Which 90s Wire Fu flicks were your favorites?!

[Sifu]

With me, this era that resurged in the early 90s is what got me into the Kung Fu genre. The one that did this the most for me was Iron Monkey by Yuen Woo Ping. I could never imagine a Kung Fu film with more amazing choreography! :eek: Of course the Once Upon a Time in China series was good too, but Iron Monkey was purely about the action. Donnie Yen was at his best in this film, and Yu Rong Guang did excellently as Iron Monkey as well.

Another one that stood out in my mind was the Swordsman trilogy of films starring Jet Li and eventually Brigitte Lin as Asia the Invincible. That whole trilogy was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO over-the-top! But who cares, Brigitte Lin was amazing as Asia, the second film had some of the most out of this world action I'd ever seen and it never let up. Swordsman III - The East is Red had a massive budget and sets that were huge, it also featured some amazing wire work. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that there wasn't enough good choreography.

My list would be:

1) Iron Monkey

2) Once Upon a Time in China 2

3) Swordsman III - The East is Red *tied with* Wing Chung

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/500048~Iron-Monkey-Posters.jpg

[will91XingYu]

I love the Once Upon a time in China films! Is Burning Paradise worth getting?

[froffeecoffee]

Fong Sai Yuk with Jet Li and Josephine Siao was entertaining.

Moon Warriors was put over the top with that killer whale.

Yes, Burning Paradise is a classic, so worth getting. Different in that was it was very dark and had a horror element to it.

[will91XingYu]

Thanks for the info! I saw it stars Willie Chi from Drunken Master 3, also the action direction is by Chris Lee. Are the fights fantasy based or grounded as well.

[froffeecoffee]

They were for the most part grounded in reality, such as tiger and crane. Like all wire fu, they added a fantasy element like the evil monk using paint as deadly projectiles. A major part of the plot is the temple that the Shaolin students are imprisoned in. It's a virtual temple of traps and as many reviewers have commented, it's a character unto itself.

[will91XingYu]

Thanks again! This sounds really cool, i've seen in the trailer some guy with a huge sword in the desert fighting of loads of guys, is that in this film.

[Morgoth]

Once Upon a Time in China #1
Iron Monkey

[jmungus]

new wave mega-babes:

- OUATIC 1-3
- dragon inn
- the blade
- blade of fury
- bride with white hair
- butterfly and sword
- deadful melody
- fist from shaolin
- fist of the red dragon
- fong sai yuk
- iron monkey
- moon warriors
- sword stained with royal blood
- fire dragon
- burning paradise in hell
- new legend of shaolin
- fist of legend


other goodies:
- OUATIC 4-6
- swordsman trilogy
- all men are brothers- blood of the leopard
- deadend of besiegers (nicely old-skoolish)
- martial arts master wong fei hong
- the assassin
- zen of sword
- fong sai yuk 2
- flying dagger
- holy weapon
- legend of the liquid sword
- white lotus cult (its sequels one arm hero & sam the iron bridge fall flat)
- tai chi master
- a warriors tragedy
- wing chun
- the rest of jet`s (evil cult, claws of steel etc)

anything else that comes to mind right now aint good enough (not saying its total suckage) or is rooted deeply in the fantasy/non-gung-fuing wuxia universe)

[Milkyway]

Iron Monkey
Fist Of Legend
The Blade
Once Upon A Time In China 1-2

[froffeecoffee]

Last Hero in China was pretty good too despite the goofy comedy and Jet Li dressed as a rooster.

Quote: i've seen in the trailer some guy with a huge sword in the desert fighting of loads of guys, is that in this film.

Yes, I forgot about that in the film. Another cool weapon was one of the villians had a fighting staff with a circular blade at the end that shot out. Very cool.

[Milkyway]

Quote: i've seen in the trailer some guy with a huge sword in the desert fighting of loads of guys, is that in this film.

Yes, I forgot about that in the film. Another cool weapon was one of the villians had a fighting staff with a circular blade at the end that shot out. Very cool.

you two must refer to New Dragon Gate Inn (or just New Dragon Inn), that one has a finale that takes place in the dessert with Maggie Cheung, Bridgette Lin, Tony Leung Kai Fai and some brat fighting Donnie Yen the main villain.

[Sifu]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned any of the Swordsman films! :eek:

[jmungus]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned any of the Swordsman films! :eek:

i did ;) milestones of 90s hk cinema (tho not without flaws. II definitely being the best).

actually, the 3 were top faves of mine back then. now they re not really anymore, cuz i guess ive watched the lot of em too many times throughout the 90s.
last year i´d tried to rewatch the trilogy- fell asleep during I and didnt bother to catch up the next day(s), then started II but stopped the viewing session halfway into the flick, not pickin it up again since.

[Sifu]

i did ;) milestones of 90s hk cinema (tho not without flaws. II definitely being the best).

I got to say, I could totally understand falling asleep in #1, that one took along time to build up to any important parts or serious action. That's why for me 2 and 3 were best :D

[The Running Man]

"Wire-fu". :rolleyes:

[Sifu]

"Wire-fu". :rolleyes:

Hey look Wire Fu is a real sub-genre of Kung Fu cinema! You can't deny that! :eek: There's a whole Wikipedia definition (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_fu) on it.

