Asian films that represent what I like best
Kung fu cinema as a genre is a huge part of my taste in movies, but it's hard for me to know how to include it in my other lists of favorite movies, so Asian movies are getting their own list. Of course there is more to Asian cinema than martial arts movies and historical epics. But I have really only been exposed to post-1970 martial arts films, and even those have been disproportionately Golden Harvest over Shaw. So I admit that when I enjoy Asian comedy and drama, it's typically paired with action, and this list isn't even a good history of Asian action films. Japanese cinema is poorly represented here, and Indian films aren't present in my collection at all. Still, as limited in scope as this may be, here are some recommendations.
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- DirectorSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsJackie ChanBiao YuenSammo Kam-Bo HungTwo Chinese friends, who operate a food truck in Barcelona, Spain, use their martial arts expertise to help their private investigator friend protect the pickpocket Sylvia, who's been targeted by a ruthless gang.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiTakeshi KaneshiroFengyi ZhangThe first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
- DirectorYeon Sang-hoStarsGong YooJung Yu-miMa Dong-seokWhile a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
- DirectorBenny ChanJackie ChanStarsJackie ChanMichelle FerreMirai YamamotoA Secret Agent loses his memory after falling from a crashing helicopter. He is then chased by several other agency operatives, but he has no idea why.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsJet LiMichelle YeohSiu-Ho ChinTwo friends, ex Shaolin monks, part ways as they brush with the ongoing rebellion against the government. The ambitious one rises up to be a powerful military commander, while his betrayed friend resorts to learn the calm ways of Tai Chi.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsJet LiTony Leung Chiu-waiMaggie CheungA defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
- DirectorWei LoChia-Hsiang WuStarsBruce LeeMaria YiJames TienA young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.
- DirectorKim Jee-woonStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsRongguang YuDonnie YenJean WangA martial artist/doctor steals from the corrupt authorities as a masked thief to give to the poor while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt him down. But a major threat unites them as a powerful and traitorous shaolin monk takes over the authorities.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneMachiko KyôMasayuki MoriThe rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatDanny LeeSally YehA disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
- DirectorJackie ChanSammo Kam-Bo HungStarsJackie ChanSammo Kam-Bo HungBiao YuenFighting against pirates at the turn of the 20th century, the Hong Kong navy are failing miserably. It's up to Sergeant Lung (Jackie Chan) to take matters into his own hands.
- DirectorRonny YuStarsBrigitte LinLeslie CheungFrancis NgCho Yat-Hang, the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against an evil cult, falls in forbidden love with Lien Ni-Chang, a killer for the evil cult.
- DirectorPrachya PinkaewStarsTony JaaNathan JonesXing JinA young fighter named Kham must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards.
- DirectorPrachya PinkaewStarsJeeJa YaninHiroshi AbePongpat WachirabunjongAn autistic girl with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.
- DirectorAndrew LauStarsEkin ChengShu QiKristy YeungHero Wah goes to study under Master Pride. When he returns to his parents, he learns that they have been murdered by a band of evil Westerners. After impregnating his wife Jade, he ventures to New York in search of his parents' killers.
- DirectorTakashi YamazakiStarsTakeshi KaneshiroAnne SuzukiGorô KishitaniA young woman from the future forces a local gunman to help her stop an impending alien invasion which will wipe out the human race.
- DirectorKing HuStarsPolly Ling-Feng Shang-KuanChun ShihYing BaiWhen the children of an executed General are pursued in 1457 China, some heroic martial arts swordsmen intervene.
- DirectorTung Cho 'Joe' CheungStarsRichard NgJohn ShamDeannie IpChau and Beethoven, two Hong Kong police detectives, go through misadventures to protect a young girl from a ruthless crime lord, as she possesses a ledger that contains all of the gangster's activities. In the mix is a tough, no-nonsense policewoman, who falls for one of the detectives.
- DirectorHideki TakeuchiStarsHiroshi AbeAya UetoKazuki KitamuraLucius, a Roman architect, is transported through time to modern-day Japan, where he learns about Japanese bathhouses and uses this to his gain back home.
- DirectorWen JiangStarsChow Yun-FatWen JiangYou GeIn 1920s China, a bandit arrives in a remote provincial town posing as its new mayor, where he faces off against a tyrannical local nobleman.
- DirectorStephen ChowStarsStephen ChowWah YuenQiu YuenIn Shanghai, China in the 1940s, a wannabe gangster aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang" while residents of a housing complex exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.
- DirectorChi-Hwa ChenStarsJackie ChanNora MiaoCheng-Lan ChinA martial arts book, which Hsu Yin-Fung carries, is being highly sought by various clans and gangs, but he is in pursuit of someone himself.
- DirectorWoo-Ping YuenStarsWenzhuo ZhaoXun ZhouAndy OnChina, 1861: After rescuing the Qing prince from rebels, General Su retires to start a martial arts school. His foster brother betrays him and Su barely survives. Su has a new enemy to defeat.
- DirectorCheh ChangStarsJimmy Wang YuChiao ChiaoChung-Hsin HuangA noble swordsman, whose arm had been chopped off, returns to his former teacher to defend him from a villainous gang of rival swordsmen.
- DirectorWilson YipStarsDonnie YenSimon YamSiu-Wong FanDuring the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisAnanda GeorgeRay SahetapyA S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsAndy LauMaggie CheungJacky CheungMid-level gangster Wah falls in love with his beautiful cousin, but must also continue to protect his volatile partner-in-crime and friend, Fly.
- DirectorChia-Liang LiuStarsKuan Tai ChenLieh LoYue WongHong Hsi-Kuan devotes years to mastering Tiger style Kung Fu in order to defeat the evil priest Pai Mei. His wife, who is an expert in Crane style Kung Fu, has a feeling training in only one style won't be enough.