Member blue_skies Posted April 4, 2010 Member Share Posted April 4, 2010 I was wondering what everyone's top martial-arts films of the Nineties would be. I haven't started my list yet so I have no idea how many films I'm going to include. But considering how hard it is to place films in order of preference, if you list more than 10 can you separate your top-ten from your second batch of favourites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member thundered mantis Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 1. Drunken Master 2 2. Death Games 3. Fist of Legend 4. Tiger Cage 2 4. Angry Ranger 5. License to Steal 6. Operation Condor 7. Night Life Hero 8. Outlaw Brothers I let the last two free for unknown mainland films Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member BLfan Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 It was mainly Jet Li films in the nineties for me. Once upon a time in China 1 and 2 Fong Sai Yuk 1 and 2 Tai Chi Master Iron Monkey Fist of Legend Armour of God II: Operation Condor Drunken Master 2 Who Am I? Drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GazzO Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 I'm definitely keeping this list to the forum! Drive My Father Is a Hero Once Upon a Time in China II Iron Monkey Drunken Master 2 Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 Scorpion King No Retreat, No Surrender 3 Jackie Chan's First Strike Story of Ricky Who Am I? Only the Strong The Quest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 I pretty much agree with the posters above, minus one or two of their choices ("The Quest" is entertaining but not up there) and I'd also recommend... Last Hero in China Burning Paradise Blade of Fury (Under cranked more than any other film but it's still great) Dragon from Russia (mixed opinions on this one but I love it) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GazzO Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 Yeah I was going to put Dragon From Russia up there but it's been so long since I last saw it - I do remember enjoying it at the time tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Running Man Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 Just would like to take the oppertunity to discuss a mistake some make about "martial arts" movies. Sometimes, people talk about certain movies as martial arts movies that are actually not. Taking the names of some of the films here for example, Drive, Armour of God II, Who Am I, My Father Is a Hero and the Tiger Cage movies aren't martial arts films. But movies like Drunken Master 2, Only The Strong, The Quest, Blade of Fury and the Once Upon A Time In China films are. A martial arts movie is about martial arts or martial arts plays a role in the story. A guy fighting some other guy using martial arts doesn't make it a martial arts film. If that were the case, the Bourne films would be martial arts films. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 A martial arts movie is about martial arts or martial arts plays a role in the story. A guy fighting some other guy using martial arts doesn't make it a martial arts film. If that were the case, the Bourne films would be martial arts films. That's an interesting statement and while I actually disagree with your definition I can see where you come from. I think "martial arts movie" covers a broad scope of films. I think there is more to the genre than just plot and story. I think many martial arts films have a distinct feel to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phoenix Posted April 5, 2010 Member Share Posted April 5, 2010 Thundered Mantis mentioned Night Life Hero, I'm a Chin Kar Lok fan and have been after that for ages, could someone suggest a place that sells it? Has it had a dvd release? I'm going to have to think about my list, agree with some of the choices above. I must be the only person out there who likes Once Upon A Time In China 3. It had a weak ending but the storyline and cast made it my favourite out of the series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Dragon Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 Fist of Legend Once Upon A Time In China Blade of Fury Iron Monkey Fong Sai Yuk Once Upon A Time In China II The Blade Burning Paradise Naked Weapon Storm Riders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Running Man Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 That's an interesting statement and while I actually disagree with your definition I can see where you come from. I think "martial arts movie" covers a broad scope of films. I think there is more to the genre than just plot and story. I think many martial arts films have a distinct feel to them. It has to be related to the story and plot. How can a movie say like, "Drive" be a martial arts movie? There's nothing in the story that has anything to do with martial arts. It's about an enhanced human being wanting to escape the organization that made him and he befriends someone along the way. It certainly does have action in it and also comedy so it's an action comedy. Compare that though with Drunken Master 2, another take on famous real life martial artist Wong Fei Hung, where the plot deals very closely with Drunken style kung fu. That's a martial arts movie. You see what I mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member thundered mantis Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 Thundered Mantis mentioned Night Life Hero, I'm a Chin Kar Lok fan and have been after that for ages, could someone suggest a place that sells it? Has it had a dvd release? AFAIK the only version I know of is the VCD, semiletterbox. I got mine from yesasia: http://www.yesasia.com/global/ha-ma-ying-xiong-chuan-vcd-china-version/1003989642-0-0-0-en/info.html but it seems OOP now. Maybe it´s still available through some other asian retailers, like buyoyo or sensasian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 It has to be related to the story and plot. How can a movie say like, "Drive" be a martial arts movie? There's nothing in the story that has anything to do with martial arts. It's about an enhanced human being wanting to escape the organization that made him and he befriends someone along