The Greatest Old Skool Kung Fu Movies Of ALL Time!

[Guest Ninja Sinai]

Here is a list of the Ninjas ALL time FAV Old Skool Kung Fu movies, that every die hearted Kung Fu movie fan has to have in his collection! (please note... only titles with scores of 8/10 or higher are must haves and Shaw Bros titles are excluded from my list).

MUST HAVES - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

Those that I think deserve 9/10 or higher are:

1. Snake In The Eagles Shadow The Greatest Old Skool Kung Fu Movie Ever Made! A TRUE Classic. Hwang Jang Lee plays Sheng Kuan, Grand Master of the Eagles Claw Clan. Yuen Siu Tin plays the role of Pei Cheng Tien, the Snake Fist Master who teaches J. Chan the classic Snake Fist style! - 9.5/10

2. Drunken Master – Sam Seed teaches Wong Fei Hung (J. Chan) the Drunken Fist! - 9/10

3. Snake In The Monkeys Shadow – A Must Have Kung Fu CLASSIC! Monkey Style vs Snake Fist vs Drunken Fist. Starring Pomson Shi as the Monkey Fist Master. And Wilson Tong & Charlie Chan as the Twin Snake Fist Masters!! - 9/10

4. Warriors Two – Probably the Greatest Wing Chun movie ever made! - 9/10

5. Prodigal Son – Classic movie with crisp fight chorography! Starring Yuen Biao & Sammo Hung. - 9/10

6. Knockabout – An ALLTIME classic with Sammo Hung, Leung Kar Yan & Yuen Biao, who showcases his energetic kicks! Classic Two vs One end fight! - 9/10

7. Ninja In The Dragons Den – The Coolest Ninja movie ever made! - 9/10

8. Legend Of A Fighter – Leung Kar Yan classic!! – 9/10

9. The Young Master – Classic movie starring Jackie Chan. Wang Ing Shik plays the villain with the deadly kicks!! 9/10

10. The Secret Rivals II – 8.5/10 – The BADDEST boot flick ever made!!

MUST HAVES - RECOMMENDED!

Those that I think deserve 8/10 or higher are:

1. The Secret Rivals – 8.5/10 – Extra half point for an AWESOME end fight!

2. Choi Lee Fat Kung Fu – 8/10 – Classic shapes movie!!

3. Mystery Of Chess Boxing – Mark Long in his best ever role, as the notorious Ghost Face Killer! - 8/10

4. Crystal Fist – Classic movie starring Billy Chong and Yuen Siu Tin. 8/10

5. The Victim – 8.5/10 - Extra half point for a truly killer end fight!

6. 7 Grandmasters – 8/10

7. Dance Of The Drunken Mantis – Rubber Legs (Hwang Jang Lee) vs Sam Seed (Yuen Siu Tin)! - 8/10

8. Snuff Bottle Connection – 8/10

9. Invincible Armour – Hwang Jang Lee & John Liu classic! Also starring Phillip Ko as a White Fox! 8/10

10. The Hot The Cool & The Vicious - 8/10 – Watch out for the ultimate looking villain, The Living Pluto!

11. Hellz Windstaff - 8/10

12. Snake Deadly Act

13. Magnificant Butcher - 8/10

14. Spooky Encounters - 8/10

15. The Odd Couple - 8.5/10 - Extra point for AWESOME weapons action!

16. The Loot - 8/10 – Classic Shapes Fest!!!!

17. The Challenger - 8/10

18. Two On The Road - 8/10 - KILLER end fight!!

19. Rebellious Reign - 8/10 – AWESOME ballistic end fight sequence!!

20. The Master Strikes 8/10 – The ballistic end fight scene is what puts this movie into the MUST HAVE category! Yen Shi Kwan is dangerous!!

