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Karate Movies


fatcat

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Last night I saw Kung Fu Massacre (1974)aka The Big Show Down. Im not sure who the actors were, but I know it was directed by Yuen Woo Ping. The movie reminded me how much I like fast paced karate like what I saw from Bruce Liang in Call Me Dragon, Kung Fu Godfather, Black Belt Karate, and few others. I really liked the Karate action versus the Kung Fu action of 1973-77, What am I missing karate wise?? Oh and do all karate movies have a long drawn out chase scene?? Whew!! That makes me tired:ooh:

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Slightly off the beaten path, but from that period, there isn't Karate film I enjoyed more than Sonny Chiba's 'The Executioner'. Lots of fast and furious (not to mention gory and nasty) hand to hand fights in that one.

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Little Superman with Bruce Leung vs James Nam.... Meanest, angriest end fight ever!

Damn! Got my hopes up. I'd never heard of this until now and there's no DVD. :sad:

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Damn! Got my hopes up. I'd never heard of this until now and there's no DVD. :sad:

It's aka Kung Fu Superman and it's part of The Ultimate Dragon 10 pack. You can get it cheap at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Dragon-Collection-Bruce-Lee/dp/B000T5O476

Picture quality isn't great, but not terrible, either.

If you don't mind dvdr, then Far East Flix has a nice widescreen print:

http://www.fareastflix.com/kung-fu/little-super-man/

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Little Superman with Bruce Leung vs James Nam.... Meanest, angriest end fight ever!

Grrreat recomendation TWC!!! Meanest, angriest end fight ever!! is completly right!! AAaarrrrrhhh!!!!!! I did have that title and I saw it last night. How that end fight escaped my memory has me wondering, but yea awesome! just what I was looking for, thanks!!:bigsmile:

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TibetanWhiteCrane

As an old jaded kung fu movie fan, im always concious of the fact that im watching actors doing choreography, which is fine, but Little Superman's end fight is one of the few times where I actually forget that. It looks like Leung and Nam really, genuinly wants to kill each other. When the other guys join in, I kinda snap back to reality, but the first one on one bit is absolutely ferocious.

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As an old jaded kung fu movie fan, im always concious of the fact that im watching actors doing choreography, which is fine, but Little Superman's end fight is one of the few times where I actually forget that. It looks like Leung and Nam really, genuinly wants to kill each other. When the other guys join in, I kinda snap back to reality, but the first one on one bit is absolutely ferocious.

Yeah, I kind of wish his acrobat cronies hadn't joined in as it deflated the whole thing for me just a little. Still, for sheer blodthirsty rage, that fight's tough to top.

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Yeah, I kind of wish his acrobat cronies hadn't joined in as it deflated the whole thing for me just a little. Still, for sheer blodthirsty rage, that fight's tough to top.

Lmao!! acrobat cronies!!:xd:

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Hey Fatcat, you want to see cool karate movies? These all feature cool karate fighting and star Sonny Chiba, Sue Shihomi, Tadashi Yamashita, Yasuaki Kurata, and many more...

BLACK BELT (2007, aka. Kuro-obi)

BODYGUARD, THE (1973, aka. Bodyguard Kiba; Karate Kiba; Viva Chiba the Bodyguard)

BODYGUARD 2, THE (1974, aka. Bodyguard Kiba 2; Karate Kiba 2)

DRAGON PRINCESS (1981, aka. Sonny Chiba’s Dragon Princess)

EXECUTIONER, THE (1974, aka. Direct Hit! Hellfist; Hell Fist)

EXECUTIONER II: KARATE INFERNO, THE (1974, aka. The Karate Inferno)

FIGHTING BLACK KINGS (1975, aka. The Strongest Karate)- documentary

FIGHT! DRAGON TV Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes (1975)

FIGHTING DRAGON, THE (Feature film compiled from FIGHT! DRAGON episodes, 1975, aka. Challenge Me Dragon)

HIGH KICK GIRL (2009)

IMMORTAL COMBAT (1994, aka. Resort To Kill)

JU-JITU (2010, aka. Ju-jitu vs. Karate)

KARATE, THE (1974, aka. Bronson Lee; Champion, Bronson Lee, Champion; Champion)

KARATE 2, THE (1974)

KARATE 3, THE (1975)

