Chop Socky Cinema is your go-to corner for all things martial arts on screen—from high-flying kung fu classics to modern bone-crunching brawlers. We dive into the legends, the hidden gems, and the genre-defining moments that shaped martial arts cinema.

Gloriously over-the-top and wonderfully directed by Sun Chung, Human Lanterns is what happens when the Shaw Brothers merge their particular brand of martial arts with the American slasher . . . and this violent result is as disturbing as it sounds. It helps when the leading character is psychotic, you ...

In which Shaw Brothers enters the Ninja dome and delivers one hell of a knockout punch when it comes to over-the-to-top clenched-teeth martial arts mayhem! Directed by Chang Cheh and featuring solid performances from Cheng Tien-Chi and Lo Meng, Five Element Ninjas (also known as ...

Revenge, thy name is Sammo Hung!n The Iron-Fisted Monk is some good ol’ kung-fu delivered with all the grit and the glory one would expect from its talented cast. Produced by Raymond Chow (who was still licking the wounds made by Bruce Lee’s death) and made when Hong Kong cinema ...

In which the cave of the Golden Snake is introduced! The Sword Stained With Royal Blood is a certifiable classic of Kung-Fu madness. It’s an adventure with a strong narrative which sees Yuan Cheng-chih (Phillip Kwok) whisked away from tragedy and raised right so that he might avoid the same fate as his ...

Revenge, thy name is Sammo Hung!n The Iron-Fisted Monk is some good ol’ kung-fu delivered with all the grit and the glory one would expect from its talented cast. Produced by Raymond Chow (who was still licking the wounds made by Bruce Lee’s death) and made when Hong Kong cinema ...

It’s East meets WestERN when Sammo Hung comes to town! With dynamic fight sequences throughout and a genuine goofiness in its DNA, Millionaires’ Express, written and directed by Sammy Hung, continues to deliver the comedic good from station to station. It looks absolutely beautiful ...

Let the blood flow freely! And boy does it ever in Masked Avengers, a martial arts bonanza which features blood drinking, satan worshiping, and a whole lot of bloody trident action! Not for the faint of heart, Masked Avengers, once again directed by Chang Cheh, features three of the “venoms” in some ...

In which Philip Kwok has to wear one of the most ridiculous-looking (possibly) knitted caps throughout the entire film! Whatever it is, it’s horrible. House of Traps might be for “Venom” completists only. Oh, sure, if you can follow the twisting plot you’ll get side-switching ...

In which Angela Miao, Whang Ing-Sik and Sammo Hung (in the roles of Yu Ying, Kao and Fan), coming from a small Korean school of Martial Arts, all take turns breaking boards and cracking skulls with their Japanese competitors! And all they wanted was to start a school of their own! ...

Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers first major competitor for Martial Arts action, hit it big when they landed Bruce Lee in The Big Boss. Could they strike again with a female leading lady, Angela Mao Ying? Yes. Yes, they could. It helped when director Huang Feng (The Shaolin Plot) jumped ship ...