The Best Martial Arts Movie

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by DAWAS, Oct 7, 2004.

  1. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    in terms of fighting skill, Bruce Lee is the best...no doubt.
     
  2. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    Bruce Lee the best ever fighter to star in a martial arts film? Not sure if I'd agree with that - I was just talking about his screen presence. In terms of fighting skill, hard tu judge; he didn't really bother with competition (only documented one I can think of is a boxing tournament he won as a schoolboy in Hong Kong), so we only have possibly apocryphal stories of 'street fights' etc. If you're going by his choreography, then I still wouldn't agree (clearly very disagreeable today :p), as while his work was groundbreaking, its since been bettered.
     
  3. GojuKJoe

    GojuKJoe Valued Member

    bruce lee is my favourite martial arts actor. fist of fury and enter the dragon are my top two martial arts movies, i don't care if it's conventional or not.
     
  4. Dr.Syn

    Dr.Syn Valued Member

    Bloodsport
     
  5. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    Who us the best movie star fighter then...in your opinion???

    Damn right my friend, couldnt agree more! :)
     
  6. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    Are we talking about actual fighting ability now, or who looks best on-screen? As those are two very different things. :)

    For actual fighting ability, that is very difficult to judge, unless you happen to have been present as they get into a street fight (bit unlikely :p). I don't know of many on-screen martial arts stars who also regularly compete in a full-contact competition, but thats probably the next best way to judge. Chuck Norris was a successful karate world champion, but more impressively also gained his black belt in BJJ under the Machados at the age of 60. However, I would probably say the best fighter, in real terms, who also happened to feature in films, was Benny 'the Jet' Urquidez - he had an incredible record:

     
  7. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    i still fail to see how benny thr jet urquidez could have beaten Bruce Lee one on one. I doubt chuck norris could stand up to many fighters :rolleyes:
     
  8. Brad Ellin

    Brad Ellin Baba

    Don't care if Benny could beat Bruce, it would be an interesting fight. But, how can you say that you doubt Chuck could stand up to many fighters? Here's a peek at his record. Remember, CHuck went into fighting then movies in order to advertise his schools. He just happened to be good at fighting. No tthat great of an actor, but how many people watch action movies for the acting?
     
  9. Goju

    Goju Yellow Belt

  10. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    I agree with Kurohana. What exactly are you basing that on? Now, I like Bruce, but he was just a man, not a superhero. Because he has achieved iconic status, people tend to hold him up as some kind of unbeatable fighter - not true. With Chuck Norris and Benny the Jet, there is actual quantifiable evidence of their fighting ability. I've no doubt Bruce Lee could fight, but any speculation on what his actual abilities were is nothing more than that - speculation. With Norris and Urquidez, you have proof. Want to see how good Urquidez or Norris was in a fight? You can watch a tape, check out their competitive record etc. Want to see how good Bruce Lee was? We can only guess.
     
  11. welsh chi

    welsh chi New Member

    ..

    i really like films with jet li and jackie chan and bruce lee in them. but probaby my favourite is kiss of the dragon. I would just love to see jackie and jet in a film together where there are good producers etc it would probably be the most eagerly awaited MA film ever if it were to happen
     
  12. Thorstein

    Thorstein New Member

    well, let me think.......

    I would choose "Fightclub", or maybe "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" to be my favorites... :D

    [​IMG]

    versus

    [​IMG]
     
  13. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    When talking about 'the best', I tend to think a certain time needs to have elapsed before the film/book/song etc qualifies - 10/20 years at least. But then again, its also subjective, as 'best' can also be interpreted as 'favourite'.

    I liked Crouching Tiger, but I'd be more interested in seeing the original influences it drew upon, like A Touch of Zen (got the DVD, but not watched it all yet - about an hour and a bit through its 170mins :p) - I get the feeling that it is merely an end product which has successfully reached a Western audience, and that there are better, classic films waiting for me in China/Hong Kong. :D
     
  14. geves

    geves Valued Member

    Oh this is easy "Legned of the drunken master" you can't beat the final sequence in that movie, the first one was good too.
     
  15. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    I agree that there is proof of chuck norris' and urquidez's success but because they've won some competitions it doesnt mean they are good fighters when it comes to actual street combat. I don't for one second doubt benny urquidez's ability as he is super fast and skillfull but i seriously doubt chuck's realistic ability in street combat and doubt even more that he could beat Bruce in a confrontation. If he was advertising his karate schools using his movies as a tool then i don't think he did a very good job. His fight scenes look ameteurish and his moves look scrappy and slow. Compare his movies to Bruce's and chuck looks plain average. Im not saying he isnt good but compared to Bruce he's nothing special.
     
  16. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    First you say this:

    But your evidence, ridiculously, is this:

    Fighting on-screen and fighting off-screen are VERY different things. Bruce Lee was an extremely talented choreographer. So is Jackie Chan. So was Gene Kelly :p. It means exactly nothing in terms of fighting ability. Its a film, not a self-defence situation. This is why, as I've mentioned before, Bruce Lee's off-screen martial arts are completely different from what he did on film - on film, its about rhythm, performance, and entertainment (a well-trained dancer/gymnast could - and has, in the Bruce Lee biopic 'Dragon', for example - look equally good). In reality, its about being effective, which often isn't pretty. :)
     
  17. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    Bruce looked ALOT faster than chuck in his films and from accounts of people who knew him and observed him fighting, he was very fast and powerful.

    Anyway, everyone has their own opinions but i know who i'd place my money on. :)
     
  18. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    Do you at least accept that you can't judge someone's fighting ability purely from what they did in a film? Do you think that impressive competition records (which Bruce Lee didn't have, as it happens) count for nothing? Or the fact that Chuck Norris is not only an excellent stand-up fighter, he is also a BJJ black belt?
     
  19. gedhab

    gedhab Valued Member

    I do agree, but there are some things you can see in films that show a persons MA ability. For example Bruce's moves wernt enhanced to make them look faster so you can't deny his tremendous speed.

    As for the BJJ blackbelt...does that mean that every BJJ blackbelt is an outstanding fighter? I thought belts did not neccessarily represent skill? :confused:
     
  20. slideyfoot

    slideyfoot Co-Founder of Artemis BJJ

    BJJ belts are based on competition success, not doing some kata or other. So yes, a belt in BJJ actually means something, as it does in other styles that involve either heavy contact limited rules sparring or competition as part of their grading syllabus.

    Here's a description, from Subfighter.com, originally appearing in a Sherdog post:

     

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