[omega145]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebleshot

Akira Kurosawa is an amazing director.
Fun facts: Seven Samurai was the basis for the classic Western known as The Magnificent Seven.

Yes Akira Kurosawa was an amazing filmmaker way ahead of his time.
Your correct on those facts, heres a couple more.
The anime Samurai 7 was based on Seven Samurai along with 13 Assassins.

[D00MTR0N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trebleshot

Fun facts: Seven Samurai was the basis for the classic Western known as The Magnificent Seven. Also, Hidden Fortress was part of the inspiration for the first Star Wars movie.

actually while we are on the samurai fun facts,Darth Vaders helmet was inspired by the samurai helmet design.

[D00MTR0N]

they really should have released this version of SS instead:

[omega145]

^Very cool but I dont think he is as recognizable as the version of SS that was released.

Not a big fan of Jackie Chan although Legend Of The Druken Master was really good.

Gordon Liu was also an excellent star for martial arts movies.

[D00MTR0N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega145

^Very cool but I dont think he is as recognizable as the version of SS that was released.

right but it sucks because I would love a version of SS with that menpo(face mask) on.

[vampireheart]

I like my asian "kung fu" "gun fu" or "gun kata" (when dealing with guns) with a sci-fi twist and a Wuxia-esque themes. There are a ton of films that I love the choreography and color of especially when it comes to asian cinema.

Some of my favorites, in no particular order...

Shinobi - Heart Under Blade (Japanese)

House of Flying Daggers (Chinese)

Ichi (Japanese)

The Returner (Japanese)

Oldboy (Korean)

I was going to create a thread on foreign films but this thread kinda fits so ill just post here instead.

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega145

Gordon Liu was also an excellent star for martial arts movies.

Agreed, Gordon Liu is fantastic. Many of his movies feature some of the most unbastardized and well-crafted Hung Gar scenes I've ever seen. The clip you posted is one of my favourite scenes of all time. A lot of Jackie's work (especially modern stuff) is often over peppered with wushu acrobatics. However, Legend of the Drunken Master is a good example of him using much cleaner Kung Fu. Also, a large chunk of his work in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is pretty awesome. Then again, these two were Yuen Wo Ping films so it shouldn't come as a surprise that a talent like Martial Arts athlete Jackie Chan would look great in a Yuen Wo Ping product. I mean the guy made Keanu Reaves/Laurence Fishburne look like they "knew Kung Fu"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampireheart

I like my asian "kung fu" "gun fu" or "gun kata" (when dealing with guns) with a sci-fi twist and a Wuxia-esque themes. There are a ton of films that I love the choreography and color of especially when it comes to asian cinema.

Some of my favorites, in no particular order...

Shinobi - Heart Under Blade (Japanese)

House of Flying Daggers (Chinese)

Ichi (Japanese)

The Returner (Japanese)

Oldboy (Korean)

I was going to create a thread on foreign films but this thread kinda fits so ill just post here instead.

Great list, man. The only film I was kind of hoping I'd like a little more than I did was House of Flying Daggers. I think it was trying too hard to ride off the wuxia craze that Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon reignited and for me at least, it was a bit too stylized.

[vampireheart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechris

Agreed, Gordon Liu is fantastic. Many of his movies feature some of the most unbastardized and well-crafted Hung Gar scenes I've ever seen. The clip you posted is one of my favourite scenes of all time. A lot of Jackie's work (especially modern stuff) is often over peppered with wushu acrobatics. However, Legend of the Drunken Master is a good example of him using much cleaner Kung Fu. Also, a large chunk of his work in Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is pretty awesome. Then again, these two were Yuen Wo Ping films so it shouldn't come as a surprise that a talent like Martial Arts athlete Jackie Chan would look great in a Yuen Wo Ping product. I mean the guy made Keanu Reaves/Laurence Fishburne look like they "knew Kung Fu"...



Great list, man. The only film I was kind of hoping I'd like a little more than I did was House of Flying Daggers. I think it was trying too hard to ride off the wuxia craze that Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon reignited and for me at least, it was a bit too stylized.

Thanks man and yeah i can see what you mean but I dont mind it, the more stylized the better i say lol. I always keep my eyes open for the Sony Pictures Classics they release alot of cool stuff.

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampireheart

Thanks man and yeah i can see what you mean but I dont mind it, the more stylized the better i say lol. I always keep my eyes open for the Sony Pictures Classics they release alot of cool stuff.

Yeah I like some wuxia, even the hyper stylized stuff sometimes, I think where I get lost is when they try to hard to put hidden meanings and it gets too artistic in a snobby way. If you like wuxia, consider looking into the older Invincible Asia/Swordsman stuff and also Dragon Inn was pretty good for a bizarre movie and actually features Donnie Yen as a villain. Royal Tramp I and II are also really good movies. They're actually almost what I'd call satires of wuxia films starring a younger Stephen Chow from Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.

