Member Yang Wu Liang Posted January 12, 2011 Member Share Posted January 12, 2011 Seeing as we had a Kung Fu movies top ten why not have our indepentent wuxia top tens? There's so many to choose from we can save the Shaw's and GH's for another time! Here's mine 1. Sword Of Justice (totally awesome and dark film from start to finish) 2. Veiling of Hidden sword (IMO the best action in any old school swordplay film!) 3. Flute Player of Wrath (Dunno why but I just love this film, and Wang Hsieh goes absolutely beserk in the finale) and in no particualr order Flying Sword Lee Matching Escort Elimination Pursuit Sword and the windbell Darkest Sword Middle Kingdom’s Mark of Blood Love and Sword Touch of Zen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMK Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Seeing as we had a Kung Fu movies top ten why not have our indepentent wuxia top tens? There's so many to choose from we can save the Shaw's and GH's for another time! Here's mine 1. Sword Of Justice (totally awesome and dark film from start to finish) 2. Veiling of Hidden sword (IMO the best action in any old school swordplay film!) 3. Flute Player of Wrath (Dunno why but I just love this film, and Wang Hsieh goes absolutely beserk in the finale) and in no particualr order Flying Sword Lee Matching Escort Elimination Pursuit Sword and the windbell Darkest Sword Middle Kingdom’s Mark of Blood Love and Sword Touch of Zen Thank you for putting this list together Goldy. Now if this is your TOP 10 Swordplay films, than these got to be good. I will try and track these down to check them out. I only have a few of these. Thanks again for the list brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JAMAL Posted January 13, 2011 Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 DON'T FORGET THIS CLASSICK,A MUST SEE !! THE GHOST'S SWORD [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] FIVE DEVIL GHOST [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] THE MATCHLESS CONQUEROR [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] WANDERER'S FAST BLADE [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] THE LEGEND OF BROKEN SWORD [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] THE MAD KILLER [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] FLYING SWORD LEE [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] WITTY HANDS WITTY SWORD [bBvideo 620,385] [/bBvideo] CHEERS JAMAL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Michael L. Posted January 14, 2011 Member Share Posted January 14, 2011 Are these really wuxia movies if they aren't based on wuxia novels? Two of my Chinese teachers (all of whom were mainlanders) made a distinction between wuxia films (based on the wuxia literature genre) and wudapian (martial arts films). I remember one (who was getting his Master's in English Lit because in China he translated English language novels for a living) drawing a line and placing films based on The Water Margin Novel and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for example, in the wudapian camp. I'm really not sure is this was a mainland thing, an academic hang up or a general Mandarin distinction. I seem to remember, though, both terms showing up in a chapter of our textbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 18, 2011 Member Share Posted January 18, 2011 Interesting question Michael. I've never heard of of wudiapian. My knowledge of Chinese history and culture is not so good, so I just call it all wuxia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 18, 2011 Member Share Posted January 18, 2011 I’ve only seen 6 of the movies listed so far. It’s good to have a list of movies to look forward to watching! Here’s my list for now, non Shaw/GH. Love and Sword Face Behind the Mask Lost Swordship My Blade My Life Miraculous Flower The Sword (Wang Yu) Swordsman’s Adventure King of Kings Return of the Deadly Blade Swordsman with an Umbrella (one of the best bad movies ever made ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Michael L. Posted January 18, 2011 Member Share Posted January 18, 2011 Wu is war, da is hitting and pian is a word for film. Makes sense, huh? Something historical, like the Wong Fei Hong movies, is wudapian as is something contemporary with lots of fighting, like Enter the Dragon. But if it was drawn from Outlaws of the Marsh or Louis Cha novels, wuxiapian (literally wuxia film). A big distinction is whether or not it has a youxia character... a kind of Chinese knight-errant or ronin. And even then, like I mentioned before, one of my teachers would have argued that unless it was specifically from wuxia fiction it was not a wuxia film. Another teacher (I had two main teachers and four assistant teachers over the years) and a man I respect both simply said wuxia is literature only. There is an excellent book on the wuxia literary genre and what defines it called The Chinese Knight Errant by J.Y. Liu that was, believe it or not, in my high school library. I read it several times (although that was in the late 1980s)... I've tried to get copies since then but they are expensive. In fact, they currently start at $293 on Amazon! They are easier to find in the UK, I guess, because it starts at 60 pounds over there (which is about $95.... a bargain). I did find a PDF of a lecture delivered by J.Y. Liu on the subject, though. If you are interested: http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401009.