NERGAL BEHEMOTH
FIGHT
EXPERIENCE
Trained in
Taekwondo and
VoVinam Vie T
Vo dao
The Street Fighter (mill Creek, 1974) This Japanese answer to Enter the Dragon displays the by-any-means-necessary fighting style of Sonny Chiba, perhaps martial-arts cinema’s most underrated and ultra-violent pain-bringer. (“If you’ve got to fight—fight dirty!” goes this film’s tagline.) Scenes like the one in which Chiba castrates a rapist with his bare hands helped the movie become the first to receive an “X” rating for violence alone.
CROUCHING
TIGER
HIDDEN
DRAGON
ok, i know this
is gonna look
wimpy…but i
love the approach
of this movie, all
the theatrics, the
surreal fights, and
the beautiful story
behind it. i saw it
a few years ago
in the theaters
and it was
overwhelming.
The Karate Kid (Columbia, 1984) The film that flooded American martial arts schools in the ’80s, The Karate Kid probably doesn’t inspire many Daniel Larusso-wannabes anymore but it stands as one hilariously cheesy cinematic classic. And telling the story of a dorky teenager learning the true meaning of strength (from his family’s handyman, Mr. Miyagi) and defeating the bullying jocks at his school, it still packs a message relevant to young outcast metalheads.
the street fighter, the karate kid, (2) crouching tiger, iron monkey: photofest
DAVE
PETERS
THROWDOWN
FIGHT
EXPERIENCE
His band’s named
THrowdown.
’nuff said.
(Columbia Tris Tar, 2000)
Flying warriors, sacred paper-thin swords,
and gorgeous landscapes fill director Ang
Lee’s Academy Award-winning ancient
Chinese fairytale, which reinvented both
the physics of martial-arts cinema and
the career of Chow Yun-Fat, who was
previously best known for his gun-slinging
in John Woo-helmed
shoot-’em-ups. Plus,
it features not one
but two totally hot,
totally kickass kung-
fu babes in future
Bond girl Michelle
Yeoh and quite
possibly the most
beautiful woman
alive, Zhang Ziyi.
The Matrix (Warner bros., 1999) The Matrix helped reintroduce the US public to martial arts through its many gravity-defying throw-downs, all choreographed by Hong Kong vet Yuen Woo Ping (Drunken Master, Fist of Legend, Iron Monkey, every other chop-socky masterpiece). Soon a whole new generation of action fans could second Keanu Reeves’ robotronic announcement: “I know kung fu.”
not only does Van
damme have that
killer and utterly
absurd yell/facial
expression when
he’s blinded by
that curry powder
shit that bolo
Yeung throws in
his face, but ogre
from Revenge of
the Nerds is quite
possibly the best
supporting actor
in the history
of film!
Iron Monkey (miramax, 1993)
A kindly doctor by day and masked Robin Hood type by night, the Iron Monkey teams up with his comely and brilliantly named assistant Orchid Ho, as well as an itinerant martial artist and his young son to do battle with corrupt government officials, deformed henchmen, and a disgraced monk wielding an earth-splitting kung-fu technique known as “The Buddha’s Palm.“ The resulting acrobatic face-offs are so awe-inspiring that a certain UK sludge band named itself after the movie.
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