The Best of the Martial Arts Films

A rather odd video in that it doesn't actually have a plot. Well maybe not that unique. Instead it is set as a documentary style feature dealing with the numerous aspects of martial arts videos. It's narrated by an amusingly serious man in a bizarrely dark room, where it cuts to footage of stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan et al.

Unfortunately as it is quite old it doesn't feature Jet Li or any other of the up and coming martial arts stars. But it a good way to be introduced to the genre and the more experienced among you will get to see some bit's of movies you probably haven't seen.

The Best of the Martial Arts Films is so cool. It has some of the best fight scenes ever put on film. There's actors like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and many asian martial artists you've never heard of, but need to check out. This video open my world up to films that I never knew were ever out there. They should make a part 2!!

This is the definitive documentary about classic pre-1990 martial arts films.

It's a beautifully paced look at some of the best fight scenes of the 70s and 80s, and it's a great starting point for anyone looking to get into the genre. It's elegantly presented and narrated by John Saxon, whose voice adds some real gravitas and glue to the flow of the clips.

It's a very Golden Harvest heavy selection, but there are also scenes from other Hong Kong movie companies such as Seasonal Films which add to the variety. A few Shaw brothers clips wouldn't have gone amiss, but I think that would have been too complicated due to rivalries and licencing.

A martial arts classic in its own right, and a tremendous source for the very best in which films to seek out.

A pretty cool documentary, featuring a lot of Jackie Chan stuff, not to mention a bunch of other good stuff. Very entertaining for a taste of HK action cinema...It even features some "American" stars fighting in some Hong Kong flicks, which only goes to show how much better the HK choreographers are...

Anyone needing more material information on the martial arts of the 1980s can find it all here. This documentary is led and narrated by John Saxon in which he explains some brief history and the general idea of where martial arts comes from and why. From there he moves into the film noir which, of course, begins with Bruce Lee. From there he introduces many other styles of fighting, notable film stars, different fighting techniques and some film star interviews( cynthia rothrock, jackie chan, samo hung, etc.) Mostly Jackie Chan is present so don't fast forward in hopes that he will go away. This should be titled "Jackie Chan and other great martial arts flicks." Don't get me wrong this is really good but Chan is in it too much. A collection of many other already forgettable martial art stars are shown in their own hellish prime, yet their performance are always an inspiration of future of martial arts films.