Best movies like Return of the Phoenix

Each member of a family in Taipei asks hard questions about life's meaning as they live through everyday quandaries. NJ is morose: his brother owes him money, his mother is in a coma, his wife suffers a spiritual crisis when she finds her life a blank and his business partners make bad decisions.

Chow Tung is a licentious man who was arranged to get married along with his ugly sister Gut to partners not of their choice. Chow, being a filial son, agrees to go along with his mother's plans. The plot thickens when Chow meets the beautiful Snow White and decides to marry her of which Matriarch Chow agrees whole-heartedly.

Several years after his beloved Nieh has gone, Ning is innocently put into jail. Luckily, he meets a scholar, Elder Chu Kot, in the prison who finally helps him escape. Ning then meets a young witty monk Autumn. They become friends and live in an abandoned villa together. The villa is horrific, yet they choose to stay for a while. Later that night, some ghosts suddenly appear and attack; two parties fight heavily. But after clarifications, Ning and Autumn find that "the ghosts" are humans in disguise, who intend to save their leader from imprisonment but not hurting innocence. Among them, Ning finds someone who looks identical to Nieh, and considers she is the reincarnated Nieh. A real giant zombie has seen all these in behind and is ready to ambush.

The film tells the story of Tang Bohu, a famous scholar who spends most of his time wandering around the countryside.

A lawyer falls in love with a gang boss, gets knocked up and drags him to the altar. One evening, cradling the crying infant, he metamorphoses into a doting daddy, and henceforth devotes his life to keeping her from finding out his true identity. His light and joy grows into a teenager, and alas, falls for the son of a cop, while rival gangs move in on his turf.

'FLOWER KID' was a 'Robin Hood' type of hero who robs the rich and gives the poor. He was adored by many people especially a kid named 'FATSO', who considered himself as 'FLOWER KID jr.' Madam Bee, a woman of guts and evil hated 'FLOWER KID' because he once refused to kill her husband. She then married a rich 'Big Shot' and used his money and power to hire a bounty hunter called 'SKINNY'. Skinny caught the imitating hero 'Fatso'. They fought, understood, became good friends and went on look for 'Flower Kid'...

The Yang family, men and women, have served their country loyally for generations. During the war General Yang is ambushed and killed. His widow and the entire family set out to avenge his death and defend the country.

As a valiant Chinese general and his men battle Tartar invaders, patriot swordsmen attempt to stop the delivery of 12 medallions sent by a traitor that could spell the doom of the Sung Dynasty. When a powerful kung fu master assumes responsibility for the deliveries, his daughter and a former student turn against him in order to save China.

Secret Service of the Imperial Court was one of the last kung fu/swordplay films to be made at Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio. Set in the Ming Dynasty, it makes excellent use of the studio's vast array of sprawling sets and colorful costumes to give a real period flavor. It has a good cast, lots of large-scale fight action and an exciting storyline about a conflict between an honorable officer and a corrupt Eunuch.

Emperor Chien Lung uses disguises to experience life among his subjects.

Top fighter leaves his sifu to join his new friend the 4th Prince, and supports him in his bid to gain the throne and eventually overthrow the Ching.

Chang Yi plays Chan Chao, a knight of justice, who thwarts the plans of Minister Peng to assassinate the revered Judge Pao Cheng over and over again. Lo Lieh gives Chang a good run for his money as the evil and sinister henchman of Minister Peng.

Yueh Hua stars as an assassin who flees after killing a hated prime minister, with Lo Lieh as the relentless imperial guard who pursues him to a remote village being terrorized by bandits. When Yueh takes over the identity of a county officer newly assigned to the village, his ruse is assisted by a pretty innkeeper's daughter (Li Ching) who insists to Lieh that Yueh is indeed the county officer and happens also to be the cousin who was betrothed to her as a child. The confused innkeeper is persuaded by his daughter to support the ruse, thus delaying Lieh's efforts to arrest the wanted man.

The Yu family earn the ire of the Green Dragon clan when the daughter kills the clan chief's son. The Green Dragon chief wounds family head Yu Yuan with his flying daggers, and kills many others who try to protect the noble family. Wandering swordsman Ying Qing saves the family in a fight, using his own flying dagger skills, but his allegiances and motives are unclear.

