Martial arts film

Last updated
The first martial arts film The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928), a Chinese film directed by Zhang Shichuan Burning of the Red Lotus Temple.jpg
The first martial arts film The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (1928), a Chinese film directed by Zhang Shichuan

Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. [1] [2] [3] Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.

Contents

Notable actors who have contributed to the genre include Zhang Ziyi, Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Toshiro Mifune, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Sammo Hung. [4]

History

The first ever martial arts film was a Chinese film released in 1928, The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (also translated as "The Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery"), a silent film directed by Chinese film director Zhang Shichuan and produced by the Mingxing Film Company. [5] The film pioneered the martial arts film genre, and was the first kung fu action film ever created. The film is based on the popular Chinese novel "The Romance of the Red Lotus Temple", which is set in the Qing Dynasty and tells the story of a group of martial artists who band together to defend their temple from raiders. The film is notable for its action sequences and fight scenes, which were groundbreaking for the time and helped establish the martial arts film genre. [6]

Asian films are known to have a more minimalist approach to film based on their culture. Some martial arts films have only a minimal plot and amount of character development and focus almost exclusively on the action, while others have more creative and complex plots and characters along with action scenes. [7] Films of the latter type are generally considered to be artistically superior films, but many films of the former type are commercially successful and well received by fans of the genre. [8] [9] One of the earliest Hollywood movies to employ the use of martial arts was the 1955 film Bad Day at Black Rock , though the scenes of Spencer Tracy performed barely any realistic fight sequences, but composed mostly of soft knifehand strikes. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Martial arts films contain many characters who are martial artists and these roles are often played by actors who are real martial artists. If not, actors frequently train in preparation for their roles or the action director may rely more on stylized action or film making tricks like camera angles, editing, doubles, undercranking, wire work and computer-generated imagery. Trampolines and springboards used to be used to increase the height of jumps. The minimalist style employs smaller sets and little space for improvised but explosive fight scenes, as seen by Jackie Chan's films. [14] These techniques are sometimes used by real martial artists as well, depending on the style of action in the film. [1]

During the 1970s and 1980s, the most visible presence of martial arts films was the hundreds of English-dubbed kung fu and ninja films produced by the Shaw Brothers, Godfrey Ho and other Hong Kong producers. These films were widely broadcast on North American television on weekend timeslots that were often colloquially known as Kung Fu Theater, Black Belt Theater or variations thereof. Inclusive in this list of films are commercial classics like The Big Boss (1971), Drunken Master (1978) and One Armed Boxer (1972). Those films had a large impact on the spread of practice of Traditional Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts in English-speaking countries. [15]

According to The New York Times , Jimmy Wang Yu was "the biggest star of Asian martial arts cinema until the emergence of Bruce Lee." [16]

Martial arts films have been produced all over the world, but the genre has been dominated by Hong Kong action cinema, peaking from 1971 with the rise of Bruce Lee until the mid-1990s with a general decline in the industry, until it was revived close to the 2000s. [17] Other notable figures in the genre include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, Donnie Yen, and Hwang Jang-lee.

Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, and Hiroyuki Sanada starred in numerous karate and jidaigeki films from Japan during the 1970s and early 1980s. Hollywood has also participated in the genre with actors such as Chuck Norris, Sho Kosugi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), Wesley Snipes, Gary Daniels, Mark Dacascos and Jason Statham. [18] According to the American Film Institute, the success of Bloodsport (1988), starring Van Damme, helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in the United States. [19]

In the 2000s, Thailand's film industry became an international force in the genre with the films of Tony Jaa [20] and the cinema of Vietnam followed suit with The Rebel (2007) and Clash (2009). In more recent years, the Indonesian film industry has offered Merantau (2009) [21] [22] [23] and The Raid: Redemption (2011).

The Middle East has also participated in the genre with actors such as Youssef Mansour who became famous in the 1990’s for his Egyptian films that relied on martial arts. [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]

Women have also played key roles in the genre, including such actresses as Michelle Yeoh, Angela Mao and Cynthia Rothrock. [32] [33] [34] In addition, western animation has ventured into the genre with the most successful effort being the internationally hailed DreamWorks Animation film franchise, Kung Fu Panda , starring Jack Black and Angelina Jolie.

