Martial arts movie

subgenre of action films

Martial arts films are movies about martial arts. They’re normally action movies. The martial arts shown in movies tend to include kung fu, wuxia, and karate.

History

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There were Martial arts films in Asia. They were more about action then plot. They became popular in 1943 when Akira Kurosawa made the movie Sugata Sanshiro about a young man who has to learn judo. In 1945, Kurosawa made a sequel which was the first movie ever to have karate in it.

In the 1970s, kung fu movies made by studios in Hong Kong like the Shaw Brothers Studio and Godfrey Ho’s studio were translated into English and were watched in the United States and Canada.

Actors

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Notable actors in the genre have included Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, Tony Jaa, Donnie Yen, Yuen Biao, and Youssef Mansour.

Animated movies

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There are some animated films that are about martial arts like Kung Fu Panda.