# Wuxia and martial arts — flying swords, hidden masters

> From King Hu's A Touch of Zen (1971) — the film that proved martial arts belonged at Cannes — through the Shaw Brothers factory, the golden age of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, to Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger (2000) and Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002). The wuxia tradition is older than cinema itself, rooted in Chinese knight-errant literature. On screen it produced some of the most kinetically beautiful filmmaking ever attempted. Start with King Hu, then go wherever the choreography takes you.

Source: <https://nextmovie4u.com/canon/wuxia-martial-arts/>

## 30 films in this list

- **[Ne Zha 2](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ne-zha-2-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.1 · 667 votes
- **[The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-witch-part-1-the-subversion-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.9 · 728 votes
- **[Let the Bullets Fly](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/let-the-bullets-fly-2010/)** (2010) — ★ 7.8 · 350 votes
- **[Ip Man](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ip-man-2008/)** (2008) — ★ 7.8 · 4,083 votes · foreign-gem, raw, uplifting
- **[A Touch of Zen](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-touch-of-zen-1970/)** (1970) — ★ 7.6 · 223 votes
- **[Bullet in the Head](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/bullet-in-the-head-1990/)** (1990) — ★ 7.6 · 311 votes
- **[Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/miraculous-ladybug-cat-noir-the-movie-2023/)** (2023) — ★ 7.6 · 946 votes
- **[Police Story](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/police-story-1985/)** (1985) — ★ 7.5 · 1,035 votes
- **[The Mission](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-mission-1999/)** (1999) — ★ 7.5 · 178 votes
- **[Hero](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/hero-2002/)** (2002) — ★ 7.5 · 2,481 votes
- **[Fist of Legend](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/fist-of-legend-1994/)** (1994) — ★ 7.5 · 604 votes
- **[Kung Fu Hustle](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/kung-fu-hustle-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.5 · 3,152 votes · foreign-gem, cerebral, playful
- **[The 36th Chamber of Shaolin](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-36th-chamber-of-shaolin-1978/)** (1978) — ★ 7.5 · 492 votes
- **[Ip Man 2](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/ip-man-2-2010/)** (2010) — ★ 7.5 · 2,478 votes
- **[The Legend of Drunken Master](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-legend-of-drunken-master-1994/)** (1994) — ★ 7.5 · 1,073 votes
- **[Iron Monkey](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/iron-monkey-1993/)** (1993) — ★ 7.4 · 324 votes
- **[Big Brother](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/big-brother-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.4 · 254 votes
- **[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon-2000/)** (2000) — ★ 7.4 · 3,545 votes · foreign-gem, bittersweet, epic
- **[Striking Rescue](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/striking-rescue-2024/)** (2024) — ★ 7.4 · 163 votes
- **[Enter the Dragon](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/enter-the-dragon-1973/)** (1973) — ★ 7.4 · 2,068 votes
- **[Southpaw](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/southpaw-2015/)** (2015) — ★ 7.4 · 5,792 votes · gut-punch, uplifting
- **[A Better Tomorrow](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-better-tomorrow-1986/)** (1986) — ★ 7.4 · 613 votes
- **[Operation Red Sea](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/operation-red-sea-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 7.4 · 432 votes
- **[Drunken Master](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/drunken-master-1978/)** (1978) — ★ 7.4 · 1,095 votes
- **[Running Out of Time](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/running-out-of-time-1999/)** (1999) — ★ 7.3 · 172 votes
- **[House of Flying Daggers](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/house-of-flying-daggers-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.3 · 1,783 votes
- **[Operation Condor](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/operation-condor-1991/)** (1991) — ★ 7.3 · 633 votes
- **[The Wandering Earth II](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-wandering-earth-ii-2023/)** (2023) — ★ 7.3 · 712 votes
- **[Snake in the Eagle's Shadow](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/snake-in-the-eagle-s-shadow-1978/)** (1978) — ★ 7.3 · 358 votes
- **[A World Without Thieves](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-world-without-thieves-2004/)** (2004) — ★ 7.3 · 151 votes

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Catalogue: <https://nextmovie4u.com/> — see also <https://nextmovie4u.com/llms.txt> for the full sitemap of LLM-relevant pages.