Subgenre Sampler

Show: All FilmsRental Rental DVD Rental Blu-Ray Rental VHSSales Sales DVD Sales Blu-Ray Sales VHS

Escape from Mogadishu (2021): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Yoon-seok Kim, In-sung Zo, Joon-ho Huh; A gritty action–thriller based on true events following a diplomatic skirmish between North and South Korea that breaks out on the African…
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula (2020): Dir. Sang-ho Yeon
Feat. Dong-won Gang, Jung-hyun Lee, Re Lee; A standalone sequel to the 2016 action–horror hit TRAIN TO BUSAN, with director Yeon Sang–ho returning for a less focused but no less…
First Love (Hatsukoi) (2019): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Masataka Kubota, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani…; Crime thriller from prolific Japanese auteur director Takashi Miike set over a single night in Tokyo, where a down–on–his luck boxer and…
Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins, Danny Kwok-Kwan Chan; Grand finale to ground breaking and beloved martial arts series, with Donnie Yen reprising his role as the legendary Wing Chun master, who travels to…
Monos (2019): Dir. Alejandro Landes
Feat. Julianne Nicholson, Moises Arias, Sofía Buenaventura…; A dark contemporary fable inspired by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, set in a remote and mountainous region of Columbia, where a group of teenage…
Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) (2018): Dir. Eva Husson
Feat. Golshifteh Farahani; Powerful wartime film following a Kurdish female battalion who are fighting against ISIS extremists to take back control of their village. Stars…
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable (2017): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Ryunosuke Kamiki, Kento Yamazaki; Frenetic and boundlessly wacky live–action adaptation of the manga, with a head spinning plot involving psychic avatars who plot to bring down…
Tokyo Ghoul (2017): Dir. Kentaro Hagiwara
Feat. Masataka Kubota, Fumika Shimizu; A live–action adaptation of the manga series by Sui Ishida. In modern day Tokyo, flesh–eating ghouls live among humans, and after…
Age of Shadows, The (2016): Dir. Ji-woon Kim
Feat. Kang-ho Song, Gong Yoo, Han Ji-min; Elegantly crafted spy thriller set in Japanese occupied Seoul in the 1920's, in which a Korean–born police captain in the Japanese police force…
Headshot (2016): Dir. Kimo Stamboel, Timo Tjahjanto
Feat. Iko Uwais, Chelsea Islan; Iko Uwais (star of THE RAID) returns in this impossibly violent Indonesian martial arts feast. An overused plot device of an elite fighter who wakes…
Mermaid, The (2016): Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Chao Deng, Lin Yun, Zhang Yuqi…; Madcap comic fantasy that marks a return to form for director Chow tells the tale of a beautiful mermaid who falls for the property developer she was…
Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente) (2015): Dir. Ciro Guerra
Feat. Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolivar; A breathtaking cinematic odyssey through the Amazon, following the quests of two European explorers (one in 1909 and the other in the 1940s).…
Wave, The (2015): Dir. Roar Uthaug; Classy Norwegian entry into the catastrophe drama genre, this white knuckle thriller mines the beauty and terror of Norway's Northwestern fjord land…
Far from Men (2014): Dir. David Oelhoffen
Feat. Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb; Viggo Mortensen stars in this existential western adapted from an Albert Camus' short story. Set in Algeria in the fifties, Mortensen is charged with…
Last Diamond, The (2014): Dir. Eric Barbier
Feat. Yvan Attal, Bérénice Bejo, Jean-Francois Stevenin; Slick heist film with an ex–con battling gangsters and ruthless killers in the race to pull off a daring diamond heist.
Raid 2, The (2014): Dir. Gareth Evans
Feat. Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Julie Estelle…; Picking up from where it last left off, this epic sequel to the best martial arts movie in recent memory combines gangland melodrama (reminiscent of…
Tokyo Tribe (2014): Dir. Sion Sono
Feat. Akihiro Kitamura, Ryôhei Suzuki, Hitomi Katayama; Dystopian action–musical set in an alternate Japan where territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes.
Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013): Dir. Arnaud des Pallières
Feat. Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, David Kross…; Mads Mikkelsen plays a Robin Hood–esque horse trader who rallies against an oppressive regime in 16th century France. A stern medieval tale…
Berlin File, The (2013): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Jung-woo Ha, Gianna Jun; After an illegal arms deal in Berlin is disrupted by unknown assailants, a South Korean intelligence agent finds himself embroiled in a vast…
Blind Detective (2013): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, Yuanyuan Gao; Dir. Johnnie To has a bob each way with this entertaining policier, effortlessly combining action, comedy and slapstick romance. Andy Lau plays the…
Firestorm (2013): Dir. Alan Yuen Kam-Lun
Feat. Andy Lau, Yao Chen; Exhilarating action thriller where a crew criminals manage to pull off a car heist in broad daylight on the streets of Honk Kong, and a hardboiled…
Hard To Be A God (2013): Dir. Aleksey German
Feat. Leonid Yarmolnik; A group of scientists are sent to the planet Arkanar to give aid to the local civilization, which is in the Medieval phase of its own history, in…
Ip Man: The Final Fight (2013): Dir. Herman Yau
Feat. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Anita Yuen…; The most authentic Ip Man film yet recounts the legendary grandmaster's exploits as a revered teacher of Wing Chun in Hong Kong during the 50s and…
On the Job (2013): Dir. Erik Matti
Feat. Joel Torre; A hard–hitting, hard–edged Filipino thriller reminiscent of THE RAID (particularly its sequel), based on a real life scandal concerning…
Protector 2, The (Tom yum goong 2) (2013): Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. Tony Jaa, Marrese Crump, RZA; ONG–BAK superstar Tony Jaa punches below his weight in this undercooked sequel to the 2005 Sydney–set action romp about a country boy who…
Shield of Straw (2013): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Takao Ohsawa, Nanako Matsushima, Kishitani Goro…; The prolific Takashi Miike returns with a tale of a team of cops who must protect an accused killer with a billion–yen bounty on his head.
Suspect, The (Yong-eui-ja) (2013): Dir. Won Shin-yun
Feat. Gong Yoo, Park Hee-soon; Explosive action film following a betrayed North Korean special agent who defects to the South to seek revenge on his family's killer.
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Jigoku de naze warui) (2013): Dir. Sion Sono
Feat. Kunimura Jun, Shin'ichi Tsutsumi, Fumi Nikaido; Described by its creator as "an action film about the love of 35mm", this frenzied fanboy fiction from Shion Sono bears his trademark excess and…
1612 (2012): Dir. Vladimir Khotinenko
Feat. Pyotr Kislov; Bloated Russian 'historical' epic renders the 17th century civil war that ravaged the divided country as a Peter Jackson–esque battle fantasy.…
Escape (2012): Dir. Roar Uthaug
Feat. Isabel Christine Andreasen, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal; A thrilling medieval chase movie, set in the aftermath of the Black Plague, about a captive teenage girl who escapes a bloodthirsty clan. Pursed…
Hamilton: In the Interests of the Nation (2012): Dir. Kathrine Windfeld
Feat. Mikael Persbrandt, Pernilla August, Jason Flemyng…; Scandi–crime goes gung–ho in this Swedish espionage thriller centred on a special agent who infiltrates the Russian mafia to bust a…
Hamilton: Not if it Concerns Your Daughter (2012): Dir. Tobias Falk
Feat. Mikael Persbrandt; Scandi super agent Carl Hamilton returns for a second mission of international intrigue and deep espionage. Here, he must go rogue to track down the…
Motorway (2012): Dir. Pou-Soi Cheang
Feat. Anthony Wong, Shawn Yue, Josie Ho; China's answer to DRIVE retains much of the crisp understatement and effortless style of its stateside predecessor, pairing the electric nightlife of…
Red Eagle (2012): Dir. Jose Ramon Ayerra Diaz
Feat. David Janer; Based on a popular Spanish TV show about a dashing teacher, who by night is a sort of Ninja–Zorro, fighting injustice and saving King and…
Rurouni Kenshin (2012): Dir. Keishi Otomo
Feat. Takeru Sato, Emi Takei, Teruyuki Kagawa…; A gracefully violent adaptation of the popular manga series, about a brilliant shogun who retreats from society during an era of decline for samurai,…
Thieves, The (2012): Dir. Dong-hun Choi
Feat. Gianna Jun, Hye-su Kim, Yun-seok Kim…; This slickly engineered Korean blockbuster (the second highest earning in the country's box office history) plays all the right cards in its…
Viral Factor, The (2012): Dir. Dante Lam
Feat. Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse; Dante Lam brings the fire once more in this out–and–out grunt fest of special forces action. As to be expected, the corny dramatic…
Wu Dang (2012): Dir. Patrick Leung
Feat. Vincent Zhao; A rambunctious, action–packed throwback to '80s martial arts flicks and strapping Indiana Jones–style adventure, centred on a famed…
Bomber, The (Ballada o bombere (Ballad Of A Bomber)) (2011): Dir. Vitaliy Vorobyov
Feat. Nikita Efremov, Ekaterina Astakhova, Aleksandr Davydov; Hum–drum war film – originally a television series – has a Russian aircraft crashing in Nazi occupied territory and the three…
Chinese Ghost Story, A (2011): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Louis Koo, Yifei Liu, Shao-gun Yu…; A lowly scholar falls in love with a beautiful ghost, but in order to win her freedom must do battle with the supernatural. Kinetic remake of the…
Fall of the Innocent (The Butcher of Prague) (2011): Dir. Petr Nikolaev
Feat. Karel Roden, Zuzana Fialova, Zuzana Bydzovska; WWII drama about the Nazi massacre and destruction of the Czech village of Lidice. The main protagonist is a man from the village who is sent to…
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Jet Li, Xun Zhou; Tsui Hark is in late–career form, directing this sequel–of–sorts to the oft–filmed 'Dragon Gate Inn' legend with gusto and…
Front Line, The (2011): Dir. Hun Jang
Feat. Ha-kyun Shin, Soo Go; Big battles clash with big themes in this sizable war epic set during the last days of the Korean war, where soldiers from both the North and South…
Legend of the Millennium Dragon (2011): Dir. Hirotsugu Kawasaki; An impressively animated young–adult fantasy, centred on a 15–year–old school kid who is transported back to medieval Japan, and…
Lost Bladesman, The (2011): Dir. Felix Chong, Alan Mak
Feat. Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang; Yet another big screen reinvention of the 'Three Kingdoms' legend, this time from the perspective of talismanic figure Guan Yu, whose exploits on the…
My Kingdom (2011): Dir. Xiaosong Gao
Feat. Chun Wu, Geng Han; A commercial, action–inflected rendering of Peking Opera (a la Tsui Hark's PEKING OPERA BLUES), centred on the rivalry between two…
My Way (2011): Dir. Kang Je-Gyu
Feat. Jang Dong-Gun, Joe Odagiri, Bingbing Fan; The director of BROTHERHOOD OF WAR raises the stakes with this louder, bloodier, more spectacular WWII epic, centred on the true story of rival…
Quick (2011): Dir. Beom-gu Cho
Feat. Min-Ki Lee, Ye-won Kang; A motorcycle courier must complete a series of near–impossible deliveries in order to save his girlfriend whose cycle helmet has been rigged…
Raid, The (The Raid: Redemption) (2011): Dir. Gareth Evans
Feat. Iko Uwais; The finest Asian action export since ONG–BAK, pitting an out–of–their–depth SWAT team against a tenement of drug dealers,…
Shaolin (2011): Dir. Benny Chan
Feat. Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Jackie Chan…; Feuding warlords threaten to tear China apart and only a group of Shaolin monks stand in the way of annihilation.
