Favorite movie fight scenes

[James Y]

The ****’s Wind Staff (AKA, The Dragon and the Tiger Kids; 1979, Hong Kong). Directors: Wong Yuk-Long & Lu Chun-Ku. Action directors: Corey Yuen, Chin Yuet-Sang, Yuen Shun-Yi, Hsu Hsia & Brandy Yuen.

This final fight scene has one of the crazier endings, and this clip includes the part which was cut from some releases.

Arch-villain Hwang Jang-Lee got a chance to display more than just his super-kicking abilities.

Final fight: Meng Hoi vs Lee Chun-Wah; Meng Hoi, Meng Yuen-Man & Kwon Yung-Moon vs Hwang Jang-Lee:

https://youtu.be/mkbxuqkkjSc

Jim

[James Y]

Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog (1978, Hong Kong). Director: Karl Maka (AKA, Mak Kar). Action directors: Sammo Hung & Lau Kar-Wing.

*Full movie.

I personally consider this to be one of the funnier kung fu comedy films. There are many entertaining kung fu comedies from the late ‘70s/early ‘80s for their action sequences, but very few whose comedy actually makes me chuckle like this one. The humor in comedies starring Sammo Hung in particular was usually pretty sharp, and IMO funnier than Jackie Chan’s comedies.

Sammo Hung fought Dean Shek in at least four films, and three of those fights were cartoonishly funny, especially Sammo’s and Dean’s body language, facial expressions, and reactions to each other. Believe it or not, Dean Shek also played serious roles in other films, especially later ones. In this movie, Dean Shek is wearing the eye patch.

The arch-villain, played by Lee Hoi-Sang, does not possess “invincibility kung fu” like “iron shirt/iron vest”, but instead wears a literal iron vest.

I’ve listed the later fights and their locations in the movie separately, but the scenes pretty much follow each other. The subtitles are not great, but if you get what’s being said, it’s pretty funny (IMO; YMMV).

Fight (@1:12:32); Sammo Hung vs Dean Shek & his men (Sammo vs Dean Shek begins @ 1:14:04):

Lau Kar-Wing vs Jason Pai Piao (@1:16:48):

Challenge letter scene, featuring Lee Hoi-Sang, Dean Shek & Peter Chan Lung (1:20:56):

Final fight 1: Sammo Hung & Lau Kar-Wing vs Lee Hoi-Sang (@1:22:10):

Final fight 2; Sammo Hung vs Lau Kar-Wing, stick fight (@1:29:01):

https://youtu.be/0fVlZ6FT4Pk

Jim

[James Y]

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981, Hong Kong; filmed in South Korea). Director: Hwang Jang-Lee. Action directors: Corey Yuen, Chin Yuet-Sang & Meng Hoi.

*Full movie.

This movie was a couple of firsts for Hwang Jang-Lee. The Korean Tae Kwon Do master was mostly cast as villains in Hong Kong and Taiwan kung fu movies. This movie was Hwang’s first effort as a director, and his first time playing the leading role. And this film needed a great arch-villain, and they got him in Eddy Ko Hung (AKA, Eddy Ko). Eddy was most notably the arch-villain in Thundering Mantis (posted earlier in this thread); but IMO, this was Eddy Ko Hung’s best performance in a villain role.

This was filmed in South Korea. Besides Hwang Jang-Lee himself, most of the main cast is composed of Hong Kong actors like Eddy Ko Hung (“The Tiger”), Tino Wong (The Tiger’s senior student), Fan Mei-Sheng (the beggar), Au-Yeung Yiu-Yam (the young monk who trains Hwang), To Siu-Ming (Hwang’s brother-in-law), etc., while most of the extras and lesser roles were filled by Koreans. An exception is Korean actor Jang Il-Shik, who plays the abbot of the Buddhist temple.

The fight scenes are in staccato fashion, but that is to clearly show the movements/techniques being used. Personally, I don’t care. It’s a movie, so it requires a suspension of disbelief, anyway. As was mentioned about him in previous posts, Hwang Jang-Lee, as a member of South Korea’s infamous Tiger Division, actually killed a knife-wielding attacker during the Vietnam war with a single high kick to the head, so he certainly knew the difference between real and choreographed fights. Meng Hoi doubled Hwang for some of the more acrobatic movements.

