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rangefinder wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 27, 2019 6:46 pm

"Casino Royale" has several good gritty fight scenes that are (intentionally) a complete reversal from the previous films where Bond would barely get his hands dirty in a fight. The opener in B/W is short and raw:

https://youtu.be/iNW5LDF60Ec

And on a lighter note... If you lived in Seattle in the 80s/90s then you've probably seen "Almost Live", a skit comedy show on KING5. One of the highlights was the "Mind Your Manners With Billy Quan" skits which was a parody of Hong Kong films that were dubbed and used wire work for stunts. Here's the first one that came up in a YouTube search but there are dozens like this.

https://youtu.be/CUp1BAd7WWE

("Almost Live" is where Bill Nye created the "Bill Nye The Science Guy" character that he has turned into a life-long career. It's also where Joel McHale got his start.)

Yup, Daniel Craig is definitely the most aggressive, athletic and fight-oriented 007 of them all.

Jim

Zen Kwun Do Strikes in Paris (1981; filmed in Hong Kong and Paris). Director: John Liu.

Another, briefer clip of John Liu, from his laughably self-indulgent, self-directed vanity film in which he played himself. Zen Kwun Do is the name he gave his own version of Tae Kwon Do and Karate when he taught in Europe. If you're wondering why he's jogging in his Karate gi in the hills around Hong Kong, he also wears it around Paris a bit in the movie, too. :)

Opening fight: John Liu vs thugs (Meng Yuan-Man, Wing Chi-Ming, and ?):

https://youtu.be/kTMAYD-nXPY

Jim

Outlaw Brothers (1990, Hong Kong). Director: Frankie Chan.

A friend of mine grew up with Jeff Falcon (the little guy with the fan) in San Diego.

Final fight: Yukari Oshima and Frankie Chan vs Jeff Falcon, Mark Houghton, and Michiko Nishiwaki:

https://youtu.be/DzCM6zSngkQ

Jim

Kuro Obi (Black Belt; 2007, Japan). Director: Shunichi Nagasaki.

Note:
The two leading characters are portrayed by real-life Karate sensei; Tatsuya Naka is a Shotokan Karate sensei, and Akihito Yagi is an Okinawan Goju-Ryu sensei.

Dojo fight; featuring Tatsuya Naka and Akihito Yagi vs military swordsmen:

https://youtu.be/lfeXv7BZWwQ

Jim

I like the IP Man movie series quite a bit! All of their fighting scenes are my favorites. Or how about the final fighting scene in Cobrai Kai Season 2 last episode? :D

kreisler wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 30, 2019 2:47 am

I like the IP Man movie series quite a bit! All of their fighting scenes are my favorites. Or how about the final fighting scene in Cobrai Kai Season 2 last episode? :D

Hi, kreisler. No doubt the Ip Man film series is a good one. IMO, the first one is still the best.

Ip Man (2007; Shanghai, China). Director: Wilson Yip. Martial arts directors: Sammo Hung, Tony Leung Siu-Hung.

IMO, the following scene is the best in the Ip Man film series. It is NOT based on fact. Ip Man (alternate spelling: Yip Man) never fought a roomful of Japanse Karate black belts, and probably not even one. The scene is pure fiction. Because Ip Man was Bruce Lee's Wing Chun teacher, this scene was clearly inspired by, and pays homage to, Bruce Lee's dojo fight scene in Fist of Fury.

Dojo fight scene: Donnie Yen vs Japanese Karate black belts:

https://youtu.be/7fgr0zwHG1Q

Jim

Sun Dragon (alternate title: A Hard Way to Die, 1979, Hong Kong; filmed in Arizona and Taiwan). Director: Hwa I-Hung.

Sun Dragon has the distinction of having probably the worst English dubbing job of any movie in history. Carl Scott was (is?) a member of the Black Karate Federation in Los Angeles. Louis Neglia was a kickboxing champion from New York. Billy Chong (AKA Willy Dozan) is a famous Indonesian actor and Karate expert. Both Billy Chong and Carl Scott were martial arts prodigies, but IMO the real surprise (for the movie) was Louis Neglia. AFAIK, this was Neglia's first and only movie appearance, and he was willing and able to adapt to the Kung Fu-style choreography. With only a few exceptions (like Benny Urquidez), most 'real' fighters, especially full-contact fighters, have great difficulty adapting themselves and their styles to look good onscreen in choreographed fights. The fact that Neglia was open-minded enough to adapt his style to the complex choreography is obvious. And though his style is not "pretty" (it wasn't supposed to be, anyway), he certainly helped to make this an entertaining final fight (IMO).

End fight: Carl Scott and Billy Chong vs Louis Neglia:

https://youtu.be/Kh-JmxoFN3I

Jim

Diamonds Are Forever (1971, UK). Director: Guy Hamilton.

James Bond (Sean Connery) vs Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith):

https://youtu.be/k5e5GjnyMHI

Jim

The Prodigal Son (1981, Hong Kong). Director: Sammo Hung.

Final fight: Yuen Biao vs Frankie Chan:

https://youtu.be/oTqHbU4q-Jw

Jim

A History of Violence (2005). Directed by David Cronenberg.