Sleepless Night (2011): Dir. Frederic Jardin
Feat. Tomer Sisley, Serge Riaboukine, Julien Boisselier…; A stonking, white–knuckle French action picture, smartly and tightly wound around a cop's frantic search for a stolen drug stash in order to…
Smuggler (2011): Dir. Katsuhito Ishii
Feat. Satoshi Tsumabuki, Masatoshi Nagase, Yasuko Matsuyuki…; An entertainingly schizophrenic black comedy by way of cult Japanese dir. Katsuhito Ishii, whose penchant for the wacky and surreal drives this…
This Girl is Badass!! (2011): Dir. Mum Jokmok
Feat. JeeJa Yanin; Jija Yanin (CHOCOLATE) stars in this martial arts comedy about a girl whose family life is turned upside–down when she gets mixed up with…
War of the Arrows (2011): Dir. Han-min Kim
Feat. Hae-il Park, Ryoo Seung-beom; A fast–paced period epic centred on the resistance of a group of villagers against the Manchurian invasion of Korea. Like THE HUNGER GAMES, an…
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (2011): Dir. Te-Sheng Wei
Feat. Ching-Tai Lin, Umin Boya, Masanobu Ando; An indigenous clan–based people living in harmony with nature find their way of life threatened when violent interlopers from another culture…
13 Assassins (2010): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Koji Yakusho, Yamada Takayuki, Yusuke Iseya…; Takashi Miike turns in perhaps his most entertaining and accomplished film yet with this rollicking SEVEN SAMURAI–inspired adventure, centred…
14 Blades (2010): Dir. Daniel Lee
Feat. Donnie Yen, Chun Wu, Sammo Hung…; A secret agent of the emperor’s court is betrayed by his colleagues in this spectacular Ming Dynasty–set thriller. Something of a return to…
22 Bullets (L' Immortel) (2010): Dir. Richard Berry
Feat. Jean Reno, Marina Fois, Richard Berry…; Violent gangland thriller has Jean Reno out for revenge after his former friend shoots 22 bullets into him.
Bangkok Knockout (BKO) (2010): Dir. Panna Rittikrai
Feat. Chatchapol Kulsiriwoottichai, Sarawoot Kumsorn, Sorapong Chatree; Ordinary production values and mediocre performances are beside the point in this off–the–wall Thai martial arts, centred on a motley…
Blades of Blood (2010): Dir. Jun-ik Lee
Feat. Seong-hyeon Baek, Seung-Won Cha; The dir. of THE KING AND THE CLOWN returns to the Chosun era with an energetic tale of working class uprising in the shadow of Japanese invasion. A…
Blood Fight: Bang Rajan 2 (2010): Dir. Tanit Jitnukul; Though not quite on the scale of the battle–heavy original, this fiery sequel nonetheless charges forth with another succession of brutal,…
Bruce Lee My Brother (2010): Dir. Manfred Wong, Yip Wai-Man
Feat. Tony Leung (Kar-fai), Aarif Rahman, Christy Chung; A rambunctious, rose–tinted chronicle of Bruce Lee’s child and teenhood before departing for the USA to cement his screen legend. Doubling…
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Kar-fai), Carina Lau…; Historical–whodunit, breathlessly paced, with Andy Lau as the dissident detective racing to hunt down a team of mysterious assassins attempting…
El Narco (2010): Dir. Luis Estrada
Feat. Damian Alcazar, Joaquin Cosio, Ernesto Gomez Cruz…; Intense crime drama that offers a hellish version of Mexico and the drug war seen through the eyes of a man returning to his home country after…
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (Elite Squad 2) (2010): Dir. José Padilha
Feat. Wagner Moura, Andre Ramiro; This riveting sequel to dir. Padilha's blockbuster policier features a more politically engaged storyline, with plenty of new angles on the…
Fire Of Conscience (For Lung) (2010): Dir. Dante Lam
Feat. Leon Lai, Richie Ren, Baoqiang Wang; It’s all guns blazing in this bang bang throwback to the glory days of Hong Kong cinema, about a violent detective and a sly inspector’s efforts…
Gallants (2010): Dir. Chi-kin Kwok, Clement Sze-Kit Cheng
Feat. Siu-Lung Leung, Kuan Tai Chen; An exuberant homage to the Shaw Brothers films of yesteryear, this kung–fu comedy delights as an old–school actioner, replete with…
Haunters (2010): Dir. Min-suk Kim; Two brooding pretty boys with unexplained superpowers battle it out in what is a familiar, if distinctly Korean spin on the anarchic superhero…
Ip Man 2 (2010): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Simon Yam…; The kick–ass legend of Ip Man continues with the wushu grandmaster immigrating to Hong Kong to school other Kung Fu practitioners in the art of…
Kites (2010): Dir. Anurag Basu
Feat. Hrithik Roshan, Bárbara Mori; Overheated even by Bollywood standards, this outlandish Las Vegas–set border romp pits a lovelorn hunk (Roshan) against police, bounty hunters,…
Last Circus, The (2010): Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
Feat. Carlos Areces, Antonio de la Torre, Carolina Bang; Clown rivalries collide in this violent, OTT genre riot from Spanish trash auteur, Alex de la Iglesia, set at both ends of Franco's dictatorship…
Legend of the Fist - The Return of Chen Zhen (2010): Dir. Andrew Lau
Feat. Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong…; Belated sequel to Bruce Lee's FIST OF FURY (remade with Jet Li as FIST OF LEGEND) picks up well after the Dojo–busting triumphs of those films,…
Let the Bullets Fly (2010): Dir. Wen Jiang
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Ge You, Wen Jiang…; Cocksure 'noodle' western – best described as a Chinese variation on Kurosawa's YOJIMBO – pits a notorious bandit against the mob boss of…
Little Big Soldier (2010): Dir. Sheng Ding
Feat. Jackie Chan, Lee-Hom Wang; Charismatic anti–war comedy stars Jackie Chan as a lowly foot soldier who strikes it lucky when he captures a wanted enemy General (Wang).…
Man From Nowhere, The (Ajeossi) (2010): Dir. Jeong-beom Lee
Feat. Won Bin, Sae-ron Kim; Korean action movie following a former special agent who is living a quiet life as a pawnshop owner after his wife dies in a tragic accident, when a…
Mutant Girls Squad (2010): Dir. Noboru Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Tak Sakaguchi
Feat. Yumi Sugimoto, Tak Sakaguchi; Japan's outlandish splatter–comedy phase reaches its logical end point with this three–chapter collaboration between the most notorious…
Once a Gangster (2010): Dir. Felix Chong
Feat. Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan, Alex Fong; Nimble action–comedy with two jaded gangsters urged by their elders to fight for the position of Dragon Head of the Hong Kong Underworld.…
Raavan (2010): Dir. Mani Ratnam
Feat. Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan; Bullish, jungle–set spectacular, based on the Indian legend of 'The Ramayan', is both a vanity project for glamour couple Abhishek Bachchan and…
Reign of Assassins (2010): Dir. Chao-Bin Su
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Woo-sung Jung, Kelly Lin…; Classy John Woo–produced swordplay, with Kelly Lin as a feared wuxia assassin who, seeking a new life, surgically alters her appearance (to…
Betrayal (2009): Dir. Hakon Gunderson
Feat. Lene Nystrøm, Götz Otto, Kåre Conradi; Deceit and opportunism are the currencies traded in this passable wartime thriller, recommended for fans of MAX MANUS. Lene Nystrøm (of 90’s pop…
Bodyguards and Assassins (2009): Dir. Teddy Chen
Feat. Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Tony Leung (Kar-fai)…; A hefty, star–studded take on turn of the century events in Hong Kong, in which the assassination of famous revolutionary figure Sun Yat Sen…
Cell 211 (Celda 211) (2009): Dir. Daniel Monzon
Feat. Alberto Ammann, Luis Tosar, Vincente Romero…; A substantial hit in its native Spain, this brutal thriller doubles as an intelligent critique of the Spanish penal system, with a young prison guard…
Diamond 13 (2009): Dir. Gilles Behat
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Asia Argento, Olivier Marchal; Downbeat and convoluted thriller with a dying cop roping in his loyal partner in a scheme to steal a shipment of cocaine from a drug…
District 13: Ultimatum (2009): Dir. Patrick Alessandrin
Feat. Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle; Cash–in sequel to the Luc Besson–produced sci–fi thriller whose action was shaped creatively around Parkour, an athletic pursuit…
Goemon (2009): Dir. Kazuaki Kiriya
Feat. Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Osawa; The dir. of CASSHERN helms this visionary medieval spectacle, based on a 16th century bandit whose Robin hood–style exploits are steeped in…
Kamui (2009): Dir. Yoichi Sai
Feat. Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Koyuki; High adventure and spectacular fight sequences energize this otherwise inadequate period piece about fugitive ninjas in Japan.
Merantau (2009): Dir. Gareth Evans
Feat. Iko Uwais; Indonesia's riposte to ONG–BAK stars newcomer Iko Uwais as a young man from a Jakarta tribe whose rite of passage via the big city exposes him…
Mulan (2009): Dir. Jingle Ma, Wei Dong
Feat. Zhao Wei, Jaycee Chan; The legend of Mulan (previously tackled by Disney) is given the big screen treatment in this sweeping historical costume epic, a current specialty of…
Ong-Bak 3 (2009): Dir. Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai
Feat. Tony Jaa; Cliffhanger ending to the ONG–BAK legend sees Thai martial arts phenom Tony Jaa return to battle his arch nemesis (from Part II’s prequel…
OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009): Dir. Michel Hazanavicius
Feat. Jean Dujardin; Bumbling intelligence officer and shameless chauvinist, Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, returns for Brazilian adventures in this bright and breezy spy…
Raging Phoenix (2009): Dir. Rashane Limtrakul
Feat. JeeJa Yanin; The female star of CHOCOLATE returns with break dancing moves to complement her sick martial arts skills, in this over–the–top kickboxing…
Robogeisha (2009): Dir. Noboru Iguchi
Feat. Aya Kiguchi; Two sisters, recruited as assassins in a robotic geisha army, fight from the inside to take down the head of an evil corporation. More cartoonish,…
Sniper, The (Sun cheung sau) (2009): Dir. Dante Lam
Feat. Edison Chen, Richie Ren, Xiaoming Huang…; Macho, ADD shoot ‘em up follows an elite sniper unit from Hong Kong who, with the aid of a brash young rookie, must take down an…
Storm Warriors, The (Storm Riders II) (2009): Dir. Oxide Pang, Danny Pang
Feat. Aaron Kwok, Ekin Cheng, Simon Yam; The Pang brothers helm this flamboyant, effects–heavy sequel to the OTT Hong Kong hit, delivering a mixture of wushu and wizardry with…
Tracing Shadow (Zhui ying) (2009): Dir. Marco Mak, Francis Ng
Feat. Jaycee Chan, Hao Dang, Francis Ng; This batty Ming Dynasty comedy is a worthy throwback to Hong Kong’s campy martial arts movies of the early 90s, with an extravagant blend of…
Treasure Hunter, The (2009): Dir. Yen-ping Chu
Feat. Jay Chou, Chiling Lin, Eric Tsang…; Madcap fusion of Indiana Jones and martial arts mayhem, with Mandarin popstar Jay Chou leading the charge as a protector of relics on the hunt for a…
Turning Point (2009): Dir. Herman Yau
Feat. Michael Tse, Anthony Wong, Francis Ng…; A triad gangster wrestles with conflicting loyalties after being selected by his boss to become a mole within the police force, then being recruited…
Vengeance (2009): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Anthony Wong…; French tough guy Johnny Hallyday returns to China to exact revenge on his family's killers in another high class shoot 'em up from Hong Kong's action…
Woochi: Goblin Wizard (Jeon Woochi : The Taoist Wizard) (2009): Dir. Dong-hun Choi
Feat. Dong-won Kang, Yun-seok Kim, Su-jeong Lim…; Mayhem is unleashed in contemporary Seoul when Taoist wizards do battle with time traveling goblins.
