The Best Old School Martial Arts Films
This list describes what I think are the best old school martial arts films. The movies with the best fighting and/or most laughs. These are movies that bring a smile to your face and leave you fighting the air afterwards.
Recommendations are also welcome.
Recommendations are also welcome.
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- DirectorRobert ClouseStarsBruce LeeJohn SaxonJim KellyA Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
- DirectorWei LoStarsBruce LeeNora MiaoJames TienA young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsJackie ChanSiu-Tin YuenJeong-lee HwangWong Fei-Hung is a mischievous yet righteous young man, but after a series of incidents his frustrated father has him disciplined by a master of drunken martial arts.
- DirectorBruce LeeStarsBruce LeeChuck NorrisNora MiaoA man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsBiao YuenChing-Ying LamSammo Kam-Bo HungA young man discovers that his reputation as a fearsome martial artist is manufactured by his rich father, after meeting a real martial arts master, who's also a master thespian, and is determined to apprentice under him to learn kung fu.
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsChia-Hui LiuYuka MizunoYasuaki KurataA Chinese man (Liu) marries a Japanese woman through an arranged marriage and manages to insult all of her Japanese martial arts family by issuing a challenge to her that is misinterpreted by the others. He must then prove how good Chinese Kung Fu really is through a series of duels with the seven Japanese martial artists who come to meet the challenge.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsJackie ChanSiu-Tin YuenJeong-lee HwangAn orphan who has been raised at a kung fu school, where he is treated as little more than a dogsbody and practice target for the students, has a life-changing experience after helping an old peripatetic beggar.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsKa-Yan LeungChia-Yung LiuBiao YuenTwo brothers and small time crooks Yipao and Taipao convince a martial arts expert to take them on as students, completely oblivious to his sordid past.
- DirectorJimmy Wang YuStarsJimmy Wang YuTien Wu ChuKang ChinAfter his students are killed by the One Armed Boxer, a vengeful and blind Kung Fu expert travels to a village where a martial arts contest is being held and vows to behead every one armed man he comes across.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungTak-Hing KwanBiao YuenA hot headed young butcher, who is also a kung fu disciple, gets embroiled in a feud with a rival shaolin temple.
- DirectorJackie ChanStarsJackie ChanJames TienDean ShekA young man whose sickly grandfather has taught him a secret form of Kung Fu, starts to make a living off of his unique fighting style, only to attract the attention of his grandfather's mortal enemy.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsKa-Yan LeungHo WangSammo Kam-Bo HungA bank cashier discovers a plot to kill the mayor. His attempt to warn the mayor is foiled, and he almost gets killed, but a mumbling Shaolin disciple rescues him and takes him to his master to teach him a formidable form of kung fu.
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsChia-Liang LiuHou HsiaoKara WaiA disgraced former Kung Fu expert makes a living as a merchant with the help of a hot headed friend. When the men are harassed by gangsters, the merchant decided to teach his friend monkey boxing so they can defend their business.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungChun YangRoy ChiaoAn apprentice farmer (Sammo Hung) ventures to the city and helps his family battle a gang of thugs.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsYao Lin ChenYeh FangFung FungThe story of "Fok Yun Gap" also know as "Hou Yuan Chia" one of China's greatest martial artists.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsPai WeiDamian LauKong LauA son tries to avenge his father, and gets two sword fighters to help him.
- DirectorKarl MakaStarsMeg LamJason Piao PaiYuet-Sang ChinMulti-Hand Chick asks Crazy Frog for protection after stealing someone's wallet at the casino. Foolishly he accepts, and even more foolishly he follows her home and removes his Invincible Armor when she pretends to be willing to sleep with him. Of course she steals it, and when he tries to follow her, he's stopped by Dirty Tiger who is on a mission to bring Crazy Frog back to his wife. However, Dirty Tiger would really like to have that armor himself...
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsYue WongChia-Hui LiuLieh LoA prince enlists a thief to serve as his bodyguard to protect him from assassins.
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsChia-Hui LiuSheng FuLily LiMongols with the help of an insider, ambush the influential Yang Family, defenders of the dynasty. The Mongols must hunt down all Yang survivors so their insidious plot to overthrow the dynasty will not be uncovered.
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsChia-Hui LiuLieh LoYue WongA man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple to fight back against the oppressive Manchu government.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsKa-Yan LeungSammo Kam-Bo HungYi ChangChung Yao, a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his stepbrother, who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase however, and Chung Yao lives in constant fear that the vengeful stepbrother will murder him and his wife.
- DirectorWilson TongStarsKun-Lung WuAngela MaoMichael Wai-Man ChanKwok Chung is a righteous rich kid whose hobby is to fight and brawl. One encounter nearly gets him killed, but he is saved by Yueh (Fong Hak On), the Snake Fist Master. Yueh befriends and teaches Kwok the deadly art of the snake. Soon, Kwok realizes that his teacher has more in common with a snake than just techniques. He's being set up by his teacher, and his family is also targeted for murder!
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsBiao YuenKa-Yan LeungShun-Yee YuenA foul-tempered mute fugitive hides out amongst a theater troupe after his criminal wife got killed by the police. He sets his sights on a cowardly laundry man, and will not rest until he kills him, while donning a theatrical face paint.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsDonnie YenCheung-Yan YuenLydia ShumA spoiled young man - on the run from a ruthless killer - hooks up with a puppeteer and his wife who are masters of the art of tai chi; the only style that can defeat the killer.
- DirectorSum CheungStarsJohn CheungYao Lin ChenPomson ShiThe master of a drunken fist is killed by a deadly snake fist duo in a major battle, so his only student flees and becomes a covert, expert fighter.
- DirectorChia-Hui LiuStarsChia-Hui LiuAdam ChengLi ChingTwo friends from rival schools are turned against one another by a jealous chief who wants to eliminate those whose fighting styles may rival his own.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungSing ChenHoi-Pang LoA lowly restaurant worker aims to take revenge on the Manchurian thugs who killed his boss by joining a Shaolin temple under the advise from a monk who rescued him from certain death.
- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungFat ChungLung ChanA rickshaw driver's wife and his rich client are secret lovers, and they decide to get rid of him without being implicated, so they hire a powerful sorcerer to kill him, but the sorcerer's colleague intervenes to protect him.