Monday, April 18, 2011

Four Of The Greatest Kung Fu Movies

By Adriana Noton


Kung fu movies have captured the interest of Western audiences since they first came out. There are lots to choose from, and sometimes it can be difficult to decide what to watch next. Here are some of the best ones.

You can even ask someone who is not much of a fan of the genre, and they have probably heard of or seen The Five Deadly Venoms. This is a classic 1978 film from Chinese master director Chang Chen, and it tells the story of a student sent by his dying master to find and defeat five former students who have taken the evil route.

All members of the Poison Clan, the five renegades each possess unique skills and fighting styles. The protagonist must track down and overcome Centipede, Scorpion, Toad, Lizard, and Snake and each of their particular methods. Though he is somewhat proficient in each of the five styles utilized by his opponents, he cannot best them at their own particular form. In order to succeed, he must use guile, cunning, and adapt his fighting approach to take advantage of his opponents' weaknesses.

Fans of the Chinese actor Jackie Chan may really enjoy this next film. The Legend Of Drunken Master is a wonderfully exciting story about a man named Wong Fei Hung who gets involved with a plot by a British official to steal valuable Chinese artifacts.

With the action star at his peak, and a really great director helping to tell the story, this is a very good example of a reasonably recent offering. Many people believe that no really decent martial arts films have been made since the nineteen seventies, but films like this one prove that statement to be false.

Film number three would have to be the Sammo Hung classic The Magnificent Butcher. A comedy as well as a martial arts film, the story and the action are very engaging and a lot of fun. Some of the best fight choreography and acrobatics are in this one.

No discussion of Chinese fighting films would be complete unless the name Bruce Lee gets uttered. For those who want to see the benchmark for Chinese martial arts cinema, Fists Of Fury (also called The Big Boss) is one to watch. It isn't the greatest of all the Bruce Lee flicks, but it's amazing.

Fists Of Fury is possibly the film that most Americans first saw Bruce Lee in. The basic premise involves a rivalry between a Japanese martial arts school and a Chinese one, and can be assumed to hold greater sociological significance. Lots of flying kicks and Asian weaponry make this a fantastically exciting film to watch.

One man's quest to defeat five, a plot to alter Chinese historical data, school rivalry, and the legendary Bruce Lee should all be enough to convince you to watch these four kung fu movies. You can probably rent them at your local video store. Failing that, many places on the Internet have copies for sale.




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