5 Favorite Martial Arts Films
I am amazed at what martial arts have done for the art of film and storytelling. If I’m watching a good martial arts movie and I see a fight scene that makes my jaw drop to the floor I can’t help but watch it over and over again, wishing that I could fight like that. I’ll admit I’ve gone out there and tried pulling off some of these fighting moves, but ended up pulling my groin muscle instead. Here are five of amazing martial arts films.
Fist of Legend
This is the movie that put Jet Li on the map. I stick this DVD in to watch it every once and awhile when I am feeling the need to see some crazy slick martial arts fighting. The film follows a Chinese martial artist as he returns to Shananghi only to find that the Japanese have killed his teacher and are harassing his school. The fights sequences are unbelievable as he fights to put these hooligans in their place.
I understand this is a remake of Bruce Lee's 1972 film Fist of Fury, but watching Jet Li do his thing in the movie was jaw dropping.
Enter the Dragon
How can you not love this Bruce Lee classic? It brings together so many fun and different characters. Bruce Lee is a spy in the film who’s recruited to investigate a crime lord. He uses his invitation to a martial arts tournament to get in close and find out what is going on. While there he really busts some heads. I am convinced this served as the inspiration for the video game Mortal Combat. Watching Bruce Lee fight in this movie is mind-blowing. My favorite line in the film is “Man, you come right out of a comic book.”
The Karate Kid
Yes, ‘The Karate Kid’! It has to be on the list! This movie is for those of us who grew up in the 80’s, it introduced martial arts into our lives. Without this movie we may have never wanted to try it out. It also sparked our interest enough to go and search out other martial arts films, leading us to find some of the great martial arts classics. It gave us our first lesson in karate, I know for a fact everyone reading this article knows the crane kick and has tried it out once in their life.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
This movie is one of the most breathtaking choreographed martial arts film ever made. Everything they did was perfectly executed in those fantasy fight scenes. The story was also very moving and the ancient Chinese setting was beautiful.
The Seven Samurai
Here is the greatest samurai movie of all time. This movie is awesome. Don’t knock it because it was made in 1954 and is in black and white. This film’s got it all. A village recruits seven samurai to help defend their village from a group of bandits. This one isn’t about the fight sequences; it’s about the story and the acting. You’re hooked from beginning to end. If you’re looking for a fight don’t worry because there is a massive battle in the film between the villagers and the bandits.
This is only a few of the many martial arts films that have been made in the world and I am always looking for new movies, so tell me what your favorite martial arts films are! I want to know because I want to watch them. I under stand that this list does not contain all of the amazing martial arts films and I couldn't put them all on the list so what is on your list of favorite martial arts films?