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Martial Arts films started to obtain their popularity in American in the late ' 60s with film such as 1966’sCome Drink With Meand 1967’sThe One - Armed Swordsman . American audience ate up the raging activeness succession and relatable plotlines of the great unwashed banding together to shoot down dictator - alike villains and the influence of these two film can be felt in the works of conductor as wide-ranging asJohn CarpenterandAng Lee .
Martial Arts films of the 1970supped the Eastern influencesand solidify America ’s captivation with the writing style , as each cinema reaped big box office numbers and usher in the roadblock - develop icon , Bruce Lee .
A Touch Of Zen (1971)
A Touch of Zenwas film producer King Hu ’s epic 3 1/2 hour soldierlike humanities extravaganza that became a craze strike , but was granted newfound respectfulness when Criterion release the fully restored version in 2016 . Critics and Martial Arts fan were re - introduced to the tale of a woman who team up up with a zen painter and Buddhist monks to fight a corrupt political science .
The film was one of the most expensive Martial Arts film of its mean solar day , spending a expectant amount of money on the pattern and construction of small town , circa the Ming Dynasty era . Hu ’s blend of ready redaction , slow - apparent movement , and problematical naturalistic fight choreography would influence films for decennium to come .
Master Of The Flying Guillotine (1976)
One of the adept of theMartial Arts tourney plastic film , Master of the Flying Guillotinefinds a unsighted Kung Fu maestro who seek revenge for the slaying of his student . They were killed by a One - Armed world so the master manufacture the titular weapon , setting out to enter the tournament and take the question of every one - armed opponent .
unparalleled in its weaponry and full of uncivilised character and expertly choreographed fights , the film was huge on the Grindhouse circuits and is regarded as one of the most exciting of all ' 70 Martial Arts films .
Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
Another of the most influential of ' 70s Martial Arts film , Five Deadly Venoms tells of a dying master who tasks his final student with finding 5 of his former school-age child , each discipline in their own special manner . The student knows pieces of each and sets out to expose the group ’s villain . The different style are represented by exceptional masks the hands endure ; Scorpion , Toad , Centipede , Lizard , and Snake , each brute possessing deadly venom .
Fans made the pic a massive success and its influence can be recover in projects as varied asMighty Morphin Power Rangers , John Carpenter’sBig Trouble in Little China , and Disney’sMulan .
Fist Of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection (1972)
Bruce Lee continued his reign as an action film kingwith this tale of retaliation finding his grapheme seeking vengeance for the murder of his instructor .
The flick ’s statute title was changed toThe Chinese Connection(but restored toFist of Furywhen it slay Blu Ray ) to cash in in on the statute title to the popular 1971 smash-up , The Gallic Connection . Flying throat beef , wild Martial Arts stage dancing , and the undeniable screen presence of Bruce Lee led this film to be one of the biggest successes of its twelvemonth .
The Magnificent Butcher (1979)
Sammo Kam - Bo Hung became an international Martial Arts icon withThe Magnificent Butcher . Hung starred as a butcher who is also a kung - fu student who get take with war Shaolin temples .
Hung did n’t search like the average Martial Arts thespian , as he had some weight on him , but the actor could move as fast as anyone . Hung also choreographed his own competitiveness scenes and this film holds some of the toughest of its era , which created an iconic Martial Arts legend .
Drunken Master (1978)
Jackie Chan was already make a name for himselfin the Hong Kong film world but with 1978 ’s external hitDrunken Master , he start to get note in America . Chan plays a youth who likes to get into trouble and is sent to a Kung Fu master to acquire discipline through the master ’s theme song " drunken " Martial Arts .
Chan ’s signature blend of hilarious comedy andjaw - dropping Kung Fu stuntworkplayed well to interview worldwide and is considered to be one of the great Kung Fu film .
Five Fingers Of Death a.k.a. King Boxer (1972)
Lieh Lo became a Martial Arts film caption with the international release ofFive Fingers of Death , the tale of a Kung Fu student who enters a contest to prevent a warring Shaolin temple from taking over . The American freeing of this film was passing popular and is remembered for its awing activity view and its use of theIronsideTV show radical whenever Lo hear one of the bad guys . Quentin Tarantino pay homage to this in hisKill Billfilms by having the theme play when Uma Thurman ’s character saw a baddie .
If Bruce Lee ’s first Kung Fu film , The Big Boss , was the discharge that started America ’s love of Martial Arts film , this film was the locomotive engine that roar that making love to an explosion .
The Way Of The Dragon a.k.a. Return Of The Dragon (1972)
Bruce Lee stepped behind the camera to make this massively entertaining Martial Arts extravaganza that finds Lee ’s character protecting his phratry ’s restaurant from local gangsters .
Each and every scrap is quite amazing to find out . Lee cast his supporter Chuck Norris as his final opponent and fight back him in a Roman Coliseum in what has becomeone of the best fight scene in Martial Arts picture account . This is the first and only flick where Lee used two sets of nunchakus at the same time , mark a trend in future Kung Fu film . The direction of the Dragonwasthe prominent fiscal success of the class in its native Hong Kong .
Enter The Dragon (1973)
Bruce Lee ’s big international hit stands as his most popular . Robert Clouse directed this big - budget co - product from Warner Brothers and Golden Harvest . Enter the Dragonstarred Lee as a Martial Arts victor who is inscribe by a privy government authority to inscribe a tournament to assist bring down a vicious international crime lord . American actor John Saxon and Martial Arts champion Jim Kelly co - starred as two fellow participants who befriend and serve Lee to bring down the bad guy wire .
Massive set and hundreds of extras infused this exciting adventure with the largest scope of any Martial Arts moving-picture show yet . Each fight was choreographed by Lee and his team of stuntmen and the fight are some of the braggart and bluff of their time . Quentin Tarantino devote tribute to the moving-picture show by having Uma Thurman ’s " The Bride " wear out Lee ’s iconic yellowness with mordant stripes jump suit in his filmKill Bill Vol . 1 .
The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (1978)
Chia - Hui " Gordon " Liu starred in one of the most well-thought-of Martial Arts films ever made and the one that started the " grooming collage " craze . In this film , where Liu play a student of Shaolin Kung Fu who trains to fight an oppressive governance , much of the film focuses on his training . To this day it is considered to be the tiptop film to show the big businessman of the mental and physical Martial Arts training . It is straight that the scenes where Liu trains in the Shaolin synagogue are as exciting as any of the amazing fight scenes that comply .
The 36th Chamber of Shaolinwon Best Martial Arts Film at the 1978 Asian Film Festival and made a big virtuoso out of Liu . This film is also the stirring for Wu - Tang Clan ’s first albumEnter the Wu - Tang ( 36 Chambers ) .
Next:10 Old Martial Arts Movies So Bad They ’re Great
