Asian Films

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

I like Samurai and Yakuza Films as much as the next person. But I would like to boraden things.
As I type this I'm watching House of Flying Daggers which is nothing less than a thing of beauty.
So what are some of your favorite Non Japanese Asian Films?

[Neo0tak0n]

Personally I prefer samurai movies like Goyokin.

[yuzuha]

The Emperor and the Assassin
Memento Mori
Journey to the West
Chinese Ghost story 1,2 & 3
Mr Vampire series
Musa
The Eye
bunch of others....

[Reidar]

The Story of Ricky (search for it on YouTube; it's worth it)
Ong-Bak
Tom Yung Goong

[sazae]

Oh wow, Yuzuha is back. As soon as I saw this thread I thought of the old Asian film thread from way back. I personally really enjoyed the Eye, Taegukgi, and the Marrying the Mafia series.

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

The Story of Ricky (search for it on YouTube; it's worth it)
Ong-Bak
Tom Yung Goong

They used to use some footage from Ricky on the old pre Jon Stewert Daily show.

And Ong Bak is great Tony Jaa is the new Jackie jet Chan li

[Maxximo]

Well, Its not a film but a tv series my best so far is the action pack Emperor of The Sea. a karean(sp) series. A lot of series on AZN I usually watch.

[Undrave]

If you want something different, hunt down some movies from continental China's 6th Generation. Those movies show the hard reality of today's continental China, to the point where they are banned from showing in their native country. 'The World' is a good one.

For something ridiculously senseless try hutning down the oldie Kung Fu flick 'Fantasy Mission Force' often billed as a Jackie Chan movie (spelled Jacky in the credit :p ) altough he only had a secondary role. It's just so crazy and BAD it becomes hilarious and good :p

[Samurai Drifter]

House of Flying Daggers
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Hero
Fearless

What can I say, I'm a sucker for Chinese Martial Arts movies.

[Haruhi]

My Sassy Girlfriend.

[kenshinbebop]

The Eye is a crazy good horror film from China.
House....Daggers is great, but your watching that now so I don't have to tell you that.
Crouching tiger, also a great film.

[sailornyanko]

I loved House of Flying Daggers. I swear that the leading guy that woes for the blind girl is an asian version of a very popular mexican actor named Aaron Diaz. They could be cousins.

Since this thread seems to request non Japanese asian films; I can't say I've seen that much else. It's nearly impossible to find asian cinema in Mexico sadly no matter how good it is. It's just too much of a niche market. People here prefer to watch really bad Hollywood movies cuse they just don't know any better. ¬¬

I personally didn't like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Hero was a good film.

I have seen a couple early-mid 90s Jet Li martial arts films. They are beyond funny. The acting is so bad but they are fun to watch. Plus it seems like they are poorly dubbed to spanish on purpose to add to the good badness of the film.

I'm surprised nobody is mentioning Bruce Lee cinema yet.

[Neo0tak0n]

^ok then:
Fists of Fury, Chinese Connection, Game of Death, and Enter the Dragon are my favorites

[ANIMEJUNKY]

kung fu hustle. which technically was korean

[Rahxephon91]

Korean movies are the best.

Go see Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and J.S.A.

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

track down Ressurection of the little match girl it makes Zero sense but the DVD menu is the XBOX dash board!

Also, Enter the Dragon is technically an american film. I think Bruce Lee is overrated and overly Philosophical. I swear half of what he says makes Zero Sense.

[goddessofanime]

Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl.
Battle Royale.

I really want to get Oldboy and Lady Vengence.

[Reidar]

track down Ressurection of the little match girl it makes Zero sense but the DVD menu is the XBOX dash board!

Also, Enter the Dragon is technically an american film. I think Bruce Lee is overrated and overly Philosophical. I swear half of what he says makes Zero Sense.

You might find this interesting: http://martialdirect.com/articles/bruceleept1.htm

[Bernard_Monsha]

The Emperor and the Assassin
Memento Mori
Journey to the West
Chinese Ghost story 1,2 & 3
Mr Vampire series
Musa
The Eye
bunch of others....


Mr Vampire is great, have you ever seen Drunken Wu Tang. It has Mr Devil and a Watermelon Monster.

I myself am getting tired of the Wire Fu movies. So far as good asian movies you cannot go wrong with Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern and Jou Dou by Zhang Yimou

[Nami]

Yuzuha posts....:blink:

Well it's not a film but a chinese TV series, but I like the The Condor Heroes Triology, and the Gran Canal. They are Wu Xia that made around the 80's by TVB. Those are great.

[yuzuha]

kung fu hustle. which technically was korean
ROFL, that film was a real hoot... cross between 30's gangsters and kung fu fantasy.