The Matrix (1999) is considered revolutionary in American cinema for raising the standard of fight scenes in Western cinema. [35]

Subgenres

In the Chinese-speaking world, martial arts films are commonly divided into two subcategories: the wuxia period films (武俠片), and the more modern kung fu films (功夫片, best epitomized in the films of Bruce Lee). [36] However, according to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer Ronny Yu, wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies. [37]

Kung fu films are a significant movie genre in themselves. Like westerns for Americans, they have become an identity of Chinese cinema. As the most prestigious movie type in Chinese film history, kung fu movies were among the first Chinese films produced and the wuxia period films (武俠片) are the original form of Chinese kung fu films. The wuxia period films came into vogue due to the thousands of years popularity of wuxia novels (武俠小說). For example, the wuxia novels of Jin Yong [38] and Gu Long [39] directly led to the prevalence of wuxia period films. Outside of the Chinese speaking world the most famous wuxia film made was the Ang Lee film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was based on the Wang Dulu series of wuxia novels: it earned four Academy Awards, including one for Best Foreign Film.

Martial arts westerns are usually American films inexpensively filmed in Southwestern United States locations, transposing martial arts themes into an "old west" setting; e.g., Red Sun with Charles Bronson and Toshiro Mifune.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kung fu (term)</span> Chinese martial art

In general, kung fu refers to the Chinese martial arts also called quanfa. In China, it refers to any study, learning, or practice that requires patience, energy, and time to complete. In its original meaning, kung fu can refer to any discipline or skill achieved through hard work and practice, not necessarily martial arts. The literal equivalent of "Chinese martial art" in Mandarin would be 中國武術 zhōngguó wǔshù.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wuxia</span> Genre of Chinese fiction

Wuxia is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of historical fantasy literature, its popularity has caused it to be adapted for such diverse art forms as Chinese opera, manhua, television dramas, films, and video games. It forms part of popular culture in many Chinese-speaking communities around the world. According to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer Ronny Yu, wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action film</span> Film genre

The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as David Bordwell suggested they were films that favor spectacle to storytelling, others such as Geoff King stated they allow the scenes of spectacle to be attuned to storytelling. Action films are often hybrid with other genres, mixing into various forms such as comedies, science fiction films, and horror films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaw Brothers Studio</span> Film production company in Hong Kong

Shaw Brothers (HK) Limited was the largest film production company in Hong Kong, operating from 1925 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Hong Kong</span> Cinema originating from the city of Hong Kong

The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former Crown colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of political and economic freedom than mainland China and Taiwan, and developed into a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese martial arts</span> Variety of fighting styles developed in China

Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms kung fu, kuoshu or wushu, are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include Shaolinquan (少林拳) physical exercises involving All Other Animals (五形) mimicry or training methods inspired by Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called internal, while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called external. Geographical associations, as in northern and southern, is another popular classification method.

Gun fu, a portmanteau of gun and kung fu, is a style of sophisticated close-quarters gunfight resembling a martial arts combat that combines firearms with hand-to-hand combat and traditional melee weapons in an approximately 50/50 ratio. It can be seen in Hong Kong action cinema, and in American action films influenced by it.

Chopsocky is a colloquial term for martial arts films and kung fu films made primarily by Hong Kong action cinema between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety following the explosion of films in the genre released in 1973 in the U.S. after the success of Five Fingers of Death. The word is a play on chop suey, combining "chop" and "sock".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolo Yeung</span> Hong Kong actor and martial artist (born 1946)

Yeung Sze, better known as Bolo Yeung, is a Hong Kong former competitive bodybuilder, martial artist, and actor. Primarily known for playing villains in action and martial arts films, he is regarded as one of the most influential actors in martial arts cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruceploitation</span> Exploitation film subgenre

Bruceploitation is an exploitation film subgenre that emerged after the death of martial arts film star Bruce Lee in 1973, during which time filmmakers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea cast Bruce Lee look-alike actors ("Lee-alikes") to star in imitation martial arts films, in order to exploit Lee's sudden international popularity. Bruce Lee look-alike characters also commonly appear in other media, including anime, comic books, manga, and video games.

