The Best Asian Films (Live-Action Only)

[Ric Flair]

Anyone else utterly addicted to Asian Cinema? And I am not talking about Anime. I'm sure anime has been discussed ad infinitum and I'm not really a fan except for 2 or 3 films.

I am talking about actual movies with actors and such. It can be martial arts (Ong Bak, Naked Weapon, Zatoichi) or it can be thrillers (Internal Affairs, Oldboy, Suicide Club, Battle Royale) or it can be more touching flicks like Beat Takeshi's "Kikujiro"; Asia has a lot to offer in terms of ground-breaking themes, special effects, action, acting, and writing. Everything really.

So if you would like to know more about it, I've been on this huge kick the last year and I have a store near me to feed my crack-like addiction to these films. Also Netflix has a pretty decent selection. If you are into these movies too, please contribute and let me know what you like and don't like.

EXCELSIOR, WHOOOOOOOOO!

[Thorlief]

Hana Bi, Kids Return, The Killer, Ferro 3, Ran, The seven samurai, Red Beard, all Ozu, A snake in june, Chikamatsu Monogatari and the absolutely hilarious Getting Any?

..thats all I can think of at the moment, but I have a huge selection of Asian movies. I'll have a look and post more

[Cyke]

I know opinions are mixed for this film, and it's a bit long and drawn out, but I really do think that Lust, Caution is a great film that bears a second viewing.

Along the same lines, The Lover is just really provocative and very risque.

[Gilda Dent]

Hana Bi, Kids Return, The Killer, Ferro 3, Ran, The seven samurai, Red Beard, all Ozu, A snake in june, Chikamatsu Monogatari and the absolutely hilarious Getting Any?

..thats all I can think of at the moment, but I have a huge selection of Asian movies. I'll have a look and post more

Another Ozu lover! Where have you been when the "great directors" discussions crop up? I'm the only one who ever mentions him.

Anyway, a good set of starters for Asian cinema:

Tokyo Story
Seven Samurai
Roshomon
Lady in the Dunes
Floating Weeds
Early Spring
Late Spring
I Was Born, But . . .
The Apu Trilogy
Raise the Red Lantern
The Scent of Green Papaya
To Live
Hard Boiled
Ran
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . and Spring
Throne of Blood
Kagemusha
Ugetsu
Drunken Master 2
Kwaidan
The Story of Qui Ju
Ikiru
Chunking Express
Happy Together
Fallen Angels
Female Convict Scorpion
Ecstacy of the Angels
After Life
The Vertical Ray of the Sun

It's like saying "Western cinema", it's just too broad all by itself.

[Shellhead]

My favorites:

The Killer (devastating ending)
The Hitman (Jet Li at his best)
Ran (mandatory viewing for fans of Shogun: Total War or L5R)
The Seven Samurai (3 hours, black-and-white, subtitled, yet awesome)
The Heroic Trio (good, campy fun)
Mr. Vampire (creepy and funny)
The Bride with White Hair
Chinese Ghost Story (ending has bad special effects, otherwise very good)
Storm Riders ("Fire Monkey, NO!")
Raise the Red Lantern (intense drama, not action)
Fong Sai Yuk I and II (more great Jet Li action, and watch out for FSY's mom)
Iron Monkey (the original, not the remake)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Curse of the Golden Flower (came out just last year)

[Thorlief]

Another Ozu lover! Where have you been when the "great directors" discussions crop up? I'm the only one who ever mentions him.

Anyway, a good set of starters for Asian cinema:

Tokyo Story
Seven Samurai
Roshomon
Lady in the Dunes
Floating Weeds
Early Spring
Late Spring
I Was Born, But . . .
The Apu Trilogy
Raise the Red Lantern
The Scent of Green Papaya
To Live
Hard Boiled
Ran
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . and Spring
Throne of Blood
Kagemusha
Ugetsu
Drunken Master 2
Kwaidan
The Story of Qui Ju
Ikiru
Chunking Express
Happy Together
Fallen Angels
Female Convict Scorpion
Ecstacy of the Angels
After Life
The Vertical Ray of the Sun

It's like saying "Western cinema", it's just too broad all by itself.

