I thought a good approach would be to use the “wisdom of crowds” as exemplified by the rating system in IMDB.
So if I choose the best martial artist actors and directors, and then get their highest rated movie, I should have a list of the top contenders.
Here are the results (sorted by rating):
Ip Man (2008) – 8.10 - Donnie Yen
Hero (2002) – 8.00 - Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Yimou Zhang
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) – 8.00 - Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Woo-ping Yuen
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) – 7.88 - Leih Lo
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) - 7.80 - Stephen Chow
Iron Monkey (1993) – 7.7 - Woo-ping Yuen, Hark Tsui
Enter the Dragon (1973) – 7.6 - Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Biao Yuen
A Touch of Zen (1971) – 7.6 - Sammo Hung
The Legend of Drunken Master (1994) – 7.59 Jackie Chan , Anita Mui
Drunken Master (1978) – 7.59 - Corey Yuen
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) - 7.47 - Yu Wang
The Prodigal Son (1981) – 7.45 - Biao Yuen
So this approach indicates that the top three Chinese martial arts movies of all time are Ip Man, Hero, and CTHD.
I have to admit that I wouldn’t really quibble with that.
Notes:
- “Enter the Dragon” was the top rated movie for a number of people as shown above but I also included their second rated movie to show something more reflective of their own work
- John Woo’s “The Killer” and Wai-keung Lau/Alan Mak’s “Infernal Affairs” came up a number of times in my searches but I rejected them as not being kung fu movies.