<i>Kung Fu Hustle</i> 2004 film by Stephen Chow

Kung Fu Hustle is a 2004 martial arts action comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the leading role, alongside Huang Shengyi, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan and Leung Siu-lung in prominent roles. The story revolves around a murderous neighbourhood gang, a poor village with unlikely heroes and an aspiring gangster's fierce journey to find his true self. The martial arts choreography is supervised by Yuen Woo-ping.

Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kong filmmakers combined with elements from Hollywood and Japanese cinema along with new action choreography and filmmaking techniques, to create a culturally distinctive form that went on to have wide transcultural appeal. In turn, Hollywood action films have been heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions, from the 1970s onwards.

Alexander Fu Sheng, also known as Fu Sing, was a Hong Kong martial arts actor. One of Hong Kong's most talented performers, Fu rose to prominence in the 1970s starring in a string of movies with the Shaw Brothers that accrued him international stardom throughout Asia and parts of North America.

The Bloody Fists is a 1972 Hong Kong action film directed by See-Yuen Ng and starring Chen Siu Sing and Kuan Tai Chen. The memorable fight scenes were choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping, better known for choreographing Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix.

Kung fu film is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in wuxia, a related martial arts genre that uses historical settings based on ancient China. Swordplay is also less common in kung-fu films than in wuxia and fighting is done through unarmed combat.

<i>Killer Constable</i> 1980 Hong Kong film

Killer Constable is a 1980 Hong Kong martial arts-action film directed by Chih-Hung Kwei, starring martial arts star Chen Kuan-tai. The movie was produced by the Shaw Brothers studio and is a loose reworking of the 1969 movie The Invincible Fist by the film director Chang Cheh, a frequent collaborator of Chih-Hung Kwei.

Laurent Buson, also known as Lohan, is a French actor, martial artist, action choreographer and film producer.

A Chinese New Year film refers to movies usually released during the Chinese New Year period. It is a film that varies in genre but whose style is generally relaxed and humorous. It is focused around the horoscope animal, theme, and other attributes for the upcoming year, taking these Chinese New Year ideas and presenting them in a modern and exciting way. A recent tradition, it has become a popular way to celebrate Chinese New Year. In recent years, attendance at screenings for such films has grown during the holiday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jozev Kiu</span> Hong Kong writer (born 1969)

Lau Wai Ming, known by his pen name Jozev Kiu Ching-Fu, is a Hong Kongese wuxia novelist, lyricist and Eskrima coach. His magnum opus, Blood and Steel, had received widespread acclaim and Kiu is regarded as one of the leading figures of the post-Jin Yong Hong Kong wuxia fiction genre.

Youssef Mansour is an Egyptian martial artist, actor, producer, and director best known for his martial arts films. Born in Cairo, he trained in the style of Kung-fu in China and America before embarking on a film career. He entered the Egyptian film industry by chance when he met director Ibrahim Afifi and was offered his first role in the movie El Agooz Wil Baltagi in 1989. He became famous in the 1990s for starring in Egyptian films that relied on martial arts, such as Qabdet El Hilaly in 1991, El Shares in 1992, and "Desert Cat" in 1995.