Yatterman (2009): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Shô Sakurai, Saki Fukuda, Kyoko Fukada; Fantastical live–action anime serves kids and kidults alike with its tale of mild–mannered shop keepers who don jaunty costumes to fight…
An Empress and the Warriors (Kong saan mei yan) (2008): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Donnie Yen, Xiaodong Guo, Zhenghai Kou…; Jazzed up historical drama with a young woman thrust into the role of Empress upon her father's death, and fight for her kingdom. Conventional…
Chanbara Beauty (2008): Dir. Yôhei Fukuda
Feat. Eri Otoguro, Chise Nakamura; Fan–servicing bikini swashbuckler, with two scantily clad babes slashing their way through zombie hoards. A crummy, if entertaining hodgepodge…
Chocolate (2008): Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. JeeJa Yanin, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong; Impressive newcomer Jeeja Yanin plays a butt kicking autistic girl (!) in this exhilarating revenge movie, a standout amongst Thailand’s recent…
Female Agents (Les femmes de l'ombre) (2008): Dir. Jean-Paul Salome
Feat. Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain…; Substantial, exciting WWII espionage thriller following an all–female commando unit of the French Resistance recruited to rescue a British…
Good, the Bad, the Weird, The (2008): Dir. Ji-woon Kim
Feat. Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee, Woo-sung Jung; The high–end stylist behind Korean box office hits A BITTERSWEET LIFE and A TALE OF TWO SISTERS, dir. Kim Ji–woon flavours this eastern…
Ichi (2008): Dir. Fumisiko Sori
Feat. Haruka Ayase, Shido Nakamura, Yôsuke Kubozuka; ZATOICHI spin–off turns tradition on its head by casting a woman in the role of a blind singer who also happens to be handy with a samurai…
Ip Man (2008): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan…; Kung fu stalwart Donnie Yen assumes the legend of Ip Man, celebrated master of the rare and deadly form of martial arts, Wing Chun (later adopted by…
L Change the World (2008): Dir. Hideo Nakata
Feat. Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Youki Kudoh; Sugar–rushing spinoff of the Japanese sci–fi DEATH NOTE films, from the director of THE RING, picking up with detective 'L' attempting to…
M.W. (2008): Dir. Hitoshi Iwamoto
Feat. Hiroshi Tamaki, Yamada Takayuki; Osamu Tezuka’s manga about plot to unleash nerve gas on Japan receives a big–budget makeover. Simple–minded action vehicle is all about…
Max Manus: Man of War (2008): Dir. Joachim Roenning, Espen Sandberg
Feat. Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch…; Rousing wartime actioner chronicles the exploits of irrepressible Norwegian resistance hero Max Manus, whose sabotaging of the Nazi’s stampede…
North Face (Nordwand) (2008): Dir. Philipp Stölzl
Feat. Benno Fürmann, Florian Lukas; Exceptionally vivid, nerve–wracking mountaineering thriller in which two novice climbers attempt to be the first to scale the treacherous north…
Ong-Bak 2 (Ong-Bak 2: The Beginning) (2008): Dir. Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai
Feat. Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang; Heavy–handed follow–up to the decade’s best martial arts movie, co–directed by and starring ONG–BAK’s Tony Jaa as a…
Red Baron, The (Der rote Baron) (2008): Dir. Nikolai Müllerschön
Feat. Maxim Mehmet, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes…; Biographical melodrama focused around Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the celebrated showboating WW1 pilot. Thrilling airborne set–pieces make up…
Red Cliff (The Battle of Red Cliff) (2008): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Takeshi Kaneshiro, Fengyi Zhang…; A gargantuan Han Dynasty epic from Hong Kong's action movie grandmaster, John Woo, in which two kingdoms must form an unlikely alliance to stave off…
Sword Of The Stranger (Sutorenjia: Mukô Hadan) (2008): Dir. Masahiro Andô; Ferocious feature–length anime sees a young boy and his dog accompany a nameless samurai as they try to escape relentless Ming warriors. A…
Three Kingdoms (Resurrection of the Dragon) (2008): Dir. Daniel Lee
Feat. Andy Lau, Sammo Hung, Maggie Q…; Rousing take on a Chinese literary classic rehashes the legendary Han Dynasty power struggle between three warring kingdoms (recently given the royal…
Underdog Knight, The (Ying Han) (2008): Dir. Sheng Ding
Feat. Ye Liu, Yong You, Anthony Wong; An offbeat, anti–heroic character study out of mainland China, in which a self–styled martial arts pretender lands a job as bodyguard for…
Assembly (2007): Dir. Feng Xiaoning
Feat. Hanyu Zhang; Searing Chinese war drama set during the country's last days of Civil war, in which a courageous army captain fights tooth and nail to stave off a…
Black Belt (Kuro-obi) (2007): Dir. Shunichi Nagasaki
Feat. Akihito Yagi, Tatsuya Naka; Defence meets attack in this measured martial arts drama set in 1930s Japan, in which two karate experts (played by real–life karate pros) take…
Crows O (Kurôzu zero) (2007): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Shun Oguri, Kishitani Goro, Yamada Takayuki…; Irresistibly entertaining manga adaptation from the genius director of ICHI THE KILLER, presenting the first in a series of Japanese action films…
Dororo (2007): Dir. Akihiko Shiota
Feat. Ko Shibasaki, Satoshi Tsumabuki; Electrifying action fantasy based on a manga comic by the grandfather of Anime – Osamu Tezuka (ASTRO BOY), in which an abandoned samurai's son…
Drummer, The (Zhan. gu) (2007): Dir. Kenneth Bi
Feat. Tony Leung (Kar-fai), Kenneth Tsang, Jaycee Chan; Visually enticing martial arts drama of a self–indulgent son sent into the Taiwanese mountains to escape gangland city retribution, who ends up…
Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite) (2007): Dir. José Padilha
Feat. Wagner Moura, Andre Ramiro, Caio Junqueira…; Brawny South American policier centred on a special division of Brazilian drug enforcement at war with the drug lords of Rio de Janeiro. Stacked…
Fighting Beat (2007): Dir. Piti Jaturaphat; Agile martial arts action flick based in a Thai street fighting bar renowned for its local competitors, who find themselves in a deadly fight for…
Kung Fu Dunk (Gong fu guan lan) (2007): Dir. Yen-ping Chu
Feat. Charlene Choi, Jay Chou, Eric Tsang…; Inane sporting comedy about a skilled martial artist recruited to play basketball at the local university in return for help in finding his birth…
Mad Detective (2007): Dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Lau Ching-wan, Kelly Lin; Flawed yet watchable policier in which a faultily–wired, one–eared detective with psychic leanings (Lau) is brought in to help on a cold…
Mongol (2007): Dir. Sergei Bodrov
Feat. Tadanobu Asano; A fiercely–mounted early history of Genghis Khan, from the Mongol leader’s childhood years through to his all–conquering warpath across…
Monkey Magic (2007): Enjoyable Japanese action based on the cult MONKEY! TV series, rejoining our adventurers as they travel into the mountains to recover a magical orb…
Severed Ways (2007): Dir. Tony Stone
Feat. Tony Stone, Fiore Tedesco, Gaby Hoffmann; On the coast of North America in AD 1007, two Norsemen are stranded when their expedition is attacked and they are left for dead. As they struggle to…
Siyama: Village of Warriors (2007): Dir. Preecha Songsakul; Three teenagers travel back to the 18th century in their Toyota to lend a helping hand to villagers engaged in an epic battle with a callous Burmese…
Sovereign's Servant, The (2007): Dir. Oleg Ryaskov
Feat. Dmitriy Miller, Aleksandr Bukharov; Two French aristocrats are sent by Louis XIV to observe the Swedish and Russian armies just before the Battle of Poltava in this sweeping Russian…
Sword Of Alexander (Taitei no ken) (2007): Dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Feat. Hiroshi Abe, Riki Takeuchi; Camp sword and sorcery pastiche mines the Japanese tradition for bizarre humour, genre–mincing, and spectacular overacting, with…
Vexille (2007): Dir. Fumisiko Sori; Brawny sci–fi anime set in the year 2077, in which a special agent is sent to examine the capabilities of Japan’s robot technology, and its…
Warlords, The (Tau ming chong) (2007): Dir. Peter Chan
Feat. Jet Li, Andy Lau, Takeshi Kaneshiro…; Spectacular, if now commonplace amongst a legion of Chinese historical epics, this tale of feuding warlords relays its angst, betrayal, and gory…
Alatriste (2006): Dir. Agustin Diaz Yanes
Feat. Viggo Mortensen, Elena Anaya, Javier Camara; Viggo Mortensen plays a Spanish noble warrior in this epic adaptation of Arturo Pérez–Reverte's best–selling books. Lavished with the…
Battle of Wits, A (Muk gong) (2006): Dir. Jacob Cheung
Feat. Andy Lau, Sung-kee Ahn, Zhiwen Wang…; Broad, engrossing siege epic, in which a lone, resolute hero fights for a village overrun by a 25,000–strong army in 370 B.C. China. Though…
Black Book (Zwartboek) (2006): Dir. Paul Verhoeven
Feat. Carice Van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman; A Jewish singer goes deep undercover for the Dutch resistance in this splashy, larger–than–life WWII yarn set in Nazi–occupied…
City of Violence, The (2006): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Doo-hong Jung, Kil-Kang Ahn; A dazzling, action–fantastic revenger by way of Korea, this draws its considerable bloodletting from the aftermath of a funeral, where two…
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou; Another sumptuous Tang Dynasty epic in martial arts from the dir. of HERO, cast in the mould of a Shakespearian power struggle between an Emperor, an…
Dragon Tiger Gate (2006): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Donnie Yen…; Flamboyant, off–the–hook actioner in which two estranged kung–fu masters must put aside their differences to overcome a marauding…
Dynamite Warrior (2006): Dir. Chalem Wongpim
Feat. Dan Chupong, Leo Putt; As if to accommodate an escalating reputation for martial arts outrageousness, Thailand’s stunt extraordinaires risk life and limb in their most…
Exiled (Fong juk) (2006): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Anthony Wong, Simon Yam, Richie Ren…; Master exponent of genre Johnnie To pays homage to spaghetti westerns and the bygone era of John Woo in this energetic, skilfully dispatched action…
Host, The (Gwoemul) (2006): Dir. Joon-ho Bong
Feat. Kang-ho Song, Doona Bae, Ah-sung Ko; Colossal Korean blockbuster that single–handedly revives the generic monster movie: birthed from a batch of military–grade chemicals…
No Mercy For The Rude (2006): Dir. Cheol-hie Park
Feat. Ha-kyun Shin; A mute hitman limits his contract killings to ‘rude’ individuals, saving up for a voice–restoring operation in this unconventional riff on…
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006): Dir. Michel Hazanavicius
Feat. Jean Dujardin; Dusting off a little–known French spy spoof from the 1960's, this remake upgrades rather than updates the franchise, combining the Bond school…
Rebel, The (2006): Dir. Truc "Charlie" Nguyen
Feat. Dustin Nguyen; This vigorous martial arts actioner set in 1920s Vietnam is unusually committed to the finer details of political turmoil and period recreation,…
Robin-B-Hood (Bo bui gai wak) (2006): Dir. Benny Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Michael Hui…; Chan hams it up in this big–budget action caper as a compulsive gambler who inadvertently ends up with a kidnapped baby as a means to pay off…
Tiger Brigades, The (2006): Dir. Jerome Cornuau
Feat. Clovis Cornillac, Diane Kruger, Edouard Baer…; Splashy French adventurism, in the spirit of THE UNTOUCHABLES, pits a high–minded inspector and his hard knocks 'Tiger Brigade' of crimebusters…
Vengeance (Phairii phinaat paa mawrana) (2006): Dir. Preaw Sirisuwan; Fast–paced jungle fantasy horror has a young man and his friends in pursuit of an escaped prisoner inside a fantastical forest populated by…
Azumi 2 (2005): Dir. Shusuke Kaneko