21. Bloody Treasury Fight 8/10 – Classic movie all the way!!

GOOD OLD SKOOL FLIX:

Those that are in the 7/10 league are:

1. Daggers 8 – 7/10

2. The Leg Fighters – 7/10

3. Crazy Horse Intelligent Monkey - 7/10

4. Flashlegs 7/10

5. The Dragon The Here – 7/10 – Good movie, just beware of the Dog Man!

AVERAGE KUNG FU FLIX:

1. 36 Deadly Styles - 5/10

2. World Of Drunken Master - 5/10

3. Iron Monkey – Chen Kwan Tai – 6/10

4. The Traitorous – 6/10

5. 18 Bronzemen – 6/10

6. Mars Villa - 5/10

7. Death Dual Of Kung Fu - 6.5/10 - Extra half point for a classic end fight.

8. The Green Jade Statuette – 6/10

POOR KUNG FU MO

1. Dragons Claw

2. Monkey Kung Fu

3. Death Dual Of Mantis

4. The Master With Cracked Fingers

THE WORST EVER KUNG FU FLIX!

The WORST Kung Fu flick of ALL time goes too:

1. Invincible Kung Fu Trio – If you ever see this title at a store – RUN as fast as you can in the opposite direction! An save yourself!

2. Ninja vs Ninja - This one is so bad that they had to take footage from four different movies to make one film, there's almost no fighting in it, and they use music from 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind' and 'Blade Runner' in it. Truly a monstrosity to behold... in fact, I have to go as far as to say it's the worst film i've ever seen... even more so than 'Manos: The Hands Of Fate' or 'Soul Of Chiba.' (Clan Member: DrunkenCrane082)

Can anyone think of any other titles that deserve to be in the above three categories of 9/10, 8/10 and 7/10?

Like I said, all titles with ratings of 8/10 or higher are the must haves in your collection!

[Guest vlade2002]

However I found the following titles rather dull, and boring fight scenes. Definetly not worthy of the best of all time.

Iron Monkey (great costumes, boring fights)

Crystal Fist (a poor mans Drunken Master)

The Traitorous (yeah was ok)

Daggers 8 (over rated, good but not the best)

[Guest Ninja Sinai]

To clarify to me fellow clan members, only titles with scores of 8/10 and higher are classed amongst the greatest old skool movies of all time.

Anything below 8/10 are only above average kung fu flix in my opinion. I agree with fellow clan member Vlade to some extent, but to list Crystal Fist amongst 7/10 titles is just disrespectful!

Your lucky my sidekick Fatty Karate doesnt read this forum, or else he would have come looking for you to give you a taste of his Fried Chicken Fist technique, for making a comment like that!

But ALL titles of 8/10 and above are simply must haves!

[Guest kungfusamurai]

I take it this is a list of non-Shaw Brothers flicks? What about a Bruce Lee movie? I think Shaolin Vs Lama should be in the top 10.

KFS

[Guest whamsabi]

Leg Fighters- Overrated- bad comedy

OTHER TOP OLD SCHOOL MOVIES:

HELL'S WINDSTAFF

THE LOOT

THE EAGLE FIST

BLOODED TREASURY FIGHT

THE VICTIM

CHALLENGE OF DEATH

HOT,COOL AND THE VICIOUS

FATAL NEEDLES VS. FATAL FISTS

THE CRANE FIGHTER

SUPER POWER

[Guest justkungfuman]

I would add;

Snake Deadly Act 8/10

Along Came a Tiger 8/10

Iron Swallow 8/10

Showdown at the Cottonmill 8/10

Shaolin Invincible Sticks 7/10

Challenge of Death 7/10

Mars Villa 7/10

Iron Monkey (Chen Kuan Tai) 8/10

The World of The Drunken Master 7/10

36 Deadly Styles 7/10

Fearless Young Boxer 6/10

Crazy Horse Intelligent Monkey 7/10

Hero Tattoo and Nine Dragons 8/10 has sentimental value. 1st kung fu flick...

Magnificent Butcher 8/10

Iron Fisted Monk 8/10

Hero From Shanghai 8/10

The Marvelous Stunts of Kung Fu 7/10

Master Killers 8/10

[Guest iron flag]

The Loot

Hellz Windstaff

Shanghai 13

Invincible Armor

Snuff Bottle Connection

Shaolin vs Lama

Legend of a Fighter

Warriors 2

Snake in Eagles Shadow

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha

[Guest johnnydragon]

executioner from shaolin/// heroes of shaolin(the wild)

crystal fist aka jade claw(i must be poor)

shaolin deadly kicks

young avenger

hells wind staff

shaolin invinciable sticks

super power

shaolin v lama

buddhist fist

buddha assassinator

3 evil masters

5 super fighters

kung fu instructor

heroes w/ti lung

snake deadly act

snake in the egales shadow & monkeys shadow

leg fighters (good movie)

