Recommended Movies

A lot (well, okay, some) people have asked me asking "What are some good movies to start out with?" I always find this question hard to answer, because one man's trash is another man's treasure. Even mostly loved HK people like John Woo and Jackie Chan have their detractors. I'm not questioning any of that -- one of the wonderful things about movies (and why, I think, so many people enjoy them) is that there's something for almost everyone. HK cinema is no exception. Even though my tastes fall pretty solidly in the crime drama/action (aka heroic bloodshed) genre, there's a whole another world (or rather, worlds) in HK cinema, from comedy to horror to romance. If you don't find this list to your liking, try lurking around the alt.asian-movies newsgroup or chat rooms. People are usually only too happy to share their likes and dislikes with you.

The following is a list of films that have recieved ratings of 8 and above (out of 10) on this site -- clicking on a name will take you to a full review. Please remember that even though I have tried to narrow the films to a single genre, many Hong Kong movies mix up genres and as such are a bit hard to define in that way. I have listed alternate titles (usually dubbed versions) for some of the movies; of course, I would recommend getting the original version.

Old-School Kung Fu / Wu Xia / Heroic Bloodshed / Action / Girls-with-Guns / Martial Arts / Drama / Horror / Comedy / Cat III/Exploitation / Romance / Top Five Gunfights / Top Five Fight Scenes / HK Film Primer

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Old-School Kung Fu

36^th Chamber of Shaolin (aka "Shaolin Master Killer")
The Anonymous Heroes
Broken Oath
Come Drink With Me
Crippled Avengers (aka "Return of the Five Deadly Venoms", "Mortal Combat")
Dragon Inn
Dreadnaught
Enter the Dragon
Heroes of the East
King Boxer (aka "Five Fingers of Death")
Knockabout
Master of the Flying Guillotine
The Five Deadly Venoms
The Prodgial Son

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Wu Xia (swordsplay)

Ashes of Time
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Kung Fu Cult Master (aka "Kung Fu Colt Master", "Lord of the Wu-Tang")
Dragon Inn
Hero (2002 version)
Swordsman II
The Blade
The Bride with White Hair
The East is Red (aka "Swordsman III")
The Storm Riders
Warriors of Heaven and Earth
Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain

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Heroic Bloodshed (cops & robbers action/drama)

A Better Tomorrow
A Better Tomorrow 2
Breaking News
Bullets Over Summer
Colour of the Truth
Crime Story
Exiled
Face/Off
Full Alert
Full Contact
Hard-Boiled
Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs II
Law with Two Phases
Long Arm of the Law
My Heart is That Eternal Rose
Organized Crime & Triad Bureau
Powerful Four
Prison on Fire
School on Fire
The Club
The Killer
The Longest Nite
The Mission

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Action

Black Mask
Blade II
Drive
Drug Fighters
Eastern Condors
Flash Point
Fulltime Killer
Heroes Shed No Tears
High Risk (aka "Meltdown")
I Love Maria (aka "Roboforce")
Invisible Target
Police Story (aka "Jackie Chan's Police Force")
Police Story 2
Red Trousers: The Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen
The Matrix
The Dark Knight
Tiger on the Beat
Tomorrow Never Dies

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Girls-with-Guns (female-oriented action)

Angel (aka "Midnight Angel")
Angel Terminators II
Enter the Eagles (aka "And Now You Are Dead")
In the Line of Duty III (aka "Yes! Madam 2", "Force of the Dragon")
Police Story 3: Supercop (aka "Supercop")
Righting Wrongs (aka "Above the Law")
Royal Warriors (aka "In the Line of Duty")
She Shoots Straight
The Heroic Trio

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Martial Arts

Danny the Dog (aka "Unleashed")
Dragons Forever
Drunken Master II (aka "Legend of Drunken Master")
Fearless
Fist of Legend
Hero (1997 version)
Iron Monkey
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Once Upon a Time in China
Once Upon a Time in China 2
Once Upon a Time in China III
Pedicab Driver
Project A
Project A Part 2
Rumble in the Bronx
Story of Ricky (aka "Riki-Oh")
Tai Chi Master (aka "Twin Warriors")
The New Legend of Shaolin (aka "Legend of the Red Dragon")
Wheels on Meals
Wing Chun

