The 100 Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

From:

Pastemagazine.com

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/01/the-100-best-martial-arts-movies-of-all-time.html?a=1

Donot have time to check this out today.

Some of these choices seem bogus.

You all decide.

GD Y-Y

[KyFi]

Of course none of us here are going to completely agree with a list like that, but all things considered it's not too bad. And at least it's all on one damn page!!

One bit of nerd nit-picking: #67, Two Champions of Shaolin---that photo is actually from Invincible Shaolin.

[Tex Killer]

I have seen 75 and 4-5 I have on pile waiting to be watched(raid 2 including)...

Even as there is loads of flicks I would not put into my own top100 I guess it looks pretty ok for all-around list.

[SamSeed]

Decent enough list but Man of Tai Chi above The Victim?

[Secret Executioner]

The list lost all credibility the moment I realize they had Shaolin Soccer, The Matrix, Kung Fu Panda and low-brow American Ninja films like Enter The Ninja... And Kill Bill at #11 !!! Seriously people, WTF ?!

I haven't checked more on this website, but these people would probably have Paranormal Activity in their top 10 horror films or the 1998 Godzilla among the greatest science-fiction movies ever...

[paimeifist]

Well GHW I can see a case being made for KF Panda and the Matrix due to them having done something different and new with the genre, and their success.

The other two you mentioned maybe not so much, lol.

Haven't looked at the list myself yet.

Edit: Just saw Man of Tai Chi mentioned in another post.. Is the person who made this list in Keanu's pocket? Lol.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

I have no problems with The Matrix and Kung Fu Panda on the list either. It is funny though that the writers sentiment on Kung Fu Panda seems to be exactly like Ric Meyers. I don't think the list is bad, in fact it is better than many that I have seen. Now I doubt any of us here would come up with the same list and many might wonder where is 7 Grandmasters, Project A, or even the First Drunken Master (Dragon Lord but not Drunken Master).

Why is The Cave of Silken Web on there? I echo the statements about Enter the Ninja (though they do not claim it is a good film, thank goodness they didn't put Billy Jack on there.) I'm not the biggest fan of Kill Bill. Check how many times they name drop Kill Bill.

I find more issues with what they state in their writing: For example: "But please note, don’t look for Seven Samurai, Yojimbo or The Sword of Doom here. Although they’re all great films, we wanted this list to focus squarely on our conception of “martial arts cinema,” which has little in common with a great samurai drama by Akira Kurosawa."

The why put on Red Cliff which is a battle film (a film I love)? Why not put on Sanshiro Sugata which is strictly a martial arts film and a good one at that.

I have not seen (making this list so I can work on later; so 84/100 watched):

Swordsman 2

Dragon Gate Inn (I am really hoping Criterion is coming out with this)

The Invincible Armour

The Transporter

Clan of the White Lotus

Dance of the Drunk Mantis

Best of the Best (funny that I've seen the first sequel)

Equilibrium

Sword Stained With Royal Blood

Ninja Checkmate

Only the Strong

American Ninja

Undisputed 2

Undisputed 3

Miami Connection (I just bought this recently)

Ninja Terminator

[NoKUNGFUforYU]

Considering the almost complete lack of Samurai, Ninja, Girls with Guns, and so on, this is a really shabby list.

[ShaOW!linDude]

I never knew Leung Kar Yan went by the name Bryan Leung (according to #27), and I can't believe that 5 Deadly Venoms ranked as #1.

[Drunken Monk]

I never knew Leung Kar Yan went by the name Bryan Leung (according to #27), and I can't believe that 5 Deadly Venoms ranked as #1.

It's surprising just how many people rank it number one. It's a good film but I think it gets praised more for its concept than anything else.

I like it more as a mystery noir film than an all out kung fu film.

[Tex Killer]

The list lost all credibility the moment I realize they had Shaolin Soccer, The Matrix, Kung Fu Panda and low-brow American Ninja films like Enter The Ninja... And Kill Bill at #11 !!! Seriously people, WTF ?!

List is credible even as propably all of us think there are films which should not be there...

If I would try to list top 100 horror films which would include euro, asian and hollywood horror both old and new some would say wtf is "shutter island" or "scream" doing in company of works by mario bava or dario argento. Or elm street 1 etc...

[Cold Bishop]

As well they should. Harumph.

I wouldn't say the problem is the inclusion of those films. It's the reasoning, which mostly boils down to "These films had a commercial impact in the west..." moreso than "These are films of high quality because...".

Then again, ranking films (especially big lists) is a fool's task which will always devolve into purely arbitrary rankings and distinctions.

[iron flag]

Intersting list but idiotic from a martial arts movie fan perspective.. I love the pic they used for Invincible Armour!

[Secret Executioner]

I wouldn't say the problem is the inclusion of those films. It's the reasoning, which mostly boils down to "These films had a commercial impact in the west..." moreso than "These are films of high quality because...".

