Member reason108 Posted September 9, 2018 Member Share Posted September 9, 2018 I grew up in a small town long before the Internet or even home video was a thing. I knew of martial arts and martial arts movies years before I had ever seen my first one. I remember being sneaked into the drive-in by my parents. I had to lie down on the floorboard with covers over me. 😀 I made it into some R-rated movies this way. But, then I was told not to watch during certain scenes. But, sometimes I didn’t. Before I had seen my first Bruce Lee film, I already knew who he was. Everyone knew his name. That might have been how I first saw ETD. Because, when I first saw it on home video 10 years or so later, it seemed extremely familiar. But, my first real to martial arts movies was Kung Fu theater and/or Black Belt Theater. I think both aired in my area at one point in time. It was always on Saturday mornings. And, if I got up early enough I could catch an episode of Ultraman. But, it wasn’t until home video that I was able to begin to explore the wide variety of martial arts movies. Though, that was a long drawn-out process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DarthKato Posted September 20, 2018 Member Share Posted September 20, 2018 When I was, say about 6 or 7, my family and I where at Kmart one day looking around, just killing time on a Sunday. Got to the front of the store and I saw a Bruce Lee VHS movie collection sitting on a shelf. It looked interesting, so I grabbed it and stared looking it over. It had Fist of Fury and Chinese Connection on two tapes. My brother told me how he used to watch those kinds of films on tv when he was younger, and how I would love them if I watched them. So I asked my dad if he would get them for me and, being the great guy that he was, got them for me. I got home and watched them, and it blew my little mind how awesome they where, The rest is history. I still have those same VHS tapes to this day, though I wore them out watching them too much. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted November 4, 2018 Author Member Share Posted November 4, 2018 This series might interest reader's of this thread, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted November 19, 2018 Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 On 8/7/2018 at 4:16 PM, Silver and Gold Dragon said: I didn't realise it at the time, but I got into martial art movies not long after mainstream Hollywood started to have an interest in the 'HK action style', perhaps the likes it hadn't had since Bruce Lee. You see around the late 1990s/early 2000s is when mainstream Hollywood seemed most interested in Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Yuen Woo Ping, Chow Yun Fat and John Woo. I assume this cultural interest maybe have been an influence on me, even if I didn't quite realise it at the time. Reflecting further on this...I think 1998 was kind of my generations "1973". 1998 may not have had something as historically significant as Enter the Dragon, though it was the year Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li made their American movie debuts, and Rush Hour was and probably still is Jackie Chan's most significant movie to his status in mainstream Hollywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted November 19, 2018 Author Member Share Posted November 19, 2018 3 hours ago, Silver and Gold Dragon said: Reflecting further on this...I think 1998 was kind of my generations "1973". 1998 may not have had something as historically significant as Enter the Dragon, though it was the year Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li made their American movie debuts, and Rush Hour was and probably still is Jackie Chan's most significant movie to his status in mainstream Hollywood. I can relate to this, though I got into the Martial Arts cinema, a couple of years before the 1998 revival of the genre, in the West. I think Jackie Chans Rumble in The Bronx, got the ball rolling here in the U.K. I heard a lot about that movie, from non Hardcore Asian films fans. It was one of the last big films, to get big on the VHS rental market here, just before the bottom fell out of the videostore business in Britain. Love or hate The Matrix, it was one hell of an experience to see it on the big screen, long before the hype and rpaise for it really started. Pre internet days, when you really could go into a film blind. Just recall my friends older brother, telling us about the harvesting of humans etc, before we eagerly set of to the cinema to see it. The film also turned a lot of non Hong Kong action film fans, into fans. The Raid films picked up a lot of mianstream press etc, but still didnt have the same far reaching influence on non genre fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Omni Dragon Posted November 23, 2018 Member Share Posted November 23, 2018 On 11/19/2018 at 2:12 PM, DragonClaws said: I can relate to this, though I got into the Martial Arts cinema, a couple of years before the 1998 revival of the genre, in the West. I think Jackie Chans Rumble in The Bronx, got the ball rolling here in the U.K. I heard a lot about that movie, from non Hardcore Asian films fans. It was one of the last big films, to get big on the VHS rental market here, just before the bottom fell out of the videostore business in Britain. Reading old Eastern Heroes and Impact magazines (and other sources) it looks as though the 1990s was an interesting time for a fan of Hong Kong and other East Asian action movies in Britain. On 11/19/2018 at 2:12 PM, DragonClaws said: Love or hate The Matrix, it was one hell of an experience to see it on the big screen, long before the hype and rpaise for it really started. I'm sure a lot of the audience hadn't seen anything quite like The Matrix when it first came out. On 11/19/2018 at 2:12 PM, DragonClaws said: Pre internet days, when you really could go into a film blind. Just recall my friends older brother, telling us about the harvesting of humans etc, before we eagerly set of to the cinema to see it. I think it's still possible to go into something "blind" with Internet usage because in some ways movies almost find "you" with algorithms when it comes to recommended titles. Titles that you maybe unfamiliar with and will just purchase or stream on a whim. Particularly with streaming it's easy to watch something just because it's there, regardless of how familiar you are with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted March 21, 2019 Author Member Share Posted March 21, 2019 On 11/23/2018 at 10:10 PM, Silver and Gold Dragon said: Reading old Eastern Heroes and Impact magazines (and other sources) it looks as though the 1990s was an interesting time for a fan of Hong Kong and other East Asian action movies in Britain. It's only taken me foru months, but