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Drama

2046
A Hero Never Dies
Beast Cops
Bullet in the Head
Challenge of the Gamesters
From the Queen to the Chief Executive
God of Gamblers
God of Gamblers Returns
Lifeline
One Nite in Mongkok
Peace Hotel
Peking Opera Blues
People's Hero
Protege
Running on Karma
The Runaway Pistol
Too Many Ways to Be Number One
Young and Dangerous 2
Young and Dangerous: The Prequel

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Horror

A Chinese Ghost Story
Bio-Zombie
Double Vision
Magic Cop
Mr. Vampire
Three... Extremes: Dumplings

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Comedy

Aces Go Places
Fantasia
King of Comedy
Kung Fu Hustle
Love on Delivery
Shaolin Soccer
The God of Cookery

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Cat III/exploitation

Daughter of Darkness
Ebola Syndrome
Her Vengeance
Intimate Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan
Man Behind the Sun
Naked Killer
Naked Weapon
Run and Kill
Taxi Hunter
The Eternal Evil of Asia
The Untold Story
Underground Banker

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Romance

All About Ah-Long
Chungking Express

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Top Five Gunfights

Mansion shootout, A Better Tomorrow 2. The film as a whole may not be as strong as some of Woo's other work, but the ending gunfight, which features Chow Yun-Fat armed with dual guns and a trenchcoat filled with grenades is simply phenomenal.
Hospital hallway, Hard-Boiled. The whole finale in Woo's last HK movie is great, but this tracking shot -- which goes on unbroken for several minutes, even after Tony Leung got hurt for real -- in particular shows something that Hollywood could not (or would not) ever attempt.
Mall firefight, The Mission. This one is quite the opposite of what many western fans are used to (i.e., Woo's style). It's a symphony in simplicity that manages to deliver thrills despite a low body count.
Bar brawl, Full Contact. Ringo Lam breaks from his more realistic style with this high-powered shootout in a bar, which includes some inventive techniques, such as seeing the battle from a bullet's point of view.
Car in the elevator, High Risk. Wong Jing is known for his exaggerated action sequences, and this segment (where Jet Li drives a car through a hotel full of terrorists) is both absurd but yet quite exciting.

Top Five Fight Scenes

Jackie Chan vs. Ken Lo/Ho Sung Pak, Drunken Master II. A scene that took months to film, with Chan going against his real-life bodyguard Lo in a fight that makes most others look anemic by comparision.
Sammo Hung vs. Lau Kar-Leung, Pedicab Driver. You may not think that a fight between a portly guy and a 60 year-old man would be all that exciting, but this one sure as hell is.
Jet Li vs. Donnie Yen, Once Upon a Time in China 2. One of the best uses ever of "wire-fu"; the movements are exaggerated enough to be exciting but not so much so as to be overly distracting.
Michelle Yeoh's "tofu fight", Wing Chun. Brian from http://www.brns.com describes this as "sublime" and I would readily agree; it's literally poetry in motion.
Bruce Lee vs. Shek Kin, Enter the Dragon. The scene which set the standard for everything that followed, mixing in characterization, plot development, great cinematography and, of course, ass-kicking kung-fu.

Hong Kong Film Primer

These are 10 films which should give you a good start/overview on Hong Kong films if you are new to them.

The Bride with White Hair - An excellent swordplay movie with loads of action, romance, and stunning visuals.
Chungking Express - Wong Kar-Wai's movies aren't for everyone, but this should give you a good introduction to Hong Kong's artier side.
Drunken Master II - Arguably Jackie Chan's best film and undoubtedly one of the finest martial arts movies ever.
A Better Tomorrow - John Woo's breakthrough gangster movie provided the template for literally dozens of imitators.
Young and Dangerous: The Prequel - Andrew Lau's stylish "Triad Boys" film showcases the new wave of gangster chic.
Naked Killer - Led by a career-defining performance from Chingmy Yau, this is an excellent foray into HK film's sexier side.
The Untold Story - One of the most genuinely unsettling horror movies you're ever likely to see.
The God of Cookery - Want to know why Stephen Chow is Asia's most popular actor? Check out this delightfully disjointed movie.
Mr. Vampire - Yes, it's a silly name, but it's a great film, and something truly unique to Hong Kong.
From the Queen to the Chief Executive - A recent critical favorite showcasing how well Hong Kong can do "serious" dramatic works.

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