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Martial arts sequels often strayed far from original movies, with little connection and lackluster results. Return to the 36th Chamber featured a new lead and different tone, but still delivered enjoyable Kung Fu fun. The Next Karate Kid, Drunken Master III, and Iron Monkey 2 were disappointing sequels that lacked original movie authenticity.

Martial arts movies were notorious for having sequels that had little or nothing to do with the original movies. As name recognition and star power were often enough to draw in audiences, there have been countless martial arts and Kung Fu franchises that provided a flimsy justification for sequel status only to deliver a movie that strayed absurdly far from its original premise. While some of these movies were often smashing successes, thinking about them as true sequels meant stretching viewers’ suspension of disbelief to its absolute limit.

The many examples of martial arts sequels that have nothing...

Some martial arts actors have built their careers on playing villains, often stealing the show with their formidable fighting skills. Wang Lung Wei, Lu Feng, Lo Lieh, Collin Chou, Benny Urquidez, Lateef Crowder dos Santos, Darren Shahlavi, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Bolo Yeung, Yayan Ruhian, and Hwang Jang-lee are exemplary martial arts movie villains. These actors have left a lasting impact on the industry, with their villainous performances standing the test of time and making them some of the greatest martial arts movie villains.

Martial arts movie stars often play heroes, but there are also many great martial arts villain actors. One of the most important rules of martial arts movie-making is that the villain has to be as strong and as menacing as possible. Usually, that entails making the villain an extremely formidable fighter, in order to create the highest possible stakes for the hero or heroes to overcome.

Some martial...

Before Hugh Jackman's Wolverine takes one last "hurrah" on the big screen next year, check out his collection of Funko Pop! figures, Dorbz, and keychains. Also: cover art and details on the new graphic novel edition of Officer Downe, a look at Jeaux Janovsky's Inktober cartoons, details on the Stern Pinball digital arcade, info on El Rey's "Way of the Turkey" marathon, and two clips from Maker Studios' revamped Polaris YouTube Channel.

Images and Release Details for Funko's Logan Collectibles: From Collector Corps via Funko: “He’s the best at what he does, but what he does isn’t very nice!

The adamantium-filled, self-healing superhero Wolverine is getting an all-new Funko treatment!

Collect Wolverine and his retractable claws as Pop!s, Dorbz, and a Pocket Pop! Keychain!

Be sure to look for exclusive figures! Collect the Logan tank top.

Pop! and Dorbz only at Hot Topic, and Weapon X Wolverine Pop!

Starring:

Dragon Lee (The Real Bruce Lee, The Dragon On Fire)

Yuen Qiu (Kung Fu Hustle,The Man With The Golden Gun)

Bruce Lai (Return to the 36th Chamber, Enter Three Dragons)

Genre: Martial Arts

Certificate: 15

Country: South Korea

Year: 1981

Languages: English dubbed

Running time: 83 minutes

Rrp: £14.99

Directed by Godfrey Ho (Ninja Terminator, Fury in the Shaolin Temple), The Dragon’S Snake Fist is coming to DVD in UK on 15 June 2015.

The Dragon’s Snake Fist is the first release by Terracotta Distribution, who recently launched a ‘Classic Kung Fu Collection‘, resurrecting lost or overlooked martial arts movies and giving them a new DVD release with extras.

The movie stars Dragon Lee (Inter The Invincible Hero), who is one of my favorite Bruce Lee Clones, showcasing his speed and power in full effect with Godfrey Ho in the directors chair. A veteran star of martial arts B-pictures and Korean Taekwondo expert,...

With the passing of Lau Kar-leung (the common Cantonese spelling, he was also often credited in Mandarin as Liu Chia-liang), one of the great chapters of Hong Kong cinema comes to a close. Justly famous as martial arts choreographer and action director for many kung fu and wu xia films—the last was Tsui Hark's Seven Swords (2005), in which he also acted—Lau was also one of the outstanding filmmakers of Hong Kong cinema. His most important period was during the final heyday of Shaw Brothers, Asia's biggest studio: In the late 70s and early 80s, before Shaw Bros. closed their doors, Lau proved himself the biggest proponent of the martial arts tradition in Hong Kong cinema, as well as its chief modernizing force, hiding sublime layers beneath ultra-robust exterior appearance. (Fittingly, in 2003 he also directed the studio's comeback movie, more or less coinciding with the inauguration of belated...

Hong Kong’s Celestial Pictures has licensed more than 100 Shaw Brothers martial arts movies to India’s new online video portal BoxTV.

The multi-year agreement will see the titles made available in India on digital VoD for the first time.

All the films will come with English dubbed tracks and supported with English subtitles. Titles include Blood Brothers, Buddha’s Palm, Return to the 36th Chamber, The Brave Archer, Perils of The Sentimental Swordsman and The Dragon Missile.

Kristen Tong, head of legal and business affairs at Celestial Pictures said: “This distribution deal provides our content with great exposure on a new digital platform.”

Officially launched in February 2013, BoxTV currently offers full length movies and television content, with consumers paying a monthly subscription fee

Pandurang Nayak, business head at BoxTV, said: “This is in line with our unique push to get the best of world cinema in a legal and high-quality experience for internet and mobile users in...

“Shaolin and Wu-Tang” & Wu-Tang Clan: 36 Styles of Danger by Dan Simolke“Shaolin shadowboxing, and the Wu-Tang sword style…”-- “Shaolin and Wu-Tang” sample from “Bring Da Ruckus”When the sequel to 1978’s “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin,” entitled “Return to the 36th Chamber,” was released as a comedy, star Gordon Liu decided he disagreed with that approach. Since Gordon Liu does what he wants, he subsequently directed what he determined would be a proper follow-up: 1983’s “Shaolin and Wu-Tang” (which is playing at NYC’s Anthology Film Archives in a 35mm print as a part of the Old School Kung-Fu Fest). You might recognize Liu from the “Kill Bill” films, where he played multiple roles...