A good martial artist does not become tensed but ready, not thinking yet not dreaming, ready for whatever may come. ~ Bruce Lee
Thus spake the ultimate authority on martial arts! Martial arts are more than arts of warfare - they are a way of life! Martial arts go way beyond the physical plane and base their philosophies and techniques on spiritual and metaphysical soil.
In popular parlance, martial arts simply includes Asian, especially Oriental martial arts types that originated in China, Japan, Thailand and Korea. A list of all martial arts would include more than 800 martial art styles prevalent all around the world, their origins spreading over 60 countries worldwide.
The chunk of the martial art styles, however, belong to the far eastern countries of China, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Mongolia and Thailand. It is difficult to pinpoint one single style as the deadliest style of martial arts as each style has its own bunch of lethal moves.
All of you out there who have a thing for martial arts and consider yourselves connoisseurs of martial arts movies must be familiar with the popular martial arts techniques and terminologies. Be it the Preying Mantis or the Crane stance, the Shaolin Tiger or the Snake or, for that matter, even the Drunken Monkey, you've seen it all on the big screen and you probably know about enough kung fu moves and kung fu fighting styles and other martial arts techniques to give a martial arts lesson to anyone who is yet to be initiated to the lethal grace and magnetism of great martial arts movies! I feel honored (and overcome with emotion) to present to you some of the best martial arts movies of all time! Check out the ones you've missed!
Best Ever Martial Arts Movies
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
This one is a mesmerizing trip into the world of martial arts and treats your senses with a healthy dose of delectable kung fu fight scenes! The story follows the journey of a young Kung Fu student towards excellence in the art of combat and his contribution to the life of the people of his native village through teaching them Kung Fu, despite his frequent trysts with the evil warlord and his henchmen!
The Legend of the Drunken Master
Among the greatest martial arts movies of all time, this one boasts of a balance between plot, comedy, drama and action! Considered by many to be Jackie Chan's best martial arts performance, this movie is a visual treat for just about anyone, irrespective of his/ her cinematic inclinations, because of its splendid kung fu techniques spiked with Jackie Chan's individual improvisations that give a distinct personality to every stunt he performs!
Way of the Dragon
The last fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris more than makes up for this one's cinematographic rawness. Anyone who's watched this movie would never forget the warm-up scene before the fight, where Bruce Lee's agility and reflexes are metaphorically equated with that of a cat!
Ong Bak
This is perhaps the first movie to have made the regular action movie buff wake up to the charms of Muay Thai! Raw action is the signature of Ong Bak and Tony Jaa does a splendid job holding the audience mesmerized by his dexterous martial arts moves!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
With an academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film to its credit, this masterpiece of a martial arts movie does complete justice to the honor bestowed upon it. Made in the wuxia martial arts style, this movie tells a beautiful story interwoven with other worldly martial arts action sequences. A must watch for those who haven't watched it yet! (Can't imagine anyone above thirteen not having watched it!!)
Hero
The regal grandeur of this movie's background, the ethereal plot line and the enchantingly graceful and technically perfect martial arts scenes take the viewers on a different plane altogether. Watching the fight scenes of this movie is like watching an opera of dexterously choreographed and lethally elegant combat moves with not a trace of crude violence in it! One of the most expensive and highest grossing movie in the Chinese cinema history, Hero is a martial arts experience of epic proportions!
Iron Monkey (1977)
Chen Kuan Tai directed this movie and played the protagonist of this kung fu extravaganza. Reckoned among some of the best kung fu movies ever, this movie brings us the deadly art of monkey kung fu in all its deadly glory!
Fists of Fury
Bruce Lee in all his glory - need I say more!
The Game of Death
This movie remained unfinished due to Bruce Lee's untimely demise. This is the movie in which this grand master intended to introduce his very own improvisation - Jeet Kune Do - to the audience! Wish he had not left us yet .....
Enter The Dragon
I saved the best for the last! This one serves as the icing on the cake! This is, by far, considered as Bruce Lee's finest movie, showcasing the full splendor of his martial arts' dexterity and impeccable combat techniques! This is the ultimate tribute to the great guy himself besides the best treat for any martial arts movie fan! Bruce Lee's presence almost overshadowed the characters of John Saxon and Jim Kelly who did splendid jobs with their fight sequences! Can't ever get the nan chak scene out of my head and my heart would go ahhhhhh..... every time Bruce delivered those flying kicks!! This movie remains unrivaled among the finest martial arts movies of all time!
Top Best Martial Arts Movies
Besides the above list, there are some more martial arts movies which deserve a respectful mention among best ever martial arts and classic kung fu movies of all time. Without these movies, the list would never seem complete.
By Ishani Chatterjee Shukla
Thus spake the ultimate authority on martial arts! Martial arts are more than arts of warfare - they are a way of life! Martial arts go way beyond the physical plane and base their philosophies and techniques on spiritual and metaphysical soil.
In popular parlance, martial arts simply includes Asian, especially Oriental martial arts types that originated in China, Japan, Thailand and Korea. A list of all martial arts would include more than 800 martial art styles prevalent all around the world, their origins spreading over 60 countries worldwide.