[Guest ricebowlcinema]

Prodigal Son

[Guest johnnydragon]

prodigal son

warriors 2

descendants of wing chun

cheeky chap

fatal needles fadal fists

victim

the loot

stroke of death

supreme swordsman

the sword

well ive got 6 new shaws to watch roving swordsman,

lady assassin ect ,good night

[Guest Violento]

- The Prodigal Son

- Warriors Two

- The Loot

- 7 Steps of Kung Fu

- Iron-Fisted Monk

- The Magnificent Butcher

- Dance of the Drunk Mantis

- Legend of a Fighter

- Secret Rivals

- The Hot, the Cool and the Vicious

[Guest thundered mantis]

-Martial Club

-Invincible Pole Fighter

-The Victim

-The Loot

-The Legend of a Fighter

-7 Grandmasters

-Buddhist Fist

-Warriors Two

-3 Evil Masters

-2 On The Road

-Hell´s Windstaff

-Shaolin vs Lama

-Tiger Over Wall

-Master Killers

-Master Strikes

-SITES

-DM

-Young Master

-Magnificent Butcher

-Knockabout

-Prodigal Son

-Odd Couple

-Last Hurrah for Chivalry

-Spooky Encounter

-Rebellious Reign

-My Life´s on The Line

-Stroke of Death

-Two Toothless Tigers

-Fist, the Kicks & The Evil

fightin´wise talking...

[Guest Chen Zhen]

shaws:

Dirty Ho

Heroes of the East

36th Chamber of Shaolin

Five Venoms

Kid with Golden Arms

Shaolin Mantis

sidenote : i think 8 diagram pole fighter is quite overrated.

non shaws:

Knockabout

Drunken Tai Chi

Magnificent Butcher

Secret Rivals 2

Warriors Two

Mystery of Chessboxing

7 Grandmasters

Iron Monkey

Prodigal Son

Master of the Flying Guillotine

Drunken Master

Dance of Drunk Mantis

side note: i think shaolin vs lama is an good film, but i dont think it deserves a "greatest of all time" spot.

special mention go to:

South Shaolin Master...choreography of Brandy Yuen, with some of the best oldskool cinematography ive ever seen. probably the best mainland chinese film ive ever seen.

[Guest UrbanKungFu]

(1) 5 Fingers of Death aka King Boxer

(2) Hammer of God aka Chinese Boxer(3) Chinese Professionals aka One Armed Boxer

(4) Zatoichi meets the One Armed Swordsman aka Zatoichi meets his Equal

(5) A Hard Way to Die aka The Sun Dragon

(6) Chinese Hercules aka The Kid in the Pier

(7) The Hong Kong Cat aka The Super Kung Fu Kid

(8) Deep Thrust aka Lady Whirlwind

(9) Thunder Kick

(10) The Streetfighter aka Stop! The Killing Fist

My opinion of course and I do love these!!!

Peace and God bless!

Hector Martinez

www.livelife.4t.com

[Guest punt44]

Warriors Two- usually movies you guys recomend kinda suck, but his one I totally agree. Excellent Film

Mystery of Chess Boxing-the best pure kung fu film.

Prodigal Son

Shaolin vs Lama

Way of the Dragon

Fist of Fury

Shaolin Temple

Snake in Eagles Shadow

On a side note I can't stand Drunken Master for the first 30 minutes.

Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin

Knockabout--great great great does everything right!!!

Ninja vs Shaolin Guards- Im gonna get crap for this but these guys are good martial artists no matter what you say. Some of the movies you guys watch and say are good really suck. for example meng fei, david chang, wei pai, and I still don't really like Chen Kuan Tai

Hot, cool, vicious

Crippled Avengers

Chinatown Kid

Chinese Super Ninjas

36th Chamber of Shaolin

Shaolin vs Wutang

Mad Monkey Kung Fu

[Guest iron flag]

Not to get off track with the thread but I had to ask: Are you saying that the last 7 Movies you listed are the ones that suck(in addition to the actors mentioned) or just movies with those actors? Could you elaborate?

