Movies about martial arts. From antiquity to modernity

It's no secret that the films about martial arts are released in the rental of the two most famous manufacturers: Hong Kong and Hollywood. Every year the Asian film industry produces an impressive number of tapes using martial arts. A lot of superstars that have received world recognition are from Asia. They are actors, stuntmen, such as Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Yuan Biao, and filmmakers John Woo and Sammo Hoon. Now, most Asian cinema stars have received well-deserved recognition and fame in Hollywood. It is worth noting that many of them initially deliberately sought to move to America.

Wrong opinion

It is believed that the creations of Asian cinema, namely films about martial arts, became known to the domestic and Western audience thanks to the paintings made in the 70s of the last century. They were attended by Bruce Lee, and later Jet Li (Li Lian-chie) and Jackie Chan. Strange as it may seem, but if there is a talk about films devoted to the Asian fighting schools in one way or another, then for some reason the palm of primacy is unquestioningly assigned to Japanese producers.

Exceptional phenomenon of Chinese history

Few people know, but the very first films about martial arts were shot in the 20-30's. XX century in mainland China. And, according to statistics, during the period from 1928 to 1931, about five dozen companies in Shanghai produced more than 400 films, 250 of them were dedicated to Wushu, Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan and other types of martial arts. In general, the emergence of the culture of martial arts is called an exceptional phenomenon in Chinese history, its emergence and subsequent development are due to the most complex social, psychological and cultural factors. Chinese martial arts films barely survived the "cultural revolution" of 1966-1976, when the film industry of the country fell under a new round of tightening censorship. And only one picture, which was filmed in those tough times, went into hiring and is still popular today - "Red Women's Squad".

"Thaw" and modernity

After the end of the "cultural revolution", Chinese cinema began to develop at a frantic pace, the directors began to shoot more entertaining films, as a model which served as the works of Western colleagues. But all the innovative experiments were conducted exclusively in strictly defined frames, without mentioning the commercialization of the cinema. Chinese films about martial arts, released during the "thaw" and already a modern film industry, often combine two genres - an action movie and a comedy:

1. "Wong Fei Hung is a master of kung fu" (2004).
2. "The Sacred Flame of the Martial Arts World" (1983).
3. "Shaolin Brothers" (1977).
4. "The Legend of the Fox" (1980).
5. "Holy weapons" (1993).
6. "Master Bagua / Master of Kung Fu" (2012).
7. "Fist of Fury" (1,2).
8. "13 cold-blooded eagles" (1993).

Confucian Range

Films about martial arts, the list of which is known to every fan of Asian cinema, is produced by the countries of the so-called Confucian range: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the Chinese community of Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. In these Asian countries, cinematography is not just a spectacle, but an extension or, rather, a substitution for narrative folklore. That's why most of the pictures are predictable and stereotypical development of the storyline. In European films, the basic subgenre has become a psychological drama, even in zubodrobitelnyh fighters. But in Asian cinema, melodrama dominates with its clear distinction between good and evil, a didactic message, reliance on collective consciousness, etc. Even Asian martial arts films use the intelligibility and comprehension of the genre schemes so characteristic of fairy folklore. Also, the basis of melodrama is noticeable in horror films, criminal thrillers and epic, battle movies.

Modernity

Recently, films in this genre have a high popularity, many filmmakers have become fired by the idea of making films about martial arts and to attract the film to the viewer, invest a lot of money, invite stars and famous directors and, as a result, receive impressive box-office fees. Thus, the film "Crouching Tiger, the Hidden Dragon" (directed by Eng Lee) won 4 Oscar awards, and box-office fees amounted to about $ 100 million. The television series entitled "Carefree life in a world of strife", which recently broadcasted on Chinese television, gathered a huge audience.

The famous film director Zhang Yimou also did not ignore the idea of making films in the martial arts genre, and such pictures as "The House of Flying Daggers", "Hero" and others appeared in the light. Both films were criticized, but still the amount of money collection speaks for itself. In a short time, the market of the film industry was filled with "Warriors of Heaven and Earth" (director He Ping), "Kung Fu" (directed by Stephen Chow), "The Oath" by Chen Kaigue and many other films. Asian martial arts do not cease to inspire the masters of cinema.

In the domestic cinema

In the Soviet cinema, vivid examples of paintings of this direction are: "Invincible" about Sambo and "Do not be afraid, I'm with you". In Russia, after reshaping the opportunity to see fresh pictures of Asia and Hollywood has become much larger, and the scope of cultural censorship has become much softer. Domestic cinema space for the story frills has become more, there were films about martial arts. The list is small, but they can be put on one level with early Asian paintings. Ribbons with a significant content of fights prevailed, so directors willingly invited actors and consultants, masters of martial arts from Asia:

1. "I declare war on you."
2. "Fan".
3. "A man in a green kimono."
4. "Reed Reed".
5. Master of the East.
6. "American fight."
7. "Destroy the thirteenth!"
8. "To survive".

Unfortunately, Russian martial arts have not yet reached such a level of spread as the eastern ones . Films about them are mostly documentary, although their potential is great.