[Jabberwock]

There's a lot of good martial arts stuff out there, of course, but my favorite flick ends up being 301/302.

Rare that I ever have accolades for Korean works, but there was something about this that just has interminable staying power for me. I think it was all the kinds of food in it.

Oh, and a fine hello to yuzuha as well. ^_^

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

ROFL, that film was a real hoot... cross between 30's gangsters and kung fu fantasy.

with a nice little touch of sticky sweet emotion. The treatment of the deaf woman made me very sad and I was pretty teary at the end too even though the movie IS a Comedy.

Gotta love the mark the Palm strike made too.

[yuzuha]

Nah, haven't seen Drunken Wu Tang. If you're tired of wire acts but like epic films like Hero, try The Emperor and the Assassin... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor_and_the_Assassin. It manages to be a grandiose spectacle and down to earth and realistic at the same time. Musa the Warrior is similar in that respect http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/musa_the_warrior.htm

[master terrence]

I saw a pretty good Hindi/english one yesterday. It was about racism... but because Indians are cool, it didn't have your conventional ending. This one big indian guy beat the tar out of the Racist Skin Head leader. That was pretty much the end. The fighting wasn't that great, you could tell it was pure acting, which is sad because it was a good movie w/ plot and dialouge. Good violence though, the sound was clearly fake when the guy was taking punches.


I've seen Monsoon wedding, that was a good romance.

[Haro!]

kung fu hustle. which technically was korean
Wait, how was it Korean?

Since master terrence brought up indian films, my personal favorite is Ahmar, Akbar, Anthony. (As seen in my sig)

[GreatNekoKoneko]

... i like how linear all the "Once Upon a Time in China" movies were. last time i checked, they were up to 6(?). but i could be wrong. anyhoo, Huang Fei Hong = the man.

[Joeshie]

Wait...you're trying to tell me that there are non-American movies out there? I don't believe it.

[Neo0tak0n]

track down Ressurection of the little match girl it makes Zero sense but the DVD menu is the XBOX dash board!

Also, Enter the Dragon is technically an american film. I think Bruce Lee is overrated and overly Philosophical. I swear half of what he says makes Zero Sense.

"Its like a finger pointing to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all the heavenly glory."

Makes sense to me!

[quaze6]

Ong-bak! its really good. tony jaa's the man

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

Ong-bak! its really good. tony jaa's the man

and he does his own stunts! No wires so his movies take forever to film

[Rahxephon91]

So pretty much

Asian films=Just martial arts.

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

So pretty much

Asian films=Just martial arts.

and gun play

[tsuki no miko]

So pretty much

Asian films=Just martial arts.
Err..I must disagree -_-;
Of course the majority of Chinese films are martial arts films. No, wait this could be my prejudice also. I did enjoy non martial arts Chinese films like 'Farewell My Concubine' and 'The Last Emperor'. But anyways, when the level is expanded to the whole of Asia I can't say that all those Asian movies out there are mainly about martial arts and gun fighting.

What about Japanese movies like 'Nobody Knows', 'Love Letter', 'Railroad Station', 'Mansion of Himiko', 'Yureru', 'Swing Girls', 'Tokyo Tower' and 'Between Calm and Passion'? Theses movies all handle drama content and not a single one of them has martial arts or gun fighting in them.

What about Korean movies like 'Joint Security Area', 'Memory of a murder', 'Tale of two sisters', 'My Sassy Girl', 'The King and the clown' and 'The Host'? These movies are also of genres that have nothing to do with martial arts. Believe me I could provide you with more examples.

I think you're jumping to a hasty conclusion that basically all Asian films are about action. Just like America, all Asian film markets contain various genres ranging from drama, thriller , horror, comedy and what not. And of course all countries produce great movies that contribute to the creativity of the whole world. Why don't you check out some non-martial arts Asian movies? Trust me, you'll like them. :)

[Mazinkaiser]

Some Asian flicks I enjoyed
Korean- Marathon, Oldboy (Great movie... Just quite disturbing and...wrong...)
Hong Kong- Police Story (Original), Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle
Chinese- Hero
Japanese- Kamen Rider the First, Battle Royale

[Rahxephon91]

Err..I must disagree -_-;
Of course the majority of Chinese films are martial arts films. No, wait this could be my prejudice also. I did enjoy non martial arts Chinese films like 'Farewell My Concubine' and 'The Last Emperor'. But anyways, when the level is expanded to the whole of Asia I can't say that all those Asian movies out there are mainly about martial arts and gun fighting.

What about Japanese movies like 'Nobody Knows', 'Love Letter', 'Railroad Station', 'Mansion of Himiko', 'Yureru', 'Swing Girls', 'Tokyo Tower' and 'Between Calm and Passion'? Theses movies all handle drama content and not a single one of them has martial arts or gun fighting in them.