Following "Clans Of Intrigue"'s success, director Chu Yuan, novelist Ku Lung, and superstar Ti Lung re-teamed for another adventure featuring sexy knight Chu Liu-Hsiang. This time, he travels to the mysterious Island Of The Bats, where he encounters treacherous monks, beautiful women, and a strange Prince. The movie is also a significant milestone in the amount of female flesh revealed on screen, proving that Shaw movies can balance the yin of cheesecake with the yang of beefcake.

Spoiled Yuen Si Si, the naive daughter of an affluent merchant, lives her cosseted life dreaming of meeting her idol, the heroic Qin Ge. When her father decides to marry her off, she runs away in search of Qin Ge, with her fiancee in pursuit. What she doesn't realise though is that her kung-fu skills are not what she thinks they are and that the outside world is far less chivalrous that she expected.

A group of evil bandits are terrorizing the land from their invincible mountain castle. The high commanding official decides to put a stop to this and commands one of his officers to gather a group of Kung Fu masters to put an end to the terror. But everything is not that simple and straight-forward, as we quite soon learn when the plot thickens.

Chuan Yuan is the noble, powerful hero and Shu Pei-pei, one of Shaw’s top swordswoman, is a reluctant bride who comes upon a rebellion plot. They are joined by a large cast of expert fighters and actors all keeping the intrigue and adventure foremost in the film. There’s even a nice surprise ending amidst all the action.

A kung fu knight walks the road to vengeance after the evil Ghost Gang kills his wife and son. The swordsman known as "Twin Blades" must take on a quartet of color-coded cutthroats to set things right.

Welcome the "Bandit with a Thousand Faces" to the ranks of the great screen "outlaw heroes". Like Zorro, he uses a secret identity as a playboy to foil tyrannical Shan Yung county authorities. Bringing this swashbuckling adventure to the screen is a cast and crew fairly bursting with talent - including directors who were also popular actors and writers, and an actor (Ling Yun) - playing the lead dual role of twin brothers - who was also the director/ writer of some of the greatest martial art epics ever made!

Little Bastard searches for the parents who abandoned him as an infant, with the help of Little Beggar. He finds his father, who is a powerful and wealthy manl and is taken in by him and his family. Before long Little Bastard is seduced by his attractive cousin, making Little Beggar very jealous. However, the seduction and family welcome are all part of a nefarious plan.

Famed screenwriter Shen Chiang got one of his very first chances to direct his own script with this exciting action adventure. His story is suitably thrilling: if villains "Winged Tiger" Teng Fei and "Underworld King" Yin Te-lung combine their kung-fu knowledge, the "Martial Arts World" will be plunged into chaos. That evil union is set to occur at the marriage of Yin's sister to Teng. Can this dangerous duo be stopped before one says "I do"?

Chu Liu-hsiang, the charming, capable, and, yes, sentimental, swordsman is back in action for this extremely well-named third in the hit box-office series. The titanic team of director Chu Yuan and novelist Ku Lung wisely choose to give their hero a whole new, non-stop, cliffhanger-fraught adventure featuring a mystery swordsman, a sensual swordswoman, an imperial assassin, a Ghost Mansion, the Bat Island, a booby-trapped tunnel, double crosses, and secret missions. And there are no fewer than three martial arts choreographers on hand to guide the amazing mayhem.

TIGER KILLER (1982) is a straightforward adaptation of one story from the sprawling Chinese literary epic, "The Water Margin." It tells the tale of Wu Song, who slays a man-eating tiger preying on farmers and villagers and becomes the hero of the province, getting appointed as a constable by the local magistrate. He is reunited with his older brother, the short, disfigured Wu the Elder, a peddler of buns, who invites Wu Song to move in with him and his new wife. The wife, Golden Lotus, is an attractive young former maid who had been forced to marry Wu the Elder as punishment for getting caught in bed with her master by the master's wife. She takes a liking to the handsome, strong Wu Song, who rebuffs her attempts to seduce him. When Wu Song is sent on a long journey, the wife begins an affair with a rich local merchant. When Wu Song returns from his mission, he is met with shocking news which sets off a series of violent acts of retribution.