Feat. Aya Ueto, Shun Oguri, Ai Maeda…; Samurai girl–power sweeps feudal Japan once more in this competent, but lesser installment (minus the original director) in the Azumi…
Bittersweet Life, A (2005): Dir. Ji-woon Kim
Feat. Byung-hun Lee; A suave mob enforcer's mercy for one of his intended victims results in the full wrath of the Korean organised crime world in this slick, ultra…
Death Trance (2005): Dir. Yuji Shimomura
Feat. Tak Sakaguchi; Another insane, neo–samurai fantasy from the VERSUS camp involving the battle over a mysterious coffin that, if opened, could destroy the…
Duelist (Hyeongsa) (2005): Dir. Lee Myung-Se
Feat. Ji-won Ha, Sung-kee Ahn, Dong-won Kang; A restless, meta–revisionist sword epic from the dir. of NOWHERE TO HIDE places two undercover police officers in pursuit of an elusive…
Initial D (Tau Man Jid) (2005): Dir. Wai Keung Lau
Feat. Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Anthony Wong…; Sleak and light, this adaptation of the Shuichi Shigeno's famous 'manga' comic by the makers of INFERNAL AFFAIRS, concerns a boy–racer (played…
Mangal Pandey (2005): Dir. Ketan Mehta
Feat. Aamir Khan, Toby Stephens; Accomplished and stirring Hindi epic based on the life and times of Mangal Pandey (Khan), leader of the 1857 'Indian Mutiny' which severely…
Myth, The (San Wa) (2005): Dir. Stanley Tong
Feat. Jackie Chan; Alternating between past and present, Jackie Chan plays a warrior general during the Qing Dynasty and a modern day archaeologist respectively in this…
Promise, The (Wu ji) (2005): Dir. Chen Kaige
Feat. Hiroyuki Sanada, Dong-Kun Jang, Cecilia Cheung…; Visually exquisite, if utterly frivolous Golden Globe–nominated romantic epic from the director of FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE relays the story of…
Protector, The (Tom yum goong, Warrior King) (2005): Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao; Muay Thai phenomenon Tony Jaa continues his reinvigoration of the martial arts genre with this hotly anticipated follow–up to ONG–BAK: a…
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549 (2005): Dir. Masaaki Tezuka
Feat. Yosuke Eguchi, Kyoka Suzuki; Flashy remake of Sonny Chiba's 'time slip' shogun fantasy G.I SAMURAI, with a unit of advanced Special Forces soldiers inadvertently transported back…
Seoul Raiders (2005): Dir. Jingle Ma
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Shu Qi, Richie Ren; Hokey but fun pseudo–sequel to 'Tokyo Raiders' that finds Hong Kong special agent Lam (Tony Leung) on the hunt for counterfeiters in Seoul,…
Seven Swords (2005): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Donnie Yen, Leon Lai, Charlie Yeung; Legendary Hong Kong dir. Tsui Hark returns with an action epic set among the brutal 17th Century Ching dynasty, as seven warriors come together to…
Shadowless Sword (Muyeong geom) (2005): Dir. Young-Jun Kim
Feat. Seo-Jin Lee, Yoon So-yi; Spiffy Korean wuxia extravaganza grafting comedy, romance and action aplenty onto the skin of an ambitious historical epic. Scaling the efforts of…
Shakugan No Shana (TV Series) (2005): Yuji is returning from school when suddenly time stops and monsters appear to devour people. He is not frozen, however. When one of the monsters…
SPL (Sha Po Lang) (2005): Dir. Wilson Yip
Feat. Donnie Yen, Sammo Hung, Simon Yam…; Intense cops–and–hoods thriller which clearly raises the bar for Hong Kong martial–arts by infusing its tale of an idealistic cop…
Tiger Blade, The (Seua khaap daap) (2005): Dir. Theeratorn Siriphunvaraporn
Feat. Atsadawut Luengsuntorn; Spiffy addition to the Thai martial arts boom, with action centered around the recovery of a magical ‘tiger blade’, by cops and robbers…
6 AM (2004): Dir. Adrian Kwan
Feat. Kenny Kwan, Steven Cheung, Charlene Choi…; Popular Canto–pop duo ‘The Boy’z’ star in this absurdist gangster tale, playing high school slackers ‘Bowl’ and ‘Noodle’ who…
Arahan (2004): Dir. Ryoo Seung-Wan
Feat. Ryoo Seung-beom, Yoon So-yi, Ahn Sung-Ki; Urban martial arts injected with supernatural pep, this effects–laden action comedy has an ultimately limited box of tricks, but provides more…
Barrio 13 (District B13) (2004): Dir. Pierre Morel
Feat. Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle; Set in a near–future ghetto dystopia, this slightly–plotted action spectacle thrills as a vehicle for its martial art of choice: Parkour,…
Born to Fight (Kerd ma lui) (2004): Dir. Panna Rittikrai
Feat. Chattapong Pantanaunkul; Created by the makers of the stupendous ONG BAK, this lesser action vehicle is contrived around a showdown in the Thai countryside between a…
Brotherhood of War (Tae Guk Gi) (2004): Dir. Kang Je-Gyu
Feat. Jang Dong-Gun, Won Bin, Lee Eun-Joo; Deemed as one of the most graphic and violent war films ever made, this tells the story of two South Korean brothers (Bin and Dong–Gun) who…
Casshern (2004): Dir. Kazuaki Kiriya
Feat. Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao; Set in a ravaged, post–nuclear war future, ruled by a fascist clique, this rearranges some familiar elements with a visually charged, epic…
Crimson Rivers 2 - Angels of the Apocalypse (2004): Dir. Olivier Dahan
Feat. Jean Reno, Benoit Magimel, Christopher Lee; Barely coherent, but mostly fun sequel to the serial–killer hunt of CRIMSON RIVERS, has detective Reno return to track a case of religious…
House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu) (2004): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau; The dir. of HERO follows up with an equally watchable oriental spectacle, inserting the same cartwheeling martial arts action, complete with torrents…
Kung Fu Hustle (2004): Dir. Stephen Chow (Chiao)
Feat. Stephen Chow (Chiao), Wah Yuen; Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow trumps all previous efforts (and that's saying something) with this dynamic, bust–a–gut funny…
New Police Story (2004): Dir. Benny Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, Daniel Wu; A groundbreaking fourth (or possibly fifth) entry in Jackie Chan's martial arts series about the life of a reckless Hong Kong policeman, here…
Survive Style 5+ (2004): Dir. Gen Sekiguchi
Feat. Tadanobu Asano, Hiroshi Abe, Vinnie Jones…; Hitmen, hypnotists, murdered spouses, and a trio of oddball thieves converge in this delirious, unclassifiable comedy–mystery–drama by…
Aragami (2003): Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Feat. Takao Osawa, Masaya Kato, Tak Sakaguchi; Another confidently executed, blood–soaked samurai fantasy from dir. Kitamura (VERSUS), set in a remote medieval temple into which a wounded…
Azumi (2003): Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Feat. Aya Ueto, Shun Oguri, Kenji Kohashi; The dir. of VERSUS advances to a studio–scale budget for this historical action yarn, set around a skilled swords–woman in ancient feudal…
Battle Royale II: Requiem (Battle Royale 2) (2003): Dir. Fukasaku Kinji, Fukasaku Kenta
Feat. Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ai Maeda, Shugo Oshinari; Bolder and bloodier sequel that introduces 9/11–style terrorist topicality into its violent, 'last teen standing' scenario, with overt…
Fearless (Jet Li's Fearless; Huo Yuan Jia) (2003): Dir. Ronnie Yu
Feat. Jet Li; Lively martial–arts epic which is reportedly Jet Li's final offering of screen 'wushu' (traditional Chinese fighting) , retells the story of…
Infernal Affairs 2 (Mou gaan dou II) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Carina Lau…; Solid prequel to the hit Hong Kong policier, goes back in time to the era of the 1991 and moves forward in three acts to the Chinese handover,…
Infernal Affairs 3 (Mou gaan dou III) (2003): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Leon Lai…; Actual sequel to the hit Hong Kong gangland–cop thriller attempts valiantly to tie up loose ends, both picking up where corrupt cop Ming (Lau)…
Ong-Bak (Muay Thai Warrior) (2003): Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao; A martial arts juggernaut from Thailand, in which a benign village kickboxer travels to big bad Bangkok in search of a sacred statue stolen from his…
Silmido (2003): Dir. Woo-Suk Kang
Feat. Ahn Sung-Ki, Kyung-gu Sol; Korean Cold War thriller which takes the true scandal of how a team of gangsters and death–row criminals were recruited in 1968 as part of a…
Warrior, The (2003): Dir. Asif Kapadia
Feat. Irfan Khan, Puru Chibber; Award–winning debut for British born dir. Kapadia follows the quest of a lone swordsman to escape his brutal paymaster in ancient feudal…
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong) (2003): Dir. He Ping
Feat. Wen Jiang, Xueqi Wang, Vicki Zhao; A lavish post–CROUCHING TIGER epic derived from a Chinese folktale about an Imperial assassin who is sent forth to the Gobi desert to eliminate…
Zatoichi (2003): Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano; Actor–director–cult hero Takeshi Kitano stylishly revives a hero of well–known Japanese mythology and scores his most broadly…
800 Balas (800 Bullets) (2002): Dir. Alex de la Iglesia
Feat. Carmen Maura, Sancho Gracia; Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia (DAY OF THE BEAST) brings his wild energy to this story of a stuntman in Almeria whose career is floundering in…
Alive (2002): Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Feat. Hideo Sakaki, Koyuki, Tak Sakaguchi; A convicted murderer is sentenced to death, only to escape execution and become the subject of bizarre prison experiments in this inventive marriage…
Dead or Alive 3 (Final) (2002): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi; Imaginative, futuristic final entry in a remarkable action trilogy that this time presents its anti–heroic pair toughing it out in a dystopian…
Hero (2002): Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Maggie Cheung…; Though no doubt diminished on the small screen, this ancient Martial Arts spectacle from the dir. of RAISE THE RED…
Infernal Affairs (2002): Dir. Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fai Mak
Feat. Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Anthony Wong…; This dynamic cops ‘n’ robbers spectacle is populist Hong Kong film–making at its most slick and sophisticated. Infused with more than a…
Legend of Suriyothai, The (2002): Dir. Chatrichalerm Yukol; A lavish historical epic financed by the royal family of Thailand (and directed by a prince) and centred around two powerful women – a princess…
Missing Gun, The (Xun qiang) (2002): Dir. Chuan Lu
Feat. Wen Jiang; Wound–up thriller set in a small and eccentric Chinese village, where a policeman wakes one morning with a hangover to find his…
Nest, The (Nid de Guêpes) (2002): Dir. Florent Emilio Siri
Feat. Nadia Farès, Samy Naceri, Benoit Magimel; A brutally efficient and stylish French action yarn about a night–time standoff between various crims, security guards and an army of Albanian…
Returner (2002): Dir. Takashi Yamazaki
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro; Kitted out with a charismatic cast, CGI–action that delivers, and tongue–lightly–in–cheek, this slick, big–budget…
So Close (Chik yeung tin sai) (2002): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Shu Qi, Karen Mok, Vicki Zhao; Presenting... a heroic trio of femmes for a new generation – a kind of high–octane "Asian Charlie's Angels". This super–flash…
Sweat (Sueurs) (2002): Dir. Louis-Pascal Couvelaire
Feat. Jean-Hugues Anglade, Joaquim De Almeida; Interesting but flawed re–imagining of THE WAGES OF FEAR, with a gang of four hoods trying to heist a fortune in gold ore across the North…
Vampire Hunters (2002): Dir. Wellson Chin
Feat. Ken Chang; Typically enjoyable and overblown Hong Kong mayhem, where five powerful warriors battle the Vampire King and his followers. Written and produced…
Asoka (2001): Dir. Santosh Sivan
Feat. Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Danny Denzongpa; Scintillating, hallucinatory epic of ancient India that’s perhaps the first ‘Bollywood’ film to reach international audiences, telling the…
Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups) (2001): Dir. Christophe Gans
