Best movies like Secret Service of the Imperial Court

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Secret Service of the Imperial Court Starring Leung Kar-yan, Tony Liu, Nancy Hu Guan-Chen, Ku Feng, and more. If you liked Secret Service of the Imperial Court then you may also like: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, Dragon Inn, Once Upon a Time in China IV, Reign of Assassins, Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

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.

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The 36th Chamber of Shaolin

The anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters. During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape, and devotes himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge.

Dragon Inn

During the Ming Dynasty, Tsao Siu-yan, a power-crazed eunuch who rules his desert region of China as if he were the Emperor, ruthlessly thwarts plots against him and sets a trap for one of his enemies at the Dragon Gate Inn.

Once Upon a Time in China IV

Wong Fei Hung must deal with both foreign threats and the nationalist Red Lantern Society in this continuation of the popular kung fu series.

Reign of Assassins

Set in ancient China, Zeng Jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical Buddhist monk's remains. She begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place, and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power-wielding secret.

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Hard man Ricky is incarcerated in a futuristic prison where ultra-violence is his only means of survival in the corrupt, sadistic system. He must battle his way quite literally 'through' the feared 'gang of four', and undergo multiple tortures before facing the governor in one of the goriest climaxes ever seen.

Royal Tramp

The story of Wilson Bond, a pimp who after saving Chan, the leader of the Heaven and Earth society, a revolutionary group, is made a member. After a botched first assignment for the group, he is made a servant to the Prince, the very person the Heaven and Earth society want to overthrow. What follows is plenty of mayhem and laughter.

The Enforcer

An undercover cop struggling to provide for his son and ailing wife, must infiltrate a ruthless gang. But things turn sour when another cop blows his cover and he quickly finds himself battling for his life and the lives of his family.

Kung Fu Hustle

It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.

Flash Point

Detective Sergeant Ma Jun, known for dispensing his own brand of justice during arrests, teams up with an undercover cop, Wilson, to try and bring down three merciless Vietnamese brothers running a smuggling ring in the months before mainland China's takeover of Hong Kong. Jun pursues the gang tirelessly, sometimes ignoring police protocols. A showdown is inevitable!

High Risk

After failing to save his wife from 'The Doctor', Kit Li is working as a bodyguard and secret stunt double for the cowardly martial arts film star Frankie Lane. Frankie attends an exhibition of the crown jewels of Russia at a Hong Kong hotel, and when the Doctor's gang take over the building in attempt to steal them, Kit is the only thing standing in their way. Will Frankie regain his courage? Will romance blossom between Kit and the nosy reporter? Who has the best Kung-Fu?

Body Weapon

While investigating murder cases involving masked rapists, Officer Ling herself is raped and her husband murdered by the suspects, on their wedding night. Rather than relying on her fellow police officers to solve her case, Ling chooses to use her own body as the weapon to take revenge on her violators.

Curse of the Golden Flower

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

Shaolin Mantis

When scholar Wei Fung is forcibly hired by the Manchu Emperor to infiltrate a clan of rebellious Ming Loyalists, his mission goes adrift when he falls in love with the clan's leader's granddaughter. Wei Fung must choose between his new love and his family, who will be put to death if he doesn't return to the palace successfully.

Fist of Legend

Chen Zhen, a Chinese engineering student in Kyoto, who braves the insults and abuse of his Japanse fellow students for his local love Mitsuko Yamada, daughter of the director, returns in 1937 to his native Shangai, under Japanse protectorate -in fact military occupation- after reading about the death of his kung-fu master Hou Ting-An in a fight against the Japanese champion Ryuichi Akutagawa.

Executioners from Shaolin

A couple unite - she is fluent in the crane style of kung fu, he in tiger style. They have a son, but the boy's father is killed by the evil eunuch Pai Mei. Disguised as a girl, his mom trains him in crane style while he secretly learns tiger style from his father's training manual.

The Legend II

The hero Fong Sai Yuk becomes involved in the secret brotherhood "The Red Flower", who are trying to overthrow the Manchurian emperor and re-establishing the Ming dynasty. The social upheaval is combined with Sai Yuk's personal moral conflict about how to conform to the rigid regime of the brotherhood and on top of that sort out his difficult love life, saddled with two presumptive wives.

Martial Arts of Shaolin

In ancient China, Zhi Ming trains at the legendary Northern Shaolin temple to avenge the death of his father at the hands of a nefarious magistrate.

Police Story

Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.

Tai-Chi Master

Falsely accused for cheating in a martial arts competition, two boyhood friends are banished from their Shaolin Temple and go their separate ways. As adults, they join opposing sides in a civil war. When one betrays the other, they settle their differences mano-a-mano.

Duel to the Death

In 16th century, during the Ming dynasty era, every ten years the greatest swordsman from Japan faces the greatest swordsman from China in a duel to the death for their nation's honor. As a duel approaches, Chinese champion Ching Wan and Japanese champion Hashimoto uncover a plot to rig the fight.