Final fights (starting @ 59:08): Hwang Jang-Lee vs Tino Wong & henchmen; Hwang Jang-Lee vs Eddy Ko Hung:

https://youtu.be/XwEXIdrmD1U

Jim

[shunsui]

A little something for Valentine's Day.

https://youtu.be/_nnOcgElmMc

[James Y]

Avenging Boxer (alternate title: Fearless Young Boxer; 1979, Taiwan). Director: Jimmy Shaw Fung. Action director: Huang Kuo-Chu.

*Full Movie.


This is one of a few movies in which Korean actor/martial artist/super-kicker Casanova Wong (real name: Kim Yong-Ho) played a villain, and IMO this was his best villainous role. In this film he plays a hired assassin whose martial arts skills are so good that the two young lead characters, played by Peter Chang and Hwa Ling, must lure him into a warehouse that they’ve pre-rigged with traps in order to defeat him. This final fight must have been extremely grueling to film in that warehouse, especially if it was filmed during one of Taiwan’s extremely humid summers..

Final fight (@ 1:19:30): Peter Chang & Hwa Ling vs Casanova Wong:

https://youtu.be/UpHiaLehrqU

Jim

[shunsui]

Just so..

https://youtu.be/NTDPl2Ey7Jw

[James Y]

Just so..

https://youtu.be/NTDPl2Ey7Jw

Thanks for that, entry, shunsui!

Jim

[James Y]

Master Killers (alternate title: The Master Avengers; 1980, Taiwan). Director: Wang Hung-Chang. Action directors: Philip Ko Fei & Yuen Lung.

*Note: This movie, “Master Killers,” is not to be confused with “Master Killer,” which was the Westernized international title of the classic movie “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.”

**Note 2: For whatever reasons, these YouTube vids from the movie are heavily cut and completely exclude the fight endings. And the full movie isn’t available on YouTube, either. Which is strange, because there should be no licensing issues at all with this movie. IMO, the movie itself isn’t great, but some of the fight scenes, in particular those involving arch-villain Philip Ko Fei, are excellent. The final fight in particular is MUCH longer and more involved than the second vid presented below shows.

Of the three participants in the final fight, only Casanova Wong is still alive today. Sadly, lead star Blackie Ko (AKA Ko Shou-Liang; 1953-2003) and arch-villain Philip Ko Fei (1949-2017) have passed away.

Blackie Ko played both good guy and bad guy roles in kung fu films, but he later became more well-known for his daredevil car and motorcycle stunts.

Philip Ko Fei was one of the greatest performers in kung fu films and one of my personal favorites, and he tended to dominate the action in most of his performances, including in this movie. He mostly played villains, but on occasion played good guys. He excelled in his villain roles, and was one of the most versatile performers.

Casanova Wong vs Philip Ko Fei:

https://youtu.be/hGhNW-h477g

Blackie Ko vs Bolo Yeung & Huang Guo-Liang: Final fight scene (heavily shortened and cut): Casanova Wong & Blackie Ko vs Philip Ko Fei:

https://youtu.be/bwh4LkunzyY

Jim

[James Y]

Tiger Over Wall (1980, Hong Kong). Director: Lu Chun-Ku. Action director: Tang Tak-Cheung.

This was one of the few films in which Philip Ko Fei played the lead role. As was mentioned in the last post, he usually played villains. But he showed that he was comfortable enough as a leading man as well. Philip Ko Fei was always recognizable, but his physical appearance often changed dramatically from role to role. He was one of the few "screen fighters" who could share the screen in a starring role opposite Hwang Jang-Lee without Hwang completely stealing the show.

Final fight: Philip Ko Fei vs Hwang Jang-Lee:

https://youtu.be/KU90FVYLQbU

Jim

[abbazaba]

Maybe off topic compared to most of the ones in this thread, but the staircase fight scene in Atomic Blonde was pretty fun. They shot it like all one cut:

https://youtu.be/rAXrcFBJXjM

[James Y]

Maybe off topic compared to most of the ones in this thread, but the staircase fight scene in Atomic Blonde was pretty fun. They shot it like all one cut:

https://youtu.be/rAXrcFBJXjM

abbazaba:

Thanks for posting! Your contribution is not off-topic at all.

Jim

[James Y]

The Gold Connection (alternate title: The Iron Dragon Strikes Back; 1979, Hong Kong). Director: Kuei Chih-Hung. Action director: Luk Chuen.