[The Running Man]

There's no such genre as "wire-fu". That's just some silly term invented by the mainstream internet geeks when movies like the Matrix came out.

And Wikipedia means nothing. Anyone can go in there and start an article on anything.

[froffeecoffee]

Don't know exactly when and where the term began, but was definitely around before The Matrix. That is a good question, where and when did the term start to be used. As for it being a genre, I don't think of it as a genre, just a generic term for extensive use of wires for action scenes, especially martial art fights.

[The Running Man]

Well, I only it heard being used after the Matrix came out which was when all these mainstream sites started using it.

In any case, it's a silly term. You can't expect people to respect movies when you refer to them as "wire-fu". It sounds so stupid. The only dumber word than that is "gun-fu". And what's "gun-fu"? Asians firing guns? But when it's non-Asians firing guns they don't call it anything? It's dumb.

The only thing closest to a "genre" of it is "Wuxia" and that's it's name. Not "wire-fu".

[Morgoth]

I would't call Once Upon a time in China wuxia, I would call it wire fu. There are a lot of movies with crazy wire use that I would not consider wuxia.

[Sifu]

I would't call Once Upon a time in China wuxia, I would call it wire fu. There are a lot of movies with crazy wire use that I would not consider wuxia.

See! Wire-fu is what differentiates Kung Fu flicks in the 90s from all others! Please just stop running man, Wuxia is just for Swordplay films like Crouching Tiger or Dragon Inn, not OUATIC. I've been around this genre for quite some time, just because I have only 29 posts means nothing. Wire fu is a widely used term, has been around as long as I can remember (including before the Matrix trilogy!) and thus everyone can relate.

P.S. If Morgoth says it's correct, it's not a question! IT'S A FACT!!

[5 Element Boxer]

Iron Monkey and Twin Warriors (aka Tai Chi Master) were both really good. Then, of course, there's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which had some very impressive wire-fu in it.

[Sifu]

Iron Monkey and Twin Warriors (aka Tai Chi Master) were both really good. Then, of course, there's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which had some very impressive wire-fu in it.

What made Crouching Tiger so different to me was the fact that Wire-fu wasn't so popular in the years preceding 2000, (the year of the film's release) so when the film came out the technology had developed so, that the film had a level of action using wires that hadn't been seen. I mean look at that scene in the restaurant or even in the bamboo forest! That was some impressive stuff! :eek:

http://www.dvdactive.com/images/reviews/screenshot/2003/7/cthd_01.jpg

It kind of sent a resurgance in genre, thus paving the way for Hero, House of Flying Dagger, and Fearless in the U.S.!

[5 Element Boxer]

Exactly, Sifu. And that's why I see the film as having the best wire-fu ever seen on screen. That night fight between Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh did it for me. My eyes and jaw were wide open during that whole fight.

I can't forget about House of Flying Daggers. That was one hell of a movie! The scene where Kaneshiro Takeshi and Andy Lau fight at the end was so realisitc. One of the best post 2000 fight scenes I've seen so far.

[Morgoth]

P.S. If Morgoth says it's correct, it's not a question! IT'S A FACT!!

lol

Lets not get carries away here. There are a lot of people on here who know more than me. I am just a kung fu junkie, not an expert:D

[The Running Man]

I would't call Once Upon a time in China wuxia, I would call it wire fu. There are a lot of movies with crazy wire use that I would not consider wuxia.

Except that the term "wire-fu" is not the name of a genre, but any use of wires in a martial arts fight scene. You're just describing what you want to define it as.

Once Upon A Time in China was Tsui Hark bringing elements of Wuxia into the story of Wong Fei Hung for a different spin on the mythology.

See! Wire-fu is what differentiates Kung Fu flicks in the 90s from all others! Please just stop running man, Wuxia is just for Swordplay films like Crouching Tiger or Dragon Inn, not OUATIC.

I never said anything about OUATIC. I was talking about something else. But there is no genre called "wire-fu". It's just a loose silly term invented by some fanboys to describe any sort of fighting with wires. There's nothing that it differentiates it to anything else in Wuxia. Morgoth was just saying what it is to him but that's not the case of how it's used. Just take a look at the fact that this thread has films mentioned in Wuxia. It's basically anything that involves wire-work.

"Wire-work" is a better term for it by the way, but "wire-fu" is just silly. It's silly because it reduces the whole thing to a joke.

That would be like calling late 60s and 70s martial arts films "springboard-fu" for the simple fact that they were jumping on springs to make the effect of them leaping at great heights become true on film. Or "reverse film-fu" when they wanted to make it look like they were jumping to a high place. Or "burstingbloodpackets-fu". Or like the aforementioned "gun-fu". It's just makes it seem like a joke.

I wish some fans would take a little pride in this, because it's one of the reasons why the genre is not respected outside of it's fandom.

[Morgoth]

People can call it whatever they want. If we went by what you said and just called it wirework, that could be referring to Blades of Glory for all I know. If someone calls it wire fu, then that lets me know that it is a fighting flick with a lot of wire use.

