No offence to Biao Yuen and Sammo Hung, but I love Jet Li, Donnie, and Jackie. I loved them for a long time. Li was my first in Red Dragon, Twin Warriors...etc. Jackie was my favorite in Rush Hour, and Donnie was my favorite in Flashpoint. I seen it on cable and tuned in instantly. All of the martial artists in this video is great. But I mainly love these 3
The golden years of Hong Kong action movie industry. I don't think we have new superstars with such charisma and skills today. I like all of them and watched quite a bit of their movies, but I think Donnie Yen is the fiercest one. I get scared watching his movies sometimes, whereas I can relax and enjoy Jackie, Sammo, and Yuen Biao. Jet Li is in another league with totally different style. I got to know him in his very first film "Shaolin" back in '82 or ''83 when he was still 16. He was already amazing back then, with sweet charisma. I like a lot of his movies, but some are just too violent and serious and dreadful.
What's even more sick is that i know scenes just as impressive that have not been included in this compilation. My reaction: Jackie Chan - man, back in the day before he got old and toned down, he was the sh*t, fast, furious, takes a beating and an incredible stunts man, deserving of the stardom he has today! Yuan Biao - the least well known of them all, but to fans of martial arts movies, he is known as the "flipogonist", capable of movements and choreography you didn't think were possible! Sammo Hung - the portly kicker, director and choreographer, to which a good chunk of the industry, including its performers, owes itself and success. Donnie Yen - the long time low-key yet standout performer, now the new wave screen fighter, stylist, moderniser and torch-bearer for the genre. Jet Li - the best and most convincing of them all in the wuxia and period genres, capable of bringing wushu and classical styles onscreen, in a way that's believable and never boring. This isn't a competition between them. Despite varying successes, they are actually roughly the same age, started around the same time, and now sometimes unfortunately in different stages of health and career. But they are all timeless having devoted decades of their lives to the genre that we all love and still thrives today.
I think the Chinese/Hong kong action stars made the best fight scenes but the American Action stars always made the better films. For instance replace a JC Van Damme in one of his films with Donnie Yen and you'll get a film you can watch from beginning to end with better fight scenes. Hong Kong Action films generally suck..
mr t It depends with your taste in films. Personally I find a lot of classic asian films to be more entertaining than classic american film, my favorite being old Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee movies.
You forgot Jet Li speed even jackie chan acknowledge it in forbidden kingdom, especially in Jet li's prime, he was told to slow down because he was too fast to be believable and he did, so most of his movies are slow for him..
For me Sammo is the best martial arts director and probably second best choreographer of all time. Jackie is the best martial arts actor, stuntman and singer. Yuen Biao is the best acrobat, the fastest and utterly insane stunt performer and double. Jet is the best actor, I think the guy has proved that in so many films like Fearless, Danny the Dog, Hero...etc Donnie is a beast, and an innovator in the world of martial arts cinema (the first I believe to include MMA style fights im his choreography) he basically can do everything except for maybe extremely dangerous stunts. Yuen Wah doesn't get enough credit.
Most of these fighters got some fancy moves, but my favourite has always been jet li. He is lethal, calm , fast , aggressive when need be and barely show off in his interviews. There are credible evidence to his grace, calmness and speed in fights. My money will always be jet li. There is something about him which is entirely absent in all movie stars. Love him loads
Jackie: Master of creative fights Sammo: Choreography legend Yuen Biao: Greatest acrobat/stuntman Donnie: Godfather of MMA choreography Jet: Top expert of the forms All are legends, but I have to tip my hat especially to Jackie, who not only reinvented himself ahead of the times, but gave us breathtaking stunts to last an eternity in film history.
Zenzi Sage Jackie changed how action movies should be filmed. He is the grandmaster of action movies.. Directing, cameraman, choreography, script writing, and so on... He is like jack of all trades, master of all..