This final fight scene was Ho Chung-Tao’s (AKA Bruce Li) most brutal and possibly best of his career. When he wasn’t forced to be a Bruce Lee knockoff (he had no resemblance to Bruce Lee at all, not in appearance, personality, nor movements), Ho Chung-Tao had some pretty decent to good performances. Although his personality wasn’t all that interesting, he was a competent screen fighter and a fair actor.

This is yet another entry of many in this thread that features Philip Ko Fei, this time as an assassin.

This final fight scene is slightly claustrophobic, as it takes place in a semi-darkened apartment. The mood has as much in common with the suspense/horror genres as it does the kung fu genre. Director Kuei Chih-Hung was also known for his often bizarre and graphic horror films, as well as gritty crime thrillers.

*Note: Clicking on the video gives you a link to click to watch it on YouTube. For whatever reason, playback on other websites has been disabled by the video owner. :confused: :mad:

Final fight: Ho Chung-Tao (AKA Bruce Li) vs Philip Ko Fei:

https://youtu.be/l1vg2qTas-o

Jim

[James Y]

Crazy Horse, Intelligent Monkey (1982, Hong Kong). Director: Lu Chun-Ku. Action directors: Alan Chui & Chin Yuet-Sang.

*Full movie.

Note: Although listed as a 1982 film, I know for a fact that I saw it before 1982. By all appearances, I believe it was filmed and released in 1979.

Leading man Chi Kuan-Chun (seen in previous entries in this thread) was a legitimate expert at Hung Gar kung fu, and to this day, at age 70, he still looks youthful and “jacked up” for his age. He was always serious onscreen; in kung fu comedies such as this, he always played the straight man.

Han Kwok-Choi, the small acrobat portraying the “monkey” was a former Peking Opera performer.

Wen Hsueh-Erh (AKA Candy Wen) was in several kung fu films, but very rarely participated in fight scenes. She usually played “spoiled, bratty girl” types. So her displays of athleticism in this film were something of a departure from her usual roles.

Chu Tiet-Wo was one of the most underrated kung fu performers, who usually played villains. IMO, his best fighting was against Billy Chong in Jade Claw (AKA Crystal Fist; see page 14 of this thread). But his performance as the arch-villain here comes close.

Bad guys showdown (@ 52:40 - 56:36): Chu Tiet-Wo vs 3 killers (Wang Kuang-Yu, Wong Chi-Ming & Chou Chiang).

Final fight (@ 1:19:50): Chi Kuan-Chun & Han Kwok-Choi vs Chu Tiet-Wo; Wen Hsueh-Erh vs henchmen (Lau Hok-Nin & Stephen Yip):

https://youtu.be/DmTOzBga37I

Jim

[James Y]

Buddha’s Palm & Dragon Fist (alternate titles: Roving Heroes; Two Heroes, Shooting Stars; 1980, Taiwan). Director: Ke Shih-Hao. Action directors: Sun Shu-Pei & Hsiao Di.

*Full movie.

Chi Kuan-Chun was/is a real-life expert in Hung Gar kung fu, and was among the best of the “hand specialists” or “punchers” (as opposed to the “kickers” like John Liu, Hwang Jang-Lee, Casanova Wong, Tan Tao-Liang, etc.) of the kung fu genre. Other great “hand specialists” of the genre included Lau Kar-Leung, Lau Kar-Wing, Gordon Liu, Ti Lung, Wang Lung-Wei, Yen Shi-Kwan, Lo Meng, Chu Tiet-Wo, Lee Hoi-Sang, Leung Kar-Yan, Eddy Ko Hung, Philip Ko Fei, Sun Kuo-Ming, etc. In this and some of Chi Kuan-Chun’s other post-Shaw Brothers films, his characters performed some acrobatic moves, but those were doubled; Chi Kuan-Chun was not an acrobat.

Co-star Li Yi-Min was another alumni of Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Peking Opera academy. Supposedly, at one time he held the world record for whip-back somersaults.