the way. It certainly does have action in it and also comedy so it's an action comedy. Compare that though with Drunken Master 2, another take on famous real life martial artist Wong Fei Hung, where the plot deals very closely with Drunken style kung fu. That's a martial arts movie. You see what I mean? I guess there is more of a distinction between a pure martial arts movie and an action movie that has martial arts in it. I can see why people would label a movie like "Drive" a martial arts movie. I mean it has all the elements of a martial arts film. The main star uses martial arts as his main weapon. It has more fights than a lot of recent "martial arts" movies and it has one hell of a final fight between the main hero and an enhanced fighter. But they never talk about martial arts, has other weapons involved and the main storyline is about getting a chip out of Dacascos's chest. BUT there is a difference when the movie is all about the spirit and philosophy of martial arts, like say FEARLESS with Jet Li...it's all about the mind set of martial arts along with how and when to use those skills. So either way there are some great pure marital arts films and action films with martial arts as the main source of the action. I spent all my thoughts on my response so I'll create a list and post it later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Phoenix Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 AFAIK the only version I know of is the VCD, semiletterbox. I got mine from yesasia: http://www.yesasia.com/global/ha-ma-ying-xiong-chuan-vcd-china-version/1003989642-0-0-0-en/info.html but it seems OOP now. Maybe it´s still available through some other asian retailers, like buyoyo or sensasian. Damn, I hope I can track it down. Thanks for replying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Running Man Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 I can see why people would label a movie like "Drive" a martial arts movie. The real reason "Drive" has been incorrectly labeled a "martial arts movie" is simply because of the "Asian-ness" of the production. An Asian director, a stunt team founded by Asians starring a man with many Asian roots in a story that deals with bad guys from Asia. So there is this stereotype that anytime that you put "Asians" plus "Action" that equals "martial arts". That is the reason why annoyingly you'll see a movie like Derek Yee's "Protegé" on sale in the martial arts section at Best Buy. Saying that the character uses martial arts to fight still doesn't make it a martial arts movie. Again, if that were the case the Bourne films would be "martial arts movies" because the choreographers used specific martial arts styles for the fight scenes (although you'd be damed if you can actually see what is going on in those shaky cam filled sequels). What style he is using to fight has no effect on the plot. Drive could have been gunplay in the movie instead of hand to hand combat (which the script originally was) and it wouldn't really change the story. Take the martial arts component out of the "Drunken Master" films, the "Once Upon A Time In China" series, "Fearless" or "Ip Man" though, and you have no movie. And when I say "martial arts" I don't limit it to how many action sequences have martial arts in them. It could be about the philosophies, a biography on a martial artist, history of martial arts or yes action sequences with martial arts in them. Whatever it is, the story and/or plot has to be related somehow to martial arts in order to be a "martial arts movie". That's how all genres are defined really. The main component has to be integrated into the story and/plot itself, not just individual sequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 The real reason "Drive" has been incorrectly labeled a "martial arts movie" is simply because of the "Asian-ness" of the production. An Asian director, a stunt team founded by Asians starring a man with many Asian roots in a story that deals with bad guys from Asia. So there is this stereotype that anytime that you put "Asians" plus "Action" that equals "martial arts". That is the reason why annoyingly you'll see a movie like Derek Yee's "Protegé" on sale in the martial arts section at Best Buy. Saying that the character uses martial arts to fight still doesn't make it a martial arts movie. Again, if that were the case the Bourne films would be "martial arts movies" because the choreographers used specific martial arts styles for the fight scenes (although you'd be damed if you can actually see what is going on in those shaky cam filled sequels). What style he is using to fight has no effect on the plot. Drive could have been gunplay in the movie instead of hand to hand combat (which the script originally was) and it wouldn't really change the story. Take the martial arts component out of the "Drunken Master" films, the "Once Upon A Time In China" series, "Fearless" or "Ip Man" though, and you have no movie. And when I say "martial arts" I don't limit it to how many action sequences have martial arts in them. It could be about the philosophies, a biography on a martial artist, history of martial arts or yes action sequences with martial arts in them. Whatever it is, the story and/or plot has to be related somehow to martial arts in order to be a "martial arts movie". That's how all genres are defined really. The main component has to be integrated into the story and/plot itself, not just individual sequences. Yeah I thought I touched on that beyond the first sentence of mine that you quoted. In the end the viewer can call a movie like "Drive" a martial arts movie or an action comedy with martial arts in it......that's the beauty of different opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 What about Leung Siu Hung's Bloodmoon? Is that a martial arts movie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 What about Leung Siu Hung's Bloodmoon? Is that a martial arts movie? If you want to call it a martial arts movie.......you can!