20 Best Classic Martial Arts Movies for Beginners, Ranked

To that end, anyone lost when it comes to getting immersed in the world of classic martial arts cinema ought to start with the following particularly approachable and timeless films. To keep things focused on old-school/classic stuff, no movies below were released more recently than 1994… but for anyone wanting to get an idea of what the martial arts genre has to offer in the 21st century, other more “modern” classics like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Raid are excellent starting points.

20 'Fist of Fury' (1972)

Directed by Lo Wei

You know a movie isn't going to mess around when it calls itself something as cool as “Fist of Fury,” which is one of the regrettably few movies Bruce Lee starred in during his time as a leading actor in the martial arts scene. Essential to that whole “not messing around” thing is the directness and linearity of the premise, which is about a martial arts student finding his master murdered, which sets him off on a rampage of revenge against various adversaries.

There are fists all around, and plenty of fury, too, with some simply done yet wholly compelling hand-to-hand combat being featured all the way through Fist of Fury. And, even if the action underwhelmed, you’ve still got Bruce Lee doing his thing and being charismatic, which tends to prove more than enough, in any event.

19 'The Boxer from Shantung' (1972)

Directed by Chang Cheh, Pao Hsueh-Li

While it has certain narrative beats that set it apart from a good many classic martial arts movies, when The Boxer from Shantung wants to hit you with wild (and oftentimes bloody combat), it’s an absolute machine of a film. That it can deliver thrills that still hit hard all these decades later makes it an essential watch; a demonstration of what classic martial arts cinema can do, despite the age.

But then there’s also the fact that The Boxer from Shantung works in some familiar gangster movie tropes, blending them exceptionally well with the sorts of classic martial arts action you'd expect. If you’re more of an American film fan, and have seen more classic crime movies than action movies from Asia, watching something like this violent martial arts movie – and inevitably getting the best of both worlds – makes for a blast of an experience.

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18 'The Magnificent Butcher' (1979)

Directed by Yuen Wo-Ping

Rising up the ranks at a similar rate to Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung is another iconic martial arts actor who would also find success as a director in later years. Both Chan and Hung had smaller roles throughout the early years of the 1970s, but by the end of the decade, they had their own things to star and truly shine in. In Sammo Hung’s case, such a movie was The Magnificent Butcher.

Hung plays a young student who is pretty behind on his training, and thereby finds himself in a good deal of danger when he gets on the wrong side of some more fearful members of a rival kung fu school. The Magnificent Butcher doesn’t rewrite too many conventions, but it is a solid blending of comedy and action, all the while showcasing some of the best kung fu-heavy sequences of the 1970s.

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17 'Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion' (1972)

Directed by Shunya Ito

Now, Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion is a bit of an odd one as far as martial arts movies go, and not just because of that kind of overly long and clunky name. It stars Meiko Kaji, who’s uniquely cool and knows her way around a violent action scene, but much of this film’s plot sees her pretty confined, made to suffer at the hands of various people pulling strings around her.

That makes any chance she can get to break out of the brutal prison she’s in immensely satisfying, and when the action goes down during Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, it all hits pretty hard. There were also sequels made to this one, largely revolving around prison and the desire to escape it, but it’s hard to go past the original and the best in this instance.

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16 'Drunken Master' (1978)

Directed by Yuen Wo-Ping

The supremely talented stuntman and honestly kind of alarming daredevil that is Jackie Chan worked his way up steadily through the world of martial arts cinema throughout the 1970s. He had background/small roles in all sorts of movies earlier on, but then, by decade’s end, he started getting the chance to star in a few martial arts films of his own, including Drunken Master.

This one got a sequel/follow-up of sorts about 16 years later that was more satisfying as an action movie, admittedly, but lacked the breeziness and humor found in this original Drunken Master. When approached with the knowledge that it’s just as much a physical comedy-based romp as it is some kind of genuine action movie, there ends up being a fair amount of fun to have here.

15 'The Avenging Eagle' (1978)

Directed by Sun Chung

You don’t have to watch too many martial arts movies before certain kinds of narrative become rather familiar, but that’s okay. It’s less about the specifics of a plot and more about the action that comes about from a certain premise. If some of the characters are engaging enough, then that helps make the action – which is what people are there for – all the more exciting and possible to get invested in.

So, yes, The Avenging Eagle is one of many martial arts movies about an unlikely team-up and a quest for revenge, the latter predominantly achieved through exceptionally violent and spectacular fight scenes. The Avenging Eagle is quite underrated within the realm of martial arts cinema, but that by no means signifies that it’s hard to get into or appreciate. It’s a ton of fun, the action is incredible, and the simple story is told effectively enough.

14 'Vengeance!' (1970)

Directed by Chang Cheh

Another underrated 1970s martial arts movie that focuses on revenge and proves wholly satisfying, Vengeance! is a film that’s as straightforward as its title. A young man’s older brother is murdered by some rather unsavory individuals, which prompts him to enact a vicious rampage of revenge against the lot of them, with seemingly little regard for his own life during this violent endeavor.

