Am I the only one who watches Kung-Fu movies?

[Guy Fawkes]

Why don't most people appreciate the amazing art of old kung-fu movies?

[a_random_joel]

1. Right here...

And if you like hip hop/turntablism... mixed with old King Fu movies,

I highly recommend the Kung Faux DVD.

[xultar]

2. I love the 5 Venoms! n /t

[TroubleMan]

3. Love them to death...especially the ridiculous, make no sense ones

Have you ever watched any Wang Yu movies?

I've been wanting to discuss those and some of the earliest Yuen Brothers movies for a while, but nobody's seen them here but me.

On edit:

Loved Kung Faux....if you like that get Drunken Wu-Tang, Wu-Tang Master, and Drunken Tai-Chi.

[Skittles]

4. I hope so

:7

[ariesgem]

5. I'm a female who grew up on Kung Fu Movies

Back in the 70's my father took me every Sat. to see the latest flicks.

My favorites:

EVERYTHING Bruce Lee
5 Fingers of Death
Lady Kung Fu (She kicked major ass and sliced her enemies with a swinging ponytail laced with razors)


There were more movies titles that I can't remember but you can always count on the good guys saying - "You killed my Master!!" and most of the bad dudes having an evil sounding laugh and a long white beard. :)

[Amaya]

6. Love Kung-Fu movies!

Thought I was the only one?:D

[Tummler]

7. Most people are stupid

Up 'til the last year or two, I was never interested in kung fu movies at all. Then I saw three Shaw Brothers classics that got me hooked: Crippled Avengers (a.k.a. The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms), The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter. All three are still among my favorite kung fu films of all time.

My areas of interest include the Shaw directors Lau Kar-Leung (Liu Chia-Liang), Chang Cheh, and Chor Yuen; independents like Ng See-Yuen and Joseph Kuo; and assorted directors/stars like Yuen Woo-Ping (pre-wirefu) and Sammo Hung.

DVD options for classic kung fu movies are getting better all the time. Though we were limited to dubbed and cropped versions in the past, a lot of classics are now available in widescreen with the original Mandarin or Cantonese soundtrack. In particular, Celestial Pictures is on a schedule to release all the Shaw Brothers library on superb, remastered editions. Right now, you'll need a region-free DVD player to watch 'em; Miramax owns the U.S. rights and will probably butcher the Region 1 releases, if we ever see such releases.

If you want to get an idea of what's out there on the DVD market, check out my list of kung fu and wuxia pien DVDs in my collection.

For DVD and film reviews, one of the best sites is http://www.kungfucinema.com (I have no affiliation with said site).

In closing, let me recommend the recent Thai film Ong-bak to anyone who has even the slightest interest in martial arts films. It's easily the best martial arts flick since Drunken Master 2 from the early '90s. There are no authorized DVDs of Ong-bak with English subtitles, but you can find versions with English subs if you look around.

[TroubleMan]

9. Lar Kar-Leung is awesome

I've got 8 Diagram Pole Fighter on DVD.

I've got an excellent subtitled VHS of Drunken Master II (the same version featured in your collection), another gem by him. I know a lot of you guys don't like Jackie Chan's politics, but that was a great movie.

Also, what's different in the uncut version of Master of The Flying Guillotine, as opposed version they're showing on one of the Showtime networks now?

Nice collection....It's about double or triple mine :(.

[Tummler]

15. According to these reviews ...

... the uncut Master of the Flying Guillotine has 10 to 12 minutes of added (previously lost?) footage:
http://www.kfccinema.com/reviews/kungfu/guillotine/guillotine.html
http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/masteroftheflyingguillotine.htm

I've never seen the "standard" version, so I don't know any specific differences from the "uncut."

Have you seen any of the original Flying Guillotine movies from Shaw Brothers? Flying Guillotine (starring Chen Kuan-tai) and Flying Guillotine 2 (starring Ti Lung) are just out on Celestial DVDs. Provided you buy into the fantasy weapon's efficacy, the movies are a lot of fun.

[TroubleMan]

21. No....I'm just catching up on the Shaw movies

I've known about them for awhile, and have seen several, but I'm in a quest to see most of them. I haven't seen those.

I love Wang Yu movies...he made some of the craziest movies ever. Have you ever seen Fantasy Mission Force highly intoxicated?....OMG....

To this date though my favorite is still probably Drunken Master II. The restaurant fight, and the final fight scene (from white guy with the chain til the end) are two of the best fight scenes ever - all packed in one movie where the rest of the fight scenes are really good, too, and there's good acting - and lots of humor. In fact it might be one of my all time faves.

