Black Fist (1975)

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Black Fist (1975)

A cheerfully amateur blaxploitation film with a wise script and good central performances let down by a camera crew who appear to be working out of a cupboard, directing the action as if they were moving furniture. Clumsy it may be, but Lawson is badass enough to keep the crowd focused, playing streetwise hustler Leroy Fitz who starts earning big bucks when he lends his brawling skills to an illegal bare knuckle street fighting operation. He’s good, but he wants out so he can settle down and start a family. But the hoods running the racket won’t let him go …

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Emperor of Shaolin Kung Fu (1980)

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Emperor of Shaolin Kung Fu (1980)

The Emperor attempts to kill himself and his staff when Manchu fighters invade the royal palace, only to sever the arm of the Third Princess who escapes clutching her wound. In order to launch some kind of resistance, she plans a kung fu revolt against the evil usurpers only to be outnumbered and swindled by treacherous Chinese scholars seeking their fortune under the new regime. Inexplicably, the Princess turns into a homeless crazy woman and marries street butcher Carter Wong. He doesn’t realise his demented wife is in fact the country’s rightful heir, but plans an assault on the Manchus …

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The Bride with White Hair (1993)

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The Bride with White Hair (1993)

Eclectic, dazzling and mystifying, the fantasy eroticism of The Bride with White Hair is enough to send even the harshest critic into a tailspin. Effortlessly cool and with spellbinding visuals, Peter Pao’s cinematography coupled with Ronny Yu’s fast-paced direction is guaranteed to make your eyes burst, and the sensitive story of love and loyalty, rivalry and trust, will make your heart bleed for our protagonists. All of which is played out in a demonic fury of electrifying gimmickry and martial arts action.

A Romeo and Juliet romance, Leslie Cheung plays Yi-hang, a reclusive warrior who resides atop a mountain and dictates …

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Rush Hour (1998)

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Rush Hour (1998)

Hugely popular buddy cop comedy, the first American made success of Jackie Chan‘s career, contrary to previous attempts Battle Creek Crawl (1980) and The Protector (1985). The film not only broke him internationally but also made him a household name. But the plot is formulaic, the comedy desperate, the action sparse and not half as exciting as Jackie’s Hong Kong work. Jackie plays Inspector Lee, sent from Hong Kong to discover the whereabouts of the Consul’s missing daughter, kidnapped and held to ransom by Chinese terrorists. He is teamed with loudmouth LAPD detective James Carter (Tucker) and the two form …

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Shanghai Noon (2000)

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Shanghai Noon (2000)

Hugely charming action comedy set in the wild west and a decent Hollywood vehicle for the exuberant Jackie Chan and comedian Owen Wilson, who both fit the film’s buddy formula well. A kidnapped princess, a bunch of rival outlaws and a stash of stolen gold act as our guide, but it is clear from the outset that deadpan humour and knockabout action is the real driving force. The final culminates in a great weapons duel between Chan and Yu Rong-guang (Iron Monkey) which is surprisingly prominent and well executed. The fact this is brought to us by the same team …

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The Five Venoms (1978)

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The Five Venoms (1978)

Chang Cheh’s seminal work caused a stir when it was first broadcast on late night TV in America. The cult film spawned merchandise, cartoons and cash-ins, thus becoming possibly the most widely seen Shaw Brothers movie in the studio’s history.

Frankly, the film is quite kitsch and campy, and far from Chang’s best work. Yet The Five Venoms relishes every second of its distinct quirkiness, and although slightly too abstract for any sort of mainstream appeal, the film’s standing as a cult favourite and kung fu movie classic is for the most part well deserved.

Credited for launching numerous careers (Wang Yu, …

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Profile: Yuen Woo-ping

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Profile: Yuen Woo-ping

Date of birth: January 1, 1945 (Guangzhou, China)

Other names: Yuen Wo Ping, Yuen Ho-ping, Peace Yuen, Yuan Ta-yean, Yuan Ta-ten, Yuen Dai-aan, Yuen Woo-pang, Yuan Ho-ping, Yuan Her-ping, Yuan He-ping, Ba Ye

Occupation: Director, producer, actor, action director, writer, production manager, stuntman

Biography: One of the greatest fight choreographers in kung fu cinema, Yuen Woo-ping is credited as a pioneer in the Hong Kong kung fu comedy genre. His prolific filmography has taken him from Hong Kong to Hollywood and encompasses work with a roll call of martial arts stars including Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan, as well …

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Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)

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Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)

Sublime kung fu comedy from the Yuen clan, devised as a sequel to Drunken Master with much of the original cast returning in similar roles. Apart from one glaring absence, Jackie Chan; although young Sunny Yuen slips nicely into the same naive persona, even if he lacks a leading man’s charisma.

He plays Foggy, a part-time pot-wash bumpkin and the adoptive son of drunken vagabond Sam the Seed (played by real-life Yuen clan patriarch Simon Yuen). Sam only discovers he has an adopted son following a chance visit to his long-suffering wife, who devises a plan to help with some father-son …

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Drunken Master (1978)

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Drunken Master (1978)

This is a really great movie, the kind of thing you would recommend to a distant cousin. Brought to us by the Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow team, Drunken Master is a slightly superior film and undoubtedly the quintessential kung fu comedy.

Credit due to all involved: Woo-ping’s stylish direction and choreography, Simon Yuen’s synonymous ageing beggar, Hwang Jang-lee’s dastardly evil adversary. Yet the real delight here is Jackie Chan, strikingly confident from his new found fame and looking better than ever.

Woo-ping retraces the early years of Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung, who is sent as a punishment by his father …

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The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

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The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

Lau Kar-leung’s famous kung fu film, based on monk San Te’s retribution (the Shaolin student credited for opening the temple’s gates to the secular world) plays like a standard revenge flick with some obligatory establishment-bashing thrown in for good measure. The key to the film’s legacy as one of the genre’s greatest treasures, then, lies in its insightful and earnest depiction of the Shaolin Temple as not only a vessel for superhuman kung fu training, but also as a place of solace, piety and emotional development. Here, Lau portrays the spiritual birthplace of martial arts as a character in the …

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