Topic: What martial arts movie should I watch? (Read 18306 times)

Cartilage Head · « **on:** 10 Jun 2009, 07:35 »

I am taking suggestions. Preferably movies of the kung fu or wuxia genres but any will do.

A list of my favorites...

Kung Fu Hustle

Fearless

Forbidden Kingdom

Hero

Crouching Tiger

House of Flying Daggers

The Promise

The Protector

Ong-Bak

Not a very extensive list but I have gotten in martial arts movies fairly recently. I am aware that there are many many more good movies, some of which are serious (cult) classics.

Dazed · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 07:41 »

Just rewatch Ong-Bak ad nauseum.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 07:42 »

I'd say: go TRAIN some martial arts ... but that's just my hang-up.

Seriously and on topic: I'd suggest some EARLY Steven Segal. I realise that he is now fat and so far over the hill he's standing in a swamp but when he was good he was very, very good. You don't get to be 7th Dan Aikido for nothing.

Above the Law.
Hard to Kill.
Marked for Death.
Out for Justice.
Under Siege.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=herSynqVN3M

Dimmukane · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 09:19 »

Or better yet, watch Ong Bak 2 (the new one that isn't out in the states yet).

And Bruce motherfucking Lee. Big Boss, Chinese Connection, Fists of Fury, Enter the Dragon.

Harun · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 12:13 »

The Crippled Master

rynne · « **Reply #5 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 12:34 »

I'll suggest some of the classics:

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
Five Deadly Venoms
Drunken Master

Also, while it's a bit cliche now, some of the Wu-Tang films are worth checking out, like Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang and Mystery of Chessboxing.

JD · « **Reply #6 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 12:39 »

Ichi the Killer

Am I doing it right?

Dimmukane · « **Reply #7 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 13:58 »

Not exactly martial arts.

On a related note: Riki-Oh: The Legend of Ricky.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #8 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 14:08 »

FUCK YOU DIMMUKANE! I WAS IN THE PROCESS!

TheFuriousWombat · « **Reply #9 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 14:17 »

You liked Kung Fu Hustle so I'm assuming you've seen Shaolin Soccer. But, if by some odd twist of fate you have not, see it!

ackblom12 · « **Reply #10 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 14:22 »

Hardboiled

Jimmy the Squid · « **Reply #11 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 17:47 »

Dragon Lord, Twin Dragons, Police Stories 1-3.

Jackie Chan was awesome when he was younger.

Oh, Hand of Death is cool if you can find it - Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Chow-Yun Fat, they're all there!

onewheelwizzard · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Jun 2009, 19:17 »

Kung Faux

Cartilage Head · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Jun 2009, 04:40 »

Yeah I can't believe I forgot Riki-Oh. Fucking amazing.

satsugaikaze · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Jun 2009, 06:56 »

Quote from: Jimmy the Squid on 10 Jun 2009, 17:47

Dragon Lord, Twin Dragons, Police Stories 1-3.

Jackie Chan was awesome when he was younger.

Oh, Hand of Death is cool if you can find it - Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Chow-Yun Fat, they're all there!

New Police Story is still alright, although the action is a little derivative. The most hardcore part was the take-your-gun-apart-and-race-to-put-it-back-together-again standoff.

Quote from: ackblom12 on 10 Jun 2009, 14:22

Hardboiled

If this is the John Woo, CYF film, then yes.

