Since im a big movie fan and im getting interested in asian movies,im asking you movie experts out there for some recommendations for movies that are worth watching.
Until now i have only seen a few asian movies , for example Oldboy (easily one of my favorite movies of all time) and some recent Donnie Yen movies, which were pretty bad in my opinion (except Ip man 1 of course)
All in all I dont care if those are japanese,chinese or korean movies as long as they are good Also im pretty open for any genres, but i would prefer more "serious" movies and less comedy,which also include any kind of weird C-Movies. The movies themselves dont neccesarily need to be dubbed as long as there are subtitled versions
Right now on my to-watch list are:
Seven Samurai (as far as i heard its supposed to be a masterpiece and i really look forward to it)
Battle Royal ( from what i read its quite a splatter movie,but it has some messages f.e. about society it tries to deliver)
so im really excited and hope you will help me discover some great movies and thanks in advance for any recommendations
A Tale of Two Sisters is a Korean horror movie and is one of my favorites in the horror genre. It starts slow, but is pretty scary as it goes -- in a psychological way rather than a gory or shocking way.
13 Assassins is a samurai movie and is the best movie about sword-fighting that I have ever seen. If anyone knows of a better one, I would love to see it.
I was surprised at the quality of Seven Samurai; great movie. Battle Royale was alright. Definitely watch Zatoichi (the 2003 one), and if you're open to a bit more comedy at some point, Kung Fu Hustle.
I agree that Internal Affairs (Origin: Hong Kong) was so fucking intense. Much better that the hollywood version: The Departed.
(The descriptions of films can usually be found with the trailer.)
Letters from Iwo Jima (Origin: Japan) Well, produced by Americans but the whole movie was in Japanese so it counts as an Asian film.
1911 (Origin: Hong Kong) Directed by Jackie Chan Trailer: + Show Spoiler +
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Origin: Thailand) Winner of the Golden Palm Awards at Festival de Cannes 2010 Trailer: + Show Spoiler +
Kon Khon (Origin: Thailand) One of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. Not released yet, but looks promising. Trailer: http://www.movieseer.com/th/movies/22111--Kon_Khon
Never watch dubbed movies, they really destroy the film. I'll add more to the list later.
I really enjoyed "The Man from Nowhere" aka "아저씨." It's a pretty famous Korean movie starring Won Bin. Other Korean movies that I really enjoyed were: 71: Into the Fire, Chingu, I Saw the Devil (has the same actor from Oldboy), and Mother. However, one of the best movies that I've ever seen is Taegukgi, which takes place during the Korean war. If you get the chance, then I highly recommend this movie.
As far as Japanese movies go, you should try and see as many Akira Kurosawa movies as you can. He has been the main influence to many famous western directors.
There are a lot more that I can't really think of at the moment. I'll try to update later, and if I can't find this thread then I'll try to PM you.
Basically some asshole young son of the emperor goes around and gets drunk/kills people for fun/sport and there's a group of people out to kill him now because they're sick of his shit. They assemble a crew of 13 and build this bad ass area of this town to trap/fight him in. Its like 13 vs 200 peeps or something.
Also 'Hero' with Jet Li is decent, just because I used to have a huge thing for Zhang Ziyi.
EDIT:
I also loved watching Rumble in the Bronx as a kid. Its like not really a good movie, but I just always watch it when its on. Just something with my child hood I guess. Some cool stunts in it too.
Ah, no comedy means missing out on all the Jackie Chan movies. His 80's movies are so sick. If you like martial arts movies in any capacity, at least check a few of them out like "Project A" (1983) and "Drunken Master pt. II" (1994).
Since you've already got Seven Samurai lined up, might as well check out Yojimbo and Sanjuro which are also samurai movies by Akira Kurosawa.
"A Better Tomorrow" starring Chow Yun Fat "Hero" w/ Jet Li
On December 22 2011 04:34 Nizzy wrote: 13 Assassins is worth a watch.
Basically some asshole young son of the emperor goes around and gets drunk/kills people for fun/sport and there's a group of people out to kill him now because they're sick of his shit. They assemble a crew of 13 and build this bad ass area of this town to trap/fight him in. Its like 13 vs 200 peeps or something.
Also 'Hero' with Jet Li is decent, just because I used to have a huge thing for Zhang Ziyi.
i was just about to post 13 Assassins, so much blood, so much quality, great fckign film.
