My favorite 40 classic Kung Fu movies in order. You may notice no Bruce Lee or Jacky Chan that is not because i overlooked them, while I do respect both,(Bruce for what he did for Martial arts cinema, and Jackie's early films were pretty good) I just wouldn't put either actors films in my personal top 40. I also didn't include Shaw Brothers films because I will do a top 20 Shaw Brothers films also. Enjoy
http://www.ranker.com/list/my-top-40-classic-kung-fu-films-_non-shaw-brothers_/stephenclark,
Daggers 8
Shaolin Invicible Sticks
A master of pole fighting (Chang Yi) and his disciples are traveling the countryside and challenging all of the pole fighting schools to matches to the death. Wong Tao plays the young heir to one of those prominent pole fighting schools. His uncles deceive him by making him believe he has failed the test to prove himself worthy so they can throw him out of the school before the pole master arrives to kill them. Once he learns of what has happened to his family and their school, he turns his attention to becoming the best pole fighter, and seeks revenge on the man who killed his family.
The Mystery of Chessboxing
Lee Yi Min stars as an eager young kung fu student who seeks to improve his fighting skills with an aim to avenge his father's murder at the hands of the Ghost Face Killer, an overwhelming force of destruction and master of the death-dealing Five Element Fist. Lee Yi Min's eagerness to study attracts the attention of the Master Of Chess Boxing, Jack Long, who is the Ghost Face Killer's arch enemy. Together, master and student devise a wicked cross fertilization of the Chess Boxing and Five Element Fist styles and set out to put an end to Ghost Face's deadly reign.
Shaolin Devil, Shaolin Angel
An assassin terrorizes the countryside, killing many fighters from distinct clans and leaving only one clue - a mask. A secret government agent (Don Wong Tao) posing as an assassin himself, is on assignment to bring the assassin to justice. Meanwhile, Wan Yi Fei (Chen Sing) and his brother Wong Tu Lung (Wong Hap) are attacked and killed along with many other of the clan. Chen (Stephen Tung Wei), Wong Tu Lung's son, is the lone survivor and goes to the mountain to train with an old monk in order to get revenge.
Buddah's Palm and Dragon Fist
Chi Kuan Chun is sent to look for a killer. Kuan Chun is a student at Shaolin and Lee I Min is mad that Kuan Chun was chosen to go. The rest of the movie is nonstop fights and comedy with Lee I Min playing jokes on Kuan Chun. The movie is kind of thin and predictable on plot but there is superb choreography and fights throughout . And overall the movie is above average with lots of good comedy. So turn your brain off and enjoy.
The choreography is done by the main villain of the movie Suen Shu Pau. I am guessing Robert Tai also had a hand in the action because I spotted him in the movie. The fighting is very dance like and it is so much fun to watch. There are too many fights to go over, but I will tell you that the final fight is the best. It is fast and furious and 8 minutes long.
Shaolin Vs. Lama
Alexander Lo Rei plays Sun Yu Ting, a kung fu fanatic in search of a teacher. After five years of challenging masters but never being beaten he runs into Hsu Shi (William Yen), a young Shaolin monk who stole money from a gambling match in order to acquire meat and wine for his master, who later discovers Yu Ting inside the Buddhist temple. Although Hsu's master defeats Yu with ease he refuses to take him on as a student. Yu then resorts to trickery to try and learn techniques from the aged monk. Eventually these antics come to the attention of the senior abbot who expels Yu Ting from the temple altogether.
Yu is only allowed back into the temple after he rescues a girl escaping from the dreaded skyhawk clan. The head of the gang is a chief Lama and sworn enemy of Shaolin who, twelve years ago, stole one of temple's most treasured martial arts manuals the i-ching manual. Hsu Shi's master eventually agrees to take Yu Ting on as a student but lessons are cut short when the Lama turns up and kills the master (who was his ex-master). Yu now swears revenge but before he can leave Shaolin he has to learn the Buddhist Finger technique, the only style that can defeat the Lama Chief.
The Challenger
Two top class kung fu fighters challenge all the top kung fu masters in the land, one motivated by revenge, the other by greed. The two fighters team up to face their ultimate challenge in the form of Master Pao
Seven Steps of Kung Fu
A ruthless white-haired general intends to take over a small town with the help of his posse, "The Five Hands Gang". A local tearaway and kung fu kid, Tiger, learns of their plot and informs his uncle Lee San Pai, master of the seven steps style of kung fu and sworn enemy of the Five Hands Gang. The old master instructs Tiger in the art of seven steps kung fu and together they tackle the white-haired general and the Five Hands Gang. A true classic that shook late night!
Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu
Hung Chow (Phillip Ko) is hired by the Chings to track down a group of Ching rebels who have the secret list of names of all the rebel supporters. Of the group, only two men escape from Hung Chow's wrath: a Monk names Monk Grass (Chan Siu Pang) and a layman named Chan (Lin Chiao). Chan becomes a Sifu at a local town and Monk Grass lives off in Wang Si. Chan Sifu happens unto a lad named Sing (Cliff Lok), whom he teaches his gung fu to in secrecy. Due to some town rules (gung fu cannot be taught to outsiders), Master Chan must stop teaching Sing gung fu, and so he sends off Sing, with the secret list in tow, to find Monk Grass and learn more gung fu. Eventually, Ah Sing gets involved in the rebel cause to usurp the Ching rule. In the finale, he has to battle the Ching lackey, Hung Chow, in a duel to the death using his newfound Choi Lee Fat style.
Shaolin Iron Claws
At the beginning of the republic, an ex-Ching lord (Chan Sing) forces a group of ex-Ching ministers to sign a declaration for the re-establishment of the Ching Dynasty. This declaration falls into the hands of a provincial police cheif (Wong Tao) and all hell breaks loose.