Hello

Here is a poll to know what is the best martial arts movie you've ever watched.I have a list of 9 movies which are likely to be in the top 10. I have added 'Other' for other movies that you would have liked to choose.
I have watched all of the movies that are on my list except Iron Monkey.
I chose Ong-Bak.
Your turn

I feel that you need to have a Lau Kar Leung Movie up on the list as well, he has made alot of great movies. examples: My Young Auntie, Heroes Of The East, and Legendary Weapons Of China. it will also be hard to pick one hehehee, with all the great movies over years putting something new and original out there for everyone to watch and enjoy. Out of your list i'd choose Ong-Bak.

10 was the maximum allowed by the poll engine.Sure there must be other movies as good as those who are among the list,and you can choose 'other' and name it.

'Hero' and 'Hidden Dragon,Crouching Tiger' could have been among the top 10, but wires and cables were used to perform some of the stunts.I could have chosen 'Drunken Master 2' instead of 'Drunken Master'or 'Fong Sai Yuk' instead of 'Once upon a time in China'.
If I have forgotten other major martial arts movies (and I know I have)then let me know.

Sibor

nope hero and crouching tiger hidden dragon i wouldn't put up there anyways hehehee, those you picked are more better have you seen those movies i mentioned Sibor?

No,I haven't watched them.
I'll check in my video club, and if it's not available there I could buy one or the 3 movies.
Which one do you like best ?

man i'd check out My Young Auntie, it is funny and the action is choreographed very good by lau kar leung. check that one out for sure.

The Legendary Weapons Of China is a topnotch weapons movie as the title suggests, Lau Kar Leung and his brother Lau Kar Wing have a great weapons Finale. even gordon liu makes his appearances in these , heroes of the east is a gordon liu starring role for him, its very nice how him and his wife are always fueding about who's martial art is better The Chinese Styles or weapons, or the Japanese styles or their weapons, and everything gets screwed up and his wife's teacher takes a letter from gordon liu the wrong way and brings the best fighters from japan to face him one on one, so heroes of the east is very nice as well. yes definetly if you do not have them they are gems to add to your collection.

Kung Pow.

hey. we all know every one is going to pick ong-bak. but i picked enter the dragon for one reason. its what made bruce lee a star but it brang out the essence in martial arts. everyone started to like martial arts after the movie. so i did not look for the entertainment but the true heart and background. just wanted to give a statemen thanks for this pol.

I have to say I'd vote for "Drunken Master 2: The Legend of Drunken Master" which features one of the most amazing filmed fight sequences of all time. In addition to being a martial arts expert, acrobatics athlete and a gifted comic talent a la Buster Keaton, Jackie Chan is a choreography genius who helped modernize the entire genre of kung-fu comedy and Hong Kong action films. He's a one-man moviemaking machine who knows how to produce, direct, choreograph and edit his movies and is a living legend in his own right. Plus, he's aging gracefully.

Bruce Lee was similarly incredibly respected worldwide and practically father to martial arts filmmaking, but I enjoyed Chan's unique fighting style in "Drunken Master 2" more than the sequences in "Enter the Dragon."

With Tony Jaa, what I like best about him is his potential...the world of martial arts cinema NEEDS someone like him to continue the progress made by artists like Bruce and Jackie. Jaa's best films are yet to come, and I think it's unrealistic to say that "Ong-Bak" is the best martial arts picture of all time. For that, I'm waiting for the time when Jaa choreographs his own true masterpiece and revolutionizes the Thai martial arts film industry.

I agree. Ong-Bak is impressive, yes. Best martial arts movie of all time? No. Drunken Master II was fluid, graceful, and an all around good film. This was lacking in Ong-Bak, but Tony certainly has the potential.

As Shafaan said we all know that the vast majority is going to pick Ong-Bak, that's why I picked "Other". On another thread I mentioned that there weren't Bruce Lee's films which made me interested in martial arts films. I was about 10 when I saw "Iron Angels". It was the first film with women playing main roles. Moon Lee and Yukari Oshima proved that world of martial arts doesn't belong only to men. Some people say the final fight is too brutal, but it's definitely worth seeing.

What on earth is "Game of Death" doing on that list? Game of Death would have to be the absolute WORST martial arts movie ever made! Maybe the worst movie in general!

