Review of Films of Fury: The Kung Fu Movie Movie (2011) by Alexander Z — 02 Aug 2014

If you're an avid fan of martial arts films and you want a) confirmation that these motions are awesome and b) a list of the "best of" titles, "Films of Fury" is an 80-minute documentary that's perfect for you. If you're interested in the genre but aren't very familiar with it you might have to watch it two or three times to manage the flurry of titles, terms and names thrown at you. Basically it's a documentary about Kung Fu movies, from the early films to the present day. You'll learn about the big names in terms of actors and directors, the people who developed now well-known techniques and why people love the genre so much.

This is a movie made by a fan, for fans and if you can't tolerate martial arts films, I really don't see this one converting you to the genre. It doesn't really tell you anything new in terms of philosophy or deep meaning about kung-fu action. It mostly talks about the stunts, the fights and the techniques being used. There is a lot of material being covered and a criticism I have about the movie is that at the beginning, it moves really quickly. If you're coming into this documentary with hopes of compiling a list of directors, actors and film titles that you can add to your list you better keep a pen and paper handy next to the remote. There are simply too many names being thrown around, with too many of them sounding the same (and not only because of all the Bruce Lees, Bruce Lis, Brandon Lees and other imitators) to be able to just memorize them after one viewing. Nevertheless, you can tell that this is a passion project, very well researched and containing tons of clips from a lot of movies that you will want to add to your list of "want to see it" movies. It's a bit difficult to pinpoint who this movie is really made for however. If you're not a fan of martial arts you won't have much interest. If you just have a passing curiosity, there's a lot of information being thrown at you and frankly, it's overwhelming. If you are a fanatic, you probably know most of this stuff already. So who is it for? My guess would be avid fans who have seen all of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee's stuff and want more. They will be familiar with enough of the names that they don't have to write every single one down and will instinctly known which of the featured titles will appeal to them.

Even if it wasn't announced on the Dvd cover that this film is based on a book, I would have guessed it because there is so much content here and it is so well researched. If this movie sounds like it's your thing it probably is, so my advice is as follows: rent the movie and watch it with a pen and paper handy and with a friend that shares your enthusiasm for martial arts films so the two of you can discuss the titles that come up. Watch a couple of the titles that really grab you and if it's your thing, buy the book and then go crazy. Ultimately the film plays a bit better as a companion piece to your favorite martial arts films, but it fits very nicely on your Dvd shelf, particularly if you want to know more about the genre, or you want to get someone else interested in it too. (On Dvd, June 22, 2014).