Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse, written by Michael Allin, and starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It was Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American and Hong Kong co-production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death. The film is estimated to have grossed over US$400 million worldwide, against a budget of $850,000. Having earned more than 400 times its budget, it is one of the most profitable films of all time as well as the most successful martial arts film.
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".
Yuen Wah is a Hong Kong action film actor, action choreographer, stuntman and martial artist who has appeared in over 160 films and over 20 television series.
Yuen Woo-ping is a Hong Kong martial arts choreographer and film director who worked in Hong Kong action cinema and later Hollywood films. He is one of the inductees on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. Yuen is also a son of Yuen Siu-tien, a martial arts film actor.
Corey Yuen is a Hong Kong film director, film producer, action choreographer, and former actor.
Donnie Yen Ji-dan is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Regarded as one of Hong Kong's top action stars, Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into mainstream Asian cinema by choreographing MMA in many of his films since the early 2000s. The first Chinese UFC champion Zhang Weili stated that Yen's films introduced her to MMA. Yen has displayed skill in an array of martial arts, being well-versed in Tai Chi, Boxing, Kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do, Hapkido, Mixed martial arts, Taekwondo, Karate, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Hung Ga, Sanda, Judo, Wing Chun, and Wushu. One of the most popular film stars in Asia of the early 2000s, Yen is consistently one of the highest-paid actors in Asia. Yen earned HK$220 million (US$28.4 million) from four films and six advertisements in 2013.
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.
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.
The Odd Angry Shot is an 1979 Australian war comedy film written, directed and produced by Tom Jeffrey. It is based on the book of the same title by William Nagel, and follows the experiences of Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. The movie, which was shot on location in New South Wales and Canungra, Queensland, traces the tour of duty of an Australian Special Air Service Regiment reconnaissance team from their departure to their return home to Australia. It avoids much of the political comment on Australia’s involvement in Vietnam, unlike Hollywood films which tend to explore the rights and wrongs of the Vietnam War.
Fist of Legend is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts film directed and co-written by Gordon Chan, featuring action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, and produced by Jet Li, who also stars in the lead role of Chen Zhen. It is a remake of the 1972 Bruce Lee film Fist of Fury.
The Bloody Fists, is a 1971 Hong Kong action movie 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.
Fatal Contact is a 2006 Hong Kong martial arts film written and directed by Dennis Law, who also producer with Herman Yau. The film stars Wu Jing, Ronald Cheng, Miki Yeung, Theresa Fu, Cheung Siu-fai, Ken Lo, Andy On, Lam Suet and Timmy Hung. Wu Jing played Kong Ko who is trained with the fighting techniques of Sanshou martial arts, and lured into the world of illegal martial arts fighting.
Lau Kar-wing is a martial artist, Hong Kong martial arts film director, action choreographer and actor.
The Man from Hong Kong, originally released in the US as The Dragon Flies, is a 1975 action film written and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith in his directorial debut and starring Jimmy Wang Yu and George Lazenby, with Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Rosalind Speirs, Rebecca Gilling, Sammo Hung, Grant Page and Frank Thring in supporting roles. The first film to be made as an international coproduction between Australia and Hong Kong, it serves as a satire of the James Bond and Dirty Harry franchises, combined with tropes of the concurrent chopsocky craze. Its plot follows Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Wang) of the RHKPF's Special Branch, who travels to Sydney to perform an extradition, only to find himself locked in battle with Jack Wilton (Lazenby), the city's most powerful crime lord.
Clash is a 2009 Vietnamese action martial arts film directed by Le Thanh Son and starring Johnny Tri Nguyen and actress/singer Veronica Ngo. Johnny Tri Nguyen and Veronica Ngo had recently appeared together in the 2007 film The Rebel.
Võ Bình Định is a regional form of martial arts in Vietnam.
Eagle Han-ying was a Korean actor and martial artist, who rose his fame in South Korea through various Korean drama series from the 90. Outside of Korea, he is best known with his appearance with many kung fu films from the range of Korean, Hong Kong and Taiwanese production.
Maria Tran is an Vietnamese-Australian actress, martial artist, producer, and director based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is known as a trailblazer in developing the martial arts action film genre in Australia via the Asian diaspora communities of Western Sydney through her shorts such as Hit Girls, Gaffa, Enter The Dojo, Operation Kung Flu; her contributions on Australian television; Maximum Choppage and movies outside of Australia; Roger Corman's Fist of the Dragon, Death Mist, Vietnamese action blockbuster Tracer and Echo 8. Tran has been cast as "Tien" in the Last King of the Cross 10 x 1 hour TV series, which will be shown on Paramount+.
Hit Girls is a 2013 Australian martial arts action comedy short film. It was written, produced and directed by Maria Tran; co-directed by Adrian Castro and co-stars the Juju Chan.
Tracer is a 2016 Vietnamese martial arts action film directed by Cuong Ngo, action directed by Trung Ly and starring Truong Ngoc Anh, Thien Nguyen, Lamou Vissay, Cuong Seven, Maria Tran, Marcus Guilhem, Hieu Nguyen, Thinh Vinh, Hong Que, and Quang Huan. This is an original screenplay written by Nguyen Thi Nhu Khanh. It was released in Vietnam on April 22, 2016 and 5 May 2016 in Australia and New Zealand.