I hope no one chews me up with my choice, but through the process
of improvements in the martial art films and directors. I chose "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" just because it had all the ELEMENTS and substance.
I do not have an extensive visual knowledge in martial art film archives, but
I can only narrow it down to this film. It may not be the best to others,
but it was a well made film it moved me

I do love ONG-BAK only for Action and Style.
Honestly, Tony Jaa is the only Martial artist who got me off my seat.

drunken master 2

flawless fights choreographed by lau kar leung and jackie chan.
jackie, lau kar leung, ti lung and anita mui are all very good in it.
it,s engaging, funny and not too sentimental
the only negative point i can think of is the unnecassary and distastefull final scene. (cut from the u.s. release)

I agree. Game of Death is a pretty bad movie. The movie was so forgettable that I don't think it would ever register on this list, even when compared to some campy "Chop Socky" 80s movies. No offense to those who voted for it at all.

First of all, one should understand that the "Game of Death" that was released worldwide is a patchwork of bad scripts and footage/stills taken from Bruce Lee's earlier movies. This was not the script that Bruce wrote, nor did he starred in it. If you watched carefully (using the wonderful the slow-mo button), you will noticed that there were two (at least) terrible Bruce Lee lookalikes. They neither talked or walked like Bruce if you know what I mean. Most of the time, the doubles wore big sunglasses to hide their faces or you would sometimes caught them with their backs turned or standing at an obscure angle. The movie was sandwiched with stills taken from Return of the Dragon (Way of the Dragon) and The Chinese Connection (Fists of Fury). There were no footage taken from Enter the Dragon as the movie has yet to premiered. Very observant fans would be able to distinguish several scenes in the movie where a cardboard cutout doubled as Bruce Lee... Yes. Very laughable.

This movie was made halfway when Bruce died. The producers thought that what Bruce finished was not presentable. Instead of finishing the movie the way Bruce intended, they hired writers to savage parts of the movie to make a water-downed version. True fans of Bruce will recognize that only the last 15 minutes of the movie -- the fight scenes with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dan Inosanto, and Ji Han Jae were genuine Bruce's footage.

The original "Game of Death" footage with the script that Bruce intended was later released. I don't remember the exact title, as its marketed with different names.

are you sure the original Game of Death footage with the original script was released? i'm not sure it was because there are a few scenes during those fights where the dialog has not yet been dubbed (or recorded in any way)... in the footage, the characters talk to each other, but there is no record of what they say. i think that there really wasn't a completed script, and that Bruce had a basic outline and the basic fight scenes scripted, but that he was letting the movie evolve on its own.

there's a bruce lee documentary (i can't remember the title) that plays regular on AMCTV in which they show the original Game of Death in the way that they think Bruce intended it. according to what i saw in that documentary, the original Game of Death would have been an outstanding movie. perhaps one of the greatest of all time.

Hi Thawan.

What I meant regarding the DVD release was the same mentioned documentary/movie footage you described. I saw this same show on a cable channel some times ago. This was later released to DVD for sale.

You're right regarding the part that Bruce liked to keep his script open-ended. However, I do believe that the basic outline, or script if you'd like to call it, exists. Portions of it was published together with stills from the original Game of Death.

I don't claim to be the definitive expert on Bruce Lee. As a fan however, I've read quite a bit about him. I'm sure you have too.

As I understand, many of the fight sequences were filmed. Bruce was exploring various different fight scenes. He wanted Game of Death to be "the film" to showcase various fighting styles he respected, while giving his friends and colleagues a change to appear in it. He had a good idea of the direction and overall storyline. However, Bruce was a perfectionist so constantly changed and evolved the movie. One must agree that in both martial arts and filmmaking, Bruce remained true to his own words of adaptation and evolution.

Interestingly, I see similarities with the thinking behind Game of Death and that of Tony's next project (where he travels to China, Japan, U.S.A. etc learning different styles).

agree!

ronin, do you happen to know the name of this documentary? i think it would be great for Bruce's fans to see this. heck, i think it would be great for people who aren't big fans of Bruce Lee to see this.

the version of Game of Death presented in that documentary, even though it is incomplete, is as close as possible to what the producers think Bruce would have intended. even incomplete, i think it stands as one of the greatest martial arts movies of all time. i highly recommend people try to find this documentary.

Hi Ronin & Thawan,


I had a chance to see this unedited fight scene from
Game of Death. It was disappointing that they cut most
of the best fight scenes by Bruce Lee.

The documentary was an A&E Biography

I have a two disc edition of "Enter the Dragon" that includes "The Game of Death" along with the documentary titled "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey". I think it's worth the time/money for all Bruce fans. Also, I would like to see included to the best martial arts films of all time: "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" (staring Gordon Liu) and "Come Drink With Me" (starring Cheng Pei Pei). Excellent movies.

I bought Bloodspot dvd yesterday.Its still feels great to watch with the awesome music playing on the background while the fighters display their respective skills.