Zenzi Sage I would say Donnie Yen is the master of creative/innovative fight choreography (along with being the father of MMA choreography). Just look at his choreography resume and the way he stages his fight scenes. Different presentation of various MA styles (traditional and modern), varying adjustment in pacing, movement, timing, rhythm, understanding and film orchestration of feel and emphasis aligned with his overall choreographical paradigm. Totally different and diverse in each film. No offense to Jackie (always been a big fan of his classic work) but he has been hung on his style for very long now (Drunken Master 2 was the last time he changed up and reinvented himself). It has always been the same premise. Same environmental fighting tactics, same comedy elements thrown in, same rhythm/pacing, same acting etc.
Jet Li so badass dude had to fight all the other guys, then himself, and still won! Seriously though, all of these guys are masters in their forms, unique or otherwise. Donnie Yen is a freaking monster and an expert, Jackie is awesomely creative and seems to really love his craft, Yuen has some of the best acrobatics around and he's quick, Sammo is a powerhouse and insanely agile plus makes an awesome villain too, and Jet is just mastery wrapped in quickness. Wu Jing is pretty good too, with more movies like SPL (haven't seen SPL 2), Fatal Move, Legendary Assassin (was ok), and Invisible Target (also ok) he could make his way up there.
You did it! You took all my childhood heroes and displayed them at their very best. Very nicely edited. Gotta say, the speed and power of Sammo Hung never ceases to amaze me. To be fair, all of them keeps amazing me after all these years.
I forgot when watching Ip Man what range Donnie Yen has. I love the Ip Man movies, but outside of Wing Chun he has so much to give that you see in his other films, his athleticism, range of martial arts experience (Wrestling, Grappling, Weapons, Etc.). I hope people that have seen Ip Man will branch out into his other films like Killzone, Iron Monkey, Hero, Kung Fu Killer, Special ID, etc.
I've heard that Bruce Lee and Jet Li were told to slow down their movements when being filmed. People would think that the film was sped up when in fact they slowed themselves down to make it more believable. I would think that Donnie Yen, Biao Yuen, Jackie Chan were told to slow down also, but I haven't actually heard or read that they were.
Shristhi poudal Like I said on my other comment: the only editing Jet ever uses is wirework for wuxia films and greenscreen for backgrounds. Jackie is certainly not the original deal, and certainly isn’t a good martial artist. There is no info on the web (at least on the front page of google) that says Jackie ever participated in real fights. Sorry to burst your bubble, fanboy.
Those asking for Bruce Lee, go and check his videos somewhere else. These are the top five HK action and martial arts actors in terms of quantity and quality.
Jackie Chan's hometown is Anhui. Donnie Yen's hometown is in Guangdong. Sammo Hung's hometown is Zhejiang. Just watch their movie, you will see their love for the country. The foreigner would just see how good they fight, but Chinese would also see the story in the movies show how they fight for the dignity of Chinese, because the background of many of the movies are set in the last century, like Fist of Legend, Ip Man etc, in the movie they fight with foreigners. Jackie Chan often expresses his love for China, he lives in HK city which is the SAR of China. So you don't need to emphasize this because they recognize their roots and proud of it, totally different from some other people.
Shristhi poudal The only editing Jet ever uses is wirework (for wuxia films) and maybe sometimes green screen. As for Jackie being involved in fights, I looked it up. Not a single source for that. Does he do incredible stunts? Yes. Does that make him a martial artist, let alone a legendary one? No.
Shristhi poudal I never said Jet was a sanshou fighter. Learn to fucking read, would you? And Steven Seagal is a black belt in aikido. Doesn’t mean that overpuffed muffin can fight. Like I said: nothing on Jackie’s supposed “streetfighting” on the front page of google.