Even worse than I thought... (yeah, I didn't bother reading the why)

[Noelle Shadow Kick]

"Best of" lists are a really easy way to rile me up, but I always have to read them. I thought some of the write ups for the movies were well done and interesting, but they lost me when I got to 58 and it was The Raid 2. There are 57 martial arts movies better than that?! Then I got to Fearless at 52 and was horrified.

The guy DOES seem to know what he's talking about when he's describing the films, but that almost made his rankings worse haha. A good read though.

I found Grantland's Top 10 Movie Fighters list way more egregious. http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/fists-of-fury-the-top-10-movie-fighters-of-all-time/

[DragonClaws]

These lists should not be taken too seriously. It's just a media gimmick that can be applied to lot of things. You often see these kinds lists in magazines, the top hundred greatest songs ever, the top hundred greatest horror films ever etc etc. Its all subjective to what each person likes.

I might have taken this list of the top one hundred Martial Arts films more seriously if it had been voted for by Kung Fu Cinema members.

[Secret Executioner]

but they lost me when I got to 58 and it was The Raid 2. There are 57 martial arts movies better than that?! Then I got to Fearless at 52 and was horrified.

Yeah, that's where I started getting worried - as though having the likes of American Ninja higher than Ninja Terminator (the definite Ninja film, it has the Supreme Power of the Golden Ninja Warrior) wasn't enough... But Kill Bill or The Matrix over The Raid 2 (not to mention SB films and most of the Bruce Lee films...), it's just ludicrous.

You've been warned...

[masterofoneinchpunch]

... I found Grantland's Top 10 Movie Fighters list way more egregious. http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/fists-of-fury-the-top-10-movie-fighters-of-all-time/

That list from Grantland seems like it is from reviewers who have only seen a small amount of action and martial films (and mostly recent at that -- this is the same issues I have with a lot of the YouTube watchmojo lists.

I just noticed this mistake in The Raid 2 summary: "Where the original film exposed the world to a rapid-fire form of Indonesian martial arts called Pencak silat," which completely forgets about Merantau.

To refer back to what Cold Bishop wrote: I think it would have been better to title it something akin to "our favorite" or "what we consider most important to US" list as opposed to "The 100 Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time" which infers that quality should be taken in account in the descriptions.

To be fair it takes awhile to write lists like this and to give them good descriptions (they might have vetted some of the mistakes out though.) No one here is going to agree on any particular list, especially ranking (like if I did my top 100 martial art movies.) I've seen much worse lists out there (faint praise) and the best thing it does is promote the discussion with criticizing the list (like this thread) or give us ideas on future movies to watch.

With newer films like The Raid 2 I like to give some time before I properly consider the context of where I rank in in my own personal rankings. One should be wary of the psychological and cognitive effect "recency bias" in which we can overrank (or underrank) recent films so when doing lists I think it sometimes helps to cap a year (few years back) if you suffer from this.

[Noelle Shadow Kick]

That list from Grantland seems like it is from reviewers who have only seen a small amount of action and martial films (and mostly recent at that -- this is the same issues I have with a lot of the YouTube watchmojo lists.

I just noticed this mistake in The Raid 2 summary: "Where the original film exposed the world to a rapid-fire form of Indonesian martial arts called Pencak silat," which completely forgets about Merantau.

To refer back to what Cold Bishop wrote: I think it would have been better to title it something akin to "our favorite" or "what we consider most important to US" list as opposed to "The 100 Best Martial Arts Movies of All Time" which infers that quality should be taken in account in the descriptions.

To be fair it takes awhile to write lists like this and to give them good descriptions (they might have vetted some of the mistakes out though.) No one here is going to agree on any particular list, especially ranking (like if I did my top 100 martial art movies.) I've seen much worse lists out there (faint praise) and the best thing it does is promote the discussion with criticizing the list (like this thread) or give us ideas on future movies to watch.

With newer films like The Raid 2 I like to give some time before I properly consider the context of where I rank in in my own personal rankings. One should be wary of the psychological and cognitive effect "recency bias" in which we can overrank (or underrank) recent films so when doing lists I think it sometimes helps to cap a year (few years back) if you suffer from this.

Well said! I've seen lists that make a point to say "these are MY favorite movies from the genre" and I find them much more enjoyable reads.

I noticed that with The Raid 2 description as well, but I took to mean that The Raid is the film that really got people's attention. Many people have seen The Raid and not Merantau, so I think that is possibly what he meant.

Also, I totally agree that ranking recent films is EXTREMELY difficult. That was my thought behind why he ranked Raid 2 so low on the list initially, but as I read a little more I don't think it's one of those "I won't rank it too high since it's new."

And yeah, I disagree with a lot of the content but I think it's mostly well written and interesting.