Martial arts films are a subgenre ofaction films that featuremartial 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 includehand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such asstuntwork, chases, andgunfights.[1][2][3] Sub-genres of martial arts films includekung fu films,wuxia,karate films, and martial artsaction comedy films, while related genres includegun fu,jidaigeki andsamurai films.
Notable actors who have contributed to the genre includeTony Jaa,Bruce Lee,Jean-Claude Van Damme,Jet Li,Toshiro Mifune,Donnie Yen,Jackie Chan,Sammo Hung,Gordon Liu,Robin Shou, andWesley Snipes, among others.[4] Women have also played key roles in the genre, including such actresses asCheng Pei-pei,Michelle Yeoh,Angela Mao,Zhang Ziyi,Josephine Siao,Cynthia Rothrock, and Kuo Hsiao-Chuang.[5][6][7][8][9]
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 directorZhang Shichuan and produced by theMingxing Film Company.[10] 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.[11]
Beginning in 1950 withAkira Kurosawa'sRashomon, starringToshiro Mifune,Japanese cinema produced a number ofsamurai films.[12] These films influenced the subsequent Hong Kong kung fu films of Bruce Lee.
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.[13] 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.[14][15] One of the earliest Hollywood movies to employ the use of martial arts was the 1955 filmBad Day at Black Rock, though the scenes ofSpencer Tracy performed barely any realistic fight sequences, but composed mostly of softknifehand strikes.[16][17][18][19]
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 likecamera angles,editing,doubles,undercranking,wire work andcomputer-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 byJackie Chan's films.[20] These techniques are sometimes used by real martial artists as well, depending on the style of action in the film.[1]
According toThe New York Times, in the 1960sJimmy Wang Yu was "the biggest star of Asian martial arts cinema until the emergence ofBruce Lee."[21]
During the 1970s and 1980s, the most visible presence of martial arts films was the hundreds of English-dubbed kung fu andninja films produced by theShaw 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 asKung Fu Theater,Black Belt Theater or variations thereof. Inclusive in this list of films are commercial classics likeThe Big Boss (1971),Drunken Master (1978) andOne 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.[22]
Martial arts films have been produced all over the world, but the genre has been dominated byHong 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.[23]Other notable figures in the genre include Jackie Chan,Jet Li,Sammo Hung,Yuen Biao,Donnie Yen, andHwang Jang-lee.
Sonny Chiba,Etsuko Shihomi, andHiroyuki Sanada starred in numerouskarate andjidaigeki films from Japan during the 1970s and early 1980s.Hollywood has also participated in the genre with actors such asChuck Norris,Sho Kosugi,Jean-Claude Van Damme,Steven Seagal,Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee),Wesley Snipes,Gary Daniels,Mark Dacascos, andJason Statham.[24]
According to theAmerican Film Institute, the success ofBloodsport (1988), starring Van Damme, helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in the United States.[25] According to Van Damme, the film "helped give the martial arts genre a boost but also foretold certain things like theUltimate Fighting Championship and the idea of pitting different styles against each other."[26]
In the 2000s,Thailand's film industry became an international force in the genre with the films ofTony Jaa[27] and thecinema of Vietnam followed suit withThe Rebel (2007) andClash (2009). In more recent years, theIndonesian film industry has offeredMerantau (2009)[28][29][30] andThe Raid: Redemption (2011).
TheMiddle East has also participated in the genre with actors such asYoussef Mansour who became famous in the 1990s for his Egyptian films that relied on martial arts.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]
Women have also played key roles in the genre, including such actresses asCheng Pei-pei,Michelle Yeoh,Angela Mao,Zhang Ziyi,Josephine Siao,Cynthia Rothrock, and Kuo Hsiao-Chuang.[39][40][41][42][43] In addition, western animation has ventured into the genre with the most successful effort being the internationally hailedDreamWorks Animation film franchise,Kung Fu Panda, starringJack Black andAngelina Jolie.
The Matrix (1999), whose fight scenes were choreographed by Hong Kong fight choreographerYuen Woo-ping, is considered revolutionary in American cinema for raising the standard of fight scenes in Western cinema.[44]
In the Chinese-speaking world, martial arts films are commonly divided into two subcategories: thewuxia period films (武俠片), and the more modernkung fu films (功夫片, best epitomized in the films ofBruce Lee).[45] However, according to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writerRonny Yu, wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies.[46]
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 thewuxia 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 ofJin Yong[47] andGu Long[48] directly led to the prevalence of wuxia period films. Outside of the Chinese speaking world the most famous wuxia film made was theAng Lee filmCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which was based on theWang Dulu series of wuxia novels: it earned fourAcademy Awards, including one for Best Foreign Film.
Martial arts westerns are usually American films inexpensively filmed inSouthwestern United States locations, transposing martial arts themes into an "old west" setting; e.g.,Red Sun withCharles Bronson andToshiro Mifune.
martin riggs martial arts.
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