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brianbarton
31st January 2002, 12:19
I have just started getting into Martial Arts Movies and have made a few too many bad choices along with the good ones for my liking.

So it is for this reason that I would like to ask fellow members to recommend their top 5 Martial Arts Movies that we should all take the time to watch, plus 5 that you would post to your own worst enemy.

Blues
31st January 2002, 13:49
I recently saw Fist of Legend with Jet Li for the first time and I was very much impressed. A very enjoyable movie indeed, with incredible fights. I never thought much of Jet Li, but the man seems to be an extremely talented martial artist.

Mike Williams
1st February 2002, 15:50
I thought the cheesiness was the biggest appeal of MA movies...

I know this is going to upset a lot of people, but even Bruce Lee's opus seems like cheese of the highest order to me.

Of course there are those (like Jackie Chan) who recognise and exploit the inherent ludicrousness of the genre.
BTW, I'm a big fan of Jackie's Hong Kong movies - on the other hand I thought Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon were giant snooze-fests.

I think overall there are 4 categories of MA movies:

1) Genre films that take themselves seriously (and are usually unintentionally funny as a result)
2) Intentionally funny or knowingly ironic genre movies
3) Hollywood action movies that use an MA star as the hero (Segal, Norris, etc.), but where the fight scenes are incidental to the plot
4) Worthy pieces of cinema that happen to have some MA element in the plot or setting (e.g. Kurosawa, Crouching Tiger, Ghost Dog, etc.)

All have their merits, but the only category I go out of my way to avoid is (3) - I can't stand that stuff!

Comments?

Cheers,

Mike.

Mark Brecht
1st February 2002, 16:03
Ghost Dog...

:p You gotta be kidding...

Mike Williams
1st February 2002, 16:08
My e-kuzushi worked!
:laugh:

Cheers,

Mike
(who stuck Ghost Dog in there because of the thread in the member's lounge)

captlid
2nd February 2002, 04:37
Visit the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com) and put the word 'samurai' into the search field.
As for personal recommendations,
1. Lone Wolf & Cub parts 1 through 6 (be warned its bloody)
2. Any Jet Li film, (Except for "the one" too much SFX)
3. Jackie Chan, "drunken master", "rush hour" , "shanghai noon"
4. Kurosawa, "yojimbo", "seven samurai" (they are worth suffering through captions and black & white)
5. Ooh, there's so much more...... "the Hunted" "Blade" "The Challenge" "Iron Monkey" "big trouble in little chinatown"!

Now for the jeeeers!
1. American ninja parts 1 through 6
2. Ninja academy

Honestly I cant think of anymore martial arts movies I dislike. Their one attractive feature is that they have martial arts (preferrably of the bladed variety!) Even if some of them are off the wall.

lidia chachanashvili

fifthchamber
6th February 2002, 16:47
Hi all,
Best five that I have seen are;
1) Tai Chi Master. Jet Li...Excellent film.
2) Throne of Blood. Damn! Thats a good film adaptation!
3) Fist of Legend. Easily one of Li's best no doubt.
4) Kozure Okami part 1. Pure cheese..But worth the watch!
5) Shaolin versus Wu-tang. I like the Gordon Liu films the best out of the oldies, others would have to include the 36 chambers of Shaolin..CLASSIC!!!

Worst five;
1) American Ninja (all of em!) Pure unadulterated s@"£!!!
2) Most of Chuck Norris's films..sadly. He is probably a great man in person..Just a bad actor..
3) Fist of fury (Parts 2 upwards) or for that matter any films with the lead actor using variationson 'Lee' (i.e Bruce Li, Bruce Liu..NO!!)
4) Karate kid. upwards from the first one really.. Two was ok, but they get worse the higher they go..and they didn't start well first off!
5) Any of the Hong Kong films with 'Ninja' in the title. You can watch them once maybe..but after that you grow to seriously hate them.

Others that are easily worth a mention as being great films are;
Samurai Banners, Once upon a time in China, Yojimbo (all Kurosawa actually), Fist of Fury, Police story, Armour of god, Shinobi no Mono, and Drunken Master...All worth the time..
I know, I know...Too many late nights spent at my mates with beer and a video rental card...I study Special effects so I have at least the start of an excuse...
Abayo.

Zoyashi
6th February 2002, 18:48
My Top Five:
Fist of Legend (Jet Li); Drunken Master II (Jackie Chan); Project A (Chan); Project A II (Chan); Shanghai Noon (for the hilarity of Jackie Chan + Owen Wilson)

Worst (But still highly enjoyable):
The Last Dragon; Black Ninja (two of the minor characters are played by the same actor, wearing different jackets. I think we're just not supposed to notice); Flying Daggers (So bad it has to be seen to believe. The main bad guy is named "Dickie Loy, the Eunuch."); Enter the Dragon; Bloodsport II

So bad they hurt your soul: The Quest; Fist of Fury; Almost anything by Jean-claude van Damme or Seagal.

Josh Gepner