Best movies like The Violet Mansion

The action-packed and captivating tale of Dee Renjie's beginnings in the Imperial police force. His very first case, investigating reports of a sea monster terrorizing the town, reveals a sinister conspiracy of treachery and betrayal, leading to the highest reaches of the Imperial family.

During the Min Dynasty, a Buddhist abbot charged with protecting a sacred scroll prepares to name his successor. An aristocrat and a general arrive at his secluded mountaintop monastery promising to help in his search, but are in fact scheming to secure the scroll for themselves. As they set about recommending corrupt successors, rival bands of martial artists lie in wait to steal the precious artifact, and the monastery is soon transformed into an epic battleground, with each player caught in a web of conspiracy and betrayal.

In 1868 during the late Qing Dynasty, rampant corruption on the Imperial Court inflicts much suffering in people's lives. For years, the Black Tiger’s fearsome boss Lei Gong has been trying to get rid of the leader of the Northern Sea. One of his latest recruits is Fei, a fearless fighter who takes the Northern Sea leader’s head after a fierce fight. Just as Lei Gong believes he has total control of the port, a new gang called the Orphans rises in power. Led by Fei’s childhood friend Huo, the Orphans are out to eliminate all the criminal power from the port…

Golden Swallow is a fighter-for-hire who has been contracted by the local government to retrieve the governor's kidnapped son. Holding him is a group of rebels who are demanding that their leader be released from prison in return for the captured son. After a brief encounter with the gang at a local restaurant, Golden Swallow is joined by an inebriated wanderer Drunken Cat who aids her in her mission.

When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.

A royal official accompanies a Portuguese warship to the Black Cliffs to see the site of the defeat of the evil Invincible Asia, who attained supernatural abilities by following the sacred scroll and castrating himself.

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.

Hong Kong comedy directed by Li Han-Hsiang.

Ling Wu Chung decides to hide from the chaotic world. Before leaving, he visits his friends, a tribe of snake-wielding women warriors. However, he finds that the tribe have been attacked, and their leader Yam Ying Ying has been abducted.

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...

A scholar, tasked to copy a sutra, meets with a mysterious old lady and her daughter in the mountains.

King Sky, the sole disciple of the Kun Lun Sect, falls in love with his master Dawn. Dawn is killed when Insomnia destroys the Kin Lun Mountain. King Sky waits for two hundred years and meets Enigma, who is the reincarnation of Dawn, and in love with her again. However, Insomnia's Blood Clouds is ready to destroy Zu...

Eric Tsang and Wong Cho Lam lead a huge cast of Hong Kong comedy stars to celebrate the Year of the Goat with Lucky Star 2015! Wen Chao (Mr. and Mrs. Gambler) stars in this uproarious comedy as a professional Stephen Chow impersonator who dreams of becoming the next big comedy superstar. With the support of an up-and-coming comedian (Wong Cho Lam) and the founder of a Stephen Chow fan club (Ella Chen of S.H.E.), Chao finally gets his foot in the door. However, he discovers the harsh reality of the entertainment world when he realizes that investors only want him for his impersonation skills instead of his talent.

Sun Wukong is a monkey born from a heavenly stone who acquires supernatural powers. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years, he later accompanies the monk Xuanzang on a journey to India. Thus, according to legend, Buddhism is brought to ancient China.

When a rival nation sends troops to invade the Song Dynasty, the emperor sends general Yang Ye (Adam Cheng) to defend the nation. However, Yang's place in the court is shaky due to a feud with Pan Renmei caused by the accidental death of his son at the hands of one of Yang's sons. At the battle, Yang is abandoned by Pan's troops, leaving him trapped in the face of an attack by Yeli Yuan (Shao Bing), an enemy general who wants to kill Yang to avenge his father. After learning about their father's predicament, Yang Ye's seven sons set out to rescue their father at any cost.

The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?

Su Qi-Er, a wealthy man living during the Qing Dynasty who loses his fortune and reputation as a result of a conspiracy against him. After being forced out onto the streets, Su dedicates his life to martial arts and reemerges as a patriotic hero known as the "King of Beggars."

The Emperor's armies have developed a new weapon: a thrown blade that can remove someone's head from long distance. As the paranoid Emperor begins decapitating anyone he fears might be a threat, his guard Mau Tang becomes disillusioned with the excesses of his master. He leaves his post and takes up the quiet life of farming and raising a family. Eventually, though, his past catches up with him, and he must find a way to fight the flying guillotine if he is to save his head.

Commander Qinglong is the loyal leader of the assassin group that serves the emperor. But when his allies plan a rebellion against the ruler, he finds himself in danger.

In 17th century China, zombies and vampires roamed the lands, feeding on the unsuspecting. A group of martial artists / vampire hunters find themselves employed by a very rich - and very insane - old man who has kept everyone of his relatives preserved in wax and not buried. Apparently it is his family's tradition. So, having generations of potential zombies in your cellar may not be the smartest idea ever, but it takes two to tango. In this case, a thief wants the old-man's treasure and hires a zombie-wrangler to re-animate the waxed up relatives in order to sneak into the mansion and steal the treasure. It's up to the kung-fu fighting vampire hunters to save the day (or night).

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.

Leaving behind an inch of sword in the spent corpses of his opponents, Tuan Changqing is known as the Deadly Breaking Sword. After barely surviving a duel, one of his foes is treated by the diabolical Dr. Kuo, who uses his powers of mind control to transform the man into a somnambulistic killer. After Tuan Changqing teams up with Rabelaisian gambler Xiao Dao, the story proceeds as a comical kung fu buddy flick.

It's all action, all the time, in this seldom-seen kung fu extravaganza starring Tien Peng, who's all dressed up with somewhere to go: He's on his way to kick some butt! In the vaunted tradition of grind-house Hong Kong action flicks, this film features breathtaking thrilling battles and martial arts moves that have to be seen to be believed (and then you still won't believe them!).

Filmmaker Ian Taylor examines the impressive legacy of Hong Kong cinema -- specifically, how martial arts crossed borders and become an international phenomenon -- with the help of footage and interviews with the stars who made the genre what it is today. Director Lau Ka Leung (who helmed The 36th Chamber of Shaolin) joins in, sharing his thoughts on how certain cinematic technologies have improved martial arts films and expanded their appeal.

A Wuxia mystery adventure from Cathay films.

Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.

The story of Chinese legendary anti-hero Zhong Kui, a young man endowed with mysterious powers who is forced into a battle among the realms of Heaven, Earth and Hell in the course of his attempt to save his countrymen and the woman he loves.

Teddy Yu is a former secret agent turned chiropractor who thought he left his past behind. He teaches martial arts to his two kids. However, his past catches up to him as a rogue agent demands to know the whereabouts of an agent known as Dragon. Now, father and children must team up to stop the rogue agent and his goons.

A wandering swordsman named Lu Fang who is returning from battle discovers that several farmers have kidnapped the local magistrate’s daughter. He sides with them after learning that this is an act of desperation to improve their low standard of living.

The adventures of a young married swordfighting couple, Lianzhu and Gui Wu, and the swordfighting members of their different clans.

Chivalrous swordsman Jun-zhao goes in search of a fugitive named Li Yueh in order to reunite him with his love, Liu Xian. Though the two men meet and become loyal brothers, Li does not reveal his true identity until Jun-zhao's life is endangered by swordsmen from Flying Fish Island who are looking for revenge.

The story is based on the popular novel developed from folk legend. It goes that the Manchurian emperor Qianlong of China (circa 18th Century) was actually the son of a Han Chinese, the subject ethnicity. His brother of blood, Chen Jialuo just happened to be the chief of the Red Flower Society, an anti-Manchu secret society. Chen, a learned scholar, thought he could get his brother turn his back on the Manchu and restore the Han Chinese reign. But the story was ended by brutal clearence of the society members. It reflects one of the dark pages in Chinese culture, that ethics and humanity always become impotent when countered with power.

A clever Shaw Brothers wuxia comedy about a young antihero (Tony Leung Siu Hung) getting himself and his friend (Max Mok) into all kinds of trouble and ultimate defeating the "Heavenly Demon" (Chen Kuan Tai). Lightning fast action, pleasant humor, great acting and a helpful modern-day narrator makes this an unusually enjoyable Shaw Brothers production.

A swordplay flick that takes on a ghostly feeling later on the film.

Two men, taught by the same master, find themselves destined to cross swords.

Award-winning actor Ku Feng is Lei Chen-tien, a vicious, cunning, murderous brigand who wants the title treasure. Tsung