Recommend me some good Asian movies

L31mr0d

Ok...

I'm getting tired of rubbish western movies and there perpetually repeating and rehashed storylines.

I've been trying to watch more movies from the world cinema and liking what i've found so far.

I watch quite a few movies from Asia but usually only the ones that bubble to the top because they tie in closely with western movie standards.

Most recently i've watched:
Shinobi: Heart under blade
The Host
Oldboy
Hero
House of flying daggers

I like movies with action, set in old Asia, featuring martial arts, chi power fantasy, monsters, horrors, thrillers... etc. They could have all or a selection of the above. Not really looking for love stories or social documentaries.

So what can you recommend, what should definitely be on my list of movies to see before I die.

All opinions and recommendations appreciated

Petey2006

Ringu
Boiling Point
Hana Bi
Violent Cop
Sonatine
Kikujiro
Brotherhood (Tae Guk Gi)
The Host
Anything by Akira Kurosawa
In the Mood For Love
2046

Hard Boiled.

Galvasean

Battle Royal (not number 2 though)
Ricky O (the Story of Ricky)
The Killer
Akira

L31mr0d

great keep them coming. I've seen Battle Royal. Heard good things about Hard Boiled (can't wait until Stranglehold is released for the PC)

I'm also into Manga. But I really don't know where to start. I don't want any Hentai. Movies like Ghost in the Shell, that kind of Manga. Any suggestions?

Also of the movies recommended which would be closest to say Shinobi, Hero, House of Daggers...etc, movies with superhuman martial art skills

Karl Hungus

If you're looking more for period setting martial arts / Samurai films, then I would heartily recommend:

Zatoichi
Musa: The Warrior
Azumi

And just about every Samurai film that Akira Kurasawa has ever done, for example:

Ran
The Seven Samurai
The Hidden Fortress
Sanjuro

Although those would be a lot more dramatic epic films, and not really anything with "Superhuman Martial Arts skills" but I'd recommend them none the less.

CerebralCortex

I recently saw a tale of 2 sisters which is brilliant. Well worth a watch.
For anime(moving manga ) anything by Studio Ghibli is worth a look.

Necronomicon

Well, if you liked Oldboy, then I guess obvious recommendations would be Sympathy for Mr and Lady Vengeance. I'd also urge anybody and everybody to watch another Park Chan Wook gem, Joint Security Area.

For action, I'd recommend John Woo's Hard Boiled as well as the excellent Mark Dacascos action/drama Crying Freeman. And if you liked Hero and House of Flying Daggers, then naturally I'd also recommend Fearless.

As for horrors, someone already mentioned A Tale Of Two Sisters, which I'd heartily endorse, as well as The Eye, which is a brilliantly intense, atmospheric ghost story.

Finally, not really falling into any of the above categories, I'd strongly recommend Takeshi Kitano's Brother.

L31mr0d

Karl Hungus wrote:

If you're looking more for period setting martial arts / Samurai films, then I would heartily recommend:

Zatoichi
Musa: The Warrior
Azumi

I've seen Zatoichi, another good movie. Have you seen Azumi 2? Is it any good?

Karl Hungus

L31mr0d wrote:

I've seen Zatoichi, another good movie. Have you seen Azumi 2? Is it any good?

It's watchable, but nowhere near as good as the first. They got a different director, and you can really tell.

Galvasean

Ichi The Killer is great.
I hear the recently released extended cut of the Street Fighter manga is supposed to be great.

sme

i shall second, both zatoichi and ichi the killer are excellent. you really can't go wrong with films from kitano takeshi. takashi miike on the other hand is more an accuired taste, audition is probably his most main stream film. but i'd recommend vistor Q or gozu. both are fantastically f@#ked up

Xios

Yeah em, kung fu hustle and shoalin soccer, funniest action comedies going!

spacecoyote

plenty of good recommendations above alright. If you are looking for "superhuman/fantasy" stuff, you could check out Arahan. Iron Monkey is a bit like Robin Hood with Kung Fu, set in the same era and similar style to Crouching Tiger/House of flying daggers. Its less stylised than Hero/House but the main 4/5 actors involved are excellent martial artists.