[chenGOD]

11. Yesss Ong Bak.....I saw that in the theatre about 2 weeks ago...

What a great movie that is. Tony Ja is amazing.

Oh wow...you have a great list...the first movie you have listed, "Ashes of Time" is a fucking classic. Beautiful movie. Then on your other list "18 Bronzemen". You seem to be missing Shaolin vs. Lama though...or maybe you just didn't like it enough to put it on your lists? It's a classic, regardless.


What did you think about Jet Li's remake of Chinese Connection? I like it much better than Bruce Lee's original.

[Tummler]

23. I want to see "Shaolin vs. Lama," but I'm waiting for a better DVD

Supposedly the current DVDs are your standard dubbed, cropped transfers from someone's moldy old VHS tape, e.g.:
http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/shaolinvslama.htm

I have so many unwatched DVDs that I can stand to wait for a superior, widescreen DVD for any given film. I think we'll eventually see such a release for Shaolin vs. Lama.

My collection is pretty sad compared to some of the hardcore kung fu freaks. After all, I've only been into these movies for a year or two. Go into any serious kung fu message board, and you'll find experts with hundreds of DVDs in addition to their many hundreds of old VHS copies. Those guys are a great resource for newbies like me.

Fist of Legend was awesome! Along with Ong-bak and Drunken Master 2, it's one of my three favorite kung fu films of the past 20 years. While I have great respect for Bruce Lee, I'm not alone in considering his movies to be pretty poor in quality. The Jet Li version was a welcome remake.

[BigMcLargehuge]

8. I am the kung fu master!!!!

Gordon Leiu is my favorite. His Master Killer movies are the best of the Hong Kong cinema before the John Woo rebirth. Also love all the Young Hero from Shaolin movies.

I've seen sooooo many I can't even remember their titles.

[Khephra]

10. Big fan here

It's been some time since I've seen any new or old ones. Right now I'm just working on my Godzilla films. After I get a complete collection of those, I'll probably start working on my MA DVD collection.

[BigMcLargehuge]

12. ahhh godzilla films

Columbia Tri-Star is supposed release Son of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster, Godzilla vs. Ebirah, and Godzilla vs. Megalon on DVD this autumn. No word on what sort of release, but smart money says probably full screen pan and scan with original dubbing.

Did you see the monster boxed set available in Japan? All the films, plus a space for Godzilla Wars when it's released.

Drooooooooool

[Khephra]

13. GAK!

I'd love to have that, but I can't even imagine how much it would cost.

:soundofmedrooling:

[BigMcLargehuge]

14. 80,000 yen....

should be hitting eBay soon... figure around 150 bucks, or so I've heard.

[Khephra]

16. Action Encore has been showing several of the new films

in subtitled form. I'll have to settle on off-the-air DVD copies for a bit.

[BigMcLargehuge]

18. they run the Heisei series all the time lately

I watched Godzilla vs Destroyah yesterday. The good news is we might get a theatrical release of Godzilla Mothra Tokyo SOS around Thanksgiving. I've also heard that Columbia Tri-Star has the DVD distribution rights to Rialto pics release of the original 1954 Gojira that toured the art house circuit this summer.

Have you checked out the Heisei Gamera films? They are incredible.

[Khephra]

22. I've only seen the first "new" Gamera film

They're "On my list" too.

:-)

[BigMcLargehuge]

25. ADV also has a cheapy set of the three Daimajin movies out

it's subtitles only and the picture is a little washed out (at least I thought so), but can be had for less than 15 bucks even at rip-off joints like Suncoast.

[Tummler]

17. I wish!

According to http://www.xe.com, the current exchange rate is 1 USD = 108.710 JPY. At that rate, 80,000 yen = $735.90. Japanese DVDs are insanely expensive as is (~$50 each?), so a 30-disc box set is squarely in the "arm and a leg" category.

Of course, amazon.co.jp has it for a mere 79,800 yen, down from the MSRP of 99,750 yen ... at that bargain price, how can you not buy it!?! ;)



I think I'll pass on this one, but it looks awfully nice.

[BigMcLargehuge]

19. hey, is your username drawn from Gummo?

thanks for the exchange information.

[Tummler]

24. Yes it is.

Gummo rules.

[BigMcLargehuge]

26. loved that movie

my review here

http://www.horrorview.com/Gummo.htm

[Ivan Zero]

20. Oh yeah

Remember all those Bruce Lee clones that popped up after he died? One of my supreme guilty pleasures is that Bruce Li classic "Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave". Worst ... dubbing ... ever.

Always loved Sonny Chiba's stuff, so it was a kick to see him in "Kill Bill".

[Tummler]

27. Morning kung fu kick

Who else will admit to being a kung fu buff?

:kick: