi. The stroy goes that a bro and sister's family had been killed and they were seeking revenge. they disguised themselves as geisha. If I remember correctly the sister was the dancer and the brother was playing the instrament.


----------



## Choop (Apr 7, 2009)

Def "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist!"



I think the last decent one I've seen was "Hero" so maybe that? You've prob seen it though since you listed Jet Li as one of your favs. Any of Jackie Chan's older movies are usually in that sort of setting, and are pretty awesome.


----------



## synrgy (Apr 7, 2009)

I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet:






Classic American cinema there.


----------



## hairychris (Apr 7, 2009)

I'm a big 'Lone Wolf & Cub' fan... A couple of the series are a bit sketchy but on the whole genius (although imaginitively and amusingly gory). The kid, Diagoro, is the definition of awesome.

Azumi & Azumi 2 are really good, although there are some dodgy plotlines in the second one!

New Dragon Gate Inn is definitely fun, if more then a bit crazy.

Check out the original Zatoichi series of movies, although the Beat Takeshi one isn't bad.

Swordsman & Swordsman 2 are another good bet.

Check out 'Close Encounters of the Spooky Kind' for Sammo Hung mahem. Not really epic but the 2nd half of the film is genius. Sammo is an impressive martial artists, check out stuff like The Prodigal Son and so on.

Once Upon A Time in China 2 for the Donnie Yen vs Jet Li fights. The whole series (1-3 are the only ones I've seen) is a bit too melodramatic for me but definitely epic.

Iron Monkey. 

I wasn't too impressed with House of Flying Daggers. Watched it once, didn't go back to it. Looks very pretty though. Hero was a lot better done IMO.

Check out all things Akira Kurosawa... Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, etc. Feudal Japanese win.

Tony Jaa - shit storylines, unbelievable fight sequences. He's absolutely on a different level.

Damn, there are a couple that fall in to the epic category but I can't remember right now...


----------



## damigu (Apr 7, 2009)

hairychris said:


> Check out all things Akira Kurosawa... Yojimbo, Seven Samurai, etc. Feudal Japanese win.



hidden fortress, sanjuro, rashomon, the list goes on.

if you want crazy and unrealistic martial arts fight scenes, akira kurosawa will disappoint.
he stuck to the realstic aspects of fighting (realistic is where 1 sword swipe can kill).
but the characters and storylines and all aspects of the direction and cinematography, etc, were nothing short of excellent.

as cool as insane fight scenes are, i'd pick a kurosawa movie over one of those any day of the week.


----------



## synrgy (Apr 7, 2009)

Forget the movie until you read the book, but you should definitely check out Musashi, if you're into the samurai/ronin thing at all. Best book I've read in years/wish I'd found it sooner:

Amazon.com: Musashi: Eiji Yoshikawa, Charles S. Terry, Edwin O. Reischauer: Books

IF you read the book, THEN you might want to see the movie. I know that _everybody_ always says a book is better than a movie based on it, but I don't believe that's always the case. (I thought the book for Fight Club was kind of flat and lame, but the movie was RAD.) Seriously, they split the book into 3 movies and STILL didn't do it justice AT ALL. It's only telling a small part of the story, and it's not telling it very well at all. Old cinema -- what can you do? 

As far as the Crouching-Tiger-Esque handfull of films go, I rank them like this:

Hero > Crouching Tiger > House of Flying Daggers

Hero had an amazing story and beautiful visuals without dragging on like CT seemed to.

HoFD was visually breathtaking in terms of it's use of color and such, but the story was just kind of... boring.

I can't mention anything that hasn't been mentioned already really, but I can +1 to several of them, including but not limited to:

the Lone Wolf and Cub series -- awesome
the Once Upon a Time in China series -- awesome
the Legend of the Drunken Master -- rad
All of the films by Akira Kurosawa
Depending on what you're into, virtually anything with the 'Shaw Brothers' stamp on it.
Zatoichi -- but not the new versions, I haven't seen those so I can't speak to them. I'm talking about the ones from the 60's.
Anything with Sonny Chiba in it. 
Shinobi -- pretty sweet mini series I stumbled accross while in a used book store in Kentucky

Also, I know they're a different beast altogether, and I'm probably in the minority here, but I absolutely LOVED the Kill Bill movies.


----------



## windu (Apr 7, 2009)

synrgy said:


> I can't believe no one has mentioned this yet:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


this is the pork chop express here talking to anyone thats listening!

its like i told onee of my ex wives i only drive as fast as i can see, plus its all in the reflexes!

amazing movie


and maybe i might get outcasted for this but....kung fu panda was a badass fucking movie lol

tony ja is the man. legend of the drunken master with jackie chan is one of my favs.


----------



## auxioluck (Apr 7, 2009)

The sequel to Ong-Bak is called Tom Yum Goong, the American version is called The Protector...not all what Tom Yum Goon translates to, but whatever. 

Jet Li actually taught Tony Jaa several throws and grabs for that movie, and IIRC, Jet Li in an interview said, "I wouldn't fight Tony Jaa." The guy is the real deal. He's like Jackie Chan, but he can actually fight.  .....Kidding.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 7, 2009)

AK DRAGON said:


> I must have been watching a different Zatoichi. The stroy goes that a bro and sister's family had been killed and they were seeking revenge. they disguised themselves as geisha. If I remember correctly the sister was the dancer and the brother was playing the instrament.


