Favorites of Asian Cinema
by ribinfo | created - 23 Mar 2013 | updated - 01 Jun 2013 | Publicno particular order
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Oldboy (2003)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.
Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok
Votes: 634,872 | Gross: $0.71M
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,459 | Gross: $0.27M
3. Stray Dog (1949)
Not Rated | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen Colt pistol.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi
Votes: 18,911
4. The Killer (1989)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disillusioned assassin accepts one last hit in hopes of using his earnings to restore vision to a singer he accidentally blinded.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Danny Lee, Sally Yeh, Kong Chu
Votes: 51,046
5. Heroes of the East (1978)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy
A Chinese man (Liu) marries a Japanese woman through an arranged marriage and manages to insult all of her Japanese martial arts family by issuing a challenge to her that is misinterpreted ... See full summary »
Director: Chia-Liang Liu | Stars: Chia-Hui Liu, Yuka Mizuno, Yasuaki Kurata, Naozo Kato
Votes: 2,662
6. The Host (2006)
R | 120 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and begins attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona
Votes: 132,571 | Gross: $2.20M
7. Dragons Forever (1988)
TV-14 | 102 min | Action, Comedy, Romance
Three successful Hong Kong lawyers are hired by a chemical company of questionable ethics and must eventually make a difficult decision when their employer's motives become clear.
Directors: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Corey Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Pauline Yeung
Votes: 9,327
8. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,222
9. Knockabout (1979)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Two brothers and small time crooks Yipao and Taipao convince a martial arts expert to take them on as students, completely oblivious to his sordid past.
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Ka-Yan Leung, Chia-Yung Liu, Biao Yuen, Kuang Yu Wang
Votes: 1,575
10. Project A (1983)
PG-13 | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Fighting against pirates at the turn of the 20th century, the Hong Kong navy are failing miserably. It's up to Sergeant Lung (Jackie Chan) to take matters into his own hands.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Dick Wei
Votes: 18,515
11. Project A 2 (1987)
PG-13 | 101 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Dragon is now transferred to be the police head of Sai Wan district, and has to contend with a gangster kingpin, anti-Manchu revolutionaries, some runaway pirates, Manchu Loyalists and a corrupt Police Superintendent.
Director: Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, Carina Lau
Votes: 11,328
12. Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
R | 101 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
The sixth and final pupil of a dying martial arts teacher is instructed to find the teacher's five former pupils and defeat any evil ones that are among them.
Director: Cheh Chang | Stars: Sheng Chiang, Chien Sun, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Meng Lo
Votes: 7,967
13. Wheels on Meals (1984)
TV-14 | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two Chinese friends, who operate a food truck in Barcelona, Spain, use their martial arts expertise to help their private investigator friend protect the pickpocket Sylvia, who's been targeted by a ruthless gang.
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Jackie Chan, Biao Yuen, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Benny Urquidez
Votes: 15,156
14. Hard Boiled (1992)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Teresa Mo, Philip Chan
Votes: 53,963
15. Fist of Fury (1972)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
Director: Wei Lo | Stars: Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien, Maria Yi
Votes: 33,843 | Gross: $1.29M
16. The Big Boss (1971)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.
Directors: Wei Lo, Chia-Hsiang Wu | Stars: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Marilyn Bautista
Votes: 29,438 | Gross: $0.04M
17. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple to fight back against the oppressive Manchu government.
Director: Chia-Liang Liu | Stars: Chia-Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Yue Wong, Chia-Yung Liu
Votes: 18,338
18. Godzilla (1954)
Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
American nuclear weapons testing results in the creation of a seemingly unstoppable dinosaur-like beast.
Director: Ishirô Honda | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Akihiko Hirata, Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi
Votes: 39,541 | Gross: $2.42M
19. Drunken Master II (1994)
R | 102 min | Action, Comedy
A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.
Directors: Chia-Liang Liu, Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Ho-Sung Pak, Lung Ti, Anita Mui
Votes: 48,883 | Gross: $11.55M
20. Drunken Master (1978)
PG-13 | 111 min | Action, Comedy
Wong Fei-Hung is a mischievous yet righteous young man, but after a series of incidents his frustrated father has him disciplined by a master of drunken martial arts.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Siu-Tin Yuen, Jeong-lee Hwang, Dean Shek
Votes: 43,786
21. Ip Man (2008)
R | 106 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan, Ka-Tung Lam
Votes: 233,464
22. Ip Man 2 (2010)
R | 108 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Centering on Ip Man's migration to Hong Kong in 1949 as he attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun martial arts.
Director: Wilson Yip | Stars: Donnie Yen, Xiaoming Huang, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Lynn Xiong
Votes: 110,938 | Gross: $0.21M
23. Five Fingers of Death (1972)
R | 104 min | Action, Drama, Romance
As two martial arts schools prepare for an important tournament, one school's master is a dishonorable man, and to ensure his son wins the title, he hires three Japanese samurais, who target the rival school's best fighter.