The chunk of the martial art styles, however, belong to the far eastern countries of China, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Mongolia and Thailand. It is difficult to pinpoint one single style as the deadliest style of martial arts as each style has its own bunch of lethal moves.
All of you out there who have a thing for martial arts and consider yourselves connoisseurs of martial arts movies must be familiar with the popular martial arts techniques and terminologies. Be it the Preying Mantis or the Crane stance, the Shaolin Tiger or the Snake or, for that matter, even the Drunken Monkey, you've seen it all on the big screen and you probably know about enough kung fu moves and kung fu fighting styles and other martial arts techniques to give a martial arts lesson to anyone who is yet to be initiated to the lethal grace and magnetism of great martial arts movies! I feel honored (and overcome with emotion) to present to you some of the best martial arts movies of all time! Check out the ones you've missed!
Best Ever Martial Arts Movies
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
This one is a mesmerizing trip into the world of martial arts and treats your senses with a healthy dose of delectable kung fu fight scenes! The story follows the journey of a young Kung Fu student towards excellence in the art of combat and his contribution to the life of the people of his native village through teaching them Kung Fu, despite his frequent trysts with the evil warlord and his henchmen!
The Legend of the Drunken Master
Among the greatest martial arts movies of all time, this one boasts of a balance between plot, comedy, drama and action! Considered by many to be Jackie Chan's best martial arts performance, this movie is a visual treat for just about anyone, irrespective of his/ her cinematic inclinations, because of its splendid kung fu techniques spiked with Jackie Chan's individual improvisations that give a distinct personality to every stunt he performs!
Way of the Dragon
The last fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris more than makes up for this one's cinematographic rawness. Anyone who's watched this movie would never forget the warm-up scene before the fight, where Bruce Lee's agility and reflexes are metaphorically equated with that of a cat!
Ong Bak
This is perhaps the first movie to have made the regular action movie buff wake up to the charms of Muay Thai! Raw action is the signature of Ong Bak and Tony Jaa does a splendid job holding the audience mesmerized by his dexterous martial arts moves!
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
With an academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film to its credit, this masterpiece of a martial arts movie does complete justice to the honor bestowed upon it. Made in the wuxia martial arts style, this movie tells a beautiful story interwoven with other worldly martial arts action sequences. A must watch for those who haven't watched it yet! (Can't imagine anyone above thirteen not having watched it!!)
Hero
The regal grandeur of this movie's background, the ethereal plot line and the enchantingly graceful and technically perfect martial arts scenes take the viewers on a different plane altogether. Watching the fight scenes of this movie is like watching an opera of dexterously choreographed and lethally elegant combat moves with not a trace of crude violence in it! One of the most expensive and highest grossing movie in the Chinese cinema history, Hero is a martial arts experience of epic proportions!
Iron Monkey (1977)
Chen Kuan Tai directed this movie and played the protagonist of this kung fu extravaganza. Reckoned among some of the best kung fu movies ever, this movie brings us the deadly art of monkey kung fu in all its deadly glory!
Fists of Fury
Bruce Lee in all his glory - need I say more!
The Game of Death
This movie remained unfinished due to Bruce Lee's untimely demise. This is the movie in which this grand master intended to introduce his very own improvisation - Jeet Kune Do - to the audience! Wish he had not left us yet .....
Enter The Dragon
I saved the best for the last! This one serves as the icing on the cake! This is, by far, considered as Bruce Lee's finest movie, showcasing the full splendor of his martial arts' dexterity and impeccable combat techniques! This is the ultimate tribute to the great guy himself besides the best treat for any martial arts movie fan! Bruce Lee's presence almost overshadowed the characters of John Saxon and Jim Kelly who did splendid jobs with their fight sequences! Can't ever get the nan chak scene out of my head and my heart would go ahhhhhh..... every time Bruce delivered those flying kicks!! This movie remains unrivaled among the finest martial arts movies of all time!
Top Best Martial Arts Movies
Besides the above list, there are some more martial arts movies which deserve a respectful mention among best ever martial arts and classic kung fu movies of all time. Without these movies, the list would never seem complete.
- Magnificent Butcher
- Once Upon a Time in China
- Bulletproof Monk
- Return of the Dragon
- Police Story
- Rush Hour
- Kill Bill Vol. 1
- Fist of Legend
- Romeo Must Die
- The Forbidden Kingdom (the showdown between Jackie Chan and Jet Li alone gets you hooked!)
- Shanghai Noon
- Five Deadly Venoms
- The Karate Kid (I like the 1984 version better)
- Drunken Monkey (fight scenes are pretty interesting, if not the plot)
- Shaolin Temple
- The Bride with White Hair
- Meals on Wheels
- Street Fighter
- Prodigal Son
- Fearless
- Seven Samurai
- Fist of the White Lotus
- Dragons Forever
- Mad Monkey Kung Fu
- Drunken Tai Chi
- Invincible Pole Fighter
- Unchained
- Seven Swords
- IP Man
- Tai Chi Master
- Bloodsport
- Mortal Kombat
By Ishani Chatterjee Shukla
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