FIGHT!!
Dramas/movies with a fighting-oriented story. Not war based. Bonus points if they do a breakdown of the fighting styles. If you know the name of a fight choreographer that is not listed, please comment with your source. Acronyms cuz im lazy: GNH/HGN (Gun, knife, and hand-to-hand (must include all three))
Also, fun fact: Yeun Woo-Ping did the choreography for IP Man 4 and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon also did the choreography for The Matrix.
-
1. O Homem de Lugar Nenhum
Korean Movie - 2010
WOW EXCELLENTLY CHOREOGRAPHED FIGHT SCENES FUCK (GNH)
Choreographed by the director, Lee Jeong-Beom
-
2. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Chinese Movie - 2000
really fun fight scenes. a must watch for action fans. Really loved the versatility in the weapons.
Yuen Wo-ping won best action choreographer thanks to this movie.
-
3. Half of Us
Chinese Drama - 2023, 24 episodes
idk about practical, but the fight choreography is elegant. The director/choreographer is clearly a wuxia fan in the likes of cinema rather than dramas. (which is great cuz most dramas dont do it as well. with the exception of Story of Ming Lan surprisingly????)
This does the fun thing where they go name sword techniques and stuff.
imma be real with you, i skipped and 2x a lot of the dialogue towards the end. BUT i never 2x the action. It's fun to watch ^_^
-
4. Painted Skin
Chinese Movie - 2022
nice line work
-
5. A Journey to Love
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
Assassins with knives, swords, and projectiles. Nice choreography sometimes. Lots of line work, aka in the air a lot. Fun spins and flips.
-
6. País das Maravilhas do Amor
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
FINALLY SOME FUCKING GOOD ASS FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY (might only be in the first episode though, I ended up dropping this)
-
7. A História de Ming Lan
Chinese Drama - 2018, 78 episodes
this is really not a fighting show, but the fight scenes are pretty well done when they do happen. Especially this one assassin i was like hellll yeahhhh
-
8. Hanzawa Naoki
Japanese Drama - 2013, 10 episodes
there's Kendo sparring and then another scene where that experience is applied to golf clubs
-
9. Holyland
Japanese Drama - 2005, 13 episodes
Bonus: boxing, karate, judo
-
10. Holy Land
Korean Drama - 2012, 4 episodes
Bonus: boxing, karate, judo
-
11. Voe Pai, Voe!
Korean Movie - 2006
Bonus I think boxing?
-
12. O Grande Mestre
Hong Kong Movie - 2008
Bonus: wing chun
Choreographer by Sammo Hung and Tony Leung
-
13. O Grande Mestre 2
Hong Kong Movie - 2010
Bonus: wing chun
Choreographer: Sammo Hung
-
14. Mestre Z: O Legado de Ip Man
Hong Kong Movie - 2018
Wing Chun and then I don't have a strong enough eye to recognize anything else. HGK. And sword~!
choreographer: Yuen Woo Ping
-
15. O Grande Mestre 3
Hong Kong Movie - 2015
Mike Tyson is in this one
- Wing Chun vs Wing Chun
- Wing Chun vs Boxing
- Wing Chun vs Thai martial arts (I don't remember the style sorry, comment if you know!)
-
16. O Grande Mestre 4
Hong Kong Movie - 2019
Really liked the Wing Chun vs Tai Chi fight. Tai Chi is just so elegant.
- Karate vs Karate
- Kung Fu vs Karate
- Wing Chun vs Karate
- Wing Chun vs Tai Chi
- Tai Chi vs Karate
-
17. Menina Do Guarda-Volume
Korean Movie - 2015
-
18. Ouroboros
Japanese Drama - 2015, 10 episodes
HGN
i like the choreography in this one. it's tight and quick
-
19. Sandglass
Korean Drama - 1995, 24 episodes
-
20. Caçador da Cidade
Korean Drama - 2011, 20 episodes
-
21. Curador
Korean Drama - 2014, 20 episodes
-
22. A Grande Doutora
Korean Drama - 2012, 24 episodes
sword fighting and fantasy violence
-
23. House of Flying Daggers
Chinese Movie - 2004
Choreographer: Siu-Tung Ching
-
24. Little Big Soldier
Chinese Movie - 2010
-
25. Man on High Heels
Korean Movie - 2014
-
26. Local Hero
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
-
27. Old Boy
Korean Movie - 2003
Has probably one of the most iconic fight scenes in Korean cinema.