Feat. Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Mark Dacascos; A ripping, action–packed 18th century detective story based on the true–life case of the Beast of Gevaudan – a killer or creature who…
Count of Monte Cristo, The (2001): Dir. Josee Dayan
Feat. Gerard Depardieu, Ornella Muti, Jean Rochefort; The classic tale of injustice and revenge (by Alexander Dumas), gets respectful treatment in this French TV mini–series starring Gerard…
Fulltime Killer (2001): Dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Kelly Lin…; Two very different hit men face off in this Hong Kong action film, with Andy Lau playing a flamboyant new hotshot who is tracking down the number one…
Ichi the Killer (2001): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto; Dir. Takashi Miike earned his notoriety with this wincingly violent revenge thriller in which a bent ex–cop (played by "Tetsuo" director,…
Musa - The Warrior (2001): Dir. Kim Sung-Su
Feat. Woo-sung Jung, Ahn Sung-Ki, Zhang Ziyi; Genuinely spectacular 14th century restaging of "The Seven Samurai" that was the (then) most expensive film made in its native…
One Take Only (Som and Bank: Bangkok for Sale) (2001): Dir. Oxide Pang
Feat. Wanatchada Siwapornchai, Pawarith Monkolpisit; Another visually dizzying trip into the dens of the Thai capital for dir. Pang, this time steering a tale of two streetwise lovers – a…
Pistol Opera (2001): Dir. Seijun Suzuki
Feat. Makikio Esumi, Shirley Yamaguchi, Kirin Kiki…; A comeback of sorts for brilliant Japanese director Seijun Suzuki, who brings a self–referential and at times incomprehensibly abstract style…
Princess Blade (Shurayuki-Hime) (2001): Dir. Shinsuke Sato; Post–apocalyptic Japanese samurai action adapted from a graphic novel, employs a stark visual style to convey its tale of a disturbed young…
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…
Volcano High (Whasango) (2001): Dir. Tae-gyun Kim; Wildly action–packed Korean thriller, set in a future high–school where combat–trained, telekinetic students and staff slug it out…
Amores Perros (Love's a Bitch) (2000): Dir. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Feat. Emilio Echevarria, Gael Garcia Bernal, Goya Toledo…; Bursting forth with passion, cinematic mettle and pungent local flavours, this debut feature, a triptych of stories set in polyglot Mexico City, is…
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…
City of Lost Souls (2000): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Teah , Michelle Reis, Ren Osugi; Another turbo–charged piece of blood–drenched lunacy from prolific genre stylist Takashi Miike, marked out by its Brazilian protagonist…
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…
Dead or Alive 2 (Tobosha) (2000): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Shinya Tsukamoto; Understated yet rewarding sequel to the mind–blowing gangster actioner follows on from the 'end of the world' with an unrelated story, with…
JSA: Joint Security Area (2000): Dir. Park Chan-Wook
Feat. Kang-ho Song, Young-ae Lee; A Korean military thriller of high repute that opens with a double–killing on the bitterly–tense border between North and South and…
Tears of the Black Tiger (Fah Talai Jone) (2000): Dir. Wisit Sasanatieng; A blast of wild inspiration from the New Thai Cinema, this restages a Hollywood Western within a luridly kitschy setting using back–projection,…
Time and Tide (2000): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Nicholas Tse, Wu Bai; Healthy measures of hard–boiled alienation and gyroscopic fire–fights ignite this Hong Kong kick–butt–fest that somersaults…
Bangkok Dangerous (1999): Dir. Danny Pang, Oxide Pang
Feat. Pawalit Mongkolpisit, Premsinee Ratanasopha, Patharawarin Timkul; Frenetic, violent gangland tale set in the throbbing Thai capital, about a deaf–mute hitman isolated by his affliction and his profession, and…
Dead or Alive (Hanzaisha) (1999): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Sho Aikawa, Riki Takeuchi, Ren Osugi; A jaw–dropping, wickedly amoral revenge thriller from the dir. of AUDITION, who blows the dust (and the roof) off gangster movie cliches and…
Emperor and the Assassin, The (Jing Ke Ci Qin Wang) (1999): Dir. Chen Kaige
Feat. Gong Li, Zhang Fenyi; Vast, gilded historical spectacle set in the 3rd Century BC, centred on China's legendary first Qin emperor's struggle to consolidate a unified…
Hero (A Man Called Hero) (1999): Dir. Wai Keung Lau
Feat. Ekin Cheng, Shu Qi, Kristy Yang; A typically offbeat HK amalgam of historical saga, martial arts action and CGI special effects. Set in the first half of the 20th century, this…
Nowhere to Hide (1999): Dir. Lee Myung-Se
Feat. Park Joong-Hoon, Ahn Sung-Ki; An irreverent pastiche of seemingly every violent cop flick ever made, this hysterical, hyper–kinetic Korean action movie throws up every…
Running Out of Time (1999): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Andy Lau, Lau Ching-wan; A crackingly–paced, plot–bending Yin–Yang heist drama, with terminally–ill master jewel thief Andy Lau playing against the…
Hitman (1998): Dir. Tung Wai
Feat. Jet Li; Would–be assassin Jet Li joins in the race to avenge the murder of an evil Japanese businessman for the tune of $100 million, but is encumbered…
Run Lola Run (1998): Dir. Tom Tykwer
Feat. Franke Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu; Runaway foreign–language hit clocks up mileage from a simple conceit – flame–haired punkette Lola has twenty minutes to go like the…
Sleepless Town (Fuyajo) (1998): Dir. Chi-Ngai Lee
Feat. Takeshi Kaneshiro, Sihung Lung, Kathy Chow; Hybridistic pan–Asian thriller set in the 'sleepless' red–light district of Tokyo, where petty crim Kaneshiro must revisit his gangster…
Storm Riders, The (1998): Dir. Wai Keung Lau
Feat. Sonny Chiba, Aaron Kwok; The big Hong Kong hit of '98 – a super–extravagant 'flying swordsman' fantasy that ambitiously distils a popular Manga comic book series…
Taxi (1998): Dir. Gerard Pirés
Feat. Samy Naceri, Frederic Diefenthal; From writer/producer Luc Besson, this four–wheeled fantasy comedy sets up a speed–freak taxi driver with a cop that can’t drive to…
Black Mask (1997): Dir. Daniel Lee
Feat. Jet Li, Lau Ching-wan; Mild–mannered librarian by day – pain–resistant, cool–garbed crime–fighter by night – Jet Li's engaging…
Dobermann (1997): Dir. Jan Kounen
Feat. Tcheky Karyo, Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci…; Frenetic French crime thriller filled with over the top gun play and colourful yet grimy characters. Vincent Cassel plays a bank robber known as…
Once Upon a Time in China and America (1997): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Jet Li; Jet Li reprises his signature role in the popular saga, this time reinvented as a Kung Fu Western – the perfect setting for…
Young Thugs - Innocent Blood (1997): Dir. Takashi Miike
Feat. Naoto Takenaka; Gangster shenanigans with cult dir. Takashi, this time taking a more measured approach to the story of four young friends who drift together and…
Blade, The (1996): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Xin Xin Xiong, Moses Chan, Man Cheuk Chiu; Honour and retribution are the key themes in this densely–plotted, straight–faced actioner set in a mythic–historical setting.…
Lady Ninja: Reflections of Darkness (1996): Dir. Masaru Tsushima
Feat. Yuka Ohnishi, Tetsuo Kurata, Rina Kitahara; Snappy example of the Martial Sex–Arts sub–genre, with a gang of 'Lady Ninjas' hired by a lascivious Emperor to wipe–out his royal…
D'Artagnan's Daughter (Revenge of the Musketeers) (1995): Dir. Bertrand Tavernier
Feat. Sophie Marceau, Philippe Noiret; This gleefully French swashbuckler checks in as a loose sequel to the Three Muskeeters. The magnetic Sophie Marceau stars as the feisty titular…
High Risk (1995): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Jet Li, Jacky Cheung; A Hong Kong actioner worth singling out from the glut, Jet Li is charisma–on–legs as an unflappable stunt double/bodyguard who is forced…
Peace Hotel (1995): Dir. Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat stars in his last Hong Kong opus before taking the Hollywood leap. A 1920s Chinatown Western, he runs the 'Peace Hotel', a refuge…
Score (1995): Dir. Atsushi Muroga
Feat. Shu Ehara, Hiroshi Miyasaka, Ryuushi Mizukami; A kinetic, if largely derivative actioner, which comes over as a Japanese RESERVOIR DOGS set around an unstable band of Yakuza henchmen attempting to…
Ashes of Time (1994): Dir. Wong Kar-Wai
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung; From revered mo–hup novelist Jing Yong's East, South, West, North, Wong Kar–Wai trailblazes the Hong Kong art movie with a cyclical tale…
Bodyguard from Beijing (1994): Dir. Yuen Kwai
Feat. Jet Li; Jet Li is "The Bodyguard" in this delightful parody of the Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston smash. A gourmet chop suey of action, humour and simmering…
Burning Paradise (1994): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. John Ching, Willi Chi; Dir. Ringo Lam hits prime form in this Kung Fu excursion into the distant Chinese past. Previous hero Fong Sai Yuk and friends must quickstep…
Drunken Master II (Legend of Drunken Master) (1994): Dir. Lau Kar Leung
Feat. Jackie Chan; Jackie Chan gets comic mileage with the dubious idea that he can only tap into his martial art prowess while pissed as a newt. Jackie continues to…
Fist of Legend (1994): Dir. Gordon Chan Kar-Seung
Feat. Jet Li; Jet Li stars in an infinitely superior remake of Bruce Lee's FIST OF FURY. A showcase of the highest calibre martial arts choreography, but firmly…
Future Cops (1994): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung, Aaron Kwok; Good dumb fun is the pure agenda of this kitsch, kinetic fantasy–comedy based on the popular ‘Streetfighter’ arcade game. On the trail…
God of Gamblers Return (1994): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat returns as a charming poker player who enjoys the quiet life until a challenger kills his wife and begins to target his friends. …
Heroic Trio 2 - Executioners (1994): Dir. Johnnie To, Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung…; Downbeat sequel returns the trio of feisty femmes to combat the evil mega–corporation that taken a stranglehold on the world's…
Treasure Hunt (1994): Dir. Ricky Lau
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; CIA operative Chow Yun–Fat falls in love while on secret assignment at mainland Shaolin monastery. Bubble–headed romance with some action…
Wing Chun (1994): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen; Martial–arts star Michelle Yeoh lends some charisma to a cotton–sugar tale of remote villagers plagued by robbers. In the title role Yeoh…
Barefoot Kid, The (1993): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Aaron Kwok; Rites–of–passage, chop–socky style with lithe HK supernova Aaron Kwok as the eponymous hero whose inititation into manhood is…
Bride With White Hair 2, The (Bai fa mo nu zhuan II) (1993): Dir. Ronnie Yu, David Wu
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Christy Chung; Above–average sequel to the martial arts blockbuster continuing on directly from its cliffhanger ending, with the viciously insane Lin, now…
Butterfly and Sword (1993): Dir. Michael Mak
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Michelle Yeoh, Joey Wong…; Raucous, fast–paced martial arts fantasy boasts a top–flight cast and some of the most ludicrous action sequences of the 90s. Michelle…
Crime Story (1993): Dir. Kirk Wong
Feat. Jackie Chan; A serious Jackie Chan movie for which he even nabbed a HK oscar! Based on a true story involving police corruption and a kidnapping ring, the…
Fencing Master, The (1993): Dir. Pedro Olea
Feat. Omero Antonutti, Assumpta Serna, Joaquim De Almeida; Opulent tale of lust and betrayal in politically turbulent turn–of–the–century Spain. A middle–aged celibate fencing teacher…
Heroic Trio (1993): Dir. Johnnie To
