Subgenre Sampler
Foreign Cinema > Martial Arts: 244 Films to Buy & Rent
Ong-Bak (Muay Thai Warrior) (2003)
- Dir. Prachya Pinkaew
Feat. Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao
- A martial arts juggernaut from Thailand, in which a benign village kickboxer travels to big bad Bangkok in search of a sacred statue stolen from his…
Warrior, The (2003)
- Dir. Asif Kapadia
Feat. Irfan Khan, Puru Chibber
- Award–winning debut for British born dir. Kapadia follows the quest of a lone swordsman to escape his brutal paymaster in ancient feudal…
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (Tian di ying xiong) (2003)
- Dir. He Ping
Feat. Wen Jiang, Xueqi Wang, Vicki Zhao
- A lavish post–CROUCHING TIGER epic derived from a Chinese folktale about an Imperial assassin who is sent forth to the Gobi desert to eliminate…
Zatoichi (2003)
- Dir. Takeshi Kitano
Feat. Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano
- Actor–director–cult hero Takeshi Kitano stylishly revives a hero of well–known Japanese mythology and scores his most broadly…
Alive (2002)
- Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura
Feat. Hideo Sakaki, Koyuki, Tak Sakaguchi
- A convicted murderer is sentenced to death, only to escape execution and become the subject of bizarre prison experiments in this inventive marriage…
Hero (2002)
- Dir. Zhang Yimou
Feat. Jet Li, Tony Leung (Chiu-wai), Maggie Cheung…
- Though no doubt diminished on the small screen, this ancient Martial Arts spectacle from the dir. of RAISE THE RED…
Sea is Watching, The (Umi wa miteita) (2002)
- Dir. Kei Kumai
- Set in the red–light district of 19th century, Edo–period Tokyo, this sensitively mounted drama concerns the lives of prostitutes…
So Close (Chik yeung tin sai) (2002)
- Dir. Corey Yuen
Feat. Shu Qi, Karen Mok, Vicki Zhao
- Presenting... a heroic trio of femmes for a new generation – a kind of high–octane "Asian Charlie's Angels".
This super–flash…
Twilight Samurai, The (Tasogare Seibei) (2002)
- Dir. Yoji Yamada
Feat. Hiroyuki Sanada, Ren Osugi, Rie Miyazawa…
- Boldly subverting the masculine cliches of the genre, this refreshing and highly rewarding Samurai drama follows a dishevelled, low–status…
Vampire Hunters (2002)
- Dir. Wellson Chin
Feat. Ken Chang
- Typically enjoyable and overblown Hong Kong mayhem, where five powerful warriors battle the Vampire King and his followers.
Written and produced…