Trying out the filmographies of a number of kung fu film actors can present hours and hours of must-watch martial arts leisure. Most of the actors related to the martial arts film business have starred in a large number of movies, with some occupying main roles in additional than 100 motion pictures. By pursuing their work, one would haven’t any scarcity of nice old-school kung fu motion pictures to look at for months to return.
Streaming companies like Tubi and Amazon Prime Video are loaded with martial arts motion pictures, notably these made within the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties. This makes it a bit simpler to observe the movies of Jackie Chan, Carter Wong, and Gordon Liu, whose lengthy lists of appearing credit give followers of the style loads of high quality movies to get pleasure from.
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan could also be the obvious supply of fine kung fu motion, however he is additionally probably the greatest choices. For many years, the actor pumped out a number of kung fu motion pictures a 12 months, thus accumulating a large and intensely spectacular filmography.
Jackie Chan’s work features a handful of the best martial arts motion pictures ever made, together with Drunken Grasp, Drunken Grasp II, Wheels on Meals, and Venture A. He even has a complete franchise of movies to get pleasure from within the type of Police Story, which numbers seven motion pictures, launched from 1985 to 2013.
One of many issues that makes his filmography so interesting with regards to binge-watching is his consistency. The actor constructed his legacy on a particular components, which suggests it will not be typically that you simply watch a Jackie Chan film that is not what you count on: a enjoyable, martial arts comedy with a family-friendly tone and quite a few stunts carried out by the star himself.
Sammo Hung
One in every of Jackie Chan’s two co-stars within the aforementioned Wheels on Meals and Venture A discovered a substantial quantity of success each with and with out the actor. Like Chan, Sammo Hung was adept at combining slapstick humor with martial arts, which was a mix that arrange dozens of hilarious kung fu motion pictures, from Pedicab Driver to the unique model of Enter the Fats Dragon.
Each as an actor and a director, Sammo Hung had a pure expertise for making humorous martial arts motion pictures, which is on show in movies like Winners and Sinners and My Fortunate Stars. However as evidenced by movies corresponding to The Sufferer, Sammo Hung knew the best way to deal with extra severe martial arts adventures too.
Gordon Liu
One other actor price following is Gordon Liu, who was one of many prime stars of Shaw Brothers in the course of the late Nineteen Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties. As a result of he sometimes sported a bald look in his movies, Gordon Liu developed a status for enjoying Shaolin monks (however not solely) in old-school kung fu motion pictures like The thirty sixth Chamber of Shaolin trilogy, and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter.
Each The thirty sixth Chamber of Shaolin and Eight Diagram Pole Fighter are counted amongst Shaw Brothers’ greatest martial arts motion pictures, as are Clan of the White Lotus, Heroes of the East, and Problem of the Masters.
It is price noting that Gordon Liu has loads to supply outdoors of Shaw Brothers’ catalog. He made motion pictures with many unbiased studios as properly, lots of which are actually accessible to look at on Tubi, corresponding to Fists and Guts and He Has Nothing However Kung Fu.
Jet Li
Years and years of high-quality kung fu movies have earned Jet Li his place among the many prime stars of the martial arts style. With most of his movies coming within the Nineteen Nineties and 2000s, Jet Li was at his greatest when making wuxia journey movies, however has confirmed that he can match into modern-day motion motion pictures as properly.
Along with his main roles in some all-time nice kung fu motion pictures (i.e. Hero, Fearless, Fist of Legend), Jet Li has been the driving drive of a number of martial arts franchises. The Shaolin Temple trilogy, the Fong Sai-yuk duology, and the As soon as Upon a Time in China collection make for a large binge-watch.
Lo Lieh
One of the vital prolific martial arts stars of all time (much more so than Jackie Chan) is Lo Lieh, who appeared in additional than 200 motion pictures over the course of his spectacular profession. A significant contributing issue within the success he had was his vary – slightly than discover a area of interest with a sure sort of character, Lo Lieh was continuously utilized not solely because the hero, but in addition as the principle antagonist, a supporting character, a secondary villain, and whilst comedy aid.
Much like the instances with Chan and Liu, Lo Lieh had a heavy hand in a few of the martial arts style’s greatest motion pictures, having performed villains of Clan of the White Lotus, The thirty sixth Chamber of Shaolin, and Executioners from Shaolin. These solely account for a small portion of his filmography, although the remaining continues to be suffering from entertaining kung fu flicks like Fist of Fury Half II and Buddha’s Palm.
Carter Wong
Carter Wong by no means shared the high-profile standing loved by the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, regardless of making dozens of fine kung fu motion pictures. Lively primarily within the Nineteen Seventies and Nineteen Eighties as a number one martial arts actor for unbiased Hong Kong studios, Wong used his highly effective body to painting bodily imposing warriors, each good and unhealthy.
Carter Wong’s movies naturally lacked the manufacturing values of Shaw Brothers’ motion pictures and subsequently do not boast the identical ranges of fame, which is one purpose why lots of his motion pictures could have slipped beneath the radar. That stated, the martial arts choreography is often top-notch, thanks largely to Wong’s real-life skills.
A number of of his motion pictures can be found to look at without spending a dime, with Born Invincible, Deadly Flying Guillotine, Insurgent of Shaolin and Shaolin Iron Finger simply being just a few of the examples of the Carter Wong motion pictures streaming on Tubi.
Ti Lung
Earlier than Gordon Liu’s rise to stardom, Shaw Brothers leaned closely on Ti Lung, an actor with nice dramatic chops and a ok understanding of martial arts to return throughout as a grasp on the silver display. Through the early to mid Nineteen Seventies, Ti Lung starred in a number of high-profile, big-budget kung fu interval items, typically alongside its different prime star (David Chiang) and beneath the route of the studio’s primary director, Chang Cheh.
A few of these movies have been sequels, which makes Ti Lung’s motion pictures a go-to supply for individuals who get pleasure from martial arts tales that play out over a number of installments. At Shaw Brothers, Ti Lung made a trilogy of wuxia detective movies (the Chu Luixang collection), a duology a few heroic swordfighter (The Sentimental Swordsman), and extra.
Together with his appearing prowess, Ti Lung was in a position to ship some extraordinary performances that went past simply combating, as was the case along with his spirited turns as vengeful fighters in Opium and the Kung Fu Grasp and The Kung Fu Teacher.
Like Gordon Liu and Lo Lieh, the star continued making kung fu motion pictures after his departure from Shaw Brothers, and numerous these independently made movies can now be streamed on Tubi.