The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture

TV Movie
2002
TV-14
1h 45m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Ziyi Zhang in The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture (2002)

A look at the history of martial arts films from their chinese roots to the present, presented by Samuel L. Jackson.A look at the history of martial arts films from their chinese roots to the present, presented by Samuel L. Jackson.A look at the history of martial arts films from their chinese roots to the present, presented by Samuel L. Jackson.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

378

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos

More like this

7.1

L'arroseur arrosé

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Quotes
Bruce Lee: To me - okay? - to me, ultimately martial art means honestly expressing yourself. That is very difficult to do.

Connections
Features Safety Last! (1923)

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

4/10

good summary of the history of kung fu films, but should've had a different narrator

As a fan of kung fu movies, I enjoyed this trip through the ages of kung fu movies. Yeah, the title would have you believe the documentary is about action films in general, but it's not. It would have you believe it's about martial arts films in general, but - as before - it's not. They're really just focused on the kung fu movies that came out of Hong Kong, and other films influenced from those.

The film is "hosted" by Samuel L. Jackson, but I sure don't know why. He doesn't have the credentials to lend anything to the narration. And his taped narrative segments were awkward, read from a teleprompter, and distractingly shot by someone with an infatuation with gratuitous camera movement. The production company could've saved a lot of money by hiring a film historian to just narrate from a static angle or all in voice-over.

This film was a gift from a friend who found it in the bargain bin at the video store for $3, so I guess it's worth that. But don't pay $20 for it. I'll give it a 4 out of 10.