Sun Shu-Pei (AKA Sun Shu-Pao) was an interesting choice to play the arch-villain. Although he usually played bad guys, his characters in kung fu films were generally sneaky, passive-aggressive little weaklings, and oftentimes weren’t even fighters at all, but corrupt officials, servants, or advisors to the main villains. Great examples were his roles in The Five Deadly Venoms (AKA The Five Venoms) and Invincible Shaolin. In this film he played the arch-villain role well, but just from a cinematic standpoint and physical appearances alone, it seems hard to imagine that it would require both Chi Kuan-Chun and Li Yi-Min to take him down, but the choreography certainly helps. It also shows that in many/most of the films he appeared in, Sun Shu-Pei’s physical talents had been overlooked or wasted.

Final fight (starting from 1:15:05): Chi Kuan-Chun & Li Yi-Min vs Sun Shu-Pei:

https://youtu.be/YuNe8lGRTZg

Jim

[Bloke]

[James Y]

Thanks, Bloke! Though I wouldn’t recommend going around sucker-punching random strangers, especially wearing only underwear! If he did that in some neighborhoods around here, or to the wrong person(s), he’d experience some street justice and be made to suffer for sure!

Jim

[James Y]

Heroes Two (1974, Hong Kong). Director: Chang Cheh. Action directors: Lau Kar-Leung & Tang Chia (AKA Tong Kai).

*Note: These two video clips were posted only recently, and since HD video clips like these from Shaw Brothers Studios productions usually get taken off of YouTube due to licensing issues, I don’t know how long these clips will be up and available for viewing.

This was the first kung fu movie to feature “shapes,” or kung fu “animal styles.” In this case, it is the Tiger and the Crane (or “stork”) styles. After this movie, and throughout the rest of the ‘70s and into the ‘80s, period kung fu movies became much more style-conscious, with choreography emphasizing more complexity and variety of techniques/movements than ever before. And although this wasn’t the first movie to feature an arch-villain that required two or more protagonists to defeat in the end, it was the first in which the heroes had to combine distinct styles in order to do so. This is also the movie that began director Chang Cheh’s “Shaolin Cycle” of films that featured Shaolin-trained patriots attempting to overthrow China’s corrupt (Ching/Qing Dynasty) Manchurian rulers, and the Manchurian’ attempts at wiping out the rebel groups.

The screen goes red when someone is mortally wounded, a highly effective cinematic technique used by director Chang during this period. In some of his other films, the screen goes black and white when someone (usually a hero) is killed off.

The Shaolin patriots/rebels are played by: Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-Tai, Tang Yen-Tsan, Wu Chi-Chin, Jamie Luk, Li Chen-Piao, Chih I-Hsiung, etc.

The Tibetan Red-Robed Fighters are played by: Lau Kar-Wing, Lee Hoi-Sang, Huang Pei-Chi & Chen Chuan.

Some of the actors playing Manchu soldiers include: Tino Wong, Yuen Shun-Yi, Hsu Hsia, Brandy Yuen, Danny Chow, Lee Chiu, etc., etc.

The arch-villain is played by Chu Mu.

Final battle (clips 1 & 2:) Alexander Fu Sheng, Chen Kuan-Tai & Wu Chi-Chin vs the Red-Robed Fighters. Rebels vs Manchu soldiers. Alexander Fu Sheng & Chen Kuan-Tai vs Chu Mu:

https://youtu.be/ZXl_rSicZAo

https://youtu.be/N9473aADA3c

Jim

[James Y]

King Boxer (alternate title: Five Fingers of Death; 1972, Hong Kong). Director: Cheng Chang-Ho. Action directors: Lau Kar-Wing & Chan Chuen.

King Boxer, in English-dubbed form under its alternate title, Five Fingers of Death, was the very first Hong Kong Chinese kung fu movie that received general release in the United States, and preceded the release of Bruce Lee’s movies. King Boxer literally kicked off the 1970s “kung fu craze” in the US. Ironically, King Boxer’s director, Cheng Chang-Ho (AKA Jeong Chang-Hwa) was of Korean descent.

A common misconception among many Westerners who are aware of the above fact is that it was THE first kung fu movie EVER released in the US. In fact, kung fu and wuxia (“martial hero,” or Chinese wandering swordsman/swordswoman movies) had already been shown in the US for years, in original subtitled form in Chinatown movie theaters.

Throughout his long career, leading man Lo Lieh played villains far more often than heroes, and he had been acting in Shaw Brothers Studios movies since 1964. He had already acted in over 30 films prior to King Boxer, but this movie propelled him to international stardom for a short time. Whenever his character readies his “iron palms”, the opening musical cue from Quincy Jones’ Ironside theme plays, which became one of the great memorable aspects of this film, and which Quentin Tarantino subsequently adapted into his Kill Bill Vol. 1.