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate picks up three years after the infamous Dragon Inn was burnt down in the desert when its innkeeper Jade vanished. A new gang of marauders had taken over - innkeepers by day and treasure hunters by night. The inn is the rumoured location of a lost city buried under the desert, and its hidden treasure would only be revealed by a gigantic storm every 60 years. The gang used the inn as a front to locate the lost treasure.

The Miracle Fighters

Two elderly Taoist priests, Chi Men and Dun Jai, who learn their magic from the same teacher always quarrel with each other. They provide mirth and expert kung fu tuition to young man who is mistakenly presumed to be the crown prince of the Imperial Court, missing since childhood. The emperor dispatches an eunuch with the magic powers to apprehend the young man. But he must first deal with Chi Men and Dun Jia who are the young man's protector.

Cat and Mouse

Zhan Zhao is a court officer who learns of a plot to assassinate Judge Bao. While on holiday he meets a young man named Bai who turns out to be a woman. Zhan Zhao tries to recruit Bai to help him stop the assassination of Judge Bao.

The Guy with the Secret Kung Fu

Two Ming patriots spend their days helping the weak and rescuing damsels in distress. This alum gets them in trouble, though, as they are captured and then volunteered to go after the fearsome Dragon Gang, a tribe of bandits that have been terrorizing the land. They must fight their way through the ranks, including a Taoist monk and his nearly invulnerable "demon," before they can finally face off against the beautiful and sinister leader of the Dragon Gang.

Shaolin Deadly Kicks

Eight thieves steal a treasure map and split it into eight pieces, vowing to regroup three years later. But they'll have to deal with a deadly-kicking cop.

Legendary Weapons of China

Legendary Weapons of China is a martial arts fantasy film taking place during the late Qing Dynasty when Empress Dowager Cixi dispatches her agents to various factions of the Boxer Rebellion in order find supernatural martial artists that are invulnerable to western bullets. When one of the leaders of these groups disbands his forces, assassins from the remaining factions are sent out to kill him.

A Touch of Zen

Ku Shen Chai, an artist in his early 30s, still lives with his mother, but he is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Yang Hui-ching, a mysterious princess on the run. Yang brings Ku into her circle of protectors, including a nameless monk whose spiritual guidance transforms him into a valiant fighter.

Tiger Over Wall

Based on actual events that took place in Shanghai 1919, Hwang Jang Lee portrays a ruthless Police Captain, who will stop at nothing in his quest for power even framing an innocent man and sending him mad. The Man's family can not tolerate the injustice and fight back with some of the meanest Kung Fu techniques ever witnessed, without doubt one of the best films from the two kings of Kung Fu: Hwang Jang Lee & Phillip Ko.

Bruce Lee The Invincible

After turning against friends of his Kung Fu teacher, Cheung Li Kung is banished to Malaysia, but instead of reforming, Cheung sets up a casino to steal wages back from the miners who work for him. When he also kidnaps the local store owner's daughter, and beats her after she refuses his advances, only those familiar with the invincible techniques of Bruce Lee can stop Cheung's evil use of Kung Fu. They must battle the menacing Malaysian bullwhip expert, and even berserk apes, in furious non-stop action that demonstrates the Shaolin Grand Master's deadly dragon fist, snake and tiger techniques.

The Crippled Masters

Two men, one a lowly peon and the other a dutiful nobleman, are betrayed by their master and crippled for life-- One left with no arms and the other with paralyzed legs. Despite their obvious disadvantages, they strive to seek revenge against their evil master. The two men endeavor to track down the fabled Eight Jade Horses, said to hold the key to special martial arts techniques.

Hapkido

Yu Ying, Kao and Fan return to China to start a martial arts school but are bullied by the Japanese competitor who runs the Black Bear school. The harassment leads to intense conflicts between them.

Peace Hotel

After his wife's murder, widow Wong A Ping sets up a Peace Hotel to act as a sanctuary for anyone who needs protecting. One day a mysterious women shows up who seeks shelter from a gang hunting her. Vowing to never turn anyone away, Wong A Ping must decide whether to help the women or risk confronting the gang.

Bruce and the Iron Finger

After the murder of two kung fu experts, Bruce, a Police Inspector from New Zealand, decides to get involved in the case despite only being on vacation in Hong Kong. At the scene of the most recent murder, the victim managed to tear off a Buddha pendant from the killer. The link between the two murders is the strange markings on the victims neck. Bruce retraces the victims final footsteps and the search leads him to tracking down experts in Iron Finger Kung Fu.

The Chinese Boxer

Lei Ming, a noble young martial arts student who doesn't know the meaning of giving up. He faces a treacherous, blood-thirsty Japanese karate expert, which leads to many memorable battles as well as several unforgettable training sequences.