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 18, 2011 Member Share Posted January 18, 2011 Cool, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Yang Wu Liang Posted January 18, 2011 Author Member Share Posted January 18, 2011 Interesting points Michael. I think amongst most fans 'wuxia' is a generally acceptable term for these types of swordplay films though. I accept that what you say is absolutely correct but.. how would it apply to a film like 'Sword of Justice' (to pick one from my top 10) that was written by Gu Long but not published as a novel? Can it really be classed as a different genre of film to 'Flying Sword Lee' (based on a published Gu Long novel)? Good choices by the way Morgoth, I had King of Kings and My Blade My Life in my list but I had to bump them down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Athena Posted January 19, 2011 Member Share Posted January 19, 2011 One of the BEST (none Mainland ) sources for these thesis and books are the JAPANESE AMAZON ... High $$ but the BEST COLLECTIONS are almost always there ... In all honesty the amazon.jp is probably the ULTIMATE AMAZONE currently.. !! ( Ray knows what I am talking about !) ~Athena PS. Hi Master Goldy ! ..Sword of Justice is a definite (to me) WUXIA film too ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Michael L. Posted January 19, 2011 Member Share Posted January 19, 2011 Interesting points Michael. I think amongst most fans 'wuxia' is a generally acceptable term for these types of swordplay films though. I accept that what you say is absolutely correct but.. how would it apply to a film like 'Sword of Justice' (to pick one from my top 10) that was written by Gu Long but not published as a novel? Can it really be classed as a different genre of film to 'Flying Sword Lee' (based on a published Gu Long novel)? Good choices by the way Morgoth, I had King of Kings and My Blade My Life in my list but I had to bump them down... I think to be really pure, wuxia is a genre of literature and never film, just as different types of poetry or paintings have very specific terms in Chinese to describe them. To be a little less pure, wuxia probably has to have the specific knight-errant character... just like a film about ronin is not a ninja film, even though it may be set in the right time period and country! Of course, that leaves out the novels of Huang Yi because they are not in the right time period! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted January 20, 2011 Member Share Posted January 20, 2011 @Goldenswallow- I forgot about Elimination Pursuit. I would have put it in my top 10 for sure. I’ve always known it as Three Famous Constables after seeing that Rarescope promo a few years ago. Great movie, and my favorite performance from Tien Peng. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jadedragon61 Posted January 23, 2011 Member Share Posted January 23, 2011 Are these really wuxia movies if they aren't based on wuxia novels? Two of my Chinese teachers (all of whom were mainlanders) made a distinction between wuxia films (based on the wuxia literature genre) and wudapian (martial arts films). I remember one (who was getting his Master's in English Lit because in China he translated English language novels for a living) drawing a line and placing films based on The Water Margin Novel and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for example, in the wudapian camp. I'm really not sure is this was a mainland thing, an academic hang up or a general Mandarin distinction. I seem to remember, though, both terms showing up in a chapter of our textbook. In my experience, Mike, the distinction you cite is a VERY limited academic convention (mostly to a few HK circles); most mainland Chinese lit teachers today wouldn't have a bloody (!) clue as to how to apply lit conventions to film. BTW, here's a nice intro for everybody: http://www.famouschinese.com/virtual/Wuxia Anyway, my top list for "this type of film" (!) only has about 5: The Assasin Sentimental Swordsman One-Armed Swordsman Return of OAS (only because of Jiang Dawei) Hero (w Jet Li) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Michael L. Posted January 25, 2011 Member Share Posted January 25, 2011 You have to remember that I am talking about US based Chinese language teachers who were from the mainland... one of whom had Chinese and English lit degrees. But given that it is a language that has very specific