I looked through the old movies threads here and thought that this deserved a thread of it's own. Kung Fu is just....satisfying. I love the discipline, determination, brotherhood, and culture that is shown in these movies. I know that there has to be one or two Kung Fu lovers on this board, and I'm really interested in hearing what some of your favorites are. FOCUS: Name your favorite Kung Fu Movies, or just review them in general (doesn't have to be your favorite).
My favourite Kung Fu Flick is Kung Fu Panda. "Legend tells of a legendary warrior who's kung fu was the stuff of legend"
(Didn't we have an Idiot Board topic very similar to this?) This is a difficult subject to tackle. Are you making a distinction between martial arts films (most of Jackie Chan's Hollywood films) and kung fu ones? Do movies outside of Hong Kong count? How about mixed genre stuff like "Mr. Vampire" or "Heart of Dragon"? Some people consider those genuine kung fu films, and others don't. Anyways, here's a random fun film; Death Duel of Kung Fu- The film starts with a young Ming patriot assassinating a corrupt Quin Dynasty leader, before escaping by boat to join his fellow revolutionaries. A dreadful Quin master is sent after him, who, despite being 70 years old and tiny, with snow-white hair, violently massacres Ming patriots by the dozens with his bare hands. Even by the standards of martial arts films, the guy is a rampaging monster, with a particularly awesome laugh, and a love for torturing his enemies, whether for information, or the mere pleasure. He destroys the hero, who, after escaping, takes refuge in the house of a beautiful tattooed prostitute, whose motivations are unclear. (Yes, there's plenty of nudity) Complicating things is another young fighting master who alternately attacks and helps the main hero, depending on the situation. After a number of intrigues, double-crosses, alliances, and reveals, there is a genuinely epic final fight between the two young fighters and the old Quin champion. The showdown lasts 20 minutes, non-stop, without ever repeating scenes or becoming boring. It's a sight to behold. Both the main protagonist and villain both use the Continental style; that is, they fight only with their hands, no kicks. The secondary protagonist, on the other hand, employs more kicks in his arsenal than most modern-day martial arts actors. It's a neat contrast. Overall, with the above average story, several memorable characters, solid choreography, and an amazing finale, "Death Duel of Kung Fu" was one of the better films of the late 70s. By the way, this film should not be confused with "Death Duel" or "Duel to the Death", two other, different kung fu films from the same period. (Neither of which was anything special)
All of the Streetfighter movies were serious 70's ass-kicking extravaganzas. Sonny Chiba needs to make more movies.
This is, indeed, a very difficult subject to tackle. For those that don't know, I have a background in kung fu, having studied it as a traditional student under a sifu for the past 9 years. I'm a westerner, and I would never pretend to be able to pick up everything; but kung fu movies have a lot of subtext, both culturally and in terms of the martial arts. I would think the best way to answer to answer the topic would be to just explain what you liked, and perhaps why you liked it. I've seen great movies with crap fighting, crap movies with great fighting, and combinations of both that were completely unrealistic. Until I can go and wrack my brain for titles, which I'm shit at, some of my favourite 'modern' movies are: - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Yes, I know, the wires. Still has some very good fight scenes, especially Michelle Yeoh. - Fearless: A good movie made better as it was based around a true story. I especially liked the tournament parts of the movie where Jet Li was pitted against the best fighters from around the world in various disciplines. Interestingly, the "Cloud Forest Association" portrayed in the film actually exists and is a worldwide authority on the issuing of acknowledgments for Chinese martial arts. - Kung Fu Hustle. Chop socky, pure and simple, but a great, fun, 'light' kung fu movie. Trivia: A lot of kung fu movies, especially from China, are re-tellings of aspects of Chinese folklore and history. Quite often, different movies will be about different parts of a central character's life. Or a representative character could immediately signify a particular role. For example, you'll often see a white haired old man in the role of the baddie. This is used to signify Bak Mei (White Eyebrow), who was allegedly the traitor Shaolin monk who betrayed the temple. Postscript: Three titles occurred to me. Drunken Master, which I think has a young Jackie Chan in it. Once Upon a Time in China. And Iron and Silk, which is the true story of a westerner going to China to try and learn kung fu.
This website is possibly the greatest website on the internet: <a class="postlink" href="http://classic-kung-fu-movies.blogspot.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://classic-kung-fu-movies.blogspot.com/</a>
Speaking of which, there are a number of "famous" kung fu films that absolutely sucked. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the Bride with White Hair, and... Hero- My two favorite martial arts actors at the time were Donnie Yen and Jet Li. I always imagined how awesome it would be if they were in a film together; it would be one of the greatest cinematic marvels ever. And they did indeed have a fight in "Hero". While watching it, I almost fell asleep. This is what happens when someone directing Beijing dramas tries his hand at Hong Kong kung fu. Yeah, you might get a sappy love story infused with Communist propaganda about an individual sacrificing himself for the sake of the nation, (the actual historical event occurred VERY differently) but the actual fight scenes suck hard. It's probably the worst example of under-cranking I've ever seen; (shooting a fight scene at 18 fps and playing it through at 24 fps) the impact of a kick feels less significant than that of a slap. The wire-work is awful, slow, and technically flawed. The story is drawn out and very predictable. Avoid this atrocity.
One of my favorites is Jackie Chan's Legend of the Drunken Master. Quite funny, with good fight sequences. Edited to add Kung Fu Hustle by Stephen Chow as another favorite. I will also grudgingly admit that Kung-Pow is in my top 10 of funny movies.
Anything with Tony Jaa is woth watching, he is fast becoming a great director as well as kung fu choreographer of this decade. Ong Bak is a great film, dont take it seriously, but it's a requirement for kung fu movies. Ong Bak 2 is cheesy, ridiculous and utterly epic in ever sense. The level of violence in this film sits on the word absurd. The Protector isn't worth watching with the exception of the single take fight scene up the stairs in Sydney. Ill elaborate on these later.
I just finished watching Master of the Flying Guillotine. Besides being as awesome as it sounds (there is a blind man who throws around a guillotine on a string), I thought that it had a strong story. Good fight sequences too--there was a part where many fighters with different abilities had to fight each other (not real abilities, but still cool). Also, I liked who it put the story in the eyes of--I don't want to give anything else away. I really liked it. Anyone else have any comments about this film?
Well, it's one of the most famous classic Hong Kong kung fu films of that era. I don't know what you meant about the story, though; it had absolutely none. It's part of the "One-Armed Boxer" series, and the star, Jimmy Wang Yu, also did the "One-Armed Swordsman" series that came out in the late sixties, one of early, pioneering works of the genre. Really, "Master of the Flying Guillotine" is by far the best, but the original 1971 "One-Armed Boxer" is quite good in its own right.
It alone make the film great, though. That scene is cinematic rock and roll. Nobody strikes a blow and makes it look more painfull than Jaa, and his athleticism is simply astonishing:
The king. His movies by today's standard are borderline retarded. But, his style and screen presence are undisputed badass. The world is worse off without him.
It's not the rubber-stamped acting, I'll tell you that. It's the fact these guys put more heart (and life) into choreography than Hollywood assholes ever would at reading their lines. For proof, just watch the scene that made Jackie (in his absolute prime) an international star: ...no stuntmen, no slow-down. Just Jackie and his trusted fight team nearly killing each other. Personal favourite:
Focus- Hwang Jang Lee is probably the best kung fu villain I've ever seen, and one of the genre's best actors. Unfairly black-listed in the 80s in part because Jackie Chan was/is a horrible asshole, here's a neat little tribute video;