Blyss · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Jun 2009, 09:54 »

Well, I enjoyed Jet Li in 'Black Mask' - but avoid the sequel 'Black Mask 2' City of Masks

And if you're into the classics at all - 'The Bride with White Hair' is kinda cool.

scarred · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Jun 2009, 18:33 »

Enter the Dragon Enter the Dragon Enter the Dragon ENTER THE DRAGON

Yayniall · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Jun 2009, 19:38 »

Quote from: scarred on 11 Jun 2009, 18:33

Enter the Dragon Enter the Dragon Enter the Dragon ENTER THE DRAGON

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpx7IWPda8A

Jace · « **Reply #18 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 05:42 »

Look up a movie called Kung Fu Genius. It is a fantastic old school movie.
Also, I believe it is called Duel to the Death or something similar, that is a great movie about the greatest fighter in China fighting the greatest fighter from Japan.
These are both set in Feudal China as well. Or at least not modern China

est · « **Reply #19 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 08:03 »

Quote from: BeoPuppy on 10 Jun 2009, 07:42

Steven Seagal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=herSynqVN3M

That video is as choreographed as hell and isn't even all that impressive. My pet peeve with Seagal is that he protects people by throwing the bad guys into all their stuff. Like, watch any fucking Seagal movie and you're almost assured to see him throwing bad guys all over the place inside a house or shop of someone who he is supposedly protecting, causing all sorts of fucking damage to the people's property. Whatever happened to just punching a dude in the face really hard, or at least taking it outside before you start throwing these cocksuckers around.

also, my rec is to watch Iron Monkey. It is all kinds of kind of tongue in cheek, but it is also pretty fun.

Yayniall · « **Reply #20 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 08:13 »

Quote from: est on 13 Jun 2009, 08:03

Quote from: BeoPuppy on 10 Jun 2009, 07:42
Steven Seagal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=herSynqVN3M

That video is as choreographed as hell and isn't even all that impressive. My pet peeve with Seagal is that he protects people by throwing the bad guys into all their stuff. Like, watch any fucking Seagal movie and you're almost assured to see him throwing bad guys all over the place inside a house or shop of someone who he is supposedly protecting, causing all sorts of fucking damage to the people's property. Whatever happened to just punching a dude in the face really hard, or at least taking it outside before you start throwing these cocksuckers around.

also, my rec is to watch Iron Monkey. It is all kinds of kind of tongue in cheek, but it is also pretty fun.

Yeah but then at the end of a Seagal film you get to see him fuck up the baddie in a knife fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGNUjV1fvt8&feature=related
Tommy Lee Jones gets his face stabbed off

Harun · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 08:26 »

In Steve's defense, Aikido is a grappling-type of martial arts.

Be My Head · « **Reply #22 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 19:48 »

Quote from: rynne on 10 Jun 2009, 12:34

Drunken Master

Pretty much the best Jackie Chan movie, and one of my favourites. If the OP hasn't seen it yet, he really should.
Combines humour and awesome martial arts better than any other.

est · « **Reply #23 on:** 13 Jun 2009, 20:55 »

That knife fight is ridiculous. He really bite the knife to stop it from cutting him? Really?

Anyway, I know I have a massive thing against Seagal, so I'll stop.

Yayniall · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Jun 2009, 06:55 »

Quote from: est on 13 Jun 2009, 20:55

That knife fight is ridiculous. He really bite the knife to stop it from cutting him? Really?

Anyway, I know I have a massive thing against Seagal, so I'll stop.

He already had Tommy's wrist in some sort of breaky holdy thing.
I mostly like that fight for TLJ's awesome comedic performance.

Aimless · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Jun 2009, 11:21 »

Jet Li's Tai Chi Master

Blyss · « **Reply #26 on:** 15 Jun 2009, 14:06 »

Quote from: Yayniall on 14 Jun 2009, 06:55

Quote from: est on 13 Jun 2009, 20:55
That knife fight is ridiculous. He really bite the knife to stop it from cutting him? Really?

Anyway, I know I have a massive thing against Seagal, so I'll stop.

He already had Tommy's wrist in some sort of breaky holdy thing.
I mostly like that fight for TLJ's awesome comedic performance.

Tommy Lee Jones was the very best part of 'Under Seige' with Busey's parts a close second.

Awesome.

