The COVID-19 Martial Arts Movie Marathon!

[Spodo Komodo]

I have been going through my DVD collection, so far I have watched:

half a dozen of the Zatoichi films (Shintaro Katsu)

Takeshi Kitano's Zatoichi

Blind Fury

Black Belt

Iron Monkey

18 Bronze Men

Born Invincible

The Babycart Series (Lone Wolf & Cub)

And the Goodies episode Eckythump which is 30 minutes of the finest martial arts ever. One man died from just watching it (google it!)

[bushido_man96]

Blind Fury is a very entertaining movie. I need to find that one somewhere.

[SLK59]

My own personal favorites, in chronological order:

Seven Samurai (1954) - outstanding film by Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Kato, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Seiji Miyaguchi and Yoshio Inaba in the titular roles. Notable for its depiction of the differing personalities of the main characters, as well as the tensions between the samurai and their farmer employers. Remade as the famous John Sturgis western The Magnificent Seven (1960), among many others.

Yojimbo (1961) - My all-time favorite samurai film, also directed by Akira Kurasawa. Toshiro Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai are outstanding as the lead hero and villain respectively. Remade as the famous Sergio Leone western A Fistful of Dollars (1964), starring Clint Eastwood.

Sanjuro (1962) - excellent sequel to Yojimbo, directed of course by Kurosawa. Notable for the unique and shocking final duel between Mifune’s and Nakadai’s characters.

Enter the Dragon (1973) - directed by Robert Clouse, this Bruce Lee film was inspirational for my beginning karate training. I still find it highly entertaining and fun to watch.

Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - directed by and starring Stephen Chow, and featuring several famous Hong Kong kung fu film stars from the 1970’s. A hilarious send up of the genre that also has a nice, positive message.

Black Belt (2007) - directed by Shunichi Nagasaki, this allegory of two opposing extremes in martial arts philosophy stars Akihito Yagi (5th dan, Meibukan Goju-ryu) and Tatsuya Naka (6th dan, JKA Shotokan). A simple film with realistic techniques and a refreshing lack of special effects.

Red Cliff (2008) - directed by John Woo, starring Tony Chiu-Wai Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Fengyi Zhang. A historical war movie set at the end of the Han Dynasty. Great plot, fine performances and a real sense of spectacle.

Shaolin (2011) - directed by Benny Chan, starring Andy Lau and Nicholas Tse, with a special guest appearance by Jackie Chan. Although a bit melodramatic in places, this is nonetheless a fine film with excellent actors and a great message.

Man of Tai Chi (2013) - directed by Keanu Reeves, starring Tiger Hu Chen, Keanu Reeves, Karen Mok and Hai Yu. Highly entertaining, and a good vehicle for Tàijí quán and neijia martial arts.

Uzumasa Limelight (2014) - directed by Ken Ochiai, and starring Seizo Fukumoto typecast as an aging samurai film extra, with Chihiro Yamamoto as his youthful, rising-star protégé. A sweet film with a lot of heart.

Cheers,

Scott