Snake Prince (Ti Lung) is wandering with his snake buddies when he happens upon a beautiful maiden (Lin Chen-Chi) singing a prayer for rain. The song soon turns into a funky dance with the whole drought-blighted village, so the prince and his pals assume human form and join the party. The prince is so smitten with the maiden that he offers to share the snakes' river with the village if he can marry her. The villagers aren't too fond on the idea of marrying off their No. 1 babe to a snake, prince or no, but they really do need that water. (MrBooth/HKMDB)

Love knows no limits in the grand period romance, Lady Jade Locket. A young fighter inadvertently falls for the spirit of a beautiful woman, who died years earlier avenging her own father's murder. The beautiful ghost is in fact the sister of his fiancee. Experienced as an actor in many such romances, director Yen Chuan keeps the tone perfect. Plus, with period specialist Li Li-hua in the lead and the attractive and acclaimed Li Ching playing the ghost girl, he really can do no wrong.

Despite Kuang Hsu's enthronement as the last reigning Emperor of China, his ability to rule effectively is overshadowed by the ever-present power of the Dowager Empress. When his attempts to reform the Imperial system are thwarted by the Dowager Empress, he attempts to curb her power. His efforts are not successful, and this failure leads directly to his own death and the end of Imperial rule in China. The Dowager Empress, though, ends her days comfortably and in peace.

Admist a rebellion during the Ching Dynasty in ancient China, a nurse flees the palace with a young prince. As an adult, he convinces the daughter of the usurper to betray her father and to assist in restoring him as the rightful monarch.

Young love and its comedy of errors. Hsiao Fang, played by Li Ching, is a spunky young girl not afraid to fight back against hooligans. Unfortunately, she mistakes the handsome Ma Ta-hai, for one such hoodlum. The two are immediately attracted but refuse to admit their true feelings. The real hooligans are from a rich family led by a devious Madam who devise a revenge plot. With plot twists, mistaken identities, along with some terrific musical numbers, romance has never been this much fun.

Huangmei Opera movies like The Pearl Phoenix are unique to 1960's Hong Kong culture, a product of the Swinging Sixties but considerably more in touch with their Chinese roots. This one is complete with a gender-bending tale where the male lead is played by female and the female lead poses as a man, plus movie queen Li Ching and the singing voices of Ivy Ling Po and Jing Ting. Sit back and enjoy!

Jenny Wu is a singer who charms the well-to-do Peter Chen, but his parents object to a union between their only son and a lowly cabaret singer. He ignores their advice and marries her anyway, and for a time, they find some manner of wedded bliss. But the years are not entirely kind. He works hard to make ends meet, but his health pays the price.

Ling Bo is Lin, a young man engaged to the daughter of a rich man, who now despises Lin because of his family's declining status. Lin visits his beloved fiancee before he heads towards the imperial city to participate in the civil service examination, only to find her maid lying dead in blood. Lin is then accused of murder. How can Judge Bao prove his innocence?

It seems that Li Zhenfei was once an imperial concubine, who often found herself competing with her rival Madame Liu for the emperor's sole, undivided attention. When Li gives birth to the Emperor's child, the jealous Liu switches the boy with a cat and commands a servant named Kou Zhu to kill the baby. However, Kou Zhu ignores the order and gives the prince-to-be to the emperor's brother, a decision which eventually leads to the boy being adopted by the emperor himself! But as fate would have it, to go along with his new son, the emperor has a new wife as well - Madame Liu! As this strange new family unit is being constructed, poor Li Zhenfei has been confined to the forbidden palace, condemned to never see or speak to her son, the prince. But destiny reunites her with her son, but will this family reunion be a happy one? And will Madame Liu finally be punished for her treachery?

Accredited director of erotica and kung-fu films Chu Yuan, combines stars from both genres in Sex, Love And Hate, a masterpiece about Hong Kong society's differing emotional views on love and what women want when it comes to happiness in love. The provocative Ching Li (Chu Tai), the exotic Lily Ho (Pai Mei) and the princess of kung-fu films Hsu Feng (Yao Yao), play three women who live together and compare notes as to what would make them happy in love, in life, then go out to find it. Pai Mei wants money at all costs, Chu Tai will marry as soon as the opportunity arises and Yao Yao is saving her virginity for Mr. Right.

The tragic love triangle of early 20th century Peking Opera star Chiu Hai-tang, his beautiful stage partner, and the warlord who forces himself between them, has been a favorite with Chinese audiences for decades.