I think its a shame that a Game Of Death 2 was made. Bruce Lee brought Martial Arts into the mainstream, and without him there may have been no Ong Bak. Bruce Lee not only brought us Martal Arts, but he revolutionised it.

Fist of Legend and Drunken Master 2 are the two best Martial arts film of all time.

hi Dragonseeker, welcome to the forum! hope you enjoy your stay

What!!!! Game of death worst martial arts movie ever!!!! I think NOT!!! The ending of Game of Death is TRUE! Bruce Lee if he hadnt of died and the whole of Game of Death was made it would of been the greatest martial arts movie EVER made. Its the best footage of Bruce Lee that exists. Plus its the best ending of any Martial arts movie made!!(UNCUT ENDING THAT IS) Its just a shame robert clouse got his hands on it,changed the script and made a mess of it. But still if u want 100% Bruce Lee u put the second disk of G.O.D in ur dvd player,and watch the un-edited 42 min uncut ending Just how Bruce Lee intended it too be. Am voting G.O.D anyways

P.s Warriors journey is the documentary with the footage of G.O.D (uk Name for it) But the U.k 2 disc dvd comes with the FULL Uncut ending on it Cheer Class

With all due respect, I know this is a Tony Jaa website and everything, but IMO no martial arts film can touch enter the dragon Sorry. Ong Bak was nice, I respect the dedication that went into practicing those stunts/flips and whatever, but I can nothing beats the cave scene I dont care! Lmao In fact... now that I think about it, that cave seen at the end of Ong Bak where he takes people on is kinda borrowing ideas, but thats ok. Enter the Dragon still is the benchmark martial arts film. It can't be surpassed cos almost everyone knows about martial arts now.

From the moment Bruce Lee puts the cobra in that room, to where Mr Han says something like "you're style is unorthadox, you're skills are extra ordinary and I was going to ask you to join us" It is just bare action, no talking, just waaa wu wa w watataaaah wuuuuuu!



crazy

Yeah I have to agree that Game of Death was bad, but thats because the 1st martial arts movie i'd ever seen was enter the dragon.

If only that proper footage had been used. They really botched that film and I was so angry and disapponed after seeing it. More so when I saw bits of other films stuck in there randomly

But the worst worst worst films for me were Kung Fu (there was no kung fu in it) and some film where a guy called Cord went looking for something and a blind guy with a flute was always there beating people up. Sorry, I saw these films about 20yrs ago. I think both of these started out as Bruce Lee's ideas but people messed them up BIG TIME.

I'm not too sure since I haven't seen it yet, but I believe the name of the movie you're referring to is "The Silent Flute" (aka "Circle of Iron").

And the documentary that I've mentioned long ago (and Thawan also saw.. and a few of you recently mentioned) is in fact "Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey."

Ong Bak is the GR8!!! as the marvellous Tom Yum Goong's do the same!

Can someone in short term tell me the story in the return of the dragon? I'm sure I've seen it under another name

Sure you aint mistaking it with Enter the Dragon? (Or am I mistaking thinking its two different films?)

Ah the brain hurts!

my goodness this his hard to choose. eh not gonna vote heh heh. ^_^

I think that was supposed to be "way of the dragon" i never heard of return of the dragon

I voted for Ong-Bak, because honestly for straight fight scenes and action, also helped by the fact that Jaa is doing it himself, put it number one to me. After that, I'd have to put Return of the Dragon for the finale of Bruce vs. Chuck.

I love Iron Monkey, Fist of Legend and Once Upon A Time In China, however thye each overuse wires IMO and hence they can't top Bruce's best or Tony's starring premiere

Film distributors tend to rename many foreign movies under different names. Mainly because they feel that the new name will give them better sales. It's strictly business. Sometimes, however they'll also rename a movie because the original name may not make any sense to their audience (example, the U.S. audience may not understand, be able to pronounce, or remember the name Tom Yum Goong, so the U.S. distributor may either rename this... The Warrior King, or The Elephant Warrior, or The Last Warrior, etc... or add an additional name tag to it -- ie. Tom Yum Goong: The Warrior King... or something to that extent). (Other examples: The Korean movie, Musa is renamed as Musa: The Warrior -- which is really incorrect because the word "Musa" in Korean means "warrior" not as the name of the warrior.)

Anyhow. Bruce Lee's third movie was Return of the Dragon, and it is known in Asia as The Way of the Dragon. The Chinese Connection is really Bruce Lee's first movie, not Fists of Fury, which was his second movie. Confused? Let me explain a little better.