May 18 - Korean (The story of events leading up to the 1980 Gwangju massacre in South Korea when thousands of students and protesters were killed by armed troops during an anti-government demonstration.) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800341/
Friend - Korean (Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path.) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281718/
Kay so I did some research on Japanese cinema for a paper, and I would advise Kurosawa's works (~1950-1960): The seven samurais, Yojimbo, Rashomon, Throne of blood. Those are jidai-geki, historical movies. If you like samurais, go ahead! You might also be interested in Ozu and Mizoguchi, but those are considered a bit more "intellectual", focusing on the aspects of Japanese contemporary life. If the 20th century in Japan doesn't interest you, move along, but you could give it a try.
I also recommend Wong-Kar Wai's works, such as In the mood for love, 2046, Fallen Angels, or Chungking express. The most accessible one being Fallen Angels I think, but the most known is the first one (you've probably heard the main theme, "Yumeji's theme" many times now).
I don't know much about Korean cinema, but I would REALLY recommend Joint Security Area (forgot the author), a very moving film about the relationship of the two Koreas, through the tragic fate of four soldiers. You will laugh, dream and cry. Watch it.I hear that some prime minister actually gave the DVD to a North-Korean representative during a ceremony, but I'm not so sure. Just to throw another name in there, you can also watch Poetry. A tale about Korean poetry as an answer to the ugliness of life... or the ugliness of life as an answer to poetry. Or both. A beautiful movie.
Can someone tell me that movie where they put highschool kids on an island and they have to kill each other. The one that survives gets money or some prize? I liked that movie, but not sure what it's called. It's the only Asian movie I have ever seen too.
On December 22 2011 05:47 RedTail wrote: Can someone tell me that movie where they put highschool kids on an island and they have to kill each other. The one that survives gets money or some prize? I liked that movie, but not sure what it's called. It's the only Asian movie I have ever seen too.
It was Battle Royale. The one that survives gets the prize of still being alive, unless you were talking about a different movie.
I'm a long way from being any kind of an expert, but I haven't seen any movies posted above that I didn't enjoy. Then again, I haven't seen a lot of them...I think I've got some to look into myself. Still, I liked 13 Assassins and Oldboy enough to watch them 3 or 4 times. I liked I Saw The Devil, but I couldn't unsee Dae-Su from Oldboy, which made it...different, I think. I liked Hero a lot and rewatched it often for its style, and Ip Man was just too much badass to only watch once. I didn't think Ip Man 2 was bad, either, but it seems like you didn't from the OP.
I feel like Battle Royale deserves a special mention here. That movie...really got to me, for some reason. Yeah, I cried at one part, so what. It was a manly cry. Go watch it.
As for movies that haven't been mentioned...sorry, I haven't got much. Though you said you'd rather avoid comedy, I think above suggestion Kung Fu Hustle was probably alright -- better than I'd say it was, from memory, -- but I liked Shaolin Soccer (2001) a lot more. Ong Bak (2003) was fun, too. Since you said you didn't much care for Donnie Yen's more recent movies, I assume you watched Wu Xia (2011) and didn't enjoy it much. If not, I'd say you should at least give it a shot.
If you're into romance, a neighbor recommended One Day (2011); I didn't get around to finishing it myself, though, so I apologize if it's actually terrible. If there's a Korean Vampires option, Thirst (2009) was a recommendation from IRC that I watched with my roommate a few months ago. It was interesting...but freakin weird.
I'm admittedly not too into anime, but if it's an option (hey, it might be), I'd say Akira (1988) is a given if you haven't watched it before, and Sword of the Stranger (2007) was surprisingly interesting. Also, Ninja Scroll (1993). It feels silly adding animated movies to this list just because of the context...but, they're movies, too, and if you haven't seen them before, I think they're worth watching.
Infernal Affairs Trilogy Memories of Murder The Man from Nowhere Thirst Departures 13 Assassins Hero Save the Green Planet! Fearless (Jet Li) Castaway on the Moon Police Story (at least the first one anyways, its a classic) anything from Akira Kurosawa
If you like horror (not the stereotypical kind), try Three Extremes. It's three short films (one Korean, one Japanese, and one Chinese, IIRC) rolled into one disturbing package.
A Moment to Remember (2004) Beautiful Su-jun , cosseted by her devoted father, meets Chol-su a carpenter in her father's employment. They meet, fall in love and marry, but their picture perfect life become less perfect when they discover that Su-jin has Alzheimer's disease.
