The other day someone asked me what my favorite martial arts movie was. This is a hard question to answer. It might be even better to answer by genre. The answer is that I don't have just one favorite, but rather that I am a fan of the entire martial art genre. Maybe someday I will go through and write about why I like these movies, but that is probably an essay for each. Nonetheless, here are some of my favorite martial arts movies that aren't in any order. Chinese The Iron Monkey starring Yu Rongguang and Donnie Yen Once Upon A Time in China series starring Jet Li The Grandmaster by Wong Kar-wai and starring Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi. Hero starring Jet Li Twin Warriors aka Tai Chi Master starring Jet Li Come Drink with Me starring Cheng Pei-pei Ip Man starring Donnie Yen The 36th Chamber of Shaolin aka Shaolin Master Killer starring Gordon Liu The One Armed Swordsman starring Jimmy Wang Kung-Fu Panda with Jack Black Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon starring Chow Yun-fat Fist of Legend starring Jet Li
Japanese Sanshiro Sugata 1 & 2 by Akira Kurosawa Sanjuro by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Twilight Samurai starring Hiroyuki Sanada Kuro-obi (Black Belt) starring Tatsuya Naka Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Yojimbo by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Killing Machine starring Sonny Chiba Samurai Trilogy starring Toshiro Mifune Shadow Warriors (TV series) starring Sonny Chiba Lone Wolf and Cub series starring Tomisaburō Wakayama Throne of Blood starring Toshiro Mifune Street Fighter series starring Sonny Chiba
Honorable mentions Dragon Tiger Gate starring Donnie Yen Blade starring Wesley Snipes Red Beard by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshiro Mifune Mito Komon (TV series) starring pretty much every well known aging Japanese actor Kung-fu Hustle starring Stephen Chow Brotherhood of the Wolf starring Mark Dacascos High Kick Girl starring Tatsuya Naka The Throwdown starring Louis Koo Above the Law starring Steven Seagal (probably the only one Steven Seagal movie I would ever recommend) Vanishing Son (TV series) starring Russell Wong Kung-fu (TV series) starring David Carradine Ong Bak starring Tony Jaa Red Sun starring Toshiro Mifune The Karate Kid starring Pat Morita