Bruce Lee's first movie was about a young man from China trying to keep his promise to not fight, in the end had to break that promise and fought a bunch of thugs working for a drug king. The setting was in Thailand and centered loosely around the ice factory. It was from this movie that fans nicknamed Bruce Lee "The Man with Three Kicks." Yep. This is The Chinese Connection (The word "connection" usually refers to "a drug" theme). However, in America, it was renamed Fists of Fury.

His second movie is Fists of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection in the U.S.) which was about a fictional student coming back home to pay his last respects to his master (real life Huo Yuan Jia of the Jing Wu Athletic Association, also the character Jet Li played in Fearless). The movie took place in Shanghai and centered around his fights against Japanese fighters.

Because the distributors wanted to brand Bruce's first movie in the U.S. with a more menacing name "Fists of Fury" they're now stuck and not knowing what to name this movie, instead used the name from the first movie "The Chinese Connection." Hence, the backward reasoning, and the confusion.

Bruce third movie, of which he directed and wrote, is The Way of the Dragon. It was renamed Return of the Dragon. This movie took place in Rome where Bruce was send to help deal with mafia thugs trying to buy out a Chinese restaurant. This movie co-featured Bruce's personal student, Chuck Norris.

And to add to this crazy example of renaming convention... In Vietnam, Return of the Dragon (The Way of the Dragon) was renamed as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (numerous years before Ang Lee's same name movie)" Interesting eh? The Dragon here is Bruce Lee while Chuck Norris is theThe Tiger.

nice job on that, ronin !!! that is really interesting information !

did you know that "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" is the name for a move in hung kuen? more commonly it is translated as "subduing tiger, stalking dragon." just some random trivia.

Very cool info, ronin! Thanks , It's nice to I learn something new everyday at 8 am in the morning, sipping coffee.

I just saw the other night on a cable channel, a rare martial arts documentary made in 1976 called "Fghting Black Kings". Has anyone seen it? Interesting film on just this one world martial arts tournament. One of the names info credits was Mas Osama, but they only showed a show scene of him at the very end sliding a samurai sword back in his scabbard. Every MA style were matched one on one [ process of elimination] to prove who has the best style. (Karate, kung fu, muay thai, ju jit-su, tkd) At the end, traditional Okinawan Karate won the grand trophy, all others had no match.

my pick for the over all past martial arts movie would have to be "enter the dragon". bruce lee was the innovator of mixed martial arts & was the first to do what he believed in. look at what martial arts has come to today? ufc is all about mixed martial arts. we've seen the importance of how not only one martial arts will keep you well grounded in comparison to having knowledge of several combined into one style. not too long ago, i watched a ufc fight with kit cope a heavy weight muay thai fighter with an extensive winning record. once he entered the octagon challenging a submission ground fighter, he was lost & was easily defeated. this is the reasoning for my choice to pick bruce lee. everything eventually goes back to the roots. not to mention, bruce lee was definitely the fastest martial artist ever! tony jaa on the other hand, would easly be my choice of todays top martial artist. to this day, i still cannot stop watching ong bak nor tom yum goong for the intense muay thai fighting! i'm hoping too this april, whether i'll get the opportunity to meet tony jaa during the thai new year's celebration. hopefully, i'll see some of you there! L.A.M.F.F.S.U.T.D.

Maan.. I dont know bout yall but ah...... when i was younger.. I saw this one Chinese movie.. well it was like a 12 part movie or a sga or something like that.."Legend of the Tai Chi master..."

but as far as a movie is concern...... I guess,,,, Ong-Bak is the only movie in my lifetime that i actually got up off my seat with excitement( specially when he was beatin up MAD-DOG )...

And believe me..... I've seen ALOT ALOT of martial arts movie....
So I would say Ong-bak is the best MARTIAL ARTS movie.

???? has anyone ever seen his ( Jaa's )old school training video.... This n@@@y is of the chains!.... From a stand still-- this niggy jumped like over 10 feet... even SOME of the great long jumpers in the olympics cannot jump over 10 ft from a stand still. WOW!

SIndre, "return of the dragon" was about bruce flying to rome to help out his family in the restaurant business being bullied by local gangs & bruce ending up fighting chuck norris in the roman colliseum where "old school warriors" began fighting .

I don't know. Enter the Dragon didn't show me very much. Bruce had cool moments undoubtedly and it was great that it made him an international star. However, Bruce Lee beat some silly fighters with very basic movies. It did show off his hand speed and power, but with a bigger budget, I think this movie should have had better fight sequences than the end of Way of the Dragon or Fists of Fury. Technically, the best fight sequence was when he destroyed Chuck Norris, as it showed off, IMO, the best way to combat a martial artist. He was moving around like a boxer, in and out like a fencer, grappled and of course had a martial artists speed and effincieny..like hitting the pressure points.