Feat. Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh; An invisible criminal is stealing babies for a sewer–dwelling villain and it's up to three dazzling super–chicks. Hugely entertaining…
Iron Monkey (Siunin Wong Fei-hung tsi titmalau) (1993): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Donnie Yen; Enjoyably charged with wacky humour, this fairly traditional Hong Kong slambam concerns a doctor and his daughter who must track down a notorious…
Kung Fu Cult Master (1993): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Chingmy Yau; Extraordinarily over–the–top martial arts epic in which Jet Li procures invincible powers while negotiating the restless hordes from…
Legend 2, The (1993): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Jet Li, Michelle Reis; Jet Li returns as the hero 'Fong Sai Yuk', battling the oppressive ruling Chinese government in the ranks of the subversive Red Flower Society. With…
Legend of Fong Sai Yuk, The (1993): Dir. Yuen Kwai
Feat. Jet Li; Hilarious and oddly satisfying mixture of character, comedy, drama, incredible action, and high camp tragedy! Jet Li stars in one of the best HK…
Moon Warriors (1993): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui; Flashy feudal martial arts adventure features the high kicks of Andy Lau, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui, in a battle of noble siblings to regain the…
Once Upon a Time in China 3 (1993): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan; Jet Li must quash a Russian plot to murder the ruling eunuch, fight a band of gangsters, and find a way to propose to Rosamund Kwan. Predictable yet…
Tai Chi Master, The (1993): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh; Jet Li ascends to be the founder of the Chinese art of self–defence and healing known as Tai Chi Chuan, but not before crossing blades with,…
Bride with White Hair (1992): Dir. Ronnie Yu
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin; In a remote China of superstition and legend, vicious clan skirmishes result in an eye–popping frenzy of acrobatic martial arts. Resplendent…
Dragon Inn (New Dragon Gate Inn) (1992): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung (Kar-fai)…; Gory Ming Dynasty–set epic in which forces of good and evil clash swords over the fate of feudal China. An extravagant climax, featuring…
El Mariachi (1992): Dir. Robert Rodriguez
Feat. Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez; A cause celebre of low–budget film–making, this $7000 Tex–Mex wonder about a guitar–player mistaken for a gangster contains…
Full Contact (1992): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat rescues his friend from a loan shark, but the friend leaves him for dead in a botched robbery and takes off with his girlfriend. A…
Hard-Boiled (1992): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Anthony Wong; An action film to end all action films, John Woo's technical command of the genre reaches its peak with this ballistic ballet in which Chow…
Naked Killer (1992): Dir. Clarence Fok-Yiu
Feat. Chingmy Yau, Simon Yam, Carrie Ng; Sex and violence potently combust in a tale of nubile assassins and a love–struck, traumatised cop. The plot may typically wander but it…
Once Upon a Time in China 2 (1992): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Jet Li, Donnie Yen; Comic emphasis is given to the continuing adventures of a traditional martial artiste in late 1900s. Escapist elements are graced with fine…
Police Story 3 (Supercop) (1992): Dir. Stanley Tong
Feat. Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh; Jackie Chan returns as death–defying maverick cop Ka Kui, while Michelle Yeoh offers some savvy sidekick. From the director of Jackie's first…
Saviour of the Soul (1992): Dir. David Lai
Feat. Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok; Breathtaking camerawork and special effects combine with hallucinatory plotting as two city–dwelling mercenaries do battle with the silver fox,…
Stalingrad (1992): Dir. Joseph Vilsmaier
Feat. Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel; Superlative evocation of WW2 tragedy from a German perspective. A unit of soldiers are posted to the front line in the merciless Russian winter to…
Black Cat (1991): Dir. Dickson Poon
Feat. Jade Leung; The Hong Kong industry could not resist a crack at French action fave Nikita, the foxy misfit trained as an assassin for the secret service. A…
Chinese Ghost Story 3 (1991): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Joey Wong, Jacky Cheung; Spirited retread of the first movie, in which the evil Tree Spirit is back with yet another ghost played by Joey Wong. It takes place 100 years…
Once a Thief (1991): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang; Whimsical actioner combines directorial flair with the charisma of Chow Yun–Fat. He leads an elite team of art thieves who encounter the…
Once Upon a Time in China (1991): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Jet Li, Biao Yuen, Rosamund Kwan; Extravagent epic about legendary Chinese martial artiste and conqueror, Wong Fei Hung. Beautifully filmed spectacle, punctuated with exciting combat…
Story of Ricky (Riki-Oh aka Lai Wong) (1991): Dir. Nam Nai-Choi
Feat. Fan Siu-wong; Hong Kong cult sensation that comedically stir–fries prison ultra–violence with Western–style splatter. Rib–cracking,…
Bullet in the Head (1990): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Jacky Cheung, Waise Lee; John Woo's indictment of war as raw and visceral as its title. Three friends flee Hong Kong and find themselves knee deep in the corruption and…
Chinese Ghost Story 2 (1990): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Leslie Cheung, Joey Wong, Jacky Cheung; The original cast return for another surreal, big–budget fantasy that delivers as much as the first one, with more of a comedic slant. This…
God of Gamblers (1990): Dir. Wong Jing
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat plays a gambling king who is de–throned by amnesia, then embraced by a petty hustler who discovers he can trigger his memory…
Kid from Tibet, A (1990): Dir. Yuen Biao
Feat. Biao Yuen, Michelle Reis, Wah Yuen; Amiable, energetic actioner stars the director as a young monk who must avenge a friend's death using Tibetan magic, pyrotechnics and a host of…
Ronin-gai (Roningai: Street of the Samurai) (1990): Dir. Kazuo Kuroki
Feat. Yoshio Harada, Renji Ishibashi, Kanako Higuchi; Samurai drama set in the 19th century near the end of the Japanese civil war, following several disgraced and listless ronin who attempt to regain…
She Shoots Straight (Huang jia nu jiang) (1990): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Joyce Godenzi, Sammo Hung; Taut and melodramatic, this HK policier concerns a decorated and ultra–competent female police officer (Godenzi) who arouses jealousy in her…
Skinny Tiger Fatty Dragon (Shou hu fei long) (1990): Dir. Liu Chia Liang
Feat. Sammo Hung, Liu Chia Liang, Carrie Ng; Amusing action spoof starring the incomparable Samo Hung as one of a pair of bumbling cops who go on the hunt for drug traffickers in Hong Kong, but…
Swordsman (1990): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Jacky Cheung, Man Cheung, Sam Hui; A good–natured swordsman from Ming Dynasty China, gets involved in a scramble for a priceless book. Excellent special effects but confusing…
Canton Godfather, The (Miracles; Mr. Canton and Lady Rose) (1989): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Anita Mui; Though light on martial arts, this lavish period production is generally considered Jackie Chan's most accomplished movie. At once inspired by THE…
Iceman Cometh, The (Time Warriors) (1989): Dir. Fok Yiu Leung
Feat. Biao Yuen, Maggie Cheung; A pair of Ming Dynasty adversaries find themselves defrosted 300 years later in contemporary Hong Kong. Film festival fave combines outrageous farce…
In The Line of Duty (In The Line of Duty 4: The Witness) (1989): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Donnie Yen, Cynthia Khan , Michael Wong…; Although the fourth in a film series about a flashy martial–arts cop, this is generally considered the best, with Yen taking his police job in…
Killer, The (1989): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Action at break–neck speed with a body–count to match the running time, this smorgasbord of super–violence with lashings of good…
Rikyu (1989): Dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara
Feat. Rentaro Mikuni, Tsutomu Yamazaki; A unique dramatic meditation on the symbolic qualities of the Japanese tea ceremony, set around a Buddhist priest and the ruling Shogun of Japan in…
Tiger On the Beat (1989): Dir. Liu Chia Liang
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Conan Lee; Chow Yun Fat buddies up with martial artiste Conan Lee as a pair of mismatched cops in hot pursuit of an international drug syndicate, climaxing in a…
Zatoichi 26 (Darkness Is His Ally) (1989): Dir. Shintaro Katsu
Feat. Shintaro Katsu; An enjoyable, autumnal revival of the 1960s–70s samurai movie franchise, with a much older Katsu reprising his role of the blind swordsman and…
Dragons Forever (1988): Dir. Sammo Hung, Corey Yuen
Feat. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen; Final martial–arts rumble for the 'three brothers' team of Chan, Hung and Biao (see PROJECT–A), here playing three spokes in a nefarious…
Flaming Brothers (Jiang hu long hu men) (1988): Dir. Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Alan Tang, Pat Ha; Two close friends from the island of Macao (Tang and Yun–Fat) become dangerously involved in the Chinese triads through decades of prosperity…
Pathfinder (Ofelas) (1988): Dir. Nils Gaup
Feat. Mikkel Gaup; Over icy, unforgiving terrain, a 16–year–old boy diverts a group of marauders who have raided his village. Powerful adventure film…
Police Story 2 (1988): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung; Jackie Chan directs this follow–up to his landmark hit, playing a demoted detective who must use his wiles to track down bomb–scare…
Better Tomorrow II, A (1987): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Kenneth Tsang, Emily Chu; Sequel to Woo's breakout genre classic finds Chow Yun–Fat shoehorned (as the twin brother of his original role, no less) into another fire…
Chinese Ghost Story, A (1987): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Leslie Cheung; The first of a marvellous trilogy of outrageous fantasies set in Ming Dynasty–era China, in which student Leslie Cheung falls in love with an…
City On Fire (1987): Dir. Ringo Lam
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee; Undercover cop Chow Yun Fat is wounded in the aftermath of a bloody heist gone horribly wrong, and trapped in the thieves' hideout as they determine…
Armour of God (1986): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan; Jackie Chan blows a bigger budget than usual for this crazy quest for some relics of a Crusader's armour in Eastern Europe. Drab stretches are…
Better Tomorrow, A (1986): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat; Chow Yun–Fat stars in the high–octane gangster flick that literally changed the face of the genre. A cop becomes ostracized by the force…
Eastern Condors (Dung fong tuk ying) (1986): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen; A Hong Kong riff on THE DIRTY DOZEN, in which 12 Chinese convicts accept a mission into Vietnam to destroy an abandoned American weapons…
Heroes Shed No Tears (1986): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Eddy Ko; Bloody actioner has elite commandos having to capture a drug lord and smuggle him into Thailand. Things do not go smoothly. Early John Wood effort…
Millionaire's Express (Foo gwai lit che) (1986): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen, Rosamund Kwan; Camp and hysterical genre mash–up, has Samo Hung as a bumbling brothel–owner who entraps a group of millionaire's in his hometown (by…
