5. Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
The movie: Directed by Chang Cheh, this much-celebrated cult classic follows the dying wish of a kung fu teacher who asks that his final student track down five of his most notorious pupils. The quartet of kung fu fighters in question each spar using unique animal styles The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard and The Toad.
Coolest fight: The Toad fights his way out of prison. And we're not talking through an extensive parole process. He literally beats down anyone who stands in his way.
Iconic moment: The Scorpion’s gravity-defying training sequence takes the biscuit. It's another moment that's proved to be rather influential on the martial arts genre.
4. Fist Of Fury (1972)
The movie: Bruce Lee’s second major martial arts picture after The Big Boss, Fist Of Fury confirms him as one of the defining kung fu stars, especially as he choreographed his own fight scenes. Here, he’s Chen Zhen, who fights to avenge his master’s death while defending the honour of the Chinese.
Coolest fight: A crescendo of music, and then deadly silence. Then: “Get out!” and lots of fighting. They’re not called fists of fury for nothing.
Iconic moment: Lee, being the humble chap that he is, takes on an entire Japanese martial arts school. This is why baddies only ever attack one at at a time - it just looks way cooler.
3. Drunken Master (1978)
The movie: Now it's nothing new, but back in the late seventies no-one was mixing comedy and martial arts. This was one of the first successful genre blends of that type, and became Jackie Chan’s calling card. He stars as Wong Fei-hung, who trains in the ancient form of Drunk Boxing.
Coolest fight: While drinking and fighting typically results in a night in the slammer, for Chan's fighter it's an intoxicating combination. It's amazing that his moves connect.
Iconic moment: The training sequences in which Chan is quite clearly suffering a lot. The birth of the "Ah, I'm so tired but I know I must go on to be the master" training montage.
2. Snake In The Eagles Shadow (1978)
The movie: Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow was released just before The Drunken Master, and was Jackie Chan's breakthrough role, as well as the directorial debut of martial arts auteur Yuen Woo-ping. Chan stars as an orphan adopted into a kung fu school, where he’s ill-treated by the teachers and over-worked as a janitor. Yeah, he's gonna turn out just fine.
Coolest fight: Pai Chang-tien and Sheng Kuan confront each other in a dusty desert setting, using their wildly different sparring skills in a fight to the finish. Can the eagle triumph over the snake?
Iconic moment: Those frankly groove-tastic opening credits, in which a solid-muscle Jackie Chan practises kung fu moves against a hot red backdrop. Ow!
1. The 36th Chamber Of Shaolin (1978)
The movie: Massive influentially and seriously polished, the film is loosely based on the story of Shaolin martial arts student San Te, who’s pulled into a rebellion against the Manchu government. Gordon Liu, whose name is all over this here list, stars as the bald-headed warrior and gives one of his most dynamic performances.
Coolest fight: The fiery, bladed confrontation which - as YouTube users have kindly acknowledged in their titling of videos - could just be the best fight scene EVER. It totally is.
Iconic moment: “Master, teach me kung fu,” beseeches San Te, only to get an invisible whipping from the bearded old bloke. That’ll learn him. In a funny twist, Liu would go on to play mentors to tons of other desperate students throughout his career.
