The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture

Samuel L. Jackson is the perfect host/narrator for this well done look at how martial arts movies began and progressed. There is plenty of footage from the silent era to 2000 put into context by interviews with Chinese directors, actors and producers. Jackson introduces and explains the various periods and sub-genres, paying special attention to the most important individuals including Bruce Lee, John Woo, Ang Lee plus others whose names will be immediately familiar only to fans of Chinese cinema from the 1950s.

Of particular note is the way the narration links two of the most important influences on martial arts film--Beijing Opera and the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Manchu dynasty along with the traditional stories around that destruction.