Choreographer: Ji Jung-Hyeon
-
28. Há Quanto Tempo
Korean Drama - 2017, 5 episodes
-
29. Chave da Sorte
Korean Movie - 2016
-
30. Memories of the Sword
Korean Movie - 2015
-
31. Monstro
Korean Movie - 2014
-
32. My Wife Is A Gangster
Korean Movie - 2001
-
33. Battle Royale
Japanese Movie - 2000
splatter film with many types of weapons
-
34. Battle Royale II: Requiem
Japanese Movie - 2003
same as BR
-
35. Lookism
Chinese Drama - 2019, 38 episodes
I dropped this but if it's like the webtoon then Bonus
-
36. Princess Pearl
Chinese Drama - 1998, 24 episodes
our silly hot-headed heroine
-
37. The Swordsman 2
Hong Kong Movie - 1992
-
38. A Vilã
Korean Movie - 2017
-
39. A Bruxa: Parte 1. A Subversão
Korean Movie - 2018
supernatural violence (and gun and knife and hand-to-hand)
-
40. The Witch: Part 2
Korean Movie - 2022
supernatural violence GNH
-
41. O Indomável
Chinese Drama - 2019, 50 episodes
sword fighting and fantasy violence
-
42. Palavra de Honra
Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
Bonus kind of
-
43. Coração Escarlate
Chinese Drama - 2011, 35 episodes
Bonus: There's a certain style of horseback fighting that is discussed in the show. To see the style in action, watch Painted Skin 2: Resurrection
-
44. Painted Skin: The Resurrection
Chinese Movie - 2012
-
45. Red Cliff
Chinese Movie - 2008
This is a war title, but it goes on this list for its choreography and strategy. Demonstrate specific battle formations in a really easy to understand way, and has some cool fighting styles that are unique to combat on horses.
-
46. Seus Olhos Dizem
Japanese Movie - 2020
kick boxing
-
47. A Vida Privada Dela
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
not a violent show, but one of the supporting characters is a Taekwando world champion
-
48. Reino
Korean Drama - 2019, 6 episodes
sword fighting and zombies
-
49. Reino 2
Korean Drama - 2020, 6 episodes
-
50. Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Korean Special - 2021, 1 episode
same as kingdom but also archery
-
51. Corredores da Meia-noite
Korean Movie - 2017
Bonus: They go over self defense moves.
-
52. Nossos Tempos
Taiwanese Movie - 2015
just ur typical school fighting scenes. if u watch it, watch for romance, not for fights
-
53. Dias Melhores
Chinese Movie - 2019
-
54. Round 6
Korean Drama - 2021, 9 episodes
death games, gun violence, maybe knife violence?
-
55. Nós Três Sobreviveremos
Thai Drama - 2019, 10 episodes
one hit anywhere kills you instantly apparently. unless you have a few lines.
-
56. O Convidado
Korean Drama - 2018, 16 episodes
choreography isn't very good.
-
57. Boxing
Taiwanese Movie - 2019
i mean the title says it all
-
58. Tokyo Revengers
Japanese Movie - 2021
street fighting, boxing
-
59. Traços de Fumaça
Japanese Drama - 2018, 12 episodes
Boxing and MMA?
-
60. Weak Hero
Korean Drama - 2022, 8 episodes
MMA, street fighting, knife, hand-to-hand, john wick style pens, and then the usual random make-shift weapons.
I liked the choreography for this. it was pretty well thought out and specific towards each characters.
Bonus: at one point Suho teaches Sieun some fighting stuff
-
61. Os Superdotados
Thai Drama - 2018, 13 episodes
The episodes are episodic and shift between main characters. One of these main characters is especially gifted in physical activities and is part of the MMA club.
