# Recommend me wuxia movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467 "2005-10-10T00:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/1 "2005-10-10T00:24:10Z")
I absolutely loved the movies _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_, _Hero_, and _House of Flying Daggers_. I love that whole “Once upon a time in China” medieval setting, with the gravity-defying action and the tragic endings. I know these three movies just happened to be famous enough to get a wide release in the USA, so I’d like to ask for recommendations of _wuxia_ movies, or even non-Chinese movies if they’re in a similar genre. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/2 "2005-10-10T04:02:19Z")
Here is a quick list of IMO the best (and most accessible) to start with… Tai Chi Master (aka Twin Dragons) The Swordsman series (1, 2, and 3 (aka The East is Red)) Legend of Fong Sai Yuk 1 & 2 (aka The Legend) Bride with White Hair (might be a bit too weird for some) The Blade (the Tsui Hark version, not the Wesley Snipes movie) Drunken Master 2 (aka Legend of the Drunken Master) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/3 "2005-10-10T04:12:01Z")
Heroic Trio is fun, in a campy, goofy way. It’s a superhero-inspired martial arts movie with the awesome Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and the late Anita Mui. I’ll second both Drunken Masters and The Legend (and I think The Legend 2 has one of the greatest fight sequences of all time at the end), and also add Iron Monkey with Donnie Yen. It has some hilarious comedy and brilliant fight choreography as well. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/4 "2005-10-10T04:27:58Z")
_Kung Fu Hustle_ was pretty cool. Good humored, but the fight scenes were still amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/5 "2005-10-10T04:38:09Z")
Do the Drunken Master movies count? AFAIK there’s minimal to no wirework and they’re comedies. ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/6 "2005-10-10T08:52:40Z")
Once Upon a Time in China Dragon Inn ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/7 "2005-10-10T15:23:57Z")
**The Duel** is oodles of fun - it’s like six movies in one, and they’re all really good! Plus, it’s got some exceedingly fine young men in it. **The Storm Riders** is along the same lines, but much more confusing as you’re supposed to have read all the comics first, I think. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/8 "2005-10-10T16:06:51Z")
I second many of the movies mentioned here, especially \*\*The Bride with White Hair \*\* and **Iron Monkey**. The \*\*Fong Sai Yuk \*\* movies and **The Tai-Chi Master** are good also. The \*\*Drunken Master \*\* movies, while very good, are pretty much straight kung-fu comedies, not really _wuxia_. For a fun \*wuxia \* farce, I suggest **Flying Dagger**. Extremely funny and with a great cast. See my review [here](http://www.dvdspot.com/member=divemaster) (I hope that works–look under “latest reviews”) \*\*Butterfly and Sword \*\* is fairly incoherent plot-wise, but I enjoyed the spectacle. A good Korean movie in the \*wuxia \* style is **Bichunmoo**. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/9 "2005-10-10T22:49:05Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > The Blade (the Tsui Hark version, not the Wesley Snipes movie) I saw this at a film festival a few years back and I HIGHLY recommend it, but it’s not on DVD, is it? Amazon seems to indicate that it’s on VHS, but currently out of print. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/10 "2005-10-10T22:59:48Z")
I’ve seen _Heroic Trio_, and it’s not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for the medieval China setting, not neccesarily wire-fu. Here are some titles from the wikipedia article on _wuxia_ – are any of these examples of what I’m looking for? Eliminating the ones I’ve already seen: ``` * Torching the Red Lotus Temple (《火燒紅蓮寺》1928) * Ru Lai Shen Zhang (《如來神掌》1964) * Dragon Gate Inn (《龍門客棧》1966) * The One-armed Swordsman ((獨臂刀1967) * The Magic Blade (《天涯明月刀》1976) * Zu - Warriors from the Magic Mountain (《蜀山:新蜀山劍俠》1983) * Ashes of Time ((東邪西毒 1994) * Kung Fu Hustle (2004) ``` ---
**Author:** ![CBCD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@CBCD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBCD)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-wuxia-movies/325467/11 "2005-10-10T23:20:48Z")
Deadful Melody, with Brigitte Lin, ought to be on your list. She has a magic lyre that she uses to avenge the deaths of her family, killed by a rival clan ‘in the world of martial arts.’ Netflix link is [here](http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=1154003&trkid=147042), which includes a preview.