[The Running Man]

If someone calls it wire fu, then that lets me know that it is a fighting flick with a lot of wire use.

Not really no, since it's used anytime there is wires in a fight. Again, just look at how people on this thread mention movies like New Dragon Gate Inn or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

"Wire-work" is exactly what "wire-fu" is except it doesn't make sound like a joke. But hey... :)

[Morgoth]

Just so you know I am not saying wire fu is used to desribe what the movie "is", I am saying that it is a good way to describe what is in a movie. If you think it makes it sound like a joke, then hey, we have different opinions.

[Sifu]

Just so you know I am not saying wire fu is used to desribe what the movie "is", I am saying that it is a good way to describe what is in a movie. If you think it makes it sound like a joke, then hey, we have different opinions.

Good, I thought we were gonna have to set up a sparring match for a minute :D

I can see it now.........

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/8746/8906mh4.jpg

Wirework vs. Wire-fu (1978)
A Mark Pollard Film

[VecterDa5thYang]

Fell in love with the fungsiyuk series so those are number one

iron monkey and tai chi master are ont he list

kung fu cult master is up there so is miriacal fighters

dragon inn is up there too also new legend of shaolin is up there too that kid was bad ass

[5 Element Boxer]

Sifu, that screenshot reminds me of the great wire-work that was done in Shaolin Intruders. What top notch production that movie had. Awesome flik!

[Morgoth]

That movie has some of the best wirework I have ever seen. The fight with Pai Paio and Derek Yee vs Shen Chan reminded me of Jet Li vs Xin Xin Xiong in OUATIC 2.

[sammofan]

As a term to describe a type of kung fu movie, "wire fu" is no more stupid than "bashers" or "shapes" :D

[Sifu]

As a term to describe a type of kung fu movie, "wire fu" is no more stupid than "bashers" or "shapes" :D

And since your a Sammo fan, it's like calling his style Fat-Fu! :D

[deathdunt]

I'm a huge fan of Dragon Inn, Butterfly and Sword, and Burning Paradise and they my very well be tied for runner up to my all time favorite wirefu movie...Iron Monkey. It's amazing.

[Sifu]

I'm a huge fan of Dragon Inn, Butterfly and Sword, and Burning Paradise and they my very well be tied for runner up to my all time favorite wirefu movie...Iron Monkey. It's amazing.

I think the reason Iron Monkey is so good is because of the perfect balance of the film. It has a huge amount of action, some drama, touching moments, lots of comedy (I mean come on, it's a Yuen Woo Ping movie) and a satisfying ending!

[5 Element Boxer]

There's some excellent wire-work in Drunken Monkey (the part where they were training on the bambo trees).

[Sifu]

Hey, if you guys haven't read it yet, I've reviewed Wing Chun (http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3832) <- Check it out :D

[presureworld]

I used to love these wire fu films in the mid 90's now I can't stand them, sorry

[Sifu]

I used to love these wire fu films in the mid 90's now I can't stand them, sorry

What! :eek: Why, the action itself is so fun to watch. Especially the ones Yuen Woo Ping choreographed.

[Milkyway]

there's some classics in the genre, but otherwise not my thing.

[Sifu]

I just got back from Chinatown, NYC!!! Woo hoo! I bought four really nice DVDs for extremely cheap :eek:

The place I usually go to has an entire section of over 300+ or so Shaw Bros. DVDs! There was a dude who I got into an interesting convo about Lau Kar Leung and others and tells me that they update their collection every time new ones are released! He also told me he reads Pollard's reviews regularly, what Kung Fu fan doesn't :D

I ended up buying the IVL/Celestial DVD of Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, the Mei Ah remastered DVD of Snake in Eagle's Shadow, the extended edition Weikai/Guang Dong Face DVD of Hero. And most happily, the Joy Sales 2-disc "Films of Stephen Chow" set with Legend of the Dragon and King of Beggars!

The bookcover packaging and booklet that came with the HK release of the Hero DVD looked amazing!

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/9421/2052ng7.jpg

Ah....................good trip.

But, the reason I'm putting this here is because now that I've seen King of Beggars, um well, the list has changed! That's pretty much it :p


1) Iron Monkey

2) Once Upon a Time in China 2

3) King of Beggars

[TheGrimReaper]

My choices would go to the following:
Iron Monkey
OUATIC II
Burning Paradise
Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2
Last hero in China
Wing Chun
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

[Dragon Ma]

I'm not too hot on the genre but I'll say Swordsman 2 all the way, the sheer amount of inventiveness on display in that movie is staggering and it actually has a pretty interesting story with some depth.

[sammofan]

iron monkey
new legend of shaolin
last hero in china
fong sai yuk
once upon a time in china 1 & 2

[Sifu]

I'm not too hot on the genre but I'll say Swordsman 2 all the way, the sheer amount of inventiveness on display in that movie is staggering and it actually has a pretty interesting story with some depth.

Yeah, that was an extremely original movie. It was just so weird! When the dude uses the element pull to yank all that blood outta Brigitte Lin's chest I was like :eek: