Best movies like The Prodigal Son

The fighting men in Chinese opera house.

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like The Prodigal Son Starring Yuen Biao, Frankie Chan Fan-Kei, Lam Ching-Ying, Sammo Hung, and more. If you liked The Prodigal Son then you may also like: The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, The Young Master, Return to the 36th Chamber, Kickboxer 2: The Road Back, Knockabout 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.

A rich man's son believes himself to be the best kung fu fighter in Canton. Unfortunately, his father, anxious for his son's safety, bribes all his opponents to lose. After a humiliating defeat at the hands of an actor in a traveling theatre company, the son resolves to find a better teacher.

selected filters: Sort: Default

You may filter the list of movies on this page for a more refined, personalized selection of movies.

Still not sure what to watch click the recommend buttun below to get a movie recommendation selected from all the movies on this list

Know any good movies to watch like The Prodigal Son 1981. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

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.

The Young Master

Youthful martial arts master Lung is searching for his missing brother, when he is mistaken for a criminal on the run. He must prove his innocence by solving the case himself, while local lawmen and merciless mercenaries are hot on his trail.

Return to the 36th Chamber

The workers of a dye factory have their pay cut by 20% when the factory owner brings in some Manchu thugs to try and increase production. Desperate to reclaim their full wages, the workers hire an actor to impersonate a priest and kung-fu expert from the temple of Shaolin. The factory owner proves the actor a fraud, and punishes all those involved. The young actor feels he has let the workers down, and promises to atone. He sets out for Shaolin, determined to be accepted as a kung-fu pupil at the elite temple.

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back

In this rousing sequel to Kickboxer, Tong Po broods about his defeat at the hands of Kurt Sloan. Po and his managers resort to drastic measures to goad Kurt into the ring for a rematch.

Knockabout

After being cheated out of some money, two small time crooks convince a martial arts expert to take them on as students.

Bloodsport III

Bloodsport III brings us back to the world of Alex Cardo. This time he must battle in a fight to end all fights - The Kumite, the most vicious warrior alive - Beast. He must not only battle for his own honor, but also avenge the death of Sun, his mentor, teacher, and spiritual "father", when Sun is spitefully killed by crime boss Duvalier. In order to defeat Beast, destroy Duvalier, and avenge Sun's death, Alex turns to Leung to whom he was indebted in Bloodsport II. Leung directs him to the great shaman, Makato "the Judge", to whom Alex must turn for guidance. The judge teaches him to fully channel the energy in his mind and body in order to rout the Beast in the Kumite...

Clan of the White Lotus

Shaolin practitioners and brothers Wu and Hung kill the merciless Pai Mei. However, Pai Mei's even more merciless brother White Lotus takes revenge; killing most of the Shaolin disciples, including Wu and Hung's girlfriend, leaving only Wu's pregnant wife and Hung as the only remaining practitioners of Shaolin left to avenge the deaths. But Hung's kung-fu will not be powerful enough so he must learn feminine kung-fu techniques to help him try and defeat White Lotus.

The Legend of Drunken Master

Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.

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.

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.

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow

Everyone abuses and humiliates a downtrodden orphan until he befriends an old man, who turns out to be the last master of the snake fist fighting style. Jackie becomes the old man's student and finds himself in battle with the master of the eagle's claw style, who has vowed to destroy the snake fist clan.

The Last Dragon

A young man searches for the "master" to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. Along the way he must fight an evil martial arts expert and rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter.

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu

A young daydreamer assumes the identity of a dead martial arts hero and quickly finds himself caught up in a plot by several clans to steal famous martial arts artifacts being transported by an escort company.

Ip Man: The Final Fight

In postwar Hong Kong, legendary Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man is reluctantly called into action once more, when what begin as simple challenges from rival kung fu styles soon draw him into the dark and dangerous underworld of the Triads. Now, to defend life and honor, he has no choice but to fight one last time...

Mad Monkey Kung Fu

A disgraced former Kung Fu expert makes a living as a merchant with the help of a hot headed friend. When the men are harassed by gangsters, the merchant decided to teach his friend monkey boxing so they can defend their business.

My Lucky Stars

Two Hong-Kong cops are sent to Tokyo to catch an ex-cop who stole a large amount of money in diamonds. After one is captured by the Ninja-gang protecting the rogue cop, the other one gets his old Orphanage gang, dubbed the "Five Lucky Stars," to help him. They don't like this much, but they do it.

Shaolin Wooden Men

Little Mute is an orphan traumatized into silence by the death of his father at the hands of a vicious fighting master. Living at the Shaolin monastery, he befriends a dangerous prisoner who teaches him a secret form of deadly kung fu. Seeing his intense determination, other masters share the wisdom of the Gliding Snake and Drunken Master techniques. In one of the most exciting fight scenes ever filmed, Little Mute must run the gauntlet of the famous 108 wooden men in an extreme test of skill and endurance. But if he becomes a master, will he use his unmatched force for redemption or revenge?

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man

The remarkable true story of the early life of Ip Man, the formidable kung fu genius who would become Bruce Lee's mentor; beginning at the start of his journey from his initial training through to the ultimate battle to become supreme master of the art of Wing Chun.

American Samurai

When a father passes on the traditional family sword to one of his two adopted sons, the other--in a fit of jealous rage--joins a yakuza drug smuggling mob. When the other son decides to find him and set things straight, things don't seem to go as smoothly as he planned, and a misunderstanding leads the stepbrothers into a Turkish arena to battle swordsmen from around the world.

Fist 2 Fist

Still haunted by his failure to prevent the murder of a young couple years earlier, a mixed martial arts teacher must confront the skeleton in his closet when the boy who was orphaned by the killing shows up at his door.

Soul of Chiba

This mid-1970s martial arts classic stars Sonny Chiba as Mu Yun Tek, a young man trained in the Thai fighting style since childhood to one day avenge his parents' death. When a fellow student kills their teacher, Mu Yun's thirst for vengeance grows. The brutal action never stops as Mu Yun teams up with an Interpol agent (Tadashi Yamashita) to find the culprit, who insists that their former master was a drug dealer who had to be destroyed.

The Legend of Fong Sai Yuk

The secret Red Lotus Flower Society is committed to the overthrow of the evil Manchu Emperor and his minions. One of his Governors is sent on a mission to retrieve a list of members of that secret society. Meanwhile, Canton kung fu practitioner Fong Sai-Yuk falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a rich merchant.

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.

Unmasking the Idol

Duncan Jax must stop the evil terrorist Scarlet Leader from acquiring nuclear bombs that could start WW3. Together with the trusty baboon, Boon, he takes on the almost impossible mission! He must steal the gold that Scarlet leader plans to use to purchase the weapons of destruction.

Fearless Hyena 2

A pair of evil kung-fu artists, Heaven and Earth, are slaughtering the entire Yin-Yang brotherhood.

Fist of Fury 3

After avenging the death of his brother, Chen Shen (Bruce Li) returns home from Shanghai. He tells his mother (who went blind from crying over her son's death) that he will no longer fight. However, being a movie with the words "fist" and "fury" in the title, Chen doesn't keep his promise for very long. Japanese occupiers who are aware of Chen's history terrorize his family by, among other things, vandalizing his mother's store and beating up his brother. Later, they frame Chen for a murder. After the Japanese boss arrives in town and causes a ruckus, Chen breaks out of jail for a final confrontation.

Champ vs. Champ

A gang leader targets the daughter of an enemy who's been promised to a local fighter. After losing his leg to a poison arrow, the fighter learns to fight again using a metal leg.

Warriors Two

In an attempt to save his village from being taken over by brutes, Wah is beaten to a pulp and his mother brutally murdered. Determined to take revenge, Wah learns the art of Wing Chun and enters into a showdown with the nasty villains.

Dreadnaught

Mousy, the laundry guy, is attacked several times by an angry theatre troupe member. Although he survives, his friend doesn't. So, he overcomes his cowardice and decides to avenge his friend's death.

6.2 / 10 1980 Action
suggested by: user282cwx11bcs

The Master

Although injured, a martial-arts expert teaches an orphan his methods.

Fighting Ace

20 years after the death of his parents, a martial artist sets out to avenge their deaths by pretending he doesn't know kung fu. But when it is revealed that he does know kung fu, the killer sets to kill him and his friends.

Vanishing Son II

The continuing saga of the Chang brothers: Jian-Wa and Wago. Picking up where it left off, Jian-Wa has left L.A. after a gangfight which involved his brother Wago. Jian-wa travels to the south and finds that hatred comes in all forms as a group of racist whites feud with harmless Vietnamese fishermen. Jian-wa decides to side with the Vietnamese and help them defend themselves. Back in Los Angeles, Wago is enjoying his new life as a gangster.

The Angry River

The plot has to do with a reign of terror conducted by a mysterious killer dubbed "Poison Dart," who is hitting all kinds of prominent people with poison darts.

More related lists

Sort results by:

X close
Default
Clear filters
...