KARATE BULL FIGHTER (1975, aka. Champion of Death)

KARATE BEAR FIGHTER (1977, aka. Champion of Death 2)

KARATE FOR LIFE (1977, aka. Champion of Death 3)

KARATE GIRL (2011)

KARATE WARRIORS (1976, aka. Killing Fist With Child)

KILLING MACHINE (1975, aka. Shaolin Martial Arts)

POWER OF AIKIDO (1975, aka. The Defensive Power of Aikido)

RETURN OF THE STREETFIGHTER (1974)

ROARING FIRE (1982, aka. Hoero! Tekken)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER (1974, aka. Female Fighting Fist in Danger; Woman Certain Kill Fist; Lethal Fist Woman)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 2 (aka.Hanging By A Thread)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 3 (aka. Return Of Sister Streetfighter)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 4 (aka. Sister Streetfighter: Fifth Level Fist)

SOUL OF CHIBA (1977, aka. Soul of Bruce Lee; Shocking! Defiant Fist)

STREETFIGHTER, THE (1974, aka. Attack! Iron Fist)

STREETFIGHTER’S LAST REVENGE, THE (1974, aka. Revenge! The Killing Fist; Streetfighter Counterattacks!)

YELLOW DRAGON (2003)

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Hey Fatcat, you want to see cool karate movies? These all feature cool karate fighting and star Sonny Chiba, Sue Shihomi, Tadashi Yamashita, Yasuaki Kurata, and many more...

BLACK BELT (2007, aka. Kuro-obi)

BODYGUARD, THE (1973, aka. Bodyguard Kiba; Karate Kiba; Viva Chiba the Bodyguard)

BODYGUARD 2, THE (1974, aka. Bodyguard Kiba 2; Karate Kiba 2)

DRAGON PRINCESS (1981, aka. Sonny Chiba’s Dragon Princess)

EXECUTIONER, THE (1974, aka. Direct Hit! Hellfist; Hell Fist)

EXECUTIONER II: KARATE INFERNO, THE (1974, aka. The Karate Inferno)

FIGHTING BLACK KINGS (1975, aka. The Strongest Karate)- documentary

FIGHT! DRAGON TV Series, Season 1, 26 Episodes (1975)

FIGHTING DRAGON, THE (Feature film compiled from FIGHT! DRAGON episodes, 1975, aka. Challenge Me Dragon)

HIGH KICK GIRL (2009)

IMMORTAL COMBAT (1994, aka. Resort To Kill)

JU-JITU (2010, aka. Ju-jitu vs. Karate)

KARATE, THE (1974, aka. Bronson Lee; Champion, Bronson Lee, Champion; Champion)

KARATE 2, THE (1974)

KARATE 3, THE (1975)

KARATE BULL FIGHTER (1975, aka. Champion of Death)

KARATE BEAR FIGHTER (1977, aka. Champion of Death 2)

KARATE FOR LIFE (1977, aka. Champion of Death 3)

KARATE GIRL (2011)

KARATE WARRIORS (1976, aka. Killing Fist With Child)

KILLING MACHINE (1975, aka. Shaolin Martial Arts)

POWER OF AIKIDO (1975, aka. The Defensive Power of Aikido)

RETURN OF THE STREETFIGHTER (1974)

ROARING FIRE (1982, aka. Hoero! Tekken)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER (1974, aka. Female Fighting Fist in Danger; Woman Certain Kill Fist; Lethal Fist Woman)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 2 (aka.Hanging By A Thread)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 3 (aka. Return Of Sister Streetfighter)

SISTER STREETFIGHTER 4 (aka. Sister Streetfighter: Fifth Level Fist)

SOUL OF CHIBA (1977, aka. Soul of Bruce Lee; Shocking! Defiant Fist)

STREETFIGHTER, THE (1974, aka. Attack! Iron Fist)

STREETFIGHTER’S LAST REVENGE, THE (1974, aka. Revenge! The Killing Fist; Streetfighter Counterattacks!)

YELLOW DRAGON (2003)

AWESOME!! Thank you for this list KFB!! I knew there had to be a lot of karate movies out there!! Your favorite??

