From Ang Lee's wuxia-tastic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to the lesser known (but just as rewarding) Snuff Bottle Connection, kung-fu movies are one of the ultimate forms of pure entertainment.

Although I love virually all genres of cinema, Kung-Fu always has been (and always shall be) one of my favourites. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Hwang Jang Lee and the God that is THE MIGHTY Bruce Lee, all have a pride of place here at SNE Towers.

It all started way back when... (Scooby-Doo style shimmy)

One of my Brothers brought home a copy of this film that had him smiling from ear to ear. Now, usually such a grin would be reserved for the ranks of the adult entertainment industry, but not on this occassion, for what my bro had managed to 'obtain' was an uncut version of the absolute genius that is Enter The Dragon. Bearing in mind, I was still a nipper at this time and way too young to be watching such a movie, this film changed my whole perspective of what could be achieved by one man. Bruce Lee had such a screen pressence, moving in his 'I'm in a hurry to kick someones ass' kind of way from scene to scene, fight to fight, all culminating in that classic showdown in the room of mirrors. From that moment forth, my life was changed, forever.

To this day, when asked what my favourite movie is, I always say Enter The Dragon. I will admit, there are far better made movies in the world, but there is nothing, I repeat, NOTHING that compares the warm fuzzy feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when watching this cinematic epic. Brilliance, sheer brilliance.

Over the years I have managed to amass quite a collection of chopsocky movies (fast closing in on 200), some absolute gems, some absolute tosh, but what being a Kung-Fu fan has done is led me to watch other great movies from the far east. Without them I never would have found the genius that is 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano. So, I will forever be in its debt.

Add to this the future of the genre coming in the form of Tony Jaa, Kung-Fu movies are looking to be with for a hell of a long time to come.


High Points: Trying to avoid the obvious choices, here are some faves here at SNE Towers.

Once Upon A Time In China: Jet Li stars in this Tsu Hark epic of a turbulant time in China's history (the British are coming, the British are coming!). Touching moments combined with stunning action make this an absolute must of the genre. The sequels are also first rate... well, up to number 3 at least, after that it all goes a bit down hill.

Project 'A': Jackie Chan at his absolute best (something Hollywood missed out on, by about 10 years). Teaming with a personal fave in Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, the Chanmeister managed to cement his legacy way back in 1983 with this ultimate ride in Kung-Fu comedy.

A Touch Of Zen: Often cited as a huge influence on Ang Lee when he was making Crouching Tiger..., this epic (in the true sense of the word) of wuxia is an absolute work of genius. The running time of 170 minutes flys by without a single glance at the clock/watch. For a film made in 1969, this is not only a great Kung-Fu movie, but just a stunning piece of cinema.

So, after all that (and yes, I appreciate that it is a hell of a lot), is there any other fans of this fantastic genre?

The only martial arts film to really impress me is Ong-Bak.

Granted, Tony Jaa is a hell of a spectacle to watch on screen. Muay Thai is a very impressive style, but as a film, not that great. He repeated the formula with The Warrior King (The Protector in the US). If you replae the statue from Ong-Bak with an Elephant, then you pretty much have the same film.

Now, ok, he has got away with it on two occassions thus far, mainly because the action is top notch, but if he was to threepeat it, well, it will be a bit stale and his star will start to lose some of its sparkle, which would be a huge shame, as Tony Jaa is one of the few bright prospects as far as the Martial Arts genre goes.

Hey, its amazing what you find down the back of the sofa sometimes.

I knew I had done a Martial Arts thread, but just couldn't remember where I had left, yet lo and behold, there it was, amongst all the 2p coins and sweet wrappers.

Ok, let me expand a little on what has already been said (which is far too much by me, but oh well).

Lets include the films of John Woo, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michael Dudikoff, Steven Segal et al.

Were you thrilled by American Ninja as a kid?

Does Cyborg hit your buttons?

Is Chuck Norris really the hardest man on the planet (surely the fantastic Delta Force is testament to the fact that he sure is)?

Please, tell me I'm not alone in this?

I've never been so into martial arts movies that I would go looking for them, and in recent years wire fu has ruined everything. One of my favorite things about house of flying daggers was that big fight in the snow which was brutal and dirty and the absolute opposite of this sterile, pointless, anticlimactic crap in other movies.

I did love unleashed however, and I just rented legend of drunken master, so I'm getting enough to satisfy my hunger for brutality.

Honestly though, I have the same attitude about kung fu movies that I have about professional sports; I'd rather be doing that myself than watching someone else have all the fun. It's only when they are doing insane stunts and showing off (real) skills which I could never even hope to emulate that they really make me wanna watch. Or when they make those awesome crunching sounds with the other guy's body.

I have to admit, I was more than a little undwhelmed by Unleashed. It was alright, and one of the better Jet Li 'Western' films (along with Kiss Of The Dragon, but not The One, oh no, not The One), but it was all very 'by the numbers'. It was a good idea at its core, I'll gve it credit for that.

Speaking of Mr Li, it would seem that his supposed hiatus from Wuxia movies seems to be at an end with some early reports that he plans to have anoother go at this genre latter this year or early next. To be fair to him, he was missquoted in the press that got blown out of all preportion to the point where some were stating that he wasn't going to do any more Kung-Fu/Wushu movies and which was the focus for the advertising campaign for Fearless* (well worth checking out the director's cut of this, much better than what was released).

On other Jet Li news, he seems to be making a film with Jackie Chan at the moment. Very hush hush, but whenever you get two titans of the genre going head to head it certainly peaks my interest.





I've got a few mates who have that attitude towards MA Movies. Although I can see where they are coming from, for me it was MA movies that got me into Martial Arts in the first place, so my debt to the genre is huge.



EDIT:I knew I'd forgotten something.

*Useless factoid of the day, Fearless was Directed by Ronnie Yu who has directed such HK greats as The Bride With White Hair and The Postman Strikes Back, however, he is better known here in the West for his horror output as he was in the chair for Bride Of Chucky and Freddy Vs Jason... I need to get out more.