[Guest punt44]

excuse me,

I mean those actors really sucked and several of there movies do as well, but Chen Kuan Tai has a lot of merit. HIs film the Gold Constable was one of the best films I have seen, but the martial arts sucks its just sword swinging and I don't like movies where he is a martial artists snore. The rest of those guys are pretty boys and Meng Fei has man tits-Invincible Kung Fu Trio

[Guest Drschrebling]

i have only skim read this post

but aren't we missing....

Buddhist Fist - watch it tomorrow if you've never seen it!!!!!

other honourable mentions:

Seven Grand Masters

Shaolin Temple series (Jet Li)

Shaolin vs Wu Tang

Last Hurrah for Chivalry

Dance of Drunken Mantis

Drunken Tai Chi

The Odd Couple / Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog

Dreadnought

plus Jackie stuff after DM - Fearless Hyena, Young Master / Dragon Lord

I'm not suggesting all of these are 'great movies' but probably worth throwing into the discussion

plus - completely agree with the comments on Mystery of Chess Boxing - pure kung fu...

Hong Kong Cinema

[Guest TheDrunkenRabbit]

Some Memorable old school flicks have been mention. I'll just say if someone who is not familiar with Martial arts flicks ask me for an old school recommendation, the first one that comes to mind is Shaolin vs. Lama or Magnificent Butcher Go rent it, buy it, and so on. Maybe I'll pop in Shaolin Temple or The Loot for them.

[Guest Violento]

I'm sorry, but Mystery of Chess Boxing is nothing but a cheap "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" rip-off. Lee Yi-Min is a dumb-faced retard .

And Shaolin vs. Lama, although it has some good fights, isn't that great. I mean the budget (costumes) is terrible, the leads suck and the direction weak.

Buddha bless SB!!!

[Guest punt44]

Whatever dude, sounds like someone has a hard-on for Shaw Brothers flicks with their big budgets. Snake in the Eagle's shadow is good, but the kung fu in Mystery of Chess Boxing surpasses it in everyway. The music is also excellent for this film and workes perfectly. The final is also way longer and better executed. your not watching for the sets, the actors, the comedy, the budget, the corny special effects, your looking for totally unhibited kung fu acrobatic action. I have seen like that could compare to this film.

[Guest chingdog]

Hard to do but:

Invincible Armor

Born Invincible

18 Jade Arhats

Green Jade Statuette

Hot, Cool, Vicious

Invincible Swordswoman

Strife for Mastery

Killer Clans

Magic Blade

3 Evil Masters

Fist of the White Lotus

Mystery of Chessboxing

[Guest shaolin rebel]

Invincible Armour

7 Grandmasters

Born Invincible

Secret Rivals 1 & 2 - I like part 2 alittle better than 1.

Mystery of Chessboxing

3 Evil Masters

Iron Monkey

Green Jade Statuette

Legend of a Fighter

Eagle's Claw

5 Venoms

Daggers 8

The Heroes

Shaolin vs Lama

[Guest TheManInWhite]

Blooded Treasury Fight

Broken Oath

Buddha Assassinator

The Challenger

Choi Lee Fat Kung Fu

Crystal Fist

Daggers Eight

Death Duel of Kung Fu

Fearless Dragons

Fist of Fury (Chinese Connection)

Fists and Guts

Green Jade Statuette

Hell's Wind Staff

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha

The Hot, the Cool, and the Vicious

Incredible Kung Fu Mission

Invincible Armour

Iron Monkey

Jade Fox

Legend of a Fighter

The Loot

Magnificent Butcher

No One Can Touch Her

Odd Couple

Of Cooks and Kung Fu

Rebellious Reign

Seven Grandmasters

Seven Steps of Kung Fu

Shaolin Heroes

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

Snake in the Monkey's Shadow

Super Power

Ten Tigers of Shaolin

The Victim

Warriors Two

Woman Avenger

[Guest Tashu]

7 grand masters

7 steps of kung fu

Dragon's claws

Warriors 2

Shaolin plot

Super power

Duel of the 7 tigers

Woman avenger

Broken oath

Snake in monkey shadow

Stroke of death

5 super fighters

The loot

The Challenger

2 Wondrous tigers

5 pattern dragon claw

Crippled avengers

Shaolin mantis

Prodigal son