I probably wasn't around at that time but yes, Ozu is a master. And he died too soon..his movies are poems

I second your list-10% is new for me, I'll check' em out, and add

PTU, Breaking News, Infernal Affairs, The mission and its sequel Exiled, Hong Kong Express, 2046, The Blade.

Still checking my Kurosawa's..man, they are a lot

[ultramandingo]

....... Lai Wong's The Story of Ricky (1991) heads punched in half, guys using their intestines (hanging out of their body cavity) to strangle Ricky, people exploding, and internal organs flying all over the place. at one point Ricky punches through the bottom of a guys jaw and out his mouth . ah cinema

[hugh45]

Yellow Earth
The Blue Kite
The Chinese Triad
A Better Tomorrow I/II
CTHD
ALL of Jackie Cheung's HK flicks
The Mistress
The Last Emperor (sssshhh........I know :) )

OOpss!! I just saw "live action only"

[Jamal]

"Time and Tide" is one of my favorites HK movies, the action scenes in the complex was some of the best I've seen in any action flick ( What action junkie is not going to love two guys having a gun battle while repelling down a building :D ). It maybe over the top but not since early John Woo have I seen anything that crazy and good.

[Pól Rua]

Someone else has already mentioned it, but I have to second the vote for 'Hana Bi'. One of the most impactful and beautiful films I've ever seen.

Oh, and gods, how has nobody mentioned 'Tampopo' yet?
The world's first ramen Western. Basically Seven Samurai with Secret Masters of Cookery instead of gunfighers.

Oh, and because someone has already mentioned Lam Ching Ying in 'Mister Vampire', I'll have to recommend 'Magic Cop' - Taoist Magician Police Detective and two well-meaning but inept sidekicks try and stop the Yakuza smuggling drugs through Hong Kong with zombies. Cool stuff.

[meethraa]

I really like A Tale of Two Sisters.

[mistervader]

I love Korean films, and Lust, Caution was awesome.

There're some Filipino films I'd also recommend, like "Kailangan Kita" (I Need You), and I guess "First Day High", for the crackiness.

For the ultimate "So bad it's good" experience, try "Alyas Batman En Robin".

[MarvelKnight]

I enjoy watching Japanese and Chinese movies, as long as they are good.

[Ric Flair]

I love Korean films, and Lust, Caution was awesome.

There're some Filipino films I'd also recommend, like "Kailangan Kita" (I Need You), and I guess "First Day High", for the crackiness.

For the ultimate "So bad it's good" experience, try "Alyas Batman En Robin".

Everyone, awesome responses. Too many to respond to at this very moment but I'll do my best.

For you mister vader, have you seen the movies Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance?

They're the "Vengeance Trilogy" of director Park Chan-Wook, a BRILLIANT Korean director. Also while we're mentioning Korea, I have to give love to "The Host".

[Ric Flair]

http://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/files/blog/oldboy-1.jpg

[Jamal]

http://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/files/blog/oldboy-1.jpg

Great film, but you can't help but feel dirty after watching it.

Save the Green Planet was another great twisted film.

The Koreans have really made a name for themselves in modern cimema.

[Ric Flair]

Oh yeah - I felt horribly dirty and just shocked and taken back, yet somehow it's like "wow that's a great film".

Very conflicting.

[jesse_custer]

Anything by Kurosawa
The Killer
Hard Boiled
Oldboy
Save the Green Planet!
Memories of Murder
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The One-Armed Swordsman
Return of the Dragon
Dumplings (which is the first segment of "3 Extremes," watch it now)

And, I'm sorry, Akira, Spirited Away, and Ninja Scroll.

Even though I wouldn't consider this one of the best, "Ong Bak" is a shitload of fun.

[mistervader]

I haven't seen those movies you recommended yet.

There's this one movie from Korea that made my jaw drop though, because of the jarring thematic change of the movie... "Sex Is Zero", starring my second favorite Korean actress, Ji Won Ha.