Peking Opera Blues (1986): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Brigitte Lin, Cherie Chung, Sally Yeh; One of prolific Hong Kong director/producer Tsui Hark's most celebrated films is a genre–blending romp set around the Peking Opera in 1913. A…
Heart of the Dragon (Long de xin) (1985): Dir. Sammo Hung, Fruit Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Emily Chu; Uncharacteristically serious Chan–Hung drama follows police detective Chan's difficulties in caring for his mentally disabled, child–like…
Mr. Vampire (1985): Dir. Ricky Lau
Feat. Ching-Ying Lam, Siu-hou Chin, Ricky Hui…; Influential kung–fu ghostbusting flick is a distinctively Eastern slant on the 'vampire' genre – less like caped Counts, more like…
Police Assassins (Yes Madam) (1985): Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Michelle Yeoh, Cynthia Rothrock, Tsui Hark; Cheesy but fun outing has two hard–as–nails policewomen Michelle Yeoh (in her first lead role) and Cynthia Rothrock turning in their…
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, The (1984): Dir. Kar-leung Lau
Feat. Gordon Liu, Alexander Fu, Kara Hui…; Hong Kong martial arts epic set circa the 10th century, with a Mongol army attempting to overthrow the influential Yang family, defenders of the Song…
Hong Kong 1941 (Dang doi lai ming) (1983): Dir. Po-Chi Leong
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat, Alex Man, Kien Shih…; One of Chow Yun–Fat's early classics, this portrays the disturbing invasion of Hong Kong by the Japanese in 1941, which disrupts the dreams and…
Le Dernier Combat (The Last Battle) (1983): Dir. Luc Besson
Feat. Pierre Jolivet, Jean Bouise, Jean Reno; The director's impressive debut (at the age of 24) is a post–apocalyptic fable, strikingly filmed in black and white with almost no…
Zu Warriors (Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain) (1983): Dir. Tsui Hark
Feat. Biao Yuen, Moon Lee, Brigitte Lin…; A renowned fantasy film, in which four medieval warriors search the universe for twin swords with which to defeat a powerful demon, which threatens…
Dragon Lord (Long xiao ye) (1982): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Wai-Man Chan; Chiefly of interest to Chan–completists, this wraps a threadbare plot about stolen Chinese artifacts around some admittedly spectacular…
Duel to the Death (Xian si jue) (1982): Dir. Ching Siu Tung
Feat. Norman Chu, Damian Lau; Groundbreaking martial–arts actioner from dir. Ching Siu–Tung (CHINESE GHOST STORY) about a Ming–era duel between a Chinese (Lau)…
Impossible Kid, The (1982): Dir. Eddie Nicart
Feat. Weng Weng, Romy Diaz, Nina Sara; Chop–socky sequel with world's smallest spy again coming up another baddie intent to destroy the world. Comical dialogue, and more ball busting…
Legend of a Fighter (Huo Yuan-Jia) (1982): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Kar-yan Leung; A 'wireless' kung–fu masterclass from one of Hong Kong's most feted martial arts exponent, dir. Ping (choreographer for THE MATRIX), here…
Legendary Weapons of China (1982): Dir. Liu Chia Liang
Feat. Liu Chia Liang; Forthright Shaw Brothers classic with the invincible Gordon Liu as a dogged kung fu master pursued relentlessly by hired assassins. And intriguing…
Ninja Wars (Iga ninpûchô) (1982): Dir. Mitsumasa Saito
Feat. Hiroyuki Sanada, Sonny Chiba; Period fantasy action involving magicians, love potions and endangered royalty in ancient Japan, a story resolved with a fair amount of…
Shaolin Prince (1982): Dir. Chia Tang
Feat. Ti Lung; Respected fight choreographer Tang Chia helms one of his few films as director: two princes are separated at birth; one is raised by Shaolin monks…
Das Boot (The Boat) (1981): Dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Feat. Jurgen Prochnow; Nail biting, meticulous and realistic account of a German U–boat's prowlings through the North Atlantic. The most expensive German film to…
For Your Height Only (1981): Dir. Eddie Nicart
Feat. Weng Weng, Yehlen Catral, Carmi Martin…; Schlocky riff on the 007 franchise with pint sized ass–kicker Weng Weng as the world's smallest super spy, Agent 00, doing battle with mad…
Encounters of the Spooky Kind (Gui da gui) (1980): Dir. Sammo Hung
Feat. Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen; A groundbreaking Hong Kong blend of martial arts action, horror, and slapstick humour, set around Hung's attempts to battle the voodoo and hopping…
Kagemusha (1980): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara; A majestic 16th century saga about a petty thief who ascends to tribal leadership on account of his resemblance to a dying warlord. Shared the top…
Young Master, The (Shi di chu ma) (1980): Dir. Jackie Chan
Feat. Jackie Chan, Biao Yuen; A fine early action–comedy from the phenomenal Jackie Chan, here trying to lure a wayward fellow student back to the 'right' side of martial…
Heroes Of The East (Zhong hua zhang fu) (1979): Feat. Chia Hui Liu, Yuka Mizuno; Graceful martial arts film focused around a Chinese man who must prove the superiority of Chinese kung fu over Japanese to his disillusioned Japanese…
Magnificent Butcher (Lin shi rong) (1979): Dir. Sammo Hung, Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen; Peak Samo Hung martial artistry, collaborating here with with action legend Yuen Woo Ping for a tale based on the true–life exploits of Lam Sai…
Resurrection of Golden Wolf (1979): Dir. Toru Murakawa
Feat. Yusaku Matsuda, Sonny Chiba; A moderately subversive actioner which revolves around an apparently mild–mannered 'salary man' (Matsuda), who by night sheds wig and glasses…
Shaolin Temple (1979): Dir. Cheung Hsin Yen
Feat. Jet Li; Martial Arts superstar Jet Li’s debut film, as a Shaolin–trained fighter who exacts revenge upon an evil warlord, already displaying the…
Drunken Master (1978): Dir. Yuen Woo Ping
Feat. Jackie Chan; The martial arts comedy that put Jackie Chan on the map tells the tale of a disobedient son learning the art of Drunken Fist Kung Fu in order to stop…
Clans of Intrigue (Chu liu xiang) (1977): Dir. Che Yuan
Feat. Ti Lung; Another collaboration between dir. Yuan and the charismatic Ti Lung, in a historical detective story set around a legendary swordsman who tries to…
Death Duel (San shao ye de jian) (1977): Dir. Che Yuan
Feat. Derek Yee, Chen Ping, Yu An-an; A Shaw Bros. extravaganza that benefits from its pared–down take on the swordplay–and–intrigue formula and impressive visuals,…
Golgo 13: Kowloon Assignment (1977): Dir. Yukio Noda
Feat. Sonny Chiba; Sonny Chiba oozes masculine cool as the titular hitman of Takao Saito's best–selling manga. A hard–boiled exploitation noir which doesn't…
Mighty Peking Man, The (Hsing Hsing wang) (1977): Dir. Meng-Hwa Ho
Feat. Danny Lee; A hilarious Shaw Brothers riff on KING KONG, with an earthquake disturbing the slumbers of a giant ape in the Himalayas who then heads into India to…
18 Bronzemen (Return of the 18 Bronzemen) (1976): Dir. Joseph Kuo
Feat. Tien Peng, Carter Hwang, Polly Shang-Kuan; Two friends must fight their way out of a Shaolin temple – and 18 formidable bronze warriors – in this celebrated kung fu classic.…
Challenge of the Masters (Huang Fei-hong yu liu a cai) (1976): Dir. Liu Chia Liang
Feat. Gordon Lau, Chan Koon Tai, Lai Lai Lee; One of the great exponents of shaolin kung fu cinema, dir. Chia Liang, here casts his attention on the Chinese legend of Fei–hung. Played by…
Hand Of Death (Shao Lin men) (1976): Dir. John Woo
Feat. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen; Fairly standard HK action fare with a young Shaolin martial–artist given the difficult task of avenging the death of a member of his order.…
Magic Blade, The (Tien ya, ming yueh tao) (1976): Dir. Che Yuan
Feat. Ti Lung, Ching Li, Lo Lieh; Excellent action tale from the prime era of "Wu Xia" cinema, this has three rival swordsman in medieval China compete for possession of a secret…
Shaolin Wooden Men (1976): Feat. Jackie Chan; Jackie Chan cut his teeth on these cheap fist–and–feet–fests. More intentionally serious than his later star–turns, but…
Web of Death, The ( Wu du tian luo) (1976): Dir. Yuen Chor
Feat. Yang Chiang, Ching Li, Norman Chu…; Shaw Brothers 'wu xia' at its ripest and most expressive, injecting a tale of ancient clan rivalry with great action, creative polish and bizarre…
Man from Hong Kong, The (1975): Dir. Brian Trenchard-Smith
Feat. George Lazenby, Bill Hunter, Rebecca Gilling…; Cracking martial arts adventure tracking an inspector sent to Australia to expel a drug courier. Photogenically set against the backdrops of Ayers…
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1975): Dir. Yu Wang
Feat. Yu Wang; Legendary martial arts anomaly cited by Quentin Tarantino as his favourite kung fu film, this stars (and is directed by) Jimmy Yu Wang as a…
Sholay (Flames) (1975): Dir. Ramesh Sippy
Feat. Dharmendra , Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Bhaskar; This roundabout Bollywood classic, about a former law enforcer who enlists two criminal misfits to help him seek revenge, plunders spaghetti…
Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance (Shura-yuki-hime: Urami Renga) (1974): Dir. Toshiya Fujita
Feat. Meiko Kaji, Yoshio Harada, Kazuko Yoshiyuki…; Excellent, though not widely celebrated sequel, has Kaji put her sword skills to work in Meiji Japan playing off the ruthless government against an…
Lone Wolf & Cub 6: White Heaven in Hell (1974): Dir. Yoshiyuki Kuroda
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Junko Hitomi…; The continuing adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro. Lone wolf and Cub return for their final battle…
Street Fighter, The (1974): Dir. Shigehiro Ozawa
Feat. Sonny Chiba; Career–making martial arts outing for Japanese icon Sonny Chiba, mugging his heart out as a brutal enforcer who turns the tables on his…
Female Yakuza Tale (Yasagure anego den: sôkatsu rinchi) (1973): Dir. Teruo Ishii
Feat. Reiko Ike; A scorned Reiko Ike returns in this remarkably trashier sequel to SEX AND FURY, ready to unleash another roaring rampage of revenge on sadistic…
Illicit Desire (Feng liu yun shi) (1973): Dir. Han Hsiang Li
Feat. Hong-Yip Cheng, Chen Ping; Shaw Brothers sexploitation from the early 1970s, this was actually a huge hit at the Hong Kong box–office with three steamy scantily costumed…
Lady Snowblood 1 (Shurayukihime) (1973): Dir. Toshiya Fujita
Feat. Meiko Kaji, Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimon…; A classic samurai B–movie made in the heyday of 'Wu Xia' influence, with Kaji playing a bereaved young woman who seeks revenge on the gangsters…
Lone Wolf & Cub 5: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Michiyo Ookusu…; The continuing adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro. In this 5th instalment, Itto must battle 5 samurai to…
Sex and Fury (Furyô anego den: Inoshika Ochô) (1973): Dir. Norifumi Suzuki
Feat. Reiko Ike; Japanese exploitation cinema proves itself unrivaled with this slice of 70s celluloid anarchy, trailing a mostly nude Reiko Ike as she slashes and…
Zatoichi's Conspiracy (Zatoichi 25) (1973): Dir. Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Feat. Shintaro Katsu; Blind masseur and swordsman Zatoichi returns to his home town after decades of wandering and trouble, only to find inevitable conflict with a…
All Men are Brothers (Sui woo juen) (1972): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. David Chiang, Ti Lung, Danny Lee; Slathered with great fight scenes, this Shaw Brothers sequel to THE WATER MARGIN ups the ante considerably, with the band of Outlaw warriors…
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972): Dir. Shunya Ito
Feat. Meiko Kaji, Fumio Watanabe, Kayuko Shiraishi; A classic of Japanese 70s exploitation cinema, this charts the grim road to freedom for a gaggle of women escaped–convicts with a feverish…
Lone Wolf & Cub - Complete Boxset (1972-1981): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Fumio Watanabe…; Boxset of all six 'Lone Wolf & Club' installments plus the re–cut/re–dubbed feature film, SHOGUN ASSASSIN.
