Recommend me some Samurai/Kung Fu movies.

[MrEco]

So, yeah, I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to these sorts of movies. I've only seen a hand full in my whole life.

To my memory, I've seen Hero which I thought was very good. I've seen Legend of the Drunken Master which was alright. And I've seen Ip Man which was just amazing. Oh, I've also seen Kung Fu Hussle. It was alright.


I like the more serious stuff. People hovering through the air as they fight and spinning a sword so fast that it blocks a volley of arrows are cool, but not my preferred kind of movie. Also I really don't like modern day settings. They just don't float my boat, but feudal Japan type settings are really fun for me. Finally, and I know some people disagree with me heavily on this but, I have a hard time being interested in black and white movies. I know that the movie Seven Samurai is extremely popular so I plan to give that movie a chance, but asides from that I'm gonna stay away from the black and white stuff for the time being.

So yeah. Go ahead and tell me anything you think will be up my alley. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I love both genres; so, I will start out...

With regard to Samurai films, you should see, in no particular order:

The Seven Samurai (and its Western remake, The Magnificent Seven)
Yojimbo (and its Western remake, A Fistful of Dollars)
Hara-Kiri (both the black and white original and the recent remake are good)
The Sword of Doom
13 Assassins
The Samurai Trilogy
Lone Wolf & Cub: Sword of Vengeance

Those should get you started, and help you find more movies that you enjoy.

With regard to kung-fu films, you should watch, in no articular order:

The Big Boss (a/k/a Fists of Fury)
Fist of Fury (a/k/a The Chinese Connection)
Enter the Dragon
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
The Five Deadly Venoms
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Bloodsport
The Karate Kid
The Protector
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior

Again, those should get you started and help you find more movies you enjoy.

[Nemoide]

Akira Kurosawa is generally seen as being a very "western" filmmaker, so his films tend to be the most accessible. If black & white is a turn-off, I'd recommend Ran, which is an adaptation of King Lear.
I'd also recommend the "Samurai Trilogy" which is about Musashi Miyamoto, one of the most famous samurai.

Most of the Chinese/Hong Kong movies I've seen aren't that serious, so I might not have the best advice with that. I really like Wheels on Meals, which is a silly Jackie Chan movie. I also loved A Chinese Ghost Story is a title with horror elements and is beyond ridiculous.

Do I even need to mention Bruce Lee? Enter the Dragon is pretty essential. And while I haven't actually seen it, what I've heard of Circle of Iron (which Lee wrote but wasn't made until after his death) makes it sound pretty interesting and is based on Lee's philosophical viewpoints.

[cha cha]

God..where to begin?


hmm...

First try the Chen Zhen movies (3 famous martial arts actors all potray the same fictional character).

Fists of Fury (Bruce Lee)
Fist of Legend (Jet Li) my fave of the 3
Legend of the Fist (Donnie Yen)

If you like Feudal Period movies about samurais, I of course suggest Kurosawa's work...

Seven Samurai
Yojimbo
Sanjuro

Those are probably my fave 3 of his.

Zato Ichi movies are generally good, the black and white ones are usually best.

Jet Li has some nice period ones:
Fearless
Hero

and people generally like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Iron Monkey.

Can't forget about my boy Jackie Chan though, do yourself a favor and watch Drunken Master 2, first. Don't worry that it has a 2 in it, trust me. But Jackie has like 15 movies I consider 'classics' and I won't bother reciting them all here

and yea, I don't think there is anyone left who hasn't seen Bruce Lee movies... But if you haven't, watch em all.

That should be good enough material to work with for now. If you come back for more, we can get more obscure and more specific to your tastes.

[prfsnl_gmr]

...but feudal Japan type settings are really fun for me.

You are going to love Samurai movies then! (Unfortunately for you, the very best ones are in black and white, but you can ease into those once you have an appreciation for the genre.)

Also...I highly recommend The Twilight Samurai. It is a great, recent Samurai film.

Finally, I neglected to mention Jet Li's Fist of Legend in my last post. That movie - which remakes the Bruce Lee classic, Fist of Fury - is boss.

EDIT: I see that my man Cha Cha mentioned it, too...That movie is really great.

[foxhound1022]

Both Ip Man movies were good, IMO.

I watched a decent movie on Netflix the other night called True Legend.

The older Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung movies are usually good as well.

[SamuraiMegas]

Well, it isn't a Movie, but Samurai Champloo is an amazing samurai anime. It's made by the guy that did Cowboy Bebop, Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, Space Dandy and more. It's music isn't the normal stuff that you'd hear from anime/samurai flicks, it's hip hop and fits well.

As for actual movies, I enjoyed Seven Samurai's remake.

[TSTR]

MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE

[Hobie-wan]

Once Upon a Time in China series
Fong Sai Yuk I & II

[Hobie-wan]

The older Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung movies are usually good as well.

Yeah, it is a modern setting, but Wheels on Meals is the basis of Spartan X/Kung-Fu on NES.