What about Korean movies like 'Joint Security Area', 'Memory of a murder', 'Tale of two sisters', 'My Sassy Girl', 'The King and the clown' and 'The Host'? These movies are also of genres that have nothing to do with martial arts. Believe me I could provide you with more examples.

I think you're jumping to a hasty conclusion that basically all Asian films are about action. Just like America, all Asian film markets contain various genres ranging from drama, thriller , horror, comedy and what not. And of course all countries produce great movies that contribute to the creativity of the whole world. Why don't you check out some non-martial arts Asian movies? Trust me, you'll like them. :)
Your misreading my post. I know there are a lot of good asian movies. The korean movies are some of my favorites. Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and J.S.A are frigin excellent movies. I was commenting on the thread and how it seems to only recommending martial art movies, which is a shame.

[final flash]

Crouching tiger hidden dragon and fearless were great, I also love the FF7 movie in japanese

[Rain]

Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara) and Kung Fu Hustle.

Kung Fu Hustle gave me a good, heartfelt laugh.

However, some of the aforementioned Chinese martial arts (Kung fu) movies were mediocre at best. For instance, the stunts in House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon looked too "surreal" to be realistic.

Yeah, the stylistic approach doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

[CanonRAP]

So pretty much

Asian films=Just martial arts.

Ah, if only things were that simple ^_^ .

However, some of the aforementioned Chinese martial arts (Kung fu) movies were mediocre at best. For instance, the stunts in House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon looked too "surreal" to be realistic.

Yeah, the stylistic approach doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

If that didn't sit right with you, never watch any of the TV series in Hong Kong/China...guys have been leaping 20~30ft into the air for some 25 years now.

Now that I think about it, Chinese TV shows focusing on martial arts have been really bad lately; they're trying to copy the big movies by incorporating computer effects, but it just comes off look like some horrible live-action version of Dragonball Z.

House of Flying Daggers wasn't too bad by comparison.

If anyone wants to see some good Chinese comedy, watch the older "HK 007" (not actual name, I just forgot it, this is a direct trans). It stars the same guy as Shaolin Soccer - what's his English name again? - and I swear, Austin Powers copied this film.

[Chousho]

Ugh, what's with all the mention of "House of Flying Daggers". That movie was o~k~, but nothing too good. As well, it was just another martial arts movie anyway.

If you want to break out of the regular "Asian Films" like you say, Korea seems to be the new HK, it seems.

Many of the Korean movies are pretty good, however, as it's late, and I don't feel like walking to my shelf, I'll try to list off the top of my head. Some of these are like... teen comedy kind of movies

Attack the Gas Station (I think is the name)
Sex is Zero
Mapado (I heard was good)

Also, take a look at some drama, they're usually not samurai/whatever you were talking about.

A good one I liked was called Orange Days. Pretty good stuff.

[Illusions-chan]

Korean movies are the best.

Go see Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and J.S.A.

That just reminded me of that really bad dub MTV did of Volcano high.. I think that was the name... Right? But, wow... That dub was so bad................ It made you cry...

As for other movies --

Chinese Connection. Enough said.

[Undrave]

Dark Water (Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara) and Kung Fu Hustle.

Kung Fu Hustle gave me a good, heartfelt laugh.

However, some of the aforementioned Chinese martial arts (Kung fu) movies were mediocre at best. For instance, the stunts in House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon looked too "surreal" to be realistic.

Yeah, the stylistic approach doesn't appeal to me for some reason.

That's because you don't understand that to the Chinese, those 'surreal' moves are reality. Kung fu is more than just a way to fight, to the Chinese it's almost the way of life itself. It is such a deeply ingrained part of their culture that to them those crazy moves are normal, because that's what kung fu masters are supposed to be able to do at the highest level.

That's why Kung Fu movie are so common and important.

Ya know there's a city in China, Wushu City, that is nothing but a bunch of Kung Fu academy. It's a city filled with thousands of kids and teenagers learning martial arts! They go there hoping to get a job in the police or the army.

EDIT: Anybody ever saw the TV serie 'The Seven Swordsmen'? I want to know if it's any good... I'd be interested in getting the box set. (Plus it would help me in my Mandarin class to hear some true Chinese speakers).

[Michiyo_Yoshiku]

Lets not forget Horror.

All I've seen is Ringu which is Friggin Awesome

There are a few Thai horror films I've heard of.

[Asylum]

If anyone wants to see some good Chinese comedy, watch the older "HK 007" (not actual name, I just forgot it, this is a direct trans). It stars the same guy as Shaolin Soccer - what's his English name again? - and I swear, Austin Powers copied this film.