Lone Wolf & Cub 1: Sword of Vengeance (1972): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Fumio Watanabe…; The LONE WOLF AND CUB series chronicles the adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro, who sell their services to…
Lone Wolf & Cub 2: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Kayo Matsuo; The continuing adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro. In this second episode, Ogami battles a group of…
Lone Wolf & Cub 3: Baby Cart to Hades (1972): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Go Kato…; The continuing adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro. Ogami volunteers to be tortured by the Yakuza gang…
Lone Wolf & Cub 4: Baby Cart In Peril (1972): Dir. Buichi Sato
Feat. Tomisaburo Wakayama, Akihiro Tomikawa, Michie Azuma…; The continuing adventures of disgraced Shogun assassin Ogami Itto and his infant son Daigoro. In the fourth installment of the series, Itto is…
Water Margin (Seven Blows Of The Dragon) (1972): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. David Chiang, Ti Lung; Perhaps the most spectacular of the 1970s Hong Kong swordplay productions by the Shaw Bros, this epic is set in 12th century Sung Dynasty China,…
Zatoichi At Large (Zatoichi 23) (1972): Dir. Kazuo Mori
Feat. Shintaro Katsu, Rentaro Mikuni, Hisaya Morishige; Late–period inclusion to the Zatoichi series has the eponymous blind swordsman helping to deliver a baby, then finding himself honour bound to…
Duel of Fists (Kuen gik) (1971): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. David Chiang, Ti Lung, Ching Li; Chiang plays a Chinese boxer who travels to Bangkok, Thailand to find his long–lost brother. Although he is successful, events precipitate a…
Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman (Zatoichi 22) (1971): Dir. Kimiyoshi Yasuda
Feat. Shintaro Katsu, Yu Wang; An above–average entry in the continuing series, this has the titular blind swordsman assist the Chinese One–Armed Swordsman, who has…
Heroic Ones, The (1970): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. David Chiang, Chin Han, Ti Lung…; Martial arts film set in 1880s imperial China, where a Mogul king secretly assembles his loyal generals on a mission to take on his greatest rivals.…
Incident at Blood Pass, The (Machibuse) (1970): Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Shintaro Katsu; Pedigree shogun face off between genre icons Mifune and Katsu in a tautly conceived show down over hijacked gold between a remote mountain pass.…
Twelve Gold Medallions, The (Shi er jin pai) (1970): Dir. Cheng Kang
Feat. Yue Hua; A Shaw Brothers "wuxia" film starring Yueh Hua as an emperor loyalist trying to prevent a message enscribed on twelve gold medallions delivered by…
Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo (Zatoichi 20) (1970): Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Shintaro Katsu, Toshiro Mifune; An enjoyable spin on the Japanese samurai genre, depicts a comedic rivalry between Katsu and Mifune in a secluded mountain village. Although lacking…
Zatoichi: Festival of Fire (Zatoichi 21) (1970): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Shintaro Katsu, Tatsuya Nakadai; One of the strongest of the later films in the 25–strong Zatoichi cycle (this is 21), with the blind masseur with the cane sword getting into…
Red Lion (Akage) (1969): Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Shiwa Iwashita; A fine samurai comedy from dir. Okamoto (KILL!), has a luckless soldier (Toshiro Mifune) don a brilliant red hairpiece (thus impersonating a…
Kill! (Kiru) (1968): Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Tatsuya Nakadai; A sharp and blackly comic tale set in 1830s Japan around two bedraggled swordsman – one a former samurai (Nakadai), the other a farmer aspiring…
Assassin, The (Da ci ke) (1967): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. Yu Wang; More understated than later Shaw Brothers efforts, this costume actioner stars 'Jimmy' Wang Yu as a patriotic swordsman of ancient Han–era…
King Kong Escapes (1967): Dir. Ishiro Honda
Feat. Mie Hama, Akira Takarada, Rhodes Reason…; Kaiji co–production between Japan and the USA which pits a robot version of King Kong (MechaniKong!) against a giant dinosaur Gorosaurus. A…
One Armed Swordsman (Dubei dao) (1967): Dir. Chang Cheh
Feat. Yu Wang; Jimmy Wu Yang predates his one–armed boxer classic MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE as a disabled swordsman training in the art of…
Zatoichi: The Outlaw (Zatoichi 16) (1967): Dir. Satsuo Yamamoto
Feat. Shintaro Katsu; A middle–installment in the longrunning Zatoichi series, sees the wandering masseur become embroiled in a violent plot involving two rival…
Daimajin: Wrath of Daimajin (1966): Dir. Kazuo Mori
Feat. Masahide Iizuka, Hideki Ninomiya, Shinji Hori; One in a series of Japanese films about the great demon god Daimajin, who repeatedly comes to the aid of villagers when tyrannical warlords threaten…
Sword of Doom (Dai-bosatsu tôge) (1966): Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai; Based on a long–running Japanese newspaper serial, this stars Tatsuya Nakadai as an evil wandering samurai in feudal Japan who sees himself as…
Samurai Assassin (1965): Dir. Kihachi Okamoto
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi, Michiyo Aratana…; Sharply delivered samurai epic based on the infamous Sakurada Gate Incident of 1860 in which a high–ranking shogunite official was assassinated…
Samurai Spy (1965): Dir. Masahiro Shinoda
Feat. Koji Takahashi, Tetsuro Tamba, Kei Sato; This atypical samurai saga ventures from the norm through overenthusiastic plotting, a Latin–infused score, and arresting…
Black God White Devil (1964): Dir. Glauber Rocha
Feat. Maurício do Valle, Geraldo Del Rey, Othon Bastos; A landmark of Brazil’s Cinema Novo movement, fusing discordant sound and imagery with the embittered folktale of a…
Weekend at Dunkirk (1964): Dir. Henri Verneuil
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Spaak, Georges Geret…; The decimation of French and English troops who retreated to the coastal settlement of Dunkirk in 1940 is the sobering subject of this otherwise…
Samurai Pirate (Daitozoku) (1963): Dir. Senkichi Taniguchi
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Mie Hama, Kumi Mizuno; Odd hybrid of feudal Japan and swashbuckler fantasy, with Toshiro Mifune as a ruffian sailor assigned with rescuing a captive King’s daughter from…
47 Ronin, The (Genroku chushingura) (1962): Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Setsuko Hara; A grand and spectacular take on a famous Japanese legend, with 47 ronin (masterless samurai) in feudal Japan seeking revenge on those responsible for…
Cartouche (Swords of Blood) (1962): Dir. Philippe de Broca
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claudia Cardinale; The dashing Jean–Paul Belmondo cut, thrusts, and courts the ravishing Claudia Cardinale in this quasi–Robin Hood swashbuckler steeped in…
Fencing Master, The (1962): Dir. Harumi Mizuho
Feat. Raizo Ichikawa, Ganjiro Nakamura, Kinuyo Tanaka; Thoughtful, if minor exploration of samurai traditions concerns an aging swordsman struggling to keep his feudal art form alive in early 20th century…
Sanjuro (1962): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai; The sequel to YOJIMBO unravels the story of nine would–be Samurai unveiling a government corruption ring. Kurosawa adopts a satirical…
Tale of Zatoichi Continues, The (1962): Dir. Kazuo Mori
Feat. Shintaro Katsu; The first of many sequels to the iconic TALE OF ZATOICHI, in which a blind, affable masseur (Katsu) who happens to be a lethally skillful swordsman…
Tale of Zatoichi, The (1962): Dir. Kenji Misumi
Feat. Shintaro Katsu; The inaugural movie in the iconic 'Zatoichi' series – which followed the intriguing adventures in mythical Japan of a blind masseur, who has…
Daredevil in the Castle (Osaka jo monogatari) (1961): Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Kyoko Kagawa, Yuriko Hoshi…; Another solid genre excursion from seasoned dir. Hiroshi Inagaki (THE SAMURAI TRILOGY), with Toshiro Mifune again taking the lead as a despondent,…
Yojimbo (1961): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa; Mercenary Sanjuro walks into town and sells his services to both factions of rival gangs – to stand back and watch them destroy each other.…
Samurai Saga (Aru kengo no shogai) (1959): Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yoko Tsukasa; Feudal Japanese retelling of Rostand's 'Cyrano de Bergerac', with the charismatic Toshiro Mifune as the shogun–poet with a…
Hidden Fortress (1958): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; Toshiro Mifune displays astounding skill with horse and sword as the ultimate warrior in this innovative amalgam of fairy–tale and Samurai…
Throne of Blood (1957): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura; Kurosawa transposes MacBeth into a Samurai setting and the result justifies his reputation. Nothing short of an awesome spectacle Shakespeare himself…
Samurai Trilogy, The (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Duel at Ganryu Island) (1954-1956): Dir. Hiroshi Inagaki
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; Sweeping saga of a legendary 17th century samurai Musashi Miyamoto, that made an icon of actor Toshiro Mifune. Played out against the turmoil of a…
Seven Samurai, The (1954): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune; Kurosawa's classic 'Eastern Western' about a village who hire an elite band of warriors to fend off marauders. Compassionate storytelling with combat…
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952): Dir. Christian-Jaque
Feat. Gerard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Genevieve Page; Irresistible swashbuckling fluff, with Gerard Philipe imperious on the battlefield and in the bedroom. A daredevil pace matched with lusty female…
Munchhausen (1943): Dir. Josef von Baky
Feat. Hans Albers; This adaptation of the Rudolph Raspe novel about the extraordinary tall–tales of a German baron is a genuine oddity, both historically and…

Main menu

Section navigation menu

Subgenre Sampler