-
62. Daisy
Korean Movie - 2006
its about an assassin and they use guns but we dont see a lot of action
-
63. Ichi the Killer
Japanese Movie - 2001
just.... very creative
directed by Takashi Miike
-
64. Connect
Korean Drama - 2022, 6 episodes
HGN and scifi shenanigans. A couple axes. Choreography is not bad. serial killings
Directed by Takahashi Miike, but not at all to the same standard as Ichi the Killer
-
65. Lady Snowblood
Japanese Movie - 1973
Assassin, sword fighting
-
66. Tabu
Japanese Movie - 1999
Samurai, sword fighting. Shinsengumi
-
67. Seven Samurai
Japanese Movie - 1954
Samurai, sword fighting and guns
-
68. Samurai X: O Início
Japanese Movie - 2021
sword fighting and guns briefly. Shinsengumi
-
69. Cruel Story of the Shogunate's Downfall
Japanese Movie - 1964
sword fighting, but more like sword swinging
-
70. Eu Não
Thai Drama - 2021, 14 episodes
Boxing, hand gun, revolver
-
71. Bad Buddy
Thai Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
street fighting
-
72. Guardião
Chinese Drama - 2018, 40 episodes
fantasy violence (not great) and some underground arena fighting (not well choreographed). Based on the posters, pretty sure the arena is supposed to be MMA/boxing focused
-
73. Número MG5
Japanese Drama - 2022, 10 episodes
yankee fighting. choreo is meh but its fun
-
74. Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Japanese Drama - 2000, 11 episodes
street fighting/gangs, police harassment, yakuza fighting, and serial killings
-
75. Hurts Like Hell
Thai Drama - 2022, 4 episodes
Muai Thai. I don't personally recommend this. As a documentary, I felt it focused too much on drama with wayyyyyy too much slowmo. Could have saved a lot of time by prioritizing the interviews and just occasionally getting into the drama. if you do watch it, I recommend watching it on 2x speed.
-
76. Rainha Cheorin
Korean Drama - 2020, 20 episodes
choreography was actually not bad, but the performances were not good. sword fighting, rifles, archery
-
77. O Conto de Nokdu
Korean Drama - 2019, 32 episodes
It has creative fight choreography, but sometimes the execution falls short. Like someone throwing a knife incorrectly, or someone stabbing someone with the wrong hand (sword is literally in the air, and supposed stabbing done with the empty hand..... awkward).
sword, fantasy martial arts, drunken master trope, archery
-
78. KinnPorsche The Series
Thai Drama - 2022, 14 episodes
street fighting, hand-to-hand (taekwondo) and gun. Kind of meh execution.
-
79. Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils
Hong Kong Drama - 1982, 50 episodes
old school wuxia fighting. uses mixed techniques as it explores different schools. tbh the moves looks almost the same everywhere they go though. Fun for theory, less so for choreography.
weapons of all kind (including an abacus?!), hand-to-hand, inner force/qi stuff.
-
80. Gannibal
Japanese Drama - 2022, 7 episodes
Hand-to-hand, rifles, shotguns, pistols, cannibalism
-
81. Box!
Japanese Movie - 2010
-
82. Ooku: The Inner Chamber
Japanese Drama - 2012, 10 episodes
the fighting is not very memorable, but there's like a training area for Kendo they sometimes spar in.
-
83. Mestre das Lâminas
Japanese Drama - 2022, 9 episodes
katana vs scabbard fighting, supernatural
-
84. Santuário: Área Sagrada
Japanese Drama - 2023, 8 episodes
sumo wrestling
-
85. Par de Espelhos
Chinese Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
HGN
-
86. Almost Paradise
Filipino Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
HGN
Favorite fight scene is in the second to last episode. favorite weapon was the pearl handle.
-
87. Reino
Japanese Movie - 2019
Swords
-
88. The Murderer and the Toy
Korean Drama - 2024, 8 episodes
HGK
-
89. Secret of the Water Technique
Taiwanese Movie - 1984
I don't know enough about martial arts, but this is apparently in the 80s a bunch of movies were made with storylines centering around characters who specialized in Wu Tang martials arts style. This is one of those.
-
90. City Hunter
Japanese Movie - 2024
Mix of some nice choreo and some choreo that is meant to be comedically ridiculous. HGK
-
91. Tokyo Rampage
Japanese Movie - 1998
HGK but done in a slice of life sort of way instead of a thriller
-
92. The Double
Chinese Drama - 2024, 40 episodes
swords and poison and spears. Choreography is kinda meh
-
93. A Pessoa Prometida
Chinese Drama - 2024, 40 episodes
decent choreography
-
94. Gekitotsu! Aikido
Japanese Movie - 1975