References

  1. 1 2 Gordon, Devin (23 July 2003). "The Problem With Fx". Newsweek.
  2. ↑ Beale, Lewis (1986-04-20). "Martial Arts Pics--packing A Hard Punch". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-04.
  3. ↑ "Martial arts moves get a hip-hop flair". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  4. ↑ "Top 10 Iconic Martial Arts Movie Heroes | Articles on WatchMojo.com". www.watchmojo.com.
  5. ↑ Havis, Richard James (2021-03-07). "The martial arts choreographers who brought fight scenes to life in wuxia and kung fu films". South China Morning Post.
  6. ↑ Zhu, Ying (2022). Hollywood in China : behind the scenes of the world's largest movie market. New Press. ISBN   978-1-62097-218-2. OCLC   1347092643.
  7. ↑ Wren, Celia (1992-02-23). "FILM; Martial-Arts Movies Find a Home In South Africa". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-05.
  8. ↑ "Maximizing The Matrix". Newsweek. 18 April 1999. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  9. ↑ Dixon, Wheeler W (2000-02-24). Film genre 2000: new critical essays . SUNY Press. p.  80. ISBN   9780791445143 . Retrieved 2011-09-08. martin riggs martial arts.
  10. ↑ Palmer, Bill; Palmer, Karen; Meyers, Richard (1995). The Encyclopedia of Martial Arts Movies - Bill Palmer - Google Books. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780810830271 . Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  11. ↑ Dixon, Wheeler W. (2000-02-24). Film Genre 2000: New Critical Essays - Google Books. SUNY Press. ISBN   9780791445143 . Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  12. ↑ Ray Lott, M. (January 2004). The American Martial Arts Film - M. Ray Lott - Google Books. McFarland. ISBN   9780786418367 . Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  13. ↑ "Behind the Camera - Bad Day at Black Rock". Tcm.com. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  14. ↑ Hunt, Leon (2003). Kung Fu Cult Masters. Wallflower Press. ISBN   9781903364635 . Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  15. ↑ Bluestein, Jonathan (2024). Martial Arts Politics Explained. Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP. ISBN   979-8335564984.
  16. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (2022-04-21). "Jimmy Wang Yu, Seminal Figure in Kung Fu Films, Dies at 79". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  17. ↑ Schneiderman, R. M. (2009-05-23). "Contender Shores Up Karate's Reputation Among U.F.C. Fans". The New York Times . Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  18. ↑ Beale, Lewis (1992-11-15). "Revenge of kungfu Martial arts films are socking away the dough". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  19. ↑ https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60095-BLOODSPORT?cxt=filmography
  20. ↑ Perrin, Andrew (2004-10-18). "Hitting the Big Time". Time . Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  21. ↑ "Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais talk Merantau". Twitch Film . Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
  22. ↑ "Jury Winners & Audience Winner at FAantastic Fest 2009 Announced!". Ain't It Cool News. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009.
  23. ↑ Brown, Todd. "UNDISPUTED 3, 14 BLADES and MERANTAU Win At Action Fest 2010. Chuck Norris Declines Lifetime Achievement Award!". Twitch. Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  24. ↑ "Youssef Mansour - Actor Filmography، photos، Video". elCinema.com.
  25. ↑ "Cairo Times". www.mafhoum.com.
  26. ↑ "بعد 15 عامًا على وفاتها.. يوسف منصور يفجر مفاجأة عن سوزان تميم". www.masrawy.com.
  27. ↑ "Sylvester Stallone to Star in Egyptian film with Youssef Mansour". CairoScene.
  28. ↑ Team, Scoop (February 12, 2017). "American Film 'The Chosen Guard' to Be Shot in Egypt Featuring Youssef Mansour".
  29. ↑ Khalaf, Rayana (February 14, 2017). "Hollywood film to be shot in Egypt with an Egyptian cast". StepFeed.
  30. ↑ https://al-ain.com/article/yousef-mansour-profile
  31. ↑ https://m.elwatannews.com/news/details/4113954
  32. ↑ Meisler, Andy (1994-07-03). "TELEVISION; The Biggest Star You Never Heard Of". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-15.
  33. ↑ Lynch, Stephen (August 14, 1998). "Hollywood is on a martial arts kick masters of ancient ways break into pop mainstream". Orlando Sentinel . Archived from the original on 2012-09-15. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  34. ↑ Miller, Davis (1992-08-23). "MOVIES The Next Action Hero? Kathy Long is a champion kickboxer whose movie moves remind some of Norris and Van Damme". The Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  35. ↑ Ebiri, Bilge (February 4, 2019). "Neo's Stunt Double Chad Stahelski on How The Matrix Changed Movie Action Forever". Vulture.
  36. ↑ Azula, Alfredo (November 29, 2004). "Everybody is kung fu fighting". Today.com . Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  37. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: RONNY YU (FEARLESS) | CHUD.com".
  38. ↑ "Jin Yong and Chinese Martial Arts Novels". Hong Kong Films Free Web. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Kung Fu (Wuxia) Novels Translation". Lannyland.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.