[mattx110]

umm, Titles might be funny, because often subtitles or dubbed copies use more generic action-sounding names to make it easier, or they just like changing titles, i dunno why.

Internal affairs made me hate Andy Lau for the first time ever in a film, and he's been a few antagonists in his career (i refuse to call it infernal affairs, because puns in serious film titles suck!).
"My father is a hero", released under "the enforcer", which as a title for the film, makes very very little sense. One of the few genuinely heart-felt Jet Li movies where I wasn't watching for the fight coreography, although that was great too, and the kid was just great.
"Full-time killer" which is another Andy Lau film. Kind of a love-letter to actions films, and editted a bit odd sometimes, but really a fun movie.
There was also another Jet Li movie, that has gone under a few names, but he's basically a completely unlikeable street-thug, and he turns out to be a martial arts master who finds his heart, and there's an assassin taking out career criminals before they can kill eachother with their incestuous organized crime dealings.
Pretty much and Jackie Chan has something in it worth watching.

[Fatguy]

I love Asian cinema. They defininetly have different boundries than American filmakers do. Its always an interesting adventure.

Oldboy is a complete standout. That movie was AMAZING. And Ju-On remains maybe the scariest movie I have seen. I watched it in the perfect environment. Shortly after it came out on DVD, I got it and watched it alone at night when my wife was out of town. It was great (after that, I tried watching the American version...ok, but not near as genius).

[Thorlief]

I'd also suggest, as I said in the other post, basically everything Johnnie To's. Guy can direct freaking damn good action and the movies are always full of depth and character development

[Toku King]

Godzilla. I win.

[Ric Flair]

Godzilla. I win.

Hahahaha hell yeah :cool:

[Kirayoshi]

Great film, but you can't help but feel dirty after watching it.

Save the Green Planet was another great twisted film.

The Koreans have really made a name for themselves in modern cimema.
I just checked out The Host. That was one wonky little thriller from Korea. Not to mention one of the best looking CGI monsters I ever did see.

[Neal R]

I really like A Tale of Two Sisters.

Second this recommendation. See this before the remake hits theatres next year.

There's a few on my list that have already had or are about to have their stories redone for US shores.

"Kairo" Aka PULSE. The remake tried it's best but doesn't hold a candle to this very disturbing ghost/apocalypse story.

"Shall We Dance?" Never saw the american remake of this, but this original will lift your spirits no matter what your mood.

[Tish-the-Scorpion]

most of the action/horor stuff thats likely already been mentioned in this thread ESPECIALLY 7 Samarai!!!!!,including 5 deadly venoms (where my nickname derived from)

[Thorlief]

I hope you guys watched SS' original Japanese version with subtitles, because all the other versions are horribly edited/ cut and the dubbing sucks arse.

any movie featuring this man
http://www.film.it/fnts/film/immagini/300x180/anthonywong201.jpg

is worth ten american movies, at least

[The Xenos]

Aha. Took me a bit to find it, but there was an interesting drama I ran across at a local art house theater when my friend was working there. It was a Japanese and Chinese co-production. Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437447/). It's the story of a Japanese father who tries to help finish his dying son's documentary about Chinese folk opera. A bit dry, but also very moving. It's by the director of Curse of the Golden Flower, which was also pretty neat in a Shakespearean drama way.

Also, for a weird sci fi film, I saw one at another local art house cinema's Fantastic Film Fest. It was on after Ryuhei Kitamura's Alive I think. The festival's host said it was cyberpunk, like a Japanese David Lynch Blade Runner. Well, that sold me. It's been titled Gusher No Binds Me or Hellevator or The Bottled Fools. IMDB link here (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422370/). It's a really weird a claustrophobic tale about a girl's commute to school on a crowded train / elevator. Actually, I should leave it at that. Some really weird characters.

[Ryan Day]

Kurosawa, obviously. Seven Samurai, Ran, and Rashomon are masterpieces, and the "second tier" - Throne of Blood, Ikiru, Sanjuro - is merely great.

