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Top 50 Best Kung Fu Movies Of All Time

What are the best kung fu movies? Action films has many sub genres but one of the oldest (and one of the most loved) sub genres is of-course martial arts. Fans of fist-fighting have always enjoyed martial arts movies, even films with no plot and no character development enjoy success at box office given that they have a pretty good fighting sequence. Kung Fu movies have their own share in the martial arts films. In fact most of the martial arts movies focus on the kung fu art of fighting. Usually Kung fu films focus on daredevil stunts and breath taking fist-fighting sequences.

Back in the golden era of Hollywood (1960s decade) Kung fu movies were only limited to the Chinese cinema. But it was during that time, When Kung Fu movies entered hollywood and soon dozens of kung fu movies were produced every year. Not only most of these Kung fu films were well received at box office but they also gave few of the most famous personalities to the world. However there was one single man who should be credited for the immense popularity of Kung Fu in Hollywood. He was Bruce Lee. Though the legendary actor and martial arts champion’s career was short lived (due to his death in 1973 at a young age of 33) yet he left a huge impact on Hollywood. It was he who opened the doors of martial arts films to Hollywood.

The later decades saw the rise of many action heroes who were kung fu practitioner. From Jackie chan, Chuck Norris to Jet li, every actor made their own fan following due to the success of their kung fu films. Even though Kung fu films are still related to chinese movies by fans but there are many mainstream Kung fu films produced in Hollywood. It won’t to exaggeration to say that the use of kung fu in action movies improved their quality and made them immensely popular (Matrix for example).

Here we have chosen 50 greatest movies based on kung fu:

Contents

50. Black Dynamite


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Scott Sanders
Cast – Salli Richardson, Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 16 October 2009
Box Office – $296,557
Genre – Action, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

49. Big trouble in Little China


Kung Fu Movies
Director – John Carpenter
Cast – Dennis Dun, Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 1 July 1986
Box Office – $11.1 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

48. Jackie Chan’s Who Am I


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Jackie Chan, Benny Chan
Cast – Michelle Ferre, Ron Smerczak, Jackie Chan, Mirai Yamamoto, Ed Nelson
IMDB Rating – 6.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 63%
Release Date – 17 January 1998
Box Office – $38,852,845
Genre – Action, Adventure, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

47. The Game of Death


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Giorgio Serafini
Cast – Gary Daniels, Wesley Snipes, Robert Davi, Zoë Bell
IMDB Rating – 4.7
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 27 November 2010
Box Office – $173,496
Genre – Action, Adventure, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

46. Kill Zone SPL (2005)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Wilson Yip
Cast – Sammo Hung, Wu Jing, Donnie Yen, Simon Yam
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 18 November 2005
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

45. The Protector


Kung Fu Movies
Director – James Glickenhaus
Cast – Danny Aiello, Moon Lee, Jackie Chan, Roy Chiao, Peter Yang
IMDB Rating – 5.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 20%
Release Date – 15 June 1985
Box Office – $981,817
Genre – Action, Crime, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

44. Equilibrium


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Kurt Wimmer
Cast – Emily Watson, Angus Macfadyen, Matthew Harbour, Christian Bale, Taye Diggs, Sean Bean
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 40%
Release Date – 6 December 2002
Box Office – $5.3 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

43. Shogun Assassin


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Kenji Misumi, Robert Houston
Cast – Akiji Kobayashi, Kayo Mautso, Tomisaburo Wakayama
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 11 November 1980
Box Office – $ 1 Million
Genre – Action, Adventure
Awards – None
Plot –

42. Ashes of Time


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Wong Kar-wai
Cast – Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Charlie Yeung, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Carina Lau
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 17 September 1994
Box Office – $1,912,490
Genre – Action, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

41. Undisputed 3: Redemption


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Isaac Florentine
Cast – Hristo Shopov, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Mark Ivanir, Scott Adkins, Robert Costanzo
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 17 June 2010
Box Office – $282,548
Genre – Action, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

40. BloodSport


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Newt Arnold
Cast – Leah Ayres, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Forest Whitaker
IMDB Rating – 6.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 39%
Release Date – 26 February 1988
Box Office –$65 million
Genre – Action, Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

39. Magnificient Butcher


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Yuen Woo-ping
Cast – Kwan Tak-hing, Wei Pai, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 19 December 1979
Box Office – $3,945,341.40
Genre – Action, Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

38. Prodigal Son


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Sammo Hung
Cast – Yuen Biao, Frankie Chan, Sammo Hung, Lam Ching-ying
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 22 December 1981
Box Office – $9,150,729
Genre – Action, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

37. The Shaolin Temple


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Hsin-yan Chang
Cast – Yu Hai, Jet Li, Ding Lan
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 21 January 1982
Box Office – $96 million
Genre – Action, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

36. The Twilight Samurai


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Yoji Yamada
Cast – Rie Miyazawa, Hiroyuki Sanada
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 99%
Release Date – 2 November 2002
Box Office – $7,338,987
Genre – Drama, History, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

35. Police Story


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Jackie Chan
Cast – Maggie Cheung, Jackie Chan, Chor Yuen, Brigitte Lin
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 14 December 1985
Box Office – $22.22 million
Genre – Action, Comedy, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –

34. Iron Monkey


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Yuen Woo-ping
Cast – Yu Rongguang, Angie Tsang, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 3 September 1993
Box Office – $14,694,904
Genre – Action, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

33. The Man From Nowhere


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Lee Jeong-beom
Cast – Kim Sae-ron, Won Bin
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 5 August 2010
Box Office – $43 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

32. Sanjuro


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Akira Kurosawa
Cast – Tatsuya Nakadai, Yūzō Kayama, Toshiro Mifune, Keiju Kobayashi
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 1 January 1962
Box Office – $ 1 Million
Genre – Action, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

31. Danny the Dog aka Unleashed


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Louis Leterrier
Cast – Morgan Freeman, Kerry Condon, Jet Li, Bob Hoskins
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes – 65%
Release Date – 13 May 2005
Box Office – $50.9 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

30. 13 Assassins


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Takashi Miike
Cast – Yūsuke Iseya, Kōji Yakusho, Hiroki Matsukata, Gorō Inagaki, Takayuki Yamada, Tsuyoshi Ihara
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 25 September 2010
Box Office – $17.5 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

29. Batman Begins


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Christopher Nolan
Cast – Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Tom Wilkinson, Katie Holmes, Liam Neeson
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 84%
Release Date – May 31, 2005
Box Office – $375.2 million
Genre – Action, Adventure
Awards – None
Plot –

28. Rush Hour


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Brett Ratner
Cast – Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña, Jackie Chan, Tzi Ma, Ken Leung
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes – 60%
Release Date – 18 September 1998
Box Office – $244.4 million
Genre – Action, Comedy, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –

27. Brotherhood of theWolf


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Christophe Gans
Cast – Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, Mark Dacascos, Samuel Le Bihan, Émilie Dequenne, Jérémie Renier
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes – 73%
Release Date – 1 January 2001
Box Office – $70.7 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

26. Shaolin Soccer


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Stephen Chow
Cast – Zhao Wei, Patrick Tse, Stephen Chow, Ng Man-tat, Danny Chan Kwok-kwan
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 12 July 2001
Box Office – $42.8 million
Genre – Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Awards – None
Plot –

25. Red Cliff


Kung Fu Movies
Director – John Woo
Cast – Chang Chen, Tony Leung, Hu Jun, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Fengyi, Zhao Wei, Shidō Nakamura
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 30 June 2008
Box Office – $250.1 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

24. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Lau Kar-leung
Cast – Lo Lieh, Gordon Liu
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 2 February 1978
Box Office – $ 1 Million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

23. Once Upon a Time in China


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Tsui Hark
Cast – Jacky Cheung, Jet Li, Kent Cheng, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 15 August 1991
Box Office – $29,672,278
Genre – Action, Adventure, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –

22. Warrior (2011)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Gavin O’Connor
Cast – Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Frank Grillo
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 9 September 2011
Box Office – $23.1 million
Genre – Drama, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –

21. The Karate Kid (1984)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – John G. Avildsen
Cast – Noriyuki “Pat” Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Ralph Macchio
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 22 June 1984
Box Office – $91 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Family
Awards – None
Plot –

20. The Raid: Redemption


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Gareth Evans
Cast – Donny Alamsyah, Iko Uwais, Pierre Gruno, Joe Taslim, Yayan Ruhian
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 8 September 2011
Box Office – $9.3 million
Genre – Action, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

19. House of the Flying Daggers


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Zhang Yimou
Cast – Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 19 May 2004
Box Office – $92.9 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

18. Hero (2002)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Zhang Yimou
Cast – Tony Leung, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, Maggie Cheung, Chen Daoming
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 24 October 2002
Box Office – $177.4 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, History
Awards – None
Plot –

17. The Way of the Dragon


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Bruce Lee
Cast – Paul Wei, Unicorn Chan, Bruce Lee, Wang Chung-hsin, Tony Liu, Nora Miao, Malisa Longo
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – 30 December 1972
Box Office – $27 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –

16. The Chinese Connection


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Lo Wei
Cast – Nora Miao, Bruce Lee
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 22 March 1972
Box Office – $17.2 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

15. Curse of the Golden Flower


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Zhang Yimou
Cast – Qin Junjie, Chow Yun-fat, Jay Chou, Gong Li
IMDB Rating – 7
Rotten Tomatoes – 65%
Release Date – 21 December 2006
Box Office – $78,568,977
Genre – Action, Drama, Romance
Awards – None
Plot –

14. District B 13


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Pierre Morel
Cast – Tony D’Amario, Cyril Raffaelli, David Belle, Dany Verissimo
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 10 November 2004
Box Office – $9.6–$11.6 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Awards – None
Plot –

13. Ong-Bak


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Prachya Pinkaew
Cast – Petchtai Wongkamlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Tony Jaa
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 23 October 2003
Box Office – $20,112,926
Genre – Action, Crime, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

12. Taken


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Pierre Morel
Cast – Maggie Grace, David Warshofsky, Liam Neeson, Holly Valance, Jon Gries, Leland Orser
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 58%
Release Date – 27 February 2008
Box Office – $226.8 million
Genre – Action, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

11. Fist of Legend


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Gordon Chan
Cast – Chin Siu-ho, Billy Chau, Paul Chun, Jet Li, Shinobu Nakayama, Yasuaki Kurata
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 22 December 1994
Box Office – $30.7 million
Genre – Action, Drama, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

10. Kung Fu Hustle


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Stephen Chow
Cast – Danny Chan, Eva Huang, Stephen Chow, Yuen Qiu, Yuen Wah
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 20 December 2004
Box Office – $102 million
Genre – Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Awards – None
Plot –

9. Fearless (2006)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Ronny Yu
Cast – Dong Yong, Collin Chou, Jet Li, Nakamura Shidō II, Betty Sun
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 73%
Release Date – 26 January 2006
Box Office – $68.1 million
Genre – Action, Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

8. Yojimbo


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Akira Kurosawa
Cast – Tatsuya Nakadai, Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoko Tsukasa, Daisuke Katō, Isuzu Yamada
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 25 April 1961
Box Office – $ 1 Million
Genre – Action, Comedy, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –

7. Kill Bill Volume 1 and Kill Bill Volume 2


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Quentin Tarantino
Cast – Vivica A. Fox, Uma Thurman, Sonny Chiba, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 10 October 2003
Box Office – $180.9 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –

6. Drunken Master Series


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Yuen Woo-ping
Cast – Yuen Siu-tien, Dean Shek, Jackie Chan, Hwang Jang-lee
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 82%
Release Date – 5 October 1978
Box Office – $21.2 million
Genre – Action, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –

5. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Ang Lee
Cast – Michelle Yeoh, Chang Chen, Chow Yun-fat, Zhang Ziyi, Sihung Lung
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 6 July 2000
Box Office – $213.5 million
Genre – Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Awards – Won 4 Oscars
Plot –

4. Enter the Dragon


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Mani Haghighi, Robert Clouse
Cast – John Saxon, Shih Kien, Bruce Lee, Bob Wall, Ahna Capri
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 26 July 1973
Box Office – $90 million
Genre – Action, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

3. Ip Man (2008)


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Wilson Yip
Cast – Lynn Hung, Donnie Yen, Chen Zhihui, Fan Siu-wong, Simon Yam, Fan Siu-wong
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 12 December 2008
Box Office – $21,888,598
Genre – Action, Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

2. The Matrix


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Cast – Carrie-Anne Moss, Keanu Reeves, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne
IMDB Rating – 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 31 March 1999
Box Office – $463.5 million
Genre – Action, Sci-Fi
Awards – Won 4 Oscars
Plot –

1. Seven Samurai


Kung Fu Movies
Director – Akira Kurosawa
Cast – Keiko Tsushima, Seiji Miyaguchi, Toshiro Mifune, Isao Kimura, Keiko Tsushima, Takashi Shimura, Kokuten Kōdō, Jun Tatara, Daisuke Katō, Yoshio Inaba
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 26 April 1954
Box Office – $2.3 million
Genre – Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –

Who is your favorite Kung Fu hero and which is your favorite Kung Fu film? Do you think that Kung fu movies are the best sub-genre of action movies? What other martial arts films do youlove to see? Also tell us if we missed any great Kung fu film.