heres my reply. Yeah Hong Kong movie went through a boom period in General in the 90's, and Eastern Heroes certainly had a lot to do with this. By the time I got into the genre, the Label was winding down, it was one of the first labels to release Asian action cinema on DVD here. If not the first abel to do so?. On 11/23/2018 at 10:10 PM, Silver and Gold Dragon said: Particularly with streaming it's easy to watch something just because it's there, regardless of how familiar you are with it. Too true, or you can spend half your time deciding what to watch. On 11/23/2018 at 10:10 PM, Silver and Gold Dragon said: I'm sure a lot of the audience hadn't seen anything quite like The Matrix when it first came out. True, even die hard Hong Kong movie fans, will have been hard pressed to say it wasnt a spectacle on-screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member edher_M.A. Posted May 18, 2019 Member Share Posted May 18, 2019 My oldest memory from martial arts comes from T.V. watching martial arts animes like "Sawamura" , "Sam the King of Judo" and "Kamui the Ninja" . In the movies I remember watching Enter the Dragon, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master. Actually i have to thank my mom who instead of bringing me to watch Disney movies.. she took me watch Kung Fu! LOL. I can honestly said that aside from any hero or movie.. it was my mom who introduced me to martial arts and to this day, i still watch movies and train in the dojo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chu Liu Hsiang Posted June 9, 2019 Member Share Posted June 9, 2019 I never really cared for movies until one night when I could not sleep and switched on the tv. I've had a long interest in ancient China as well as folk tales, mythology, classical ghost stories, etc. so when I saw that a movie named "A Chinese Ghost Story" was playing I turned on that channel. Instant enchantment. From there to any easily available new wave wuxia, Jackie Chan and Jet Li movie. While browsing the local used dvd shop I found a german bootleg (I did not know then that it was a bootleg) of NEW ONE ARMED SWORDMAN. I knew I found something important. Now I got really curious about that studio named Shaw Brothers. It was the time when Celestial was still in the process of releasing the Shaw library. Started buying online, watched subtitled movies, peeked into fandom, spread interest to most subgenres of HK (Chinese and Taiwanese) action cinema. I got TVP's excellent NEW ONE ARMED SWORDMAN bluray as soon as it was released but I still cherish that old bootleg, as my entry ticket into the wonderful world of Shaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted June 13, 2019 Author Member Share Posted June 13, 2019 On 5/19/2019 at 12:29 AM, edher_M.A. said: My oldest memory from martial arts comes from T.V. watching martial arts animes like "Sawamura" , "Sam the King of Judo" and "Kamui the Ninja" . In the movies I remember watching Enter the Dragon, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master. Actually i have to thank my mom who instead of bringing me to watch Disney movies.. she took me watch Kung Fu! LOL. I can honestly said that aside from any hero or movie.. it was my mom who introduced me to martial arts and to this day, i still watch movies and train in the dojo. On 6/9/2019 at 5:04 PM, Chu Liu Hsiang said: I never really cared for movies until one night when I could not sleep and switched on the tv. I've had a long interest in ancient China as well as folk tales, mythology, classical ghost stories, etc. so when I saw that a movie named "A Chinese Ghost Story" was playing I turned on that channel. Instant enchantment. From there to any easily available new wave wuxia, Jackie Chan and Jet Li movie. While browsing the local used dvd shop I found a german bootleg (I did not know then that it was a bootleg) of NEW ONE ARMED SWORDMAN. I knew I found something important. Now I got really curious about that studio named Shaw Brothers. It was the time when Celestial was still in the process of releasing the Shaw library. Started buying online, watched subtitled movies, peeked into fandom, spread interest to most subgenres of HK (Chinese and Taiwanese) action cinema. I got TVP's excellent NEW ONE ARMED SWORDMAN bluray as soon as it was released but I still cherish that old bootleg, as my entry ticket into the wonderful world of Shaw. Thanks for sharing your stories here on the forums @Chu Liu Hsiang & @edher_M.A., I enjoyed reading your respective posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member JackieChan Posted July 24, 2019 Member Share Posted July 24, 2019 https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1645342/late-night-martial-arts-films-on-channel-4 No one mentions it here but I remember that around the time that they had the Jackie Chan movie season, that they would also show an anime movie after the Jackie Chan movie. That started my interest in anime too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Graeme Of Death Posted October 3, 2019 Member Share Posted October 3, 2019 Got in to martial arts films I think when I was about 7, round about 1992, Channel 4 in the UK showed Police Story 1 & 2 and Project A over Christmas and after that I got all the Jackie Chan videos I could. Later on I discovered the Sammo and Yuen Biao films and then further down the line all the Shaw Brothers ones. I also remember watching Enter The Dragon every time it was on the tele and had the Bruce Lee films minus the nunchuck scenes for years I remember when Rush Hour came out and as stupid as it sounds getting annoyed that suddenly every one loved Jackie Chan and thought the likes of Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon was your typical JC film having never seen anything like Drunken Master, Dragons Forever etc Jet Li and Donnie Yen as much as I don't mind a lot of their films I always thought totally pale in comparison to the talents of JC, Sammo and Yuen Biao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Secret Executioner Posted October 3, 2019 Member Share Posted October 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Graeme Of Death said: I remember when Rush Hour came out and as stupid as it sounds getting annoyed that suddenly every one loved Jackie Chan and thought the likes of Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon was your typical JC film having never seen anything like Drunken Master, Dragons Forever etc No problem with that reaction - I feel the general public associate him more with this kind of stuff (and crappy action comedies like The Tuxedo) than classic Fu films, though that may have been stronger in the 2000s/early 2010s when he made those flicks than nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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