Viggo Mortensen vs Ed Harris & thugs:

https://youtu.be/Ug4TkRz3bUY

Jim

Kid From Kwangtung (1982, Hong Kong). Director: Hsu Hsia.

Unfortunately, the excellent final fight scene, featuring real-life Korean Tae Kwon Do master Hwang Jang Lee as the villain, is not on YouTube. Especially unfortunate, because Hwang, considered by many to be the best master kicker in martial arts cinema, has one of his finest performances in this film. Like many of the remastered clips from Shaw Brothers Studios movies, they are either not posted up, or are quickly taken off of YouTube, probably due to licensing issues.

Training sequence: featuring Yen Shi-Kwan & Wong Yue; also featuring Sharon Yeung & Cheung Kam:

https://youtu.be/vY8XV5VALYs

Jim

The Treasure Hunters (1981, Hong Kong). Director: Lau Kar-Wing.

Final fight, parts 1 & 2:
Shaolin monk array (Gordon Liu, Chang Chan-Peng, etc.), vs Wang Lung-Wei; Alexander Fu Sheng vs Yeung Jing-Jing. Actual fighting begins at 2:35:

Note: No English subtitles.

https://youtu.be/JdqvaeK3UYk

https://youtu.be/ai1ZrmCwIoI

Jim

Yakuza Apocalypse (2015, Japan). Director: Takashi Miike.

Yes, Takashi Miike is renowned for making bizarre films, to put it mildly, lol.

The Frog (AKA, "The World's Toughest Terrorist"). Unfortunately, the quality of this clip is poor:

https://youtu.be/hkbHRKtzz8k

Yakuza Vampire (Hayato Ichihara) vs The Frog (Masanori Mimoto):

https://youtu.be/lo2yiEfORs0

Jim

Lucky Stars Go Places (1986, Hong Kong). Director: Sammo Hung.

Final fight: Andy Lau & Sammo Hung vs Tetsuya Matsui:

https://youtu.be/T_Lwi1BCbBQ

Jim

Parker (2013). Director: Taylor Hackford.

The main reason I'm including this scene is that there is a Spyderco knife used in it. It appears to be a SS Spyderco Police SE, but sometimes it almost appears like a SS Endura. But I'm sure it's a SS Police. It is possible they could have used more than one knife, depending on the angle/distance, or used a modified knife.

Jason Statham fight scene:

https://youtu.be/3gGYHLS_FVA

Jim

The Master Strikes (1980), Hong Kong). Director: Kao Pao-Shu. Martial arts director: Ching Siu-Tung.

Meng Yuen-Man (wearing white) was another classmate in the same Peking (Beijing) opera school with Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, etc. Co-star Ching Siu-Tung (now mostly known as a director, and in the dark uniform with white sash) was trained in a different Peking opera school.

Director Kao Pao-Shu was, AFAIK, the only female director of old-school kung fu movies.

This scene's best features, IMO, are the arch-villain, played by Yen Shi-Kwan (the man with the mustache) and the man he drove insane, played by long-haired Casanova Wong (real name: Kim Yong-Ho).

*Note: This fight scene is silly and over-the top. However, there is NO wire work or trick photography, other than some parts undercranked (sped up). This is one of the few rare movies where fight choreographer Ching Siu-Tung emphasized pure human skill; in later years his choreography featured lots of wire work, slow-motion, floaty fantasy. Ching's best choreography was in 'Monkey Kung Fu, in which he also co-starred (see post #2).

Final fight: Meng Yuan-Man, Ching Siu-Tung & Casanova Wong vs Yen Shi-Kwan & henchmen:

https://youtu.be/KiYSWx6wbHA

Jim

Ok, this one is not quite PG13 so you'll have to go over to youtube.

One of those age locked things too.

https://youtu.be/amoA9g-IC-w

There's a new sheriff in town.
https://youtu.be/fno5aFcJQF0

shunsui wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 11, 2019 10:34 pm

There's a new sheriff in town.
https://youtu.be/fno5aFcJQF0

Thanks for your contributions, shunsui.

Jim

Shaolin vs Lama (1983, Taiwan). Director: Lee Tso-Nam.

The leading man, Alexander Lo Rei, was a senior Kung Fu classmate of one of my Taiwanese martial arts teachers, although my teacher ended up learning more in-depth under that same teacher. Lo Rei was also a former Taiwan Tae Kwon Do champion.

Note: The metallic sounds when the villain is struck when he 'powers up' are meant to represent his 'chi' (qi) that supposedly makes him invulnerable, except for one weak spot. It was a common theme for arch-villains in many of the old-school Kung Fu movies. It's called Jin Zhong Zhao ("Golden Bell Cover") or Tie Bu Shan ("Iron Cloth or Shirt"), but of course in real life is nothing like in the movies.

Temple grounds fight: Alexander Lo Rei & Sun Jung-Chi vs Chang Shan:

https://youtu.be/VAMhkKnj_9s

Final fight: Chang Chi-Ping, Alexander Lo Rei & William Yen vs Chang Shan:

https://youtu.be/6ED7zf1sWWw

Jim