15 Of The Finest Martial Art Films To Grace The 'Magic Lantern'
Not "Enter The Dragon" or any modern Jackie Chan/Jet Li films etc...
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- DirectorSiu-Tung ChingStarsNorman ChuDamian LauFlora Chong-LeenThe best sword master from China vs the best sword master from Japan. Who will win?Perfection!(and includes a belligerent Cockatiel name "Dragon")
- DirectorChia-Yung LiuStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungKa-Yan LeungChia-Yung LiuThe self proclaimed 'king of sabres', and 'king of spears', decide to settle whose weapon is better by each taking a student and training them in the use of their favorite weapon, and whoever students' comes out on top is the winner.Great scenery; stylishly choreographed; understated script and outstanding perfomances from Hung Kam Po and and Lau Kar Wing in imperious form...everything a Hollywood film ain't!
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungFat ChungLung ChanA rickshaw driver's wife and his rich client are secret lovers, and they decide to get rid of him without being implicated, so they hire a powerful sorcerer to kill him, but the sorcerer's colleague intervenes to protect him.Bombastic!
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsKa-Yan LeungHo WangSammo Kam-Bo HungA bank cashier discovers a plot to kill the mayor. His attempt to warn the mayor is foiled, and he almost gets killed, but a mumbling Shaolin disciple rescues him and takes him to his master to teach him a formidable form of kung fu.Very nearly a classic - still breathtaking though!
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungFrankie ChanDeannie IpHung Tai-Kong aka "Rice Pot" and Chan Yin-Tung aka "Chimney" are two friends who work with their master Kam Ming and his daughter Ann as a team of pickpockets.Not short on wit and a pretty impressive turn out by Frankie Chan.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsKa-Yan LeungSammo Kam-Bo HungYi ChangChung Yao, a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his stepbrother, who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase however, and Chung Yao lives in constant fear that the vengeful stepbrother will murder him and his wife.Smashing!
- DirectorWu MaStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungWu MaChing-Ying LamAn effigy merchant's impotent brother has died and left a pregnant wife. Suspecting a scam and foul play, he schemes to inspect his brother's corpse before the burial, not knowing that his brother is actually alive and in on the scam.Similar to "Spooky Encounters"(No.2) - A slightly more measured offering from Master Kam Bo, but still a spiffing good watch nonetheless!
- DirectorTung Cho 'Joe' CheungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungWei TungCecilia WongIn a small town somewhere in 19th-century China, two brothers, each using their own particular style of martial arts, defeat a bully of a fighter who is terrorizing the town. In the ensuing celebration, a debate among the townspeople arises over which of the brothers has the best style, and the brothers become bitter rivals, neither of which is willing to admit that the other is his equal. Each sets up a martial arts school in the town. Years pass. A rich stranger comes to town with his two sons, and he places them in the two martial arts schools: One son in one school, and the other son in the other school. He vows to return in two years to test their knowledge. Meanwhile: Kung Fu Ching is a local boy in the town, and Ching is an unabashed martial arts fanatic who is trying to develop his own style of kung fu. He meets up with a wandering winemaker who also knows a lot of kung fu, and who encourages Ching to study more than one style of martial arts. Ching begins attending the martial arts school set up by the two feuding brothers mentioned above. They find out and kick him out of both schools. In desperation, he turns to the wandering winemaker and asks the winemaker to teach him his style of kung fu. After two years, the rich stranger returns to the town, and confesses that he is the brother of the bully the two brothers defeated years ago, and he has come to exact revenge. His two "sons" were merely spies he hired to provide him with information about the kung fu style of the two brothers. He handily defeats the two brothers individually, but when they toss aside their differences, they manage to do slightly better. But it takes the timely arrival of Kung Fu Ching to hand the rich stranger the defeat he so richly deserves... ...at which point the original bully arrives with eight henchmen. He's spent the all his time since his unfortunate defeat training in new styles of kung fu. Kung Fu Ching runs back to his master, and they prepare for the final showdown...Lovely.
- DirectorHartmut BitomskyStarsJo BollingChristine KaufmannLisa KreuzerCar mechanic Charly Zerbel has little desire for his work and for his boss, who finally fires him. He begins to study engineering but can't survive, so he tries to get his promotion through criminal means and operates as a car dealer.Nice little Samo Hung film, yet again.
- DirectorJackie ChanStarsJackie ChanPai WeiBiao YuenA talented martial arts student goes after his expelled brother, who get into bad company.Jackie Chan's best film. Done!
- DirectorRingo LamStarsBilly ChowShui-Wah FokRobert HungA clumsy, easy-going but tough restaurant chef witnesses a murder of a cop. This leads him to a world of trouble, as the killer seeks to silence him. Luckily, the vengeful partner of the dead cop is there to help him.Early-Nineties fare(slight darker undertones) with breezy action sequences and the subtext being dealt with nonchalantly...Excellent!
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsJet LiWah YuenCrystal KwokA former Chinese Kung Fu master working in L.A. as a medicine man is targeted by an ex-student, and it's up to one of his Hong Kong disciples, who's visiting America, to defend his master's honor.Only Jet Li film included in this formidable list, helped spendidly by the craft of Yuen Wah.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsAh-ToBilly ChanPhilip ChanTwo retired thieves are blackmailed into teaching at a local Youth Probation Centre by ex-cop Chung. There, they teach the youngsters the value of self-respect. But their criminal past is never far behind.Owl Vs Bumbo. Everything you'd expect from a Mid-Eighties Samo Hung film.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsJackie ChanSiu-Tin YuenJeong-lee HwangAn orphan who has been raised at a kung fu school, where he is treated as little more than a dogsbody and practice target for the students, has a life-changing experience after helping an old peripatetic beggar.When Jackie Chan produced films worth watching, without pandering to or adjusting his style to suit a Western audience - "Drunken Master"; "Young Master" et al.
- DirectorKarl MakaStarsMeg LamJason Piao PaiYuet-Sang ChinMulti-Hand Chick asks Crazy Frog for protection after stealing someone's wallet at the casino. Foolishly he accepts, and even more foolishly he follows her home and removes his Invincible Armor when she pretends to be willing to sleep with him. Of course she steals it, and when he tries to follow her, he's stopped by Dirty Tiger who is on a mission to bring Crazy Frog back to his wife. However, Dirty Tiger would really like to have that armor himself...Kar Wing and Kam Bo a year before "Odd Couple" - you can tell.
Still, a stonking good flick.