Shristhi poudal Ok...you expect me to believe Jackie when he says his friend went into a streetfight with a flying kick (extremely stupid thing to do, by the way) that knocked over a bunch of motorcycles with his two other friends, and later him, charging in to get in a fist fight? Doesn’t sound very believable. There is no record of this anywhere on the front page of google. Even for Bruce Lee, it’s a well-known fact he was a streetfighter. Jackie? Not so much. Y’know why? Because he wasn’t one. Besides, even if this outrageous account is somehow true, one fight doesn’t mean shit. Bruce Lee and Donnie Yen literally grew up streetfighting. To quote you: “sorry for disappointing you boiii.” (You spelled disappointing wrong too).
Shristhi poudal sharma Dude....can you read? Did I ever say Li could fight? No. But Jackie can’t either. If Li did want to make the switch to combat martial arts in his prime, he had the tools necessary to do so. Agility, speed, conditioning. Give him a few months to train, and imagine what he could do. Sadly, I can’t say the same for Jackie. If you’re going to use that hapkido example again, he never competed. Just like Seagal, he can be high ranked in a martial art, and not be able to fight. So shut the fuck up. You’re acting like I don’t know what these guys trained in. And by the way, Yen is also a wushu champion. Lee was never formally trained in karate, he was only formally trained in Wing Tsun and boxing. He then took whatever techniques he found useful, and added them together to make JKD. I don’t really watch taiji films, I prefer real combat ones. But I’d rather watch taiji films over Jackie’s....stunts.
No matter who you are you have to admire their SKILL, FITNESS, and STAMMERER, these people are far from anything normal, what it must take to get to this level is nothing short of magnificent, I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR THESE TRUE ATHLETES.
I absolutely love all of them. Kung Fu was thought to be dead after Bruce Lee died, but, no, Jackie, Sammo, Yuen, Donnie, Jet, Michelle, Cynthia, etc. not only kept it alive, but we, as fans, still love and appreciate them to this day. Thank you all for your undeniable talent and wisdom
This brings back so many childhood memories watching these legends on screen. Didn't realize Donnie & Jacky worked together beyond Shanghai Knights. Anyone know what movie that was?
Easily some of Yuen Biao's best work... Particularly Knockabout shows how extreme Yuen Biao's flexibility is. Also missing classics like Drinken Master One, Magnificent Butcher, Odd Couple
I would say 1. Jackie ( The most successful and innovative with unmatched choreography and acting) 2. Sammo hung ( Great director, stuntman and action choreographer with deceptively quick movements for someone of his size) 3. Yuen Biao ( The most underrated of all but had movements and agility no-one else on this list can match and with Jackie and sammo is one of HK's best performers) 4. Donnie Yen ( Great choreography and acting combined to make some pretty believable stunts) 5. Jet Li ( Arguably the weakest performer of them all but still great with good speed but underwhelming acting and less innovative stunts than the rest of his peers)
After watching this, I can see now why people said that Donnie Yen revolutionized Hong Kong action movies. The choreography and style of the martial arts he used and the way the scenes are shot are so much more realistic, powerful and engaging than the rest of the guys in here.
Haha, I watched this video 4 years ago and I still think about it once in a while. So good!!! I love each of those artists. Donnie has power and speed, Yuen Biao is fast and has amazing acrobatics, Jackie Chan is just fun to watch with such clever moves, Sammo is just a powerhouse and so agile, and Jet is so graceful and fast. I grew up watching the 'Once Upon in China' movies, so Jet Li has a special place in my heart, but they're all unique and awesome in their own way and style.
Forgot how good Jackie was. And modern marital arts films are full of graphics and puffed up actors with little substance. In those days, technology wasn't so great so u really had to have substance and skill.
+Nick Menendez jacky chang, yuen biao, sammo hung were schoolmates teach by the same teacher, together with Jet Li, they pretty much dominate the HK action film. Donnie Yen was not so famous that time as he is now, so plays second to them.
One thing that sets these men apart from the rest in an ailing industry is not only do they have their own strengths and styles as well as onscreen charisma...their movements are incredibly natural and fluid...owing to an almost lifetime of performing!