Director: Chang-hwa Jeong | Stars: Lieh Lo, Ping Wang, Hsiung Chao, Chin-Feng Wang
Votes: 4,007
24. Police Story (1985)
PG-13 | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
Directors: Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Yuen Chor
Votes: 41,790 | Gross: $0.11M
25. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978)
PG | 90 min | Action, Comedy
An orphan who has been raised at a kung fu school, where he is treated as little more than a dogsbody and practice target for the students, has a life-changing experience after helping an old peripatetic beggar.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Jackie Chan, Siu-Tin Yuen, Jeong-lee Hwang, Dean Shek
Votes: 12,864
26. Sonatine (1993)
R | 94 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war then escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura
Votes: 23,257
27. Slaughter in the Snow (1973)
Unrated | 83 min | Action
In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter, has not yet fully revenged the death of his wife and son. He searches... See full summary »
Director: Kazuo Ikehiro | Stars: Hajime Araki, Kai Atô, Takamori Gen, Yoshio Harada
Votes: 122
28. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,572 | Gross: $53.71M
29. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,498 | Gross: $128.08M
30. The Victim (1980)
Unrated | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
Chung Yao, a martial arts expert, has long been on the run from his stepbrother, who he caught trying to rape his wife on their wedding night. His brother has never given up the chase ... See full summary »
Director: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung | Stars: Ka-Yan Leung, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Yi Chang, Fanny Wang
Votes: 692
31. The Invincible Armour (1977)
Unrated | 90 min | Action, Drama
A corrupt official frames a man for murder. The man studies a martial arts style that makes his body as strong as iron, so he can counter the official's own incredible fighting skills.
Director: See-Yuen Ng | Stars: John Liu, Jeong-lee Hwang, Tino Wong, Hsin Hsing Kuo
Votes: 1,072
32. The Magnificent Butcher (1979)
PG-13 | 108 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A hot headed young butcher, who is also a kung fu disciple, gets embroiled in a feud with a rival shaolin temple.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Tak-Hing Kwan, Biao Yuen, Pai Wei
Votes: 2,597
33. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 112,899 | Gross: $25.00M
34. The Street Fighter (1974)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After failing to reach a deal with her enemies, a mercenary karateka protects the daughter of a recently-deceased oil tycoon from the evil conglomerate gunning for her inheritance.
Director: Shigehiro Ozawa | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Goichi Yamada, Yutaka Nakajima, Chiyoko Kazama
Votes: 5,659
35. Rumble in the Bronx (1995)
R | 87 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A young man visiting and helping his uncle in New York City finds himself forced to fight a street gang and the mob with his martial art skills.
Director: Stanley Tong | Stars: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Françoise Yip, Bill Tung
Votes: 45,944 | Gross: $32.39M
36. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991)
R | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Riki-Oh, a young man who has superhuman strength, is incarcerated in a private prison, where inmates are treated like slaves. He is forced to use his unstoppable form of martial arts to destroy the corrupt officials and their lackeys.
Director: Ngai Choi Lam | Stars: Siu-Wong Fan, Mei Sheng Fan, Ka-Kui Ho, Yukari Ôshima
Votes: 15,000
37. The Way of the Dragon (1972)
R | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.
Director: Bruce Lee | Stars: Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Nora Miao, Ping-Ou Wei
Votes: 40,989 | Gross: $4.06M
38. Dragon Lord (1982)
PG-13 | 102 min | Action, Comedy, Sport
The adventures of a restless martial arts student called Dragon, who, while constantly pursuing a girl, gets involved in the affairs of a gang of thieves.
Director: Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Mars, Michael Wai-Man Chan, Shirley Yim
Votes: 4,405
39. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)
R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
Director: Prachya Pinkaew | Stars: Tony Jaa, Phetthai Vongkumlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Pongwilai
Votes: 78,137 | Gross: $4.56M
40. The Young Master (1980)
PG-13 | 105 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A talented martial arts student goes after his expelled brother, who get into bad company.
Director: Jackie Chan | Stars: Jackie Chan, Pai Wei, Biao Yuen, Lily Li
Votes: 8,182
41. Iron Monkey (1993)
PG-13 | 85 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A martial artist/doctor steals from the corrupt authorities as a masked thief to give to the poor while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt him down. But a major threat unites them as a powerful and traitorous shaolin monk takes over the authorities.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Rongguang Yu, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Sze-Man Tsang
Votes: 17,212 | Gross: $14.68M
42. Crippled Avengers (1978)
R | 104 min | Action, Drama
Three men who have been physically disabled by an evil warlord and his physically-disabled son become friends and learn kung fu so that they can seek revenge with help from an elderly martial-arts teacher and his mentally-disabled pupil.
Director: Cheh Chang | Stars: Kuan Tai Chen, Feng Lu, Phillip Chung-Fung Kwok, Meng Lo
Votes: 2,986
43. Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)
R | 99 min | Action, Comedy
When thugs prey upon innocent factory workers, a small-time scammer trains for revenge by studying the moves of Shaolin temple monks.
Director: Chia-Liang Liu | Stars: Chia-Hui Liu, Lung-Wei Wang, Hou Hsiao, Lun Hua
Votes: 4,233
44. Battle Royale (2000)
Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama
Votes: 194,286
45. Agent Shiranui (1960)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
Before he portrayed the legendary blind swordsman, Zatoichi, Shintaro Katsu played Suganoichi, a blind court masseur with a dark side. An outcast since birth, he learned from a young age ... See full summary »
Director: Kazuo Mori | Stars: Shintarô Katsu, Tamao Nakamura, Mieko Kondô, Matasaburô Niwa
Votes: 202
46. Trail of Blood (1972)
88 min | Action, Drama
Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry... See full summary »
Director: Kazuo Ikehiro | Stars: Yoshio Harada, Atsuo Nakamura, Kayo Matsuo, Sanae Kitabayashi
Votes: 178
47. Mushukunin mikogami no jôkichi: Kawakaze ni kako wa nagareta (1972)
80 min | Action
Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an ... See full summary »
Director: Kazuo Ikehiro | Stars: Tôru Abe, Yoshio Harada, Akio Hasegawa, Etsuko Ichihara
Votes: 138
48. Slaughter in the Snow (1973)
Unrated | 83 min | Action
In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter, has not yet fully revenged the death of his wife and son. He searches... See full summary »
Director: Kazuo Ikehiro | Stars: Hajime Araki, Kai Atô, Takamori Gen, Yoshio Harada
Votes: 122
Tell Your Friends