The style of screen fighting here is what is commonly referred to by knowledgeable kung fu movie fans as “basher style,” meaning little to no stylistic differences from one fighter to another, or between Chinese and Japanese fighters, etc. The techniques tended to be generic punches, kicks and throws, often (but not always) performed by actors with obviously limited (if any) martial arts training. This was the type of screen fighting in Hong Kong martial arts-related films before 1974’s Heroes Two (see previous post) hit the scene. During this early period, even legitimate real-life martial artists and other highly-trained physical performers who would later display choreographed greatness onscreen, such as Sammo Hung, Chan Wai-Man, Lau Kar-Wing, Ti Lung, Chen Kuan-Tai, Bruce Leung, etc., looked comparatively crude in their screen fights. The star of this film, Lo Lieh (1939-2002), was never an accomplished martial artist, even years later, when superior/more sophisticated choreography allowed his screen fighting performances to improve considerably.

Final fight: Lo Lieh vs Chao Hsiung:

https://youtu.be/eauaBE9_o_4

Jim

[James Y]

Shaolin Abbot (alternate titles: A Slice of Death; Abbot of Shaolin; 1979, Hong Kong). Director: Ho Meng-Hua. Action director: Tang Tak-Cheung.

Lo Lieh first played the Taoist priest Pai Mei in Executioner From Shaolin; this was the second time he played Pai Mei, though this movie is not a sequel. The name “Pai Mei” (which is actually pronounced Bai Mei in Mandarin) literally translates as “White Eyebrow”. He was based on one of the legendary Five Elders of Shaolin lore who escaped the original destruction of Shaolin Temple, then later switched from Buddhism to Taoism. There an actual traditional kung fu system named after him, usually referred to by the Cantonese pronunciation of his name, Bak Mei. In movies, he was always portrayed as a villain who collaborated with the corrupt Qing/Ching Dynasty Manchu rulers against the patriotic Shaolin rebel groups seeking to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.

David Chiang was never a particularly powerful-looking screen fighter, but his monk character here is portrayed as superhumanly powerful due to his (cinematic) high level of kung fu development. IMO, this was one of David Chiang’s better screen fighting performances.

As in Executioner From Shaolin, the Priest Pai Mei possesses the skill of Jin Zhong Zhao (Golden Bell Cover); a type of “invulnerability kung fu” that nevertheless always has a hidden weak point.

David Chiang vs Chiang Tao. Final fight; Lily Li vs Ku Kuan-Chung. Norman Chu, Tang Yen-Tsan, Jamie Luk, Ng Hong-Sang & Kwon Yan-Chi vs Lo Lieh. David Chiang vs Lo Lieh:

https://youtu.be/DI63tsjikPw

Jim

[James Y]

Shaolin Mantis (1978, Hong Kong). Director: Lau Kar-Leung. Action directors: Lau Kar-Leung & Wilson Tong.

This was another one of David Chiang’s better action performances...actually, IMO, this movie contained his best screen fighting performances of his career. David Chiang’s slight frame actually fit his character for this movie, in which he played a Qing spy infiltrating a household of anti-Qing Dynasty patriots by posing as a tutor for the daughter. David Chiang’s physique and face made him appear more scholarly/bookish than like a fighter. David Chiang always had a calm, cool type of charisma and was a very good actor, but In his early movies, his fight scenes were not very convincing. But by the mid-to-late ‘70s, the choreography (and probably his physical skills) had evolved considerably.

The very ending of this movie had one of the greatest plot twists ever in a movie. **spoiler alert if you ever plan to see it in its entirety.** The plot twist was less of a surprise to anyone who knows something about Chinese history, or who was familiar with kung fu movies and the Qing/Ching Dynasty and the anti-Manchurian patriots who wanted to overthrow it. In this movie, the protagonist is actually working for the villains (the Manchus), and the “villains” are actually anti-Qing/anti-Manchu patriots. Throughout the movie that isn’t a secret; it’s the post-fight ending that might throw casual fans unfamiliar with this for a bit of a loop.

Final fight: David Chiang vs Lau Kar-Wing:

https://youtu.be/2HiFJ_4Z2bQ

Jim