50 Mad As Hell Martial Arts Movies

50 MAD AS HELL MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES

The world of martial arts cinema has been a major part of popular culture for many decades now. It essentially began to sweep across the world in the early 70s with such movies as Five Fingers of Death (1972) and Bruce Lee’s breakout smash Enter The Dragon (1973) as well as the hit TV series Kung Fu (1972-75) which starred David Carradine as an Asian-American shaolin priest who must flee China after which he travels throughout the Old West to find his half brother. Throughout the rest of the 70s and 80s these kinds of immensely entertaining action films introduced international audiences to a new style of cinema they hadn’t seen before. Many of the movies were based on historical legends which the filmmakers then heightened and filled with characters who possessed almost supernatural powers. These heroes could do such things as soar through the air like eagles and punch holes through dense wood using secret kung fu skills passed down to them from their wise old masters.

The films that were being released by studios such as Shaw Brothers, Golden Harvest and numerous other smaller distributors were especially popular in the inner city grindhouses in America. These theaters would show double and triple features which became a staple providing audiences with exhillerating experiences. After superstar Bruce Lee’s tragic death in 1973, actors such as Lo Lieh, Sonny Chiba, David Chiang, Jackie Chan, Jimmy Wang Yu and Bruce Li became the new silver screen icons who filled the void he had left.

For our new furious list we’ve handpicked 50 movies (old and new) that we think should give you a nice taste of what the genre has to offer. It should be pointed out that there are hundreds upon hundreds of these kinds of films, so this list isn’t meant to be a specific “Top 50 of All Time”, they are simply some of our personal favorites. Our hope is that if you aren’t already a longtime kung fu aficionado you’ll get enough of a KICK out of them to maybe become a new fan and explore. Along with the chosen titles we’ve added some special links to trailers and clips so you can get a peek of what the movies are like, as well as purchase them through Amazon.

Five Fingers of Death

Five Fingers of Death (1972, Dir: Cheng Cheng Ho)

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Enter The Dragon

Enter the Dragon (1973, Dir: Robert Clouse)

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The Streetfighter

The Streetfighter (1974, Dir: Shigehiro Ozawa)

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Fists of the White Lotus

Fist of the White Lotus (1980, Dir: Lo Lieh)

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Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978, Dir: Yuen Woo Ping)

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Drunken Master

Drunken Master (1978, Dir: Yuen Woo Ping)

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The Big Boss

The Big Boss (1971, Dir: Lo Wei)

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Fist of Fury

The Chinese Connection aka Fist of Fury (1972, Dir: Lo Wei)

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Chinese Super Ninjas

Five Element Ninjas (1982, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Executioners From Shaolin

Executioners From Shaolin (1977, Dir: Lau Kar Leung)

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36th Chamber of Shaolin

36th Chamber of Shaolin aka Master Killer (1978, Dir: Lau Kar Leung)

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Snake in the Monkey's Shadow

Snake in the Monkey’s Shadow (1980, Dir: Sum Cheung)

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Fist of Legend

Fist of Legend (1994, Dir: Gordon Chan)

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The Hot The Cool and the Vicious

The Hot, The Cool and The Vicious (1980, Dir: Tso Nam Lee)

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Five Deadly Venoms

Five Deadly Venoms (1978, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Master of the Flying Guillotine

Master of The Flying Guillotine (1975, Dir: Jimmy Wang Yu)

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The Chinese Boxer

The Chinese Boxer (1970, Dir: Jimmy Wang Yu)

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Ip Man

Ip Man (2008, Dir: Wilson Yip)

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Dirty Ho

Dirty Ho (1979, Dir: Lau Kar Leung)

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Eagle's Claw

Eagle’s Claw (1978, Dir: Tso Nam Lee)

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Iron Monkey

Iron Monkey (1993, Dir: Yuen Woo Ping)

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The One Armed Swordsman

The One Armed Swordsman (1967, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Bloodsport

Bloodsport (1988, Dir: Newt Arnold)

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Sister Streetfighter

Sister Streetfighter (1974, Dir: Kazuhiko Yamaguchi)

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Lady Whirlwind

Deep Thrust aka Lady Whirlwind (1972, Dir: Feng Huang)

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Crippled Masters

The Crippled Masters (1979, Dir: Kei Law)

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Eight Diagram Pole Fighter

8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984, Dir: Lau Kar Leung)

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Fistful of Talons

Fistful of Talons (1983, Dir: Sun Cheung)

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Invincible Armor

Invincible Armor (1977, Dir: See Yuen Ng)

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Triple Irons

Triple Irons aka New One Armed Swordsman (1971, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Deaf Mute Heroine

Deaf Mute Heroine (1971, Dir: Wu Ma)

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Black Belt Jones

Black Belt Jones (1974, Dir: Robert Clouse)

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The Blade

The Blade (1995 Dir: Tsui Hark)

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Once Upon a Time in China

Once Upon a Time In China (1991, Dir: Tsui Hark)

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Fist of Fury Pt. 2

Fist of Fury Part II (1977, Dir: Tso Nam Lee)

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Kung Fu Hustle (2004, Dir: Stephen Chow)

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Born Invincible

Born Invincible (1978, Dir: Joseph Kuo)

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Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe

The Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe (1973, Dir: Mario Caiano)

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Deadly China Doll

Deadly China Doll (1973, Dir: Feng Huang)

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Magnificent Butcher

Magnificent Butcher (1979, Dir: Sammo Hung)

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Kid with the Golden Arm

Kid With The Golden Arm (1979, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Warriors Two

Warriors Two (1978, Dir: Sammo Hung)

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Ten Tigers of Kwangtung

10 Tigers of Kwangtung (1980, Dir: Chang Cheh)

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Boxer From Shantung

Boxer From Shantung (1972, Dir: Chang Cheh/Hsueh Li Pao)

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7 Grandmasters

7 Grandmasters (1980, Dir: Joseph Kuo)

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The Buddhist Fist

The Buddhist Fist (1980, Dir: Yuen Woo-Ping)

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Ong Bak

Ong Bak (2003, Dir: Prachya Pinkaew)

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Come Drink With Me

Come Drink With Me (1966, Dir: King Hu)

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The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son (1981, Dir: Sammo Hung)

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One Armed Boxer

One Armed Boxer aka The Chinese Professionals (1972, Dir: Jimmy Wang Yu)

WATCH TRAILERGCDB Page

Special Thanks to our sister site: The Grindhouse Cinema Database for their comprehensive listing of titles we used as a guide for this feature!

Do you have any favorite martial arts films? If so, let us know in our comments!

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