Martial arts movies (kung fu in Hong Kong, wu xia pian in Mandarin) burst onto the international scene in the 1960s and early 1970s with the rise of charismatic actor Bruce Lee (he’s at the center of the pic above wielding nunchucks.) If you were not alive at the time, it’s hard to understand the impact he had. Kung fu schools sprang up in the most unlikely of places, and stores, too, selling exotic equipment such as ninja throwing stars. In metropolitan areas, there was always a UHF Fists of Fury Theater or the like broadcasting old movies on Saturday afternoons. A hit song, Kung Fu Fighting, was composed about the craze. Above it all, Bruce Lee reigned as the undisputed king, even after his death in 1973. **
The names of those movies shared common elements. Animals, types of fighters, locations were mixed and matched, often having the slimmest of relations to the movie’s content. Here’s some I generated myself.
Martial Arts movies that were never made
| Inn of the Curious Dragon
Steel Monkey Dirty Tiger Black Iron Venom Boxer House of Silent Blades Two-Phoenix Fist Tiger Town Beggar Clan of the Red Dagger Fox Flower Protectress The Volcano Gang Rogue Monkey Temple One-Eyed Snow Hero The Blind Leopard Undisputed Street Fighter The Red Kickboxer Cousin of the Jade Panther |
Blood of the Young Knight
Hyena Mountain Fighter Invincible Cabal from Shantung Number Five Octagon Bodyguard of the Little Buddha Kwangtung Blades Drunken Force Lotus Mask Sisters of the Jade Wolf Iron Under Fire Cousin to the Bear Sister Chrysanthemum Clan of the Hand Bangkok Buddha The Big Boss of Little Tokyo Ox Statue Butcher |
** Another King, Elvis Presley, earned an eight-degree black belt in karate.