[vampireheart]

I actually saw Dragon Inn pretty bad ass battles in that one!

[solo0525]

Love Anime ,, this a good martial arts anime .. Ninja Scroll

[youtube]

[solo0525]

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampireheart

I actually saw Dragon Inn pretty bad ass battles in that one!

Yeah, that was one crazy movie. It's one of the only movies I've seen where the ending was completely unpredictable with most of the protagonists dying and a seemingly insignificant character appears and totally destroys the main villain like he's nothing. It was so random, it was almost realistic in a weird way....

Quote:

Originally Posted by solo0525

Love Anime ,, this a good martial arts anime .. Ninja Scroll

Haha, I've seen this. It's very good if not somewhat traumatizing for a kid to see in the same way Akira scarred me as a child.

Quote:

Originally Posted by solo0525

Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai was one crazy show with it's seemingly random elements done in a very cool and skillful way.

[vampireheart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by solo0525

I was wondering when someone was gonna post up afro samurai

[D00MTR0N]

made this mempo(face mask)need to do some minor tweeks yet:

[D00MTR0N]

a great jet li sword fight:

[Greenskar]

Did anyone here watch "The Twilight Samurai"? It takes some patience for those uninitiated with ancient Japanese culture because there is a great deal of dialogue before any action happens. But it was a great movie to me.

Zatoichi movies were fun. thechris has already mentioned every other movie I would have put on here as my prime choices so its great to see a kindred spirit up North

Donnie Yen is my favorite MA's action star. My MA's instructor is one of the few qualified to teach the Fu Family Internal Wudang system in the west and was given this certification from Sifu Bow Sim Mark...otherwise known as Donnie Yen's Mom. Sadly...never met Donnie Yen. Not yet at least.

[trebleshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechris

Kung Fu Hustle.

Forgot to mention, KFH is one of my favorites when it comes to the more goofy/comedic MA movies. I'm a big fan of Stephen Chow's films and Jackie Chan's modern films for their comedy stuff. Kung Pow was ok, but Bob Odenkirk's sense of humor is hit-or-miss with me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by solo0525

Love Anime ,, this a good martial arts anime .. Ninja Scroll

Probably my favorite animated MA movie, along with Fist of the North Star.

[Greenskar]

I know I gave thechris some credit already, but I need to acknowledge Omega and Vampireheart's add's as well. Those were legit flicks I loved!

Anyone ever watch the entire Samurai Champloo series? That merged two of my favorite things in this life into one anime, Martial Arts and hip hop.

Also, while I dislike that every movie I've watched from him seems to all be about some damn elephant, and I think he's just a bit too much of an acrobat at times, I did enjoy this scene a great deal (even though the cracking sounds were beyond gratuitous, lol)

[D00MTR0N]

a documentry on the samurai:

[omega145]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenskar

Also, while I dislike that every movie I've watched from him seems to all be about some damn elephant, and I think he's just a bit too much of an acrobat at times, I did enjoy this scene a great deal (even though the cracking sounds were beyond gratuitous, lol)

Tony Jaa's muay tai style is excellent and makes for some great fight scenes but I dont like any of his movies that i've seen either. IMO, the stories are poor and the fight scenes are set up terribly. His powerful and flashy style is easy to watch though.

[thechris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omega145

Tony Jaa's muay tai style is excellent and makes for some great fight scenes but I dont like any of his movies that i've seen either. IMO, the stories are poor and the fight scenes are set up terribly. His powerful and flashy style is easy to watch though.

Totally agree with this. He's purely a YouTube clipper for me. No point in me buying a DVD just to fast forward it through to watch segments of various fight scenes because the storyline puts me to sleep. There isn't usually anything compelling going on and I just don't feel anything for the characters he portrays. That's where I've got to give my hats off to some of these Martial Arts stars. Even though we don't always speak the same language, the emotion, heart and realism that they are able to convey through facial expression, body movement and phonics alone help bring their performances to life.

[omega145]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechris

Even though we don't always speak the same language, the emotion, heart and realism that they are able to convey through facial expression, body movement and phonics alone help bring their performances to life.

Exactly! Im sick of seeing Jet Li in American movies and having small speaking roles and barely getting any credit when he's made excellent Asian movies where he is a very good actor along with a great martial artist.

[Greenskar]

I thought the girl in the movie "Chocolate" (an amazing movie btw) looked better than Tony Jaa with her MA's choreography. For those who haven't seen it and have a netflix account look this up! The bloopers at the end of the film were brutal. These guys went all out in their stunts.

[solo0525]

I kinda like The Forbidden Kingdom .. thought Jackie Chan and Jet Li together was awesome