Plenty of martial arts movies peak during the climax, and that could be said about Vengeance!, to some extent, though the first act is also exciting and quite relentless in nature. There’s a little bit of downtime around the halfway mark, but this film begins and ends strongly, and all the action sequences featured throughout are pretty much as good as action scenes get for a film of this age.

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13 'The Tale of Zatoichi' (1962)

Directed by Kenji Misumi

If you're willing to broaden the definition of “martial arts” as a genre, it can include samurai movies, even if the combat sequences tend to feature swordplay more than weapons-free hand-to-hand combat. And within the world of samurai cinema, few long-running series feel as essential as Zatoichi, with a total of 26 movies released between 1962 and 1989.

Naturally, the first Zatoichi movie in the series, 1962’s The Tale of Zatoichi, is the best place to start for newcomers as well as those interested in samurai-flavored martial arts movies. It’s a great introduction to the titular character, a blind gambler/masseur/swordsman, and even something of an origin story that sets in motion the largely one-off adventures he has in most subsequent movies. It’s no-nonsense, emotional at times, and also a good deal of fun when it comes to delivering action.

12 'Eastern Condors' (1987)

Directed by Sammo Hung

Eastern Condors is a gonzo and unapologetically wild film, and one that blends martial arts action with the war and adventure genres. The straightforward premise feels reminiscent of The Dirty Dozen, too, following a group of Chinese prisoners who are sent into Vietnam following the conclusion of the Vietnam War, all tasked with destroying American missiles still there before the Viet Cong recovers them.

It's all high-stakes stuff, but pardons and other benefits await any of the prisoners who are able to pull it off and survive the mission. Eastern Condors might not sound like it would have much martial arts action on paper, but it features a good deal of hand-to-hand combat on top of more expected things like gunfights and set pieces filled with huge explosions. It’s good stuff, and a supremely satisfying action flick.

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11 'Drunken Master II' (1994)

Directed by Lau Kar-leung

A film that came out not long before Jackie Chan became big in Hollywood, Drunken Master II could well be the legendary actor’s best straightforward martial arts movie. The focus here is all on impressive scenes of hand-to-hand fighting, with less of an emphasis on big stunt sequences compared to many Jackie Chan action movies that take place in more contemporary times.

The fights are spectacular, and showcase Jackie Chan and his co-stars/members of his stunt team at their very best. Drunken Master II can count itself among the best releases of 1994, and despite it coming out relatively late in Chan’s pre-Hollywood career, it is nevertheless a great summation of what makes him so great as a martial arts star, therefore being a good entry point for anyone who wants to see the actor at his best.

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10 'The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms' (1978)

Directed by Chang Cheh

There’s a certain amount of cruelty and violence inherent in The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms that pushes it into exploitation/B-movie territory, but not in a bad way by any means. Indeed, classic martial arts cinema can get surprisingly vicious, and something like The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms is an effective wake-up call to that reality (and, going back to The Raid, not to mention the John Wick series, 21st-century martial arts movies oftentimes carry on this tradition).

The violence has a point, though, setting up a vicious antagonist who injures the five lead characters in different ways, ensuring they all inevitably team up to get collective vengeance on him and his lackeys. The Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms stands out because each underdog hero has to adapt how they fight following each of their respective injuries, leading to some creative and immensely enjoyable action set pieces in the film’s back half.

9 'The Way of the Dragon' (1972)

Directed by Bruce Lee

East meets West in The Way of the Dragon, which is understandably recognized as the movie where Bruce Lee fights Chuck Norris. That should be enough to sell anyone curious about martial arts cinema, but the film’s thankfully a good deal of fun before that climactic showdown, and an indicator of Lee’s talents behind the camera, too, given this was the only completed film of his that he both starred in and directed.

The Way of the Dragon follows Bruce Lee’s character as he helps out some downtrodden relatives who are having their business threatened by various shadowy individuals. The family’s enemies become Lee’s enemies, as he battles various adversaries in a series of increasingly impressive fights. That The Way of the Dragon also has a good deal of comedy (being one of the more lightweight Lee films) is just icing on an already very entertaining cake.

8 'Shogun Assassin' (1980)

Directed by Kenji Misumi and Robert Houston

Shogun Assassin isn’t exactly another entry in the action-packed samurai series Lone Wolf and Cub series. Instead, it’s an English-language dub/re-edit of the first two movies, Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx, both originally released in 1972, with the combination of two movies ensuring Shogun Assassin is even more relentless.

Those who want to fully appreciate the original series should watch the original two movies, but anyone who wants a taste of Lone Wolf and Cub might well appreciate watching Shogun Assassin first, as it’s a good sampling of what the rest of the Lone Wolf and Cub movies have in store. Shogun Assassin makes things a little cheesier and chaotic, at least pacing-wise, but it’s also straight to the point and a great example of a non-stop classic samurai/martial arts film.