My Sassy Girl (2001) Based on a series of true stories posted by Ho-sik Kim on the Internet describing his relationship with his girlfriend. These were later transformed into a best-selling book and the movie follows the book closely. It describes the meeting of Kyun-woo (Cha) and an unnamed girl. Kyun-woo is shamed into assisting the girl because the other passengers mistakenly think she is his girlfriend. Once he helps her, Kyun-woo develops a deep sense of responsibility for her which enables him to tolerate (somehow) the girls abuses.
My Rainy Days (2009) Extraordinary beautiful 17 years old high school girl Rio possesses the charisma to attract others, and she is always in the company of Miho and Maki. At one stage she saved Tomoko from her bully, Naoko and later joins her group.
Rio is good at manipulating her friends and makes herself in the center of attention and always ignores others due to her traumatic past. Money is the most valuable thing for her. Everything changes when she meets a history professor, Kouki Ozawa who is 35 years old and leading a lonely life.
Kouki is Rio’s first love where she dares to express her love to him openly and honestly. Kouki is also interested with Rio but since he is suffering from brain tumor and is counting his final days, Rio finds it hard to accept the reality. Will Rio continues her mean and selfish ways to reject Kouki or decides to stick with Kouki until his final days?
More Than Blue (2009) "K" loves Cream but has terminal cancer so he keeps his love for her secret and tries to find a mate for her before he dies so she will not be alone after he dies.
Shinjuku Incident (2009) This movie is particularly interesting because it focuses on the situation of Chinese illegal immigrants to Japan and (eventually) the clash of the Chinese gangs and the Yakuza. You hear Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese/Hokkien mixed in with Japanese, spoken with varying accents depending on where the speaker is from. The themes of racism and cultural clash are a major focus. Pretty cool stuff, and a great and gripping performance from Jackie Chan.
WOW! as always, TL delivers! thank you guys soooooo much for your tips. you have saved a lot of my evenings in 2012 in front of the TV
i probably should have left out the comment about comedy because i was too afraid of too much C-Movie recommendation but holy sh*t was i wrong :D and yeah the old jackie chan movies like drunken master are really awesome
if anyone has still more movies to suggest feel free to do so
On December 22 2011 07:04 Nero. wrote: WOW! as always, TL delivers! thank you guys soooooo much for your tips. you have saved a lot of my evenings in 2012 in front of the TV
i probably should have left out the comment about comedy because i was too afraid of too much C-Movie recommendation but holy sh*t was i wrong :D and yeah the old jackie chan movies like drunken master are really awesome
if anyone has still more movies to suggest feel free to do so
have you seen crouching tiger, hidden dragon (wo hu cang long) or the house of the flying daggers (shi mian mai fu)? if you have, maybe you recognize zhang ziyi who plays the girls... hmm.. xiao mei in shi mian mai fu but i don't remember what she's called in the other. however, if you want to see a movie where she was a not as established actor i recommend My Road Home (wo de fu qin mu qin). it's a good movie. : )
If you enjoy Seven Samurai, just imdb Akira Kurosawa and you'll have A+ viewing material for a while to come. You need a good TV and surround system to get the most out of his movies. As someone already said Battle Royale is probably the greatest movie there is in the world ever; Quentin Tarantino even agrees.
If you liked Oldboy, you should watch the other movies in Chan-Wook Park's vengeance trilogy; Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance. Both are excellent Korean thrillers.
If you like monster movies check out The Host; it is probably one of the better monster movies period with a very cool/bizarre monster.
If you like zombie movies Versus is an A+ Japanese zombie thriller and Tokyo Zombie is a good comedy/thriller with Jiu Jitsu.
If you like martial arts movies check out The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Ip Man (1 or 2) for good wing chun, or The Protector (1 or 2) with Tony Jaa for some incredible muay thai.
For a very sad/dystopia movie with a powerful message, check out Ikigami.
For movies that will make you say "WTF IS GOING ON THIS IS WEIRD" check out Big Man Japan or Funky Forest The First Contact.
Watched this from TV a while back and quite enjoyed it, it's an old kung-fu movie though so you need to know what you're getting into.
Oh, man, the old Shaw Brothers movies. Maybe you get into kung-fu movies by watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Hidden Daggers. You start watching Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and maybe some Bruce Lee. One day you watch the original Drunken Master (don't be fooled), and think that it's the best kung-fu movie ever made. Then you are ready...
Watched this from TV a while back and quite enjoyed it, it's an old kung-fu movie though so you need to know what you're getting into.
Oh, man, the old Shaw Brothers movies. Maybe you get into kung-fu movies by watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Hidden Daggers. You start watching Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and maybe some Bruce Lee. One day you watch the original Drunken Master (don't be fooled), and think that it's the best kung-fu movie ever made. Then you are ready...
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is an excellent martial arts movie that can be enjoyed by anyone, I think. It is my favorite of the Shaw Brothers.
71 Into the Fire is a great movie in my opinion. It's a war movie.
"A story of 71 student soldier trainees who fought an impossible war against seasoned North Korean army during Korean War which broke out in 1950. Based on real history, the film delicately depicts the fierce battle that teenage student soldiers fall into as they fight to protect the final defense line by themselves when under a surprise attack and their emotions and conflicts as they experience the grown-ups’ war."
Finished watching The Man From Nowhere yesterday with a few friends... and we all thought it was really good.
Any other movies recommendations please? Loved the fighting scenes and the overall story/acting. One of the better movies I've seen in 2011 (yes I know it came out in 2010), probably top 3.
Only other asian films I've seen is the Ip Man series.
EDIT: Well since there are so many recommendations already, a better question would be... do you guys just use torrents to get these movies? Or are there streaming sites available? The only copy of The Man From Nowhere I could find was 5gb... way too much bandwidth for just 1 movie
I don't really watch a lot of movies, especially Asian/foreign ones, but I saw "The Man From Nowhere" (Korean title "Ajeossi") recently. Not a classic or anything (newish and probably a bit cliched), but not bad imo.
1) Breathless 2) Bad Guy 3) Old Boy 4) Harakiri 5) Twilight Samurai 6) Roshomon 7) The Hidden Blade 8) The Chaser 9) Yojimbo 10) Sanjuro 11) 3 Iron 12) High and Low 13) Kagemusha 14) Fish Story 15) Last Life in the Universe 16) Departures
Off the top of my head, these are the very best, and I would recommend them to anyone.
R point http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417072/ is a good action ,horror ,military squad survival set in a vietnam like scenario . I gave it a 7/10 . Really entertaining and scary at the same time .
I watched The Chaser with a group of friends one night. It's a very good movie. Very intense and somewhat heartbreaking in the end, though I don't want to spoil too much since it's quite fun to watch. It's a Korean film, if you're into that kind of thing.
Unfortunately, don't hold your breath for any Starcraft references in that movie. However, a friend of mine did catch a random Brood War reference in My Boyfriend is Type B.
I think the only movie I would recommend that's not already mentioned is Jackie Chan's Supercop.
It's the pinnacle of 80's kung fu action and humor. Jackie Chan is to kung fu movies as Arnold Schwarzzaneger(or however you spell it) is to action movies. Just really entertaining. :D
Hmm... can anyone recommend another movie that's got as much (or more) action as The Man From Nowhere? The suspense/thriller aspect combined with the action puts that movie a cut above imo.
Yep The Chaser + Oldboy were both very good. I've got Battle Royale ready to watch... but no other action/thriller movies. 13 assassins was pretty good as well.
Finally i was able to start watching some movies over christmas:
Battle Royale: I enjoyed a lot. great pictures and choice of (classical) music. I also really like takeshi kitano in general and he did a good job as the sadistic teacher.
13 Assasins: Also really good with impressive fight scenes
next to go: Seven Samurai and love exposure unfortunately they are sooooooo long and im having a bad cold right now and i feels like a big waste watching those movies if you are not able to concentrate the whole time ,so i will wait till next week
On December 31 2011 05:09 JohnnyBanana wrote: Hmm... can anyone recommend another movie that's got as much (or more) action as The Man From Nowhere? The suspense/thriller aspect combined with the action puts that movie a cut above imo.
Yep The Chaser + Oldboy were both very good. I've got Battle Royale ready to watch... but no other action/thriller movies. 13 assassins was pretty good as well.
Bad Guy and Breathless. Bad Guy is the best of the two.
On December 22 2011 04:42 Stratos wrote: Once Upon A Time In Highschool / The Spirit Of Jeet Kune Do / 말죽거리 잔혹사 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390205/
One of the top 3 korean movies for me. I've seen it 4 times already.
This movie is so sick.
Others beat me to it, but Sex is Zero, and My Sassy Girl are both pretty funny Korean movies.
If you're looking for something ridiculously sad check out Sad Movie or A Moment to Remember. They're probably the two saddest movies I've ever watched, but also just very good movies.
EPT
