Thanks for the memories!

Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This brisk and breezy overview of the beloved chopsocky genre covers a lot of ground in an incredibly short'n'snappy 80 minute running time: Starting with the genre's origins in the Peking Opera, with everything from "Enter the Dragon" to "Kung Fu Panda" crammed in between, this honey just about covers all the essential bases. Naturally, such legendary martial arts trailblazers as Bruce Lee (natch), Jackie Chan (of course), and the unavoidable Chuck Norris get a lion's share of attention, but fortunately we also get segments on Sammo Hung, Gordon Liu, Donnie Yen, Stephen Chow, John Woo (who almost single-handedly created his own sub-genre called "gun fu"), and Jet Li. The ladies are well represented as well by such notable luminaries as Angela Mao, Michelle Yeoh, and Cynthia Rothrock. Naturally, there are oodles of choice clips from movies that range from well-acknowledged classics to lesser known oddball obscurities, plus more outrageous karate fights and astonishing physical feats than you can shake a pair of nunchuks at. Narrated with infectious go-for-it zeal by Yuri Lowenthal, with neat use of stylized animation in the connective segments, an exceptionally thorough and illuminating script by Ric Meyers, and a cool theme song named -- what else? -- "Kung Fu" by Ace, this doc rates as mandatory viewing for both wet behind the ears newbies and seasoned veteran aficionados alike.

For those of you who enjoyed the two documentaries by Mark Hartley, Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008), Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010) or enjoyed watching American Grindhouse (2010)will probably enjoy this entertaining film about the kung fu/wuxia genre.This documentary starts in silent era, moves quickly into 60's & 70's with names like King Hu, Cheh Chang, Bruce Lee, Gordon Liu etc.80's & 90's dominates by names like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Tsui Hark and of course John Woo.2000's with names like Donnie Yen, Stephen Chow etc and also what the future for this genre may be with films like Kung Fu Panda (2008)becoming box office hits.The film also depicts the women who did kung fu films such as Pei-pei Cheng, Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock.Critics may say that the documentary only deals with the biggest names, most well known, renowned films of this genre but this film serves its purpose as an brilliant introduction and summary.The biggest flaw for this writer, is the lack of interviews & anecdotes that makes for example Mark Hartleys films so highly entertaining. But despite this I think anyone with interest for kung fu/wuxia films should see this.

This is a rare documentary that's actually fun to watch, and interesting. While there are probably dozens of other more "topical" and "academic" documentaries out now, this film is a great and guilty pleasure. highly recommended for serious film buffs or anyone who wants to know more about the Kung Fu sub genre. http://bitly.com/nH9zP9 (Filler) This is a rare documentary that's actually fun to watch, and interesting. While there are probably dozens of other more "topical" and "academic" documentaries out now, this film is a great and guilty pleasure. highly recommended for serious film buffs or anyone who wants to know more about the Kung Fu sub genre. http://bitly.com/nH9zP9 (Filler)

Found out about Films of Fury through some Kung-Fu fan friends of mine, and thought I'd look into it... It was truly awesome. As a film enthusiast, I learned a lot about Kung-Fu in film, its history and influence on pop-culture. This chronicles Kung-Fu films as far back as "The Magnificent Butcher" and comes to more recent films like Kung Fu Panda. Ric Meyers (the writer) claimed that Kung Fu Panda is the greatest Kung-Fu film that America has produced, due to its complete representation of "The Full Glory" of Kung Fu... Spirituality and the betterment of one's skill. I learned A LOT. I write screenplays and will produce movies one day, so this is a film I'll keep at hand whenever the DVD comes out. You can catch it on-demand, it truly is a hidden gem.