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Hey Bob, you forgot "Maki's 13 Steps". :nerd:

Ugh! :ooh: How could I! Keep in mind I wasn't trying to make a comprehensive list. I just wanted to give the guy some good ones, and copy and pasted from my movie list whichever ones popped into my head. But I certainly enjoyed 13 STEPS MAKI as well as another Sue Shihomi flick that I forgot- THE GREAT CHASE (1974)- and would recommend them to anyone that enjoys seeing cute Japanese ladies beating the stuffing out of wacky thugs.:xd:

AWESOME!! Thank you for this list KFB!! I knew there had to be a lot of karate movies out there!! Your favorite??

You're welcome! :wink:

That's easy- THE STREETFIGHTER is easily my favorite karate movie! :nerd: NOT the Jean-Claude Van Damme one. The one starring Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba. Though the karate scenes are filmed with an unsteady hand (nowhere near as indecipherable as the ones in THE EXPENDABLES and TRANSPORTER 3), you can still clearly see some of the most brutal karate action to come out of the '70s cinema. Now there are many better films technically than this one, but THE STREETFIGHTER is in my top ten favorite films- of any genre. I love the brutal, yet darkly funny anti-hero character of Terry Tsurugi, the fast pace, the over-the-top animalistic style he uses, his crazy faces and stances... I never ever get tired of watching this one. And I do kind of consider RETURN OF THE STREETFIGHTER to almost be one film along with the original, and usually watch them together each time. My buddy Wigsplitta has told me he feels the same way about these two movies. They're a fantastic double-bill.

Coming in a close second as my favorite Chiba-san film (and actually a technically better filmed, scripted, and acted movie) is THE KILLING MACHINE in which Chiba-san plays real life karate master Doshin So.

They're both must see movies. :bigsmile: Hope you enjoy them.

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Any copies with english subs of JU-JITU (2010, aka. Ju-jitu vs. Karate) havent been abale to find 1 with subs

Someone is working on this now. So hold off on picking it up.

I couldn't wait. I got mine straight from Japan when it was released. Subs be damned! I had to see this movie. :nerd: Even without subs, very good, and lots of long fighting scenes.

But I am looking forward to seeing it with subs.

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I was wondering if JU-JITU was worth watching. Thanks for the recommendation.

The Street Fighter is also my favorite Chiba movie, but purely from martial arts perspective I would rank Karate Bearfighter as his best karate film. The best Chiba fight for me would be Chiba vs. Masashi Ishibashi at the end of Karate for Life, though.

btw, Dragon Princess is a 1976 movie, not 81. IMDb mistake. Another mistake they do is listing Which is Stronger: Karate or the Tiger as an aka title for it. The latter is an entirely different movie, with Yasuaki Kurata playing the lead role (there's a thread in the JP board).

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I was wondering if JU-JITU was worth watching. Thanks for the recommendation.

My pleasure. I hope you enjoy it.

The Street Fighter is also my favorite Chiba movie, but purely from martial arts perspective I would rank Karate Bearfighter as his best karate film. The best Chiba fight for me would be Chiba vs. Masashi Ishibashi at the end of Karate for Life, though.

I hear that.

Personally, I always get the chills at the end of KARATE BULLFIGHTER when Chiba-san is stalking his opponents in the tall grass. His eyes look so intense. It always makes me think of footage I've seen of tigers stalking their prey.

Hmmmm... not sure what I'd pick as my favorite of his fights.

btw, Dragon Princess is a 1976 movie, not 81. IMDb mistake. Another mistake they do is listing Which is Stronger: Karate or the Tiger as an aka title for it. The latter is an entirely different movie, with Yasuaki Kurata playing the lead role (there's a thread in the JP board).

Thanks. That incorrect date has been on my list since I first got DRAGON PRINCESS on VHS decades ago. I appreciate you reminding me to fix it.

I've told IMDB about that mistake at least five times. A few months back they finally listened to me and fixed it.

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I liked the Japanese based film Black Belt. The story was interesting and the action scenes were grounded as well as intense.

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I liked the Japanese based film Black Belt. The story was interesting and the action scenes were grounded as well as intense.

Yeah, that was a cool one. I even got my Dad to watch it. But it was criticized for being more like "point match" action by some. They complained that it was too much of one-technique strike and done thing. I like that they showed how a master of the art could cripple or kill with one well placed strike. It was actually kind of a breath of fresh air after years of seeing "deadly experts" hit each other a hundred times in ten minutes with little to no damage! :xd:

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