 
Yeah, what you're refering to was the 2003 Zatoichi with Takeshi Kitano . Haruka Ayase's from the 2008 Ichi movie, basically a female Zatoichi. 



+10000 to Musashi (samurai trilogy).  It's good enough for me to get a copy of The book of 5 rings. 

As for Kurosawa movies: several have already been mentioned, all good. Too add to that, you'll like Rashamon if you loved Hero. Some others include Kagemusha, Throne of Blood, Ran....etc.


----------



## lefty robb (Apr 7, 2009)

I just picked up Sukiyaki Western: Django I will let you guys know how it was in a few days.




auxioluck said:


> The sequel to Ong-Bak is called Tom Yum Goong, the American version is called The Protector...not all what Tom Yum Goon translates to, but whatever.


 
Ong-Bak (and its sequel Ong-Bak 2) and The Protector are 2 totally different movies, Ong-Bak 2 was made 2 years after The protector came out.


----------



## AK DRAGON (Apr 8, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> Yeah, what you're refering to was the 2003 Zatoichi with Takeshi Kitano . Haruka Ayase's from the 2008 Ichi movie, basically a female Zatoichi.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Yep that was the one


----------



## Scar Symmetry (Apr 8, 2009)

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I find the martial arts in Hero, Crouching Tiger Flying Dragon and The Forbidden Kingdom to be very entertaining.

oh yeah, and Kung Fu Hustle


----------



## hairychris (Apr 8, 2009)

I can't believe that I forgot Zu Warriors! Good if you like your swordplay airborne.

Shit, the first 'Mr Vampire' movie is fucking ace too.


----------



## lefty robb (Apr 8, 2009)

Scar Symmetry said:


> I'll probably get flamed for this, but I find the martial arts in Hero, Crouching Tiger Flying Dragon and The Forbidden Kingdom to be very entertaining.
> 
> oh yeah, and Kung Fu Hustle



Kung Fu Hustle is unbelievably good even though its CGI-Fu, probably one of the funniest martial arts movies I've ever seen, Chow is fantastic. Hero and CTHD are Epic, can't say much for TFK as I really did not like the watererd down script and it felt very "Disney" like.


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 8, 2009)

lefty robb said:


> Kung Fu Hustle is unbelievably good even though its CGI-Fu, probably one of the funniest martial arts movies I've ever seen, Chow is fantastic. Hero and CTHD are Epic, can't say much for TFK as I really did not like the watererd down script and it felt very "Disney" like.


 
Gotta love Stephen Chow. Same with Shaolin Soccer. 

The only good thing about Forbidden kingdom is the Jackie Chan/Jet Li fight. That was good. 

For epics, I still can't stress how good Red Cliff is (see pages earlier). 


For those who are new to old Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan films, be cautious. Just watch the Game of Death documentary, or if you want to watch the movie... fast forward to the tower fight scenes. And stay the hell away from Game of Death 2.  Of corurse everybody already knew that.  For Jackie Chan pre Young Master (all the movies before he directed - also known as the Lo Wei phase), Most are usual mediocre to crap stuff except Drunken Master, Snake and Eagle's Shadow and Fearless Hyena (1, not 2 )... which are essentially the same movie retold in different ways.


----------



## lefty robb (Apr 8, 2009)

I forgot to mention anything with Gordon Liu in it is totally epic, including The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which is considered one of the greatest Kung Fu films ever made, a must see.


----------



## progmetaldan (Apr 8, 2009)

Bloody_Inferno said:


> The only good thing about Forbidden kingdom is the Jackie Chan/Jet Li fight. That was good.
> 
> For epics, I still can't stress how good Red Cliff is (see pages earlier).



Yeah the Jackie v Jet fight in TFK is great! 

I just watched the trailer for Red Cliff, looks awesome! I'll definately be checking it out.


----------



## progmetaldan (Apr 10, 2009)

I hired Tony Jaa's 'The Protector' last night, it was incredible! So weird hearing Aussie accents and seeing our white taxis and police cars, but just unbelievable action scenes!


----------



## sami (Jul 7, 2009)

Storm Warriors Trailer!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Jul 7, 2009)

Awesome! Aaron Kwok and Ekin Chang reprising roles, AND it's directed by the Pang Brothers, so this is gonna be sick!


----------



## sami (Jul 8, 2009)

damn right!!!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Sep 20, 2009)

Bumping this thread up for more:

I finally saw Ichi (2008) with the lovely Haruka Ayase , and while it isn't a retelling of the Zatoichi story as I initially thought, it's still quite good


Spoiler



she is the daughter of the original Zatoichi


, a bit on the serious side though. 

Also, Taitei no Ken (Sword of Alexander) for some fantasy supernatural wire martial arts action. 

Similarily you have Painted Skin. More drama focused, but it still has Donnie Yen. 

And for more not so well known Jackie Chan films: 

Hand of Death. Early John Woo movie, still decent. 

Spiritual Kung Fu/Half a Loaf of Kung Fu. Of all the mediocre Lo Wei movies, those two were standouts. But then again, everybody knows Snake in Eagle's Shadow/Drunken Master/Fearless Hyena 1 being the absolute finest during this period. 

Meals on Wheels/Heart of the Dragon. Among the best of the Sammo Hung's early directed films. 

And for more Thai martial arts action, check out Chocolate, from the directors of Ong Bak and Tom Yum Goong.


----------

