They have engaged our enthusiasm and interest since we first saw them. Kung fu movies are well loved in North America, and there are lots of them to choose from. Perhaps a quick look at four of the best ones will help you decide.
No list would be complete without The Five Deadly Venoms, so that is where we shall start. Even people who don’t much care for the genre love this film. Directed in 1978 by Chang Cheh, the story revolves around five renegade students and a sixth man tasked with bringing them to justice before their master dies.
The five bad pupils all use different forms of martial arts based on their particular specialty within the Poison Clan. The unique fighting styles of Toad, Lizard, Snake, Scorpion, and Centipede must each be overcome by the protagonist. The only problem is that while the protagonist is reasonable skilled in each of the five venom styles, he is not equal to any of the bad guys at their chosen specialty. For this reason he must show great cunning and adaptability if he is to survive against these men.
People who like Jackie Chan will most likely want to have a look at the Chinese actor’s 1994 film The Legend Of Drunken Master. The tale of a Chinese man named Wong Fei Hung and his unwitting involvement in a bid to steal priceless artifacts is gripping and fun.
Many people consider this period of time to represent the absolute peak of Jackie Chan’s acting and stunt work. As this film was released in the middle of the nineteen nineties it is a good counter argument to people who make the claim that nothing of value has come out of martial arts cinema since the 1970s.
If you like fight choreography and really insane acrobatics, then you might like the third film on this list. The Magnificent Butcher is a Sammo Hung vehicle which mixes action and comedy with great success. This film has some truly amazing wire work.
Finally, no mention of Chinese martial arts cinema would be complete without the legendary Bruce Lee. Fists of Fury, otherwise known as The Big Boss, is perhaps the ultimate Bruce Lee experience. It’s not exactly the best Bruce Lee film, but for sheer energy and excitement you can’t beat it. There is possibly no more charismatic action star in this genre than Bruce Lee.
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.
For the best selection of martial arts movies you can use the internet to watch and enjoy a massive selection of karate movies, kung fu movies and many other genres.