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 If you want to call it a martial arts movie.......you can!! Yeah I could, but going by what Running Man says, I think this one is pretty borderline. All that Bloodmoon really has is a guy fighting some other guys using martial arts. So if I go by that, then that doesn't make it a martial arts film. I consider it an MA movie because there's so many fights, but if I go by what Running Man says, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Running Man Posted April 6, 2010 Member Share Posted April 6, 2010 Yeah I thought I touched on that beyond the first sentence of mine that you quoted. You "touched" on some things but I went further. In the end the viewer can call a movie like "Drive" a martial arts movie or an action comedy with martial arts in it......that's the beauty of different opinions. Well, I can call "Drive" a "bio-pic" and say it's my opinion but it wouldn't make any sense now would it? Why is "Star Trek" called a sci-fiction film? Why is "Nightmare on Elm Street" called a horror film? The reason is because the name of the genre plays a role in the story and plot of the movies. Morgorth, "Bloodmoon" might seem tricky since it combines thriller and horror elements but it would be classified as a martial arts movie (or a even martial arts thriller) because martial arts plays a major role in the story of the movie. The targets the killer picks are all martial artists as is the killer himself and the whole murder spree he goes on is because of the result of a martial arts tournament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member blue_skies Posted April 7, 2010 Author Member Share Posted April 7, 2010 my favourites are and in an order.... Fist of Legend The legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 Iron Monkey Police story 3: Super cop Who am I? Rumble In the Bronx Drive Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon Once upon a time in China part 2 Dragon, Naked weapon is from 2002. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 7, 2010 Member Share Posted April 7, 2010 Running Man you never cease to amaze me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member The Running Man Posted April 7, 2010 Member Share Posted April 7, 2010 gorhama, what are you talking about? Asking for a little common sense amazes you? I can call "Transformers" a "musical", "Slumdog Millionaire" a "Sword & Sandles" epic and "Requiem For A Dream" a "comedy" and say it's all my opinion under what you're suggesting. If you want to debate it, then do it but trying to play two sides and call it equal is insulting because it isn't. Let's face it. Many movies are labeled "martial arts" simply because it's an Asian in the lead which is incredibly ignorant. Why is "Who Am I" being referred to by some as a "martial arts movie" and not the Bourne films? Similar plots, similar situations with main characters that can fight along with villains that can fight as well. However, neither film has martial arts related to the stories in the movies. In fact, if one wanted to think like you then the Bourne films would win the label of "martial arts movie" before "Who Am I" because those films feature very specific martial arts styles in the fight scenes, like Jeet Keun Do. "Who Am I" is Jackie's style of choreography which means nothing specific whatsoever. Yet, the Bourne movies are not labeled "martial arts movies" but "Who Am I" is? Why? Simply because Jackie Chan stars in the movie which would've been like calling "Philadelphia" a comedy just because Tom Hanks was in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Drunken Monk Posted April 7, 2010 Member Share Posted April 7, 2010 I see where The Running Man is coming from but I just disagree. His thought process is an interesting one and actually more true to the essence of martial arts. I suppose a martial arts movie should, indeed, carry some sort of message, plot or story related directly to martial arts. I just don’t typically think that way. I can’t help but watch “Ong Bak” and believe it’s a martial arts movie…the same with many other films. But then it’s all open to interpretation. Some will say “Silence of the Lambs” is a thriller. Some will say it’s a suspense and others will say it’s a psychological drama. It’s all just opinion. Some will say “The Matrix” is an action and others will say it’s a sci fi. Some might even say it’s a martial arts film! I respect everyone’s opinion but when it comes to me, I’m perhaps not as die hard as I should be when it comes to choosing genres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted April 7, 2010 Member Share Posted April 7, 2010 gorhama, what are you talking about? Asking for a little common sense amazes you? I can call "Transformers" a "musical", "Slumdog Millionaire" a "Sword & Sandles" epic and "Requiem For A Dream" a "comedy" and say it's all my opinion under what you're suggesting. If you want to debate it, then do it but trying to play two sides and call it equal is insulting because it isn't. Let's face it. Many movies are labeled "martial arts" simply because it's an Asian in the lead which is incredibly ignorant. Why is "Who Am I" being referred to by some as a "martial arts movie" and not the Bourne films? Similar plots, similar situations with main characters that can fight along with villains that can fight as well. However, neither film has martial arts related to the stories in the movies. In fact, if one wanted to think like you then the Bourne films would win the label of "martial arts movie" before "Who Am I" because those films feature very specific martial arts styles in the fight scenes, like Jeet Keun Do. "Who Am I" is Jackie's style of choreography which means nothing specific whatsoever. Yet, the Bourne movies are not labeled "martial arts movies" but "Who Am I" is? Why? Simply because Jackie Chan stars in the movie which would've been like calling "Philadelphia" a comedy just because Tom Hanks was in it. That's just it I'm not trying to debate anything. I just read post after post of yours and again you never cease to amaze me. I said before you bring up good points on action movies feature martial arts fighting compared to movies about the true essence of martial arts and why they are different. For the record I'm just glad I'm not the only one who thought Transformers was a Musical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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