I just want Tony Jaa to get his big chance in American theaters. With a big budget, a at least decent story and cast, Tony Jaa can run away with the movie martial artist title. I know you can't compare them, but I wonder how a fight betwen Bruce and Tony would go down. Both are trained in straight fighting and to hurt, even though they both use it for film, if they had to fight to survive it may very well look like a real life scene in Tom Yum Goong where he broke everybody's limbs. But Tony, being a big fan of Bruce, certainly knows about adapting to your enemy, and I believe with all the different Muay Thai styles and stances he knows (not only the ancient but deadly Muay Thai Boran, but also the bone breaking/grappling of his elephant fighting, plus whatever else he knows of Muay Thai skills and weapons) they may be a little more equal to eachother then people assume.

i just can't see how anyone could not realize the speed & technique used in "enter the dragon"? that was the movie that broke the mold to ALL martial arts movies! maybe his opponents weren't all that, but, keep in mind that took place back in 1973. during this time frame, john saxon, bolo yeung, jim kelley & sammo hung were all top martial artists. this just goes to show, how far advanced bruce lee's fighting technique was. seriously, you really need to watch it again! the opening scene where he fought sammo hung, bruce already had submission skills. anyways, as for bruce fighting tony? i can honestly say...that'd be a GREAT toss up! tony does have an all around technique when it comes to fighting. it'd be really close!

This very hard to choose but i really think that this list could be longer!If you like MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES YOU WOULD LOVE THE SHAW BROTHERS'MOVIES!So i want to introduce you some of them:

KING BOXER : story of revenge; it became the first kung fu film to be a hit in the West and paved the way for the Bruce Lee phenomenon to come. Actor Luo Lie brings characteristic intensity to his role as an "Iron Fist" adept whose fingers are viciously shattered by a rival gang. (The film was released internationally under the title FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH). He then trains his way back to peak form and wreaks vengeance on his adversaries.

THE NEW ONE-ARMED SWORDMAN:This exciting tale of chivalry and revenge set in Chinas remote past features some of Shaw Brothers most famous martial arts stars David Chiang plays young master swordsman Lei Li who vows vengeance on the corrupt Lung Yi chih for tricking him in a duel in which he lost his right arm. Life or death struggle from which only one will emerge alive!

THE MAGIC BLADE:A tale of two rival swordsmen in imperial China vying with a power hungry villain for possession of the legendary weapons,the dangerous "Peacock Dart" brilliantly choreographed fights; glorous settings and superb cinematography.

FIVE DEADLY VENOMS:Also known as "Pick Your Poison- and -Five Venoms" The dying master of the powerful Poison Clan dispatches his last pupil on a crucial mission. Worried that the skills he has taught are being used to evil ends; he orders the Yan Tieh to trace a retired colleague and warn him that the fortune he amassed from the clan activities is under threat from five of his former pupils. Each an expert in his own lethal combat style; The Centipede; The Snake; The Scorpion; The Lizard; and The Toad comprise a truly invincible force. Yan must discover the whereabouts and true identities of these deadly masked warriors and decide which; if any; he can trust to join him in his perilous mission. A blindingly choreographed blend of intrigue and violence; -FIVE DEADLY VENOMS- adds a truly original dimension to the kung fu genre.

THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN: also "THE MASTER KILLER" This is the story of how Shaolin kung fu was first introduced to oppressed Chinese (Gordon Liu) by a lowly young man trained at Shaolin Temple who becomes known as the legendary monk San Te (Gordon Liu). There is so much to say about this movie...But it's late !
If you are interested i will continue...bye
P.S:If someone like me, loves formers HONG-KONG movies...i will be very happy to enlarge my collection!

Definitly must include Shaw Bros. Chinese Super Ninjas, Fist of the White Lotus, Invincible Pole Fighters, North Shaolin vs. South Shaolin and Masked Avengers.

Drunken Master 2 isnt even in it. A.K.A. Legend of Drunken Master.

Drunken Master 2 is the BEST martial arts film ever. I havent seen Tom Yum Goong just yet, but I dont think it will beet Drunken Master 2.

I havent a clue what my fave film is to be honest - I think it all depends on the mood I am in so many have different merits but I would prolly opt for Enter The Dragon if forced to choose because it opened the doors for the rest to follow

I think "revenge of the Warrior is slightly better than"Revebge of the Warrior".

Tom yum goong :)

Ong Bak 1 and 2 is my second best :)

I really appreciate Muay Thai fighters especially the choreography of Tony and his master.
I admire others styles of martial arts, but Muay Thai always remais my favorite.
My vote is Ong Bak.


Full life and peace