It's actually called "From Beijing With Love" It's like a parody of the James bond Film "From Russia With Love"

Anyways, Some Asian films to check out:

The Last Life in the Universe
Chungking Express
Fallen Angels
Happy Together

It helps to be an anti-social/introvert and patient person to enjoy the films above. They're really slow paced films and arthouse.

[CanonRAP]

It's actually called "From Beijing With Love" It's like a parody of the James bond Film "From Russia With Love".

That's the one.

It had some very memorable scenes which I still remember quite clearly. Not to mention the gadgets ^_^ .

[Undrave]

Anyways, Some Asian films to check out:

The Last Life in the Universe
Chungking Express
Fallen Angels
Happy Together


We saw Fallen Angels in class when we were studying Chinese Cinema! It was a neat movie, kinda weird but worth it.

It got guns and a masturbating girl :lol:

[sailornyanko]

Your misreading my post. I know there are a lot of good asian movies. The korean movies are some of my favorites. Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and J.S.A are frigin excellent movies. I was commenting on the thread and how it seems to only recommending martial art movies, which is a shame.

That's because distributors ONLY bring martial arts and horror asian cinema to the place where I live. It's bad enough I can count the amount of asian cinema is available at my local Blockbuster with my fingers, it's worse that the locals here don't enjoy them and demand more variety in asian cinema. They only want to watch Open Season and any other mediocre 3D cartoon movie no matter how bad they are.

I just remembered watching one drama non martial arts Chinese movie I saw some time back that won a Cannes award: The Bath. A drama about a old man running the public bath in a poor village with his mentally disabled son and how his other son comes back from the big city with an education and formerly living in technological commodities as a visit, but decides to help around in pity because his father is very old and might not live much longer and it's the only thing that can make his father feel happy.

Frankly I was expecting more fanservice from the portrait. I wanted this movie to be a comedy. Good movie, but that's just false publicity! ¬¬

[boojitsu-.-]

guns and talk (korean)
shaolin soccer (chinese)
Kung Fu Hustle (chinese)
Hero (chinese)
The Enforcer (chinese)

yeah.. honestly haven't seen much else outside of that besides Jackie Chan movies and stuff

-Boojitsu21

[Rain]

That's because you don't understand that to the Chinese, those 'surreal' moves are reality. Kung fu is more than just a way to fight, to the Chinese it's almost the way of life itself. It is such a deeply ingrained part of their culture that to them those crazy moves are normal, because that's what kung fu masters are supposed to be able to do at the highest level.

How are those crazy moves "normal?"

So, these supposed kung fu masters should be able to jump ten meters into the air (no strings attached,) fly across trees, walk on water, "swirl" horizontally (against the force of gravity, no less) while plunging forward etc.?

Damn, these aforementioned kung fu masters sure can defy the laws of gravity and motion!

Anyway, if that is your "reality," more power to you.

That's why Kung Fu movie are so common and important.

Common? Sure.

Important? Sure, if you're talking about martial artists.

[Asylum]

Just think of Martial art films sort of like the standard super hero films of Asia. Superman, X-men, and Spiderman break all the laws of physics but no one ever thinks of that because thats what super heroes are supposed to do. Not only can Kung fu masters fly but they can also shatter stone, make explosions and shoot air out of their palms. Obviously real martial artists can't do that stuff but those cliches make fights look more dramatic and over the top.

Most Chinese people are used to it anyways. You can't make a Wu Xia film if people aren't flying.

[Rain]

Obviously real martial artists can't do that stuff but those cliches make fights look more dramatic and over the top.

I don't disagree, obviously.

Undrave claims: "It is such a deeply ingrained part of their culture that to them those crazy moves are normal, because that's what kung fu masters are supposed to be able to do at the highest level."

^ This is where my dissension derives from.

Most Chinese people are used to it anyways. You can't make a Wu Xia film if people aren't flying.

Fantasy =/= reality.

I'll stick with the visually realistic martial arts movies, thanks.

[Chousho]

I don't disagree, obviously.

Undrave claims: "It is such a deeply ingrained part of their culture that to them those crazy moves are normal, because that's what kung fu masters are supposed to be able to do at the highest level."

^ This is where my dissension derives from.



Fantasy =/= reality.

I'll stick with the visually realistic martial arts movies, thanks.
But... you mean... they really can't fly through the air or do all those cool things? I thought these movies were non-fiction, wtf!

[Undrave]

Off COURSE real Kung Fu masters can't leap 10 feet in the air and stuff, but it's what legend says about the greatest Kung Fu masters, it's like the ultimate goal Kung Fu experts thrive for, even if they can never accomplish it. It's an ideal to reach and basically means you can never learn EVERYTHING about Kung Fu. Also martial arts are integrated with the Chinese' way of life and beliefs. The two have woven together over the centuries to the point where it's difficult to see where one end and the other begins.