Martial Art Flicks

[Jew-Man]

My first martial art flick has to be Kill Bill: Volume 1 & 2. Then, I saw Riot (starring Gary Daniels). I wasn't too impressed with it.
I picked up an apparent "martial arts classic" for one dollar (accompanied by the sequel) called The Street Fighter... and, I must confess, I liked it. The mindless violence was awesome and the fight scenes were very well done. I didn't watch it for the plot, so I may have to watch it again.
What martial arts movies do you recommend?

 

[Speculative]

Well, for starters, go back to the master: watch the Bruce Lee flicks. The scene where he's eating crackers out of a bag in "Fist of Fury" is classic, IMO.

I also like Tony Jaa. Try "Ong Bak: Thai Warrior".

 

[Sketcher]

"Drunken Master." The old one, that was done in 1978 with the young Jackie Chan. "Legend of the Drunken Master" is a remake with a much older Jackie Chan in the same role. It doesn't do justice to the original.

"Shaolin Wooden Men." Another young Jackie Chan flick. It's particularly awesome because it's both dubbed and subtitled, you can't turn either of them off, and neither of them match.

"Master of the Flying Guillotine." A one-armed man takes on a blind villain who goes on a rampage with his "flying guillotine." Includes a martial arts tournament with equally entertaining characters from all over Asia.

"Shaolin Drunken Monk." Starring Gordon Liu. He and a different one-armed man find themselves fighting the same crime boss.

There's a whole bunch of movies in the Zatoichi series, most of them from the '60s and '70s. The title character is a blind master swordsman who travels all over feudal Japan. Note: Do NOT mistake "Ichi the Killer" for being in this series. From what I hear that's a slasher with rape and other sick stuff.

Speaking of Japan, "Yojimbo." Toshiro Mifune was the Japanese Clint Eastwood before anybody knew about Clint Eastwood over here. In fact, "A Fist Full of Dollars" was actually a remake of "Yojimbo," only it was set in the old West instead of feudal Japan.

"Sanjuro" is the counterpart to "Yojimbo," though it never got remade. It's just awesome.

The "Once Upon A Time In China" series with Jet Li before he made his debut in American movies is good. As for his later movies, "Kiss of the Dragon" and "Fearless" are very good.

 

[Autumnleaf]

Enter the Dragon. Best ever.

 

[genifer]

Karate Kid... the first one...

 

[Jerlene]

Ong Bak 1 and 2 were good. Can't wait for 3.
You could always try Jet Li and Jackie Chan films.
Fearless, Hero, etc.

 

[Jessica2]

When taught correctly it can be learned quickly and used immediately. But this requires finding the right instructor and providing the proper dedication. Unfortunately there is no governing body to guaranty the quality of the instructor so you'll have to use your own judgment and experience.

One of my students was attacked by an aggressor twice her size when returning home from work. She laid him out flat on the floor and when the police arrived, they couldn't believe how someone her size was able to handle him. She was only learning from me for about a year.

 

[SoccerCoach]

Bruce Lee because "everyone was Kung Fu fighting".

The best was when Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris paired off.

 

[Speculative]

Remember when Bruce Lee ripped the hair off of Chuck Norris' shoulders? That was classic!