words for very specific roles, I'm not surprised that there would be these types of discussions at all. Have you ever undertaken a serious study of Chinese art or poetry? Ever little subgenre has it's own title, style and rules! Also, this was a completely Mandarin spoken language study pre-return of Hong Kong to Chinese control... I was studying Mandarin like 17 or 18 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member FLKPetejr Posted February 5, 2011 Member Share Posted February 5, 2011 My Top Ten Swordplay Movies Sha Yen Chin - Polly Shang Kuan, Meng Fei, David Chaing Dragon Gate Inn (Polly Shang Kuan) Abbot White Part 2 - Kwan Chung, Wang Kuan Hsiung The Souls of The Sword - Yueh Hua, Philip Kao Fei Clutch of Power - Chen Singh, Meng Fei Super Kung Fu Fighter - Meng Fei Chivalrous Inn - Judy Lee Chang Yi Majesty Cat - Tien Peng Pai Yu Ching - Tien Peng Unique Lama - Meng Fei And there are lots more.....anyone seen any of these as yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Athena Posted February 5, 2011 Member Share Posted February 5, 2011 My Top Ten Swordplay Movies Sha Yen Chin - Polly Shang Kuan, Meng Fei, David Chaing Dragon Gate Inn (Polly Shang Kuan) Abbot White Part 2 - Kwan Chung, Wang Kuan Hsiung The Souls of The Sword - Yueh Hua, Philip Kao Fei Clutch of Power - Chen Singh, Meng Fei Super Kung Fu Fighter - Meng Fei Chivalrous Inn - Judy Lee Chang Yi Majesty Cat - Tien Peng Pai Yu Ching - Tien Peng Unique Lama - Meng Fei And there are lots more.....anyone seen any of these as yet? Hi Pete !! GREAT list !! I have seen ( uncut) : Super Kung Fu Fighter, Chivalrous Inn , Majesty Cat, Unique Lama, Pai Yu Ching , Sha Yen Chin ... All ULTRA PURE TOP OF THE LINE STUFF !! I am also VERY FOUND OF THE ELIMINATION PURSUIT ! I love the COOL ending, & like we talked about before it is to underrated sadly .. .. In addition I find that the " wuxia novel style" ( for those that have read the novel & I have several times in the original language ) is maintained excellent trough out the film.. Parts of : Dragon Gate Inn .. Not seen (time to get though ..) : Abbot White Part 2, The Souls of The Sword, Clutch of Power Very embarrassing to not have the The Souls of The Sword yet, might ruin my whole SWORD REPUTATION .. ! I am curious Pete IF you had to include a MODERN DAY made one witch one would it be ?? Yes I know thy can never match the CLASSICS but let say for political correctness .. ..Very happy you make the time to stop in BTW !! Xiexie, ~Athena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member prinnysquad Posted February 7, 2011 Member Share Posted February 7, 2011 I must have dozens of swordplays still to watch, but my list so far is: Sword of Justice - This is head and shoulders, the best swordplay I've seen. It's an excellent film. It's easily in my top 10 kung fu films. Chivalrous Inn The Elimination Pursuit Love and Sword The Lost Swordship Magnificent Chivalry Witty Hand Witty Sword The Lawman Black Eagle's Blade Cruel Killer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member FLKPetejr Posted February 8, 2011 Member Share Posted February 8, 2011 Athena Souls of The Sword is a really good movie and well worth seeing.... I forgot to mention Davig Chiang and Raymond Liu's STRIFE FOR MASTERY its got to be in my TOP % swordplay for share action classic swordplay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member shaolin swords Posted January 16, 2012 Member Share Posted January 16, 2012 duel to the death got to be one of my fav swordplay flicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DongFangXu Posted January 21, 2012 Member Share Posted January 21, 2012 Thank you all guys!!! This forum brings me so many tips on good films to look for and watch. I have so much to find and discover yet on my journey of a kung fu movie collector.... Amazing! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DongFangXu Posted March 21, 2012 Member Share Posted March 21, 2012 duel to the death got to be one of my fav swordplay flicks Duel To The Death is the best of all the old school swordplay films I´ve ever seen. My absolute TOP! Few days ago I got my hands on another interesting swordplay film from SB - Twelve Gold Medallions 1970. I think for the time of it´s release the action is pretty fast and wild. So I was pretty much surprised because for example the choreography in Chang Cheh films of the same era was much slower. Of course the action director for the Twelve Gold Medallions was no other than Sammo Hung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DongFangXu Posted March 21, 2012 Member Share Posted March 21, 2012 Otherwise my Top Ten would look like this: Duel To The Death The Sword Last Hurrah For Chivalry The Valiant Ones Soul Of The Sword Killer Clans Death Duel Twelve Gold Medallions Fate Of Lee Khan Face Behind The Mask Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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