Journey of the magi birth and death

JD’S RECOMMENDED STUNT CINEMAI have broken the movies down by broad category type –classic, spiritual kung fu, etc. I hope you enjoy.Note: I have taken the synopsis from online resources (mostly IMDB) and cut and pasted it –it is not original work.Classic:MovieSynopsismy noteswhy / triviaLee is recruited by a secretive intelligence group to infiltrate an island owned by the master criminal Han who appears publicly only at a martial arts tournament he hosts every three years. Han learned his martial arts skills at the same monastery as Lee, who has been invited to tournament as well. When Lee learns that it was Han's men whowere responsible for his sister's death, he sets out for revenge as well. Other participants in the tournament include Americans Roper and Williams who were in the army together. They all soon realize that Han uses the tournament to recruit new associates-and those who refuse are killed.This is the movie that took the entire world by storm, and is still the litmus test for kung fu movies. Many of its plot elements are recycled in other movies. It is the one movie every single martial arts movie fan has seenWhy was handled in the previous column. so, trivia: the fight with the guards in the underground cavern was ripped off move for move when the monkey fights the hyenas in “The Lion King”Gordon Liu stars as a shaolin monk who rises quickly through the chambers (schools) of Shaolin martial arts, but eventually leaves the monastery to unseat an evil ruler and avenge his family –thus establishing the 36thchamber.Almost a quarter of the movie is the training sequence, and it is the best ever –Rocky can’t even compete!Gordon Liu made several follow ups to this movie, though none as good as this one. Every twelve yr. old boy who saw this movie in the seventies started working out afterward to be like their hero.
JD’S RECOMMENDED STUNT CINEMAA veteran samurai, who has fallen onhard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village.Akira Kurosawa is internationally recognized as one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century. This is THE classic Samurai film, and it was copied in the western “The Magnificent Seven” substituting gunslingers for Samurai.This has also spawned comic book versions and a great anime version. Kurosawa also is of interest to actors for “Ran” which is his version of King Lear set in Japan, and “Throne of Blood” which is MacBeth. There are many runner ups, things to keep in mind –these are older films and quality was not good, but they inspired the next wave of films and keep inspiring us today. SO: Runner Ups –The One Armed Swordsman, Heroes of The East (Gordon Liu), Fist of Fury (Bruce Lee), Five Deadly Venoms. JAPANESE: Lone Wolf and Cub, Zatoichi, Yojimbo(note, the Japanese films are hysterically bloody –Quinten Tarantino’s blood squirting from wounds in Kill Bill, is an homage to these classic films.)