What is the most violent martial arts movie you've seen...

[Markgway]

...and is there such a thing as too much violence in a martial art movie?

I'm excluding swordplay from this because with something like Lone Wolf and Cub you have countless decapitations and geysers of blood...

I just saw the uncut version of Robert Tai's Death Cage and was shocked at how bloody it was (I'd only previously seen the cut to shreds UK tape).

Made me wonder if martial arts fans here always think the more the merrier with the ketchup and bone breaking or is there a line you think shouldn't be crossed?

[OpiumKungFuCracker]

Joe Louis is in this?? I must hunt this movie down now!!! Which is uncut version???

[AbeRudder]

Does story of ricky count as a martial arts movie? That's probably the worst one ive seen, though i found the violence in that funny in how ridiculous it was as opposed to disturbing.

[ShaOW!linDude]

I'd have to say Thundering Mantis. First time I watched that, I was completely shocked by the end. Gruesome and freaky.

[TheDenizen]

The Raid: Redemption is chock full of extreme violence. People getting shot in the face point blank, multiple throat slashings and brutal stabbings all mixed in with the Silat beatdowns. I can't think of many old school flicks that can compete with that. Though I admit to being very surprised at the amount of blood and guts in Chinese Super Ninjas (Five Element Ninjas)...one guy even trips over his own innards.

and no, there is definitely NOT such a thing as too much violence.

[kowloon]

for me was STORY OF RICKY

[CatNap]

Just about anything with Anthony Wong....


Laura

[DarthKato]

"Ninja Assassin" and "Street Fighter" would top my list of the most violent and bloodiest films I have ever scene.

[One Armed Boxer]

Plenty of options on this thread - http://kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8833

Relating to your actual question though of if there can be too much violence in a martial arts movie, I think it's a difficult one to answer because it depends entirely on the context that the violence is taking place in.

For me I enjoy a little bloodletting in my kung-fu, although one movie that took me by surprise with how much graphic bloodspill it contained was 'Broken Path', amongst some great fighting there's also arms getting sawn off, ears get ripped off with teeth, and there's a fair amount of stabbing.

[Markgway]

Originally Posted by OpiumKungFuCracker

Joe Louis is in this?? I must hunt this movie down now!!! Which is uncut version???

The subtitled version is uncut; just avoid the old UK tape as Bloodfight 2. The BBFC deny any involvement with cuts, so it must've been the distributors (VPD/Imperial) who took the scissors to it.

Some good suggestions... I never really thought of Story of Ricky as a martial art movie, but I guess it, combined with splatter horror. Street Fighter, definately. Chang Cheh films usually a safe bet, especially Ninjas, possibly his goriest?

There's the possibility that if there's too much violence it can lose it's impact, or worse become unintentionally comical. Do you think any of the aforementioned films suffer for this? Ricky is deliberately extreme and comicbook, given its source, but is Street Fighter supposed to be funny?

I saw Thundering Mantis years ago, but don't remember what happened at the end, other that Leung Ka-Yan going ape shit.

The effect of constant violence can be numbing and eventual boredom. Not just graphic violence, mind, but any violence. If 80% of a martial arts film is non-stop fighting I find my brain switching off.

Originally Posted by CatNap

Just about anything with Anthony Wong....

...and which martial arts films star Anthony Wong?? lol