Masaki Kobayashi: Harakiri and Samurai Rebellion are fantastic; there's such a great, building sense of drama and intensity.

Takashi Miike: He's not perfect, but when he's on, he's amazing. Audition and Gozu creep me the hell out, Happiness of the Katakuris is awesome, Dead or Alive kicks so much ass.

Chan ho Park: Oldboy is a brutal, nasty, and awesome movie. Lady Vengeance is fantastic, too.

[Tobias March]

Another vote for Save the Green Planet and Oldboy.

Love me some Ozu also.

Audition. Gozu. Miike is one messed up cat.

Ong Bak. If you haven't seen this muay thai film prepare to be amazed.

Uzumaki - hands down one of the weirdest films I've seen.

Ringu and Dark Water - sure Hideo Nakata apparently hates the horror genre, or rather the fact that he can't escape being offered horror films, but he makes 'em well.

Versus - zombies and hyperzombies! Plot makes no sense at all....but Hyperzombies!!

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. The first movie in the Oldboy/Lady Vengeance cycle.

The Happiness of the Katakuris (http://youtube.com/watch?v=9F6yKmWujCw). A horror musical.

edit: crap forgot Battle Royale!

[Thorlief]

not enough Kitano love. Man's a master

[Aubergine~!]

I want to bear Stephen Chow's children.

That is all.

[Tobias March]

I want to bear Stephen Chow's children.

That is all.

Oh yeah Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.

I love the opening to that last film. Hatchet Gang! Imagine the Godfather's Baptism/montage sequence done as a song and dance routine.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yok0eo7Ew8s

[Toku King]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOjr_jBuKj0

[Howard Allan]

All Oriental Monster Movies Rule. All The Godzilla Movies and spinoff movies are wonderful.

[marshal99]

I don't quite get the save the green planet love , i found the movie to be rather dull.

Since a lot of people goes for asian horror and cult directors , i'll recommend some some sappy asian movies. ;)

My Sassy girl (http://youtube.com/watch?v=xXbwzPDL_MU) ( Not the upcoming american remake with Elisha Cuthbert)

Il Mare (http://youtube.com/watch?v=_3Lq0IAyp6w) (Far superior to the weak american remake "The Lake House")

The Classic (http://youtube.com/watch?v=hOy3JH5gbFI)

Be With You (http://youtube.com/watch?v=dUECAHB-SeY)

Last Quarter aka Kagen No tsuki (http://youtube.com/watch?v=3CQnO26EGZo)

Yomigaeri : Resurrection (http://www.dailymotion.com/related/1819448/video/x2s3jn_yomigaeri-rui-tsuki-no-shizuku_music)

Hinokio (http://youtube.com/watch?v=WX_9uuD0nUM)

Heavenly Forest aka Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru (http://youtube.com/watch?v=h-964a7Wv_w)

Crying out love , in the center of the world (http://youtube.com/watch?v=hfY9ABGAxvA)


And a bit of zombie horror comedy

Sars War (http://youtube.com/watch?v=hmQdbttKkek)

There are lots lots more but i'll save it for some other time. ;)

[Tobias March]

Oh but that ending to Save the Green Planet....I mean didn't your heart ache?

If it didn't YOU'RE A ROBOT!!! :p

[The Xenos]

Versus was fun. I've taken a liking to director Ryuhei Kitamura. Maybe it's the Evil Dead 2 - ness of Versus, but he reminds me of Sam Rami. He also got to pilot a national icon franchise with Gozilla Final Wars. He's got a Clive Barker based Hollywood film coming out soon called MIdnight Meat Train.

Oddly, I own both Dead or Alive and Uzumaki, but have yet to see them. I did read the Uzumaki manga though.

As for zombie comedies, Biozombie was fun. I think it was Chinese.

[Tobias March]

Chungking Express.....beautiful.

[the goddamn batman]

Chungking Express.....beautiful.

Was just going to say that. Not all of Wong Kar Wai's films are good, but when he's on the mark, he's fucking on the mark.

I really like his recent short film/commercial: There's only one sun. Beautiful.