LeeC · « **Reply #27 on:** 15 Jun 2009, 14:47 »

Steven Seagal is to movies as little kids with baseball bats are to paper mache animals.

satsugaikaze · « **Reply #28 on:** 16 Jun 2009, 01:57 »

Quote from: LeeC on 15 Jun 2009, 14:47

Steven Seagal is to movies as little kids with baseball bats are to paper mache animals.

.... He takes a few swings to get a single hit in and usually hurts himself in the process?

Kung Pow is my favourite parody.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #29 on:** 16 Jun 2009, 10:09 »

Ehm ... maybe Kung Fu soccer?

I thought it hilarious at least.

Border Reiver · « **Reply #30 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 06:57 »

The Seven Samurai

rynne · « **Reply #31 on:** 18 Jun 2009, 09:02 »

Seven Samurai is a great film. As is just about any samurai film from the Kurosawa/Mifune team: Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress.

That being said, the OP should understand that samurai films (typically from Japan) are a different genre than martial arts films (from China/Hong Kong). It's like comparing western films with action films: just as westerns may have action-film-like set pieces, samurai films may have martial-arts-like set pieces but the overall themes are usually very different.

Calaveth · « **Reply #32 on:** 10 Aug 2009, 05:35 »

I seem to recall that Iron Monkey was pretty fun. I think there are more than one movie with the same name however - it's the one presented by Quentin Tarantino I'm thinking of.

Zingoleb · « **Reply #33 on:** 10 Aug 2009, 13:48 »

Quote from: rynne on 18 Jun 2009, 09:02

Seven Samurai is a great film. As is just about any samurai film from the Kurosawa/Mifune team: Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Throne of Blood, Hidden Fortress.

That being said, the OP should understand that samurai films (typically from Japan) are a different genre than martial arts films (from China/Hong Kong). It's like comparing western films with action films: just as westerns may have action-film-like set pieces, samurai films may have martial-arts-like set pieces but the overall themes are usually very different.

Hey, put a dent in my ignorance, please, and explain the difference (regarding themes)

Ikrik · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 Aug 2009, 14:51 »

.....Samurai films are totally not martial arts films. Western films are not action films.

If you want Samurai films Seven Samurai is an awesome place to start as it's easily one of the best films of all time, however it's also over or almost 3 hours long, i'd recommend Yojimbo and Sanjuro, all three of those films (Seven Samurai included) are directed by Akira Kurosawa. You could also watch Samurai Rebellion, Samurai Fiction, and Sword of Doom...all are excellent Samurai films.

But Samurai films are NOT martial arts films. The swordfighting in them is a form of martial arts but martial arts films are about the fighting and the action and all the choreography. Samurai films are never about the fighting, they happen to have fighting in them.

Similarly Western films focus on many, many other things than just the action. A movie isn't an action film because there's a shooting scene or two.

And back to the topic:

Watch Chocolate. It's an INCREDIBLE martial arts film that also came out of Thailand. The main girl is autistic and learned Mauy Thai by watching Tony Jaa, it is insanely cool and a total joy to watch. Just note that the movie doesn't actually start for the first 20 or 30 minutes.

Killzone is a great martial arts film out of China. It stars Sammo Hung who is really, really cool. The dude is so incredible at martial arts especially considering that he's pretty fat. And old.

Anything from early in Jackie Chans career is really good. Both of the Drunken Master ones are amazing, especially the first. The first is awesome because he just bumps into an asshole on the street and is all like "I'm going to fight you now." the movie is an hour and a half long and has 14 fight scenes in it. Awesome. Legend of Drunken Master has a more cohesive story, better stunts, better fighting....better everything actually. But I really like the first one.

For JVCD Watch Bloodsport. It's pretty good, way better than Kickboxer.

Kugai · « **Reply #35 on:** 11 Aug 2009, 01:23 »

The Perfect Weapon.

Jeff Speakman is very good in this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUniFTJiCRQ

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Author Topic: What martial arts movie should I watch? (Read 18306 times)

ackblom12

ackblom12

Zingoleb