7 'Dragon Inn' (1967)

Directed by King Hu

Not enough people know about the films of King Hu, but those who do know the name are well aware that he was behind some of the best action movies of all time. One of his very best – and arguably his most approachable – is the 1967 film Dragon Inn, which takes place in 15th-century China and revolves around various skilled martial artists protecting the pursued children of a recently murdered general.

The set-up is pretty straightforward by martial arts movie standards, but it works, with just enough narrative and character work put in early on to make the build-up to the fights engaging. Like other King Hu films, Dragon Inn takes its time here and there, but does ultimately have a fairly high quantity of action for a movie of its age, with its sub-two-hour runtime also ensuring not much time can be wasted.

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6 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin' (1978)

Directed by Lau Kar-leung

To shift things up a little, moving away from non-stop martial arts films, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a movie that shows how the genre doesn’t need constant, extended fights to be engaging. Put simply, this is a movie where much of it feels like one extended training montage, showing a young man – determined for revenge – putting in the work to become a skilled fighter so he can bring some wrongdoers to justice.

By the time the third-act action does inevitably roll around in The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the protagonist is so powerful that his foes are no match for him. This is far from unsatisfying, though, because of how much time the rest of the film spends on his training. It’s a direct and no-nonsense story executed extremely well, and is rightly considered a staple of the entire martial arts genre.

5 'Lady Snowblood' (1973)

Directed by Toshiya Fujita

Lady Snowblood is one of the most iconic samurai films of all time, and though not all samurai movies are necessarily also action/martial arts movies, Lady Snowblood is. It follows a woman who’s been trained from a young age to be a deadly warrior/assassin, with her quest in the film involving tracking down and killing the people who years prior wiped out her family.

The story is based around revenge, which keeps it simple on one level, but Lady Snowblood ultimately shines from the way it investigates that central theme, not to mention the non-chronological fashion it tells such a tale. It’s a classic for good reason and a winning film all around, and is pretty accessible by old martial arts movie standards, so long as one doesn’t mind some fairly bloody violence and a rather nihilistic undercurrent to the whole thing.

4 'Last Hurrah for Chivalry' (1979)

Directed by John Woo

First thing’s first: no one does a shoot-em-up film quite like John Woo, which makes it understandable why titles like The Killer, Hard Boiled, and Face/Off are among his most popular efforts. But Woo’s also remarkable at crafting great action sequences that don’t involve firearms or massive explosions, as demonstrated in the epic Red Cliff and near the start of his filmmaking career, in Last Hurrah for Chivalry.

The latter, from 1979, makes it clear that Woo could’ve spent an entire career making martial arts movies and he’d still be considered a legend of the action genre. Its plot is a little relentless and messy at times, but the action sequences are so frequent and so gripping that nothing else really matters. Last Hurrah for Chivalry is just awesome and exciting from start to finish, and deserves to be recognized more often as one of John Woo’s best.

3 'The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter' (1984)

Directed by Lau Kar-leung

The glory days of Shaw Brothers Studio were probably some period of time beginning in the 1960s and ending in the 1970s, but 1984’s The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter showed the studio still had legs to some extent into the 1980s. This is a relentless, bloody, and near-perfect martial arts spectacle, narratively focusing on two brothers who become separated after the murder of their family, each undertaking training on his own to seek – you guessed it – revenge.

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter is familiar stuff on the surface, sure, but it’s the execution of the important stuff (the action/fighting) that really matters, and makes the overall film a classic. It stars The 36th Chamber of Shaolin’s Gordon Liu, but is a very different kind of martial arts movie, nevertheless being just as great in its own distinct (and gory) way.

2 'Police Story' (1985)

Directed by Jackie Chan

Police Story is perhaps Jackie Chan’s greatest film, and sees him as both the star and the director. It’s also something a little different as far as martial arts movies go, being set in contemporary times and balancing the expected stunts/hand-to-hand fights with a little by way of shootouts and car chases, with a notable early sequence essentially seeing the destruction of an entire shantytown.

It saves the best for last, though, with an ending fight sequence that would have to be considered one of the single best action scenes ever filmed. Police Story is a perfect starting point for anyone who wants to understand the hype around Jackie Chan, because even though his Hollywood films are entertaining in their own ways, they don’t hold a candle to the sorts of excellent action movies he thrived in when he was younger.

1 'Enter the Dragon' (1973)

Directed by Robert Clouse

After The Way of the Dragon, Bruce Lee’s next (and ultimately final) film also had a Dragon-themed title. The film in question was Enter the Dragon, and it stands as the best and most fulfilling movie Bruce Lee ever starred in, revolving around a martial arts tournament thrown by a shady individual with links to a crime empire, with Lee’s character working undercover by participating in this tournament.

Enter the Dragon is legendary, as far as martial arts movies go, and could well be considered one of the best films – action-related or otherwise – to come out during the 1970s. It is one of the most well-balanced and easy-to-enjoy martial arts films of the decade, and is worth checking out, even for those who’ve yet to be won over by this brand of action movie.

NEXT: The Greatest Martial Arts Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb