must see martial art movies

[Jimbo]

As for Korean martial arts-related movies, the only two that I might recommend are: Musa (The Warrior) and City of Violence. Of the two, COV has more stylized violence, (i.e., Taekwondo), and IMO was more entertaining, but it seems to have gotten mixed reviews on other forums. There is another one I haven't seen yet, called Fighter in the Wind, about the life of Kyokushinkai karate founder Mas Oyama that sounds interesting. But for the most part, I can't get into the Korean MA movies in the same way I can a good Chinese or Thai MA movie.

Are you mainly into recent MA films, or are you open to old-school movies as well? Because there are loads of great ones, but the tempo, the styles, the effects, etc., are going to be different, as you know. Here is a small list of some of them (plus some newer ones, too) you might want to check out:

Shaolin Prince. (1983)
Five Element Ninjas. (1982)
The Prodigal Son. (1981)
Warriors Two. (1978)
Heroes Two. (1974)
Martial Club. (1981)
The Master. (1981)
36th Chamber of Shaolin. (1978)
Return to the 36th Chamber. (1980)
Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
Return of the Five Deadly Venoms (a.k.a., Crippled Avengers). (1978)
Disciples of Shaolin. (1975)
Shaolin Intruders. (1979)
8 Diagram Pole Fighter (will be released on DVD later this month). (1983)
Fist of Legend (1994).
So Close (2002).

There are some really great Sammo Hung and/or Jackie Chan films that either haven't been released on DVD, or aren't currently available, but are very good:

Wheels on Meals. (1984)
Dragons Forever. (1987)
The Pedicab Driver. (1989)