6. DIRTY HO (dir. Lau Kar-leung, 1979)
No, it’s not what you think. Get your mind out of the gutter. In one of the best fighting movies you’ve probably never seen, Kill Bill star Gordon Liu stars as Prince Wang, who has gone undercover to determine which of his heirs is trying to kill him. He can’t reveal his kung fu mastery without giving himself away, leading to great action sequences in which he hides his skills by moving other people’s arms and pretending their his bodyguard (above). He befriends a thief named Ho (Wong Yue of Executioners from Shaolin) whom he trains to be his apprentice. Less brutal than many of the other films on this list, but easily one of the most fun fight movies you’re likely to find.
5. FIGHT CLUB (dir. David Fincher, 1999)
A bit of a change-up now, David Fincher’s Fight Club isn’t a proper “fight” movie in most traditional senses. Although it’s about an underground fighting club, the film is mostly about the evolution of impotent rage into troublesome rebellion, and from there into outright violence. But under Fincher’s insightful direction the pounding of fists against flesh, the squirts of blood on the mat and the sweaty grandeur of bare-knuckle fighting feels more real than practically any other film. It’s a powerful portrayal of how violence, when expressed, leads to both masculine power and downfall, and it definitely makes you want to get drunk and punch a guy.
4. LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER (dirs. Lau Kar-leung & Jackie Chan, 1994)
More fun than Fight Club (if arguably not as good a film), Jackie Chan’s most impressive fight movie – and that’s saying something – is also one of the best to get an American theatrical release. Chan plays Chinese hero Wong Fei-hung (a character who also appears in such fight movie classics as Iron Monkey and Once Upon a Time in China), who struggles to remain conflict and booze-free after running afoul of smugglers. A sequel to The Matrix choreographer Yuen Woo-ping’s original The Drunken Master (also excellent), this sequel surpasses the original with wildly inventive fight sequences and a spryer sense of humor, courtesy of master physical comedian Jackie Chan. Unlike Fight Club, Legend of the Drunken Master will make you want to get drunk and roundhouse kick a guy.
Joss Whedon Interview by CraveOnline
