Top Martial Arts Movies
by theclarkone68 | created - 13 Nov 2014 | updated - 13 Nov 2014 | PublicList includes samurai and MMA movies
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1. 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: 366,658 | Gross: $0.27M
2. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,112 | Gross: $4.14M
3. 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: 131,292
4. 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: 187,605 | Gross: $53.71M
5. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,159
6. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Votes: 1,193,110 | Gross: $70.10M
7. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
R | 137 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
The Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah
Votes: 804,995 | Gross: $66.21M
8. The Hidden Fortress (1958)
Not Rated | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Misa Uehara, Minoru Chiaki, Kamatari Fujiwara
Votes: 42,216
9. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,101
10. 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: 112,952 | Gross: $25.00M
11. The Last Samurai (2003)
R | 154 min | Action, Drama
Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton
Votes: 470,835 | Gross: $111.11M
12. 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: 281,554 | Gross: $128.08M
13. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,245 | Gross: $11.05M
14. 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: 48,906 | Gross: $11.55M
15. Warrior (2011)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Drama, Sport
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison
Votes: 497,732 | Gross: $13.66M
17. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,375 | Gross: $90.82M
18. Blade (1998)
R | 120 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.
Director: Stephen Norrington | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson, N'Bushe Wright
Votes: 298,795 | Gross: $70.09M
19. Rush Hour (1998)
PG-13 | 98 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A loyal and dedicated Hong Kong Inspector teams up with a reckless and loudmouthed L.A.P.D. detective to rescue the Chinese Consul's kidnapped daughter, while trying to arrest a dangerous crime lord along the way.
Director: Brett Ratner | Stars: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson
Votes: 294,504 | Gross: $141.15M
20. 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: 45,972 | Gross: $32.39M
21. Romeo Must Die (2000)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
An avenging cop seeks out his brother's killer and falls for the daughter of a businessman who is involved in a money-deal with his father.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak | Stars: Jet Li, Aaliyah, Isaiah Washington, Russell Wong
Votes: 73,663 | Gross: $55.97M
22. Under Siege (1992)
R | 103 min | Action, Thriller
An ex-Navy Seal turned cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Steven Seagal, Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones, Erika Eleniak
Votes: 95,458 | Gross: $83.36M
23. Bloodsport (1988)
R | 92 min | Action, Biography, Drama
"Bloodsport" follows Frank Dux, an American martial artist serving in the military, who decides to leave the army to compete in a martial arts tournament in Hong Kong where fights to the death can occur.
Director: Newt Arnold | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton
Votes: 93,949 | Gross: $11.81M
24. Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)
R | 81 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
After his students are killed by the One Armed Boxer, a vengeful and blind Kung Fu expert travels to a village where a martial arts contest is being held and vows to behead every one armed man he comes across.
Director: Jimmy Wang Yu | Stars: Jimmy Wang Yu, Tien Wu Chu, Kang Chin, Chun-Erh Lung
Votes: 4,825
25. The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
R | 95 min | Action
On the hunt for a fabled treasure of gold, a band of warriors, assassins, and a rogue British soldier descend upon a village in feudal China, where a humble blacksmith looks to defend himself and his fellow villagers.
Director: RZA | Stars: Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Lucy Liu, RZA
Votes: 64,252 | Gross: $15.63M
26. Best of the Best (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Drama, Sport
A team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country - can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?
Director: Robert Radler | Stars: Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Phillip Rhee
Votes: 15,251 | Gross: $1.70M
27. Above the Law (1988)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A former Special Operations Vietnam vet works as a Chicago cop, and uncovers C.I.A. wrongdoing.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva, Ron Dean
Votes: 34,600 | Gross: $18.87M
28. Hard Target (1993)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A woman hires a drifter as her guide through New Orleans in search of her missing father. In the process, they discover a deadly game of cat and mouse behind his disappearance.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lance Henriksen, Yancy Butler, Chuck Pfarrer
Votes: 56,238 | Gross: $32.59M
29. Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
PG-13 | 88 min | Action, Comedy
A man tries to rescue a woman with a little help from his half brother.
Director: Dennis Dugan | Stars: Chris Farley, Nicollette Sheridan, Robin Shou, Nathaniel Parker
Votes: 44,003 | Gross: $31.24M
30. Out for Justice (1991)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Drama
With his partner executed in broad daylight by a psychotic mafia enforcer, a veteran Brooklyn officer vows revenge. But is the unstoppable detective prepared to face the truth and pay the price of blood?
Director: John Flynn | Stars: Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Jo Champa
Votes: 25,769 | Gross: $39.67M
31. Cradle 2 the Grave (2003)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A jewel thief's daughter is kidnapped after he steals a collection of prized black diamonds, which aren't at all what they seem.
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak | Stars: Jet Li, DMX, Mark Dacascos, Anthony Anderson
Votes: 46,742 | Gross: $34.71M
32. Hard to Kill (1990)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Targeted by the mob and its political supporters, hired assassins leave LAPD Detective Mason Storm for dead. Seven years later, he recovers from a deep coma, demanding justice and the opportunity to get even.
Director: Bruce Malmuth | Stars: Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler, Frederick Coffin
Votes: 32,344 | Gross: $47.41M
33. Lionheart (1990)
R | 108 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An Ex-French Soldier begins participating in underground street fights in order to make money for his brother's family.
Director: Sheldon Lettich | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan
Votes: 39,766 | Gross: $24.08M
34. Kickboxer (1989)
R | 97 min | Action, Sport, Thriller
Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.
Directors: Mark DiSalle, David Worth | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan, Michel Qissi
Votes: 60,834 | Gross: $14.70M
35. Timecop (1994)
R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Max Walker, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel, must fend for his life against a shady politician who's intent on changing the past to control the future.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mia Sara, Ron Silver, Bruce McGill
Votes: 64,156 | Gross: $44.85M
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