Heroes Two

A band of fighting Ming Dynasty loyalists branded as enemies of the state are driven underground following the burning of the Shaolin Temple by Qing Dynasty officials. Due to a misunderstanding, Shaolin kung fu prodigy Fong Sai-yuk is duped into helping Qing agents to capture leading Shaolin rebel Hung Hei-gun. Upon discovering his mistake, Sai-yuk teams up with the remaining rebels to free Hei-gun before his planned execution. Plotting to stop them is General Che Kang, a formidable Tibetan kung fu master who commands an army of fighters including four deadly Tibetan llamas.

Men from the Monastery

The majestic Ming dynasty is invaded by the Manchu troops, its upto the Shaolin monastery to fight them and save the fate of the nation.

All Men Are Brothers

Based on one of China's enduring epic novels, written in the 14th century, "All Men Are Brothers" continues the patriotic story of righteous warriors battling despotic leaders, featuring mythic characters familiar to every Chinese, and with a cast that has achieved an equally celebrated status among Shaw Brothers devotees.

Fire Dragon

Rebel fighter Yuen Ming (Max Mok) must protect an important letter with content that can expose the corrupt Chinese government. Sent to retrieve the letter is Ma, the Fire Dragon (Brigitte Lin) and she infiltrates the small village where Yuen Ming has settled. Along the way the cold blooded Ma's kind hearted side is awaken and the time comes when she must decide where her loyalty lies....

The Ming Patriots

Bruce Li stars as a kung fu fighter who with a group friends defies the Ching Dynasty, using his martial arts and sense of honor he succeeds though not without some personal losses.

Shaolin Iron Claws

A corrupt Shaolin assassin, a master in Iron Claws, is hired to threaten members of the Ching Dynasty into resigning a secret letter for the restoration of the monarchy. The plot is unravelled when a police chief captures one of the assailants. The Shaolin Iron Master must be destroyed...

Kid from Kwangtung

Novice director Hsu Hsia and three other kung-fu designers created this fight-filled tale of young rascal Wang Yu, caught between master martial arts actor Jen Shih-kuan and the incredible Huang Cheng-li.

The Swordmates

Ming dynasty traitors have sent a secret message in a jade goddess statuette, containing their plans of treason to help tribal warlords usurp power from the Ming government. The message and statue being intercepted, powerful swordsmen (and a swordswoman) of a famed security company are hired to protect the statue and its hidden message.

The Deadly Duo

The plot involves patriots during the Sung Dynasty and their attempts to rescue a kidnapped prince from Ching troops who have invaded the north of China. The patriots are led by Ti Lung who recruits a mysterious but seemingly superhuman fighter played by David Chiang to find a way to cross a perilous bridge to enter an impregnable fortress to locate and rescue the imprisoned prince.

Kung Fu Monster

In the waning years of the Ming Dynasty, the Bruneian Empire offers a rare creature to the nation as a gift. Ocean, a member of the Imperial Secret Police, has been tasked to tame the beast. Though the furry beast appears ferocious on the outside, Ocean discovers that it is kind by nature. Not wanting to turn the beast into a killing machine on the battlefield, Ocean secretly releases the beast into the wild and elopes with Frigid, the daughter of a man executed on false charges.

Story in the Temple Red Lily

When the emperor becomes ill and the Sung Dynasty is threatened by an evil baron, a patriotic officer named Ree (Chia Ling) is assigned to the imperial palace to protect the sacred temple from rebels. Prepare to be chopped and kicked as Ling displays some martial arts fireworks in this 1979 curiosity.

Boxers of Loyalty and Righteousness

Warlord Yu Ming gained great power for himself. Anyone he suspected of disloyalty was jailed or murdered. He himself was a notorious killer, having personally betrayed his friend General Yip and then slaughtered his entire family. But the General's son escaped to tell the tale, and spent a lifetime learning all the martial arts, with the sole aim of one day killing his evil enemy Yu Ming. Only first he must lure him away from his private army of thugs and gangster.

Gangland Odyssey

A retired cop is summoned by his ex-boss to save his kidnapped son from the hands of a deadly Japanese triad. Action violence and a little romance makes GANGLAND ODYSSEY a promising treat!

The Clutch of Power

A rogue swordsman known as "Soul of the Sword" kills the father of a young Kung Fu expert, who teams up with a Drunken Monk to put an end to Soul of the Sword’s reign of terror, and thwart the Mongol invasion.

Heroes of Sung

Heroes of Sung stars one of the original kung-fu ladies of the silver screen Shih Szu playing swordswoman Meng Hung who must work with Fan Tien-fu, played by perennial Shaws bad guy Lo Lieh (although he's good in this) to find then protect the royal seals of the Sung Dynasty. If they should fail, the dynasty will fall. Shih's magnificent performance earned her the female hero role in the Shaws-Hammer Studio hit "Dracula" and the 7 Golden Vampires.

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