Subgenre Sampler
Martial Arts: 374 Films to Buy & Rent
Samurai Jack (TV Series) (2001)
- Cartoon Network's zen warrior in series mode, broadening the pilot's movie–length setup of a young samurai thrust into the future by evil…
Versus (2001)
- Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Feat. Tak Sakaguchi, Kenji Matsuda
- The zombie genre is resurrected yet again, here spliced with Asian combat routines and punk–gangster gunplay, and set in the local woods on an…
Bang Rajan (2000)
- Dir. Tanit Jitnukul
- Truly ferocious action spectacular based on the true tale of how a small Siamese village tried to withstand the efforts of 100 000 invading Burmese…
Bichunmoo (2000)
- Dir. Young-Jun Kim
- Boasting the biggest budget of any Korean film, this period epic, a kind–of "Once Upon a Time in Korea", blends the usual ingredients with…
Charlie's Angels (2000)
- Dir. McG
Feat. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu…
- TV's favourite female crimefighters get the big screen makeover. Not quite the phenomenon that were Farrah and co., contemporary imposters Drew…
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- Dir. Ang Lee
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi…
- A fantasy–fuelled, Chinese feudal melodrama laced with jaw–dropping combat sequences (arguably the best ever staged), this represents a…
Kiss of the Dragon (2000)
- Dir. Chris Nahon
Feat. Jet Li, Bridget Fonda
- As the most skilled lawman in China, Jet Li is the perfect man to clean up Paris of its drug–dealing scum, using his acupuncture needles to…
Kurosawa (2000)
- Dir. Adam Low
Feat. James Coburn, Clint Eastwood, Kon Ichikawa
- Solid, though roughly tailored journey through the life of the Japanese film director of THE SEVEN SAMURAI and YOJIMBO. Composed mostly of interview…
Romeo Must Die (2000)
- Dir. Andrzej Bartkowiak
Feat. Jet Li
- Scion of a Chinese family at war with a black clan in San Francisco, maestro Jet Li must dish out the chop–socky in a martial–arts bash…
Shanghai Noon (2000)
- Dir. Tom Dey
Feat. Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu
- Jackie Chan pilots for this lightweight, crowd–pleasing throwback to the Wild West that adds his brand of naïve Eastern exotism to the ol'…