Sticking with the fantasy theme, you could also check out Azumi, Versus & Sky High by Ryuhei Kitamura, they are all worth a watch.

Also, another period fantasy movie, not as good as some of the rest but might still interest you is Bichunmoo (to be honest the concept of the movie promises a LOT more than it delivers!!!)

PWEI

Not exactly a fantasy but still worth a look is Kim Jee Woon's (tale of two sisters) A Bitter Sweet Life.Its kinda of a Korean Pulp Fiction,violent but quite humorous at the same time.
I watched a lot of films from SE Asia last year but this without doubt was my favourite.Another Korean film you should look up is Save The Green Planet,I'm not even going to try to explain what this one is about.Lets just say its a Sci Fi come Thriller come Comedy and should not be missed.You've seen Oldboy and some people recommended Lady Vengeance
and Sympathy for Mr Vengeance. In my opinion Sympathy For Mr Vengeance
is the weakest of the three and the only one of the three films I would not
watch again but Lady Vengeance is definitely worth watching.
Somebody mentioned Musa The Warrior,if its a blockbuster your after,then dont miss this one.Its a bit long but well worth it.
If you liked Hero than why not watch Zhang Yimou latest epic Curse Of The Golden Flower.As with Zhang Yimou's other films he tends to concentrate on the visuals instead of the plot and character's but it is a visual spectacle.The battle scenes are superbly choreographed and the cinematography is spectacular.Yes the story is not the strongest and he overdoes the colour and visuals but it's still a very entertaining film.Its worth watching for the scene with the ninja's coming
down the mountain alone.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Try the Infernal Affairs trilogy. The first one was re-made as The Departed which came out a year or two ago.

Good shows.

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=infernal+affairs

Xios

Marina Nice Pool wrote:

Try the Infernal Affairs trilogy. The first one was re-made as The Departed which came out a year or two ago.

Good shows.

http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=infernal+affairs

How's that asian?

Galvasean

Has anyone mentioned Gozu yet?
Definitely acquired taste, but fun if you like that sort of thing.
Then if you feel particularly brave try Visitor Q

Necronomicon

Actually another one that has come to mind is Three Extremes - 3 short movies, from directors Fruit Chan, Park Chan Wook and Takeshi Miike. I really liked all three as well. Fruit Chan's 'Dumplings' is the first (which later got made into a full length movie) about a middle-aged woman who, fearing the ageing process, turns to a dumplings receipe with a secret (and disturbing) ingredient which is supposed to grant the eater youth.
Park Chan Wook's 'Cut' follows, which tells the tale of a frustrated extra who goes to extreme lengths to get revenge on a director who he has worked with so much, but whom he has failed to make an impression on. Finally, Takeshi Miike's 'Box' tells the story of a woman who is haunted by nightmares linked to her dark past (not very descriptive, but to say any more would spoil things).

I saw the sequel tonight, although I was only familiar with one of the directors (Kim Ji-Woon, director of A Tale Of Two Sisters). His story was decent enough, but the movie as a whole wasn't a patch on the first.

Karl Hungus

Xios wrote:

How's that asian?

How isn't it? Did they move Hong Kong to the north pole or something?

Angus MacGyver

Ong Bak
The Brother

Hard Boiled is Brilliant,

Dont be at yourself

Is it time for an Asian Movie sticky? This topic appears every week or so, it seems.

Anyway: Tampopo.

L31mr0d

NekkidBibleMan wrote:

Is it time for an Asian Movie sticky? This topic appears every week or so, it seems.

Anyway: Tampopo.

i'd agree. I thought there would be a sticky.

Seen Ong Bak (yet to get around to seeing the sequel) also seen kung fu hustle and shoalin soccer.

Tried watching Musa: The Warrior last night, got about half way through and then stopped. I'll probably watch the rest of it tonight, I just found the storyline rather predictable. It lacked the polishing of some other asian epics. I'll give it a second go tonight, maybe I was just tired or expecting another Shinobi.

galactus

An excellent thread and some movies I'm unfamiliar with...great!

Would second the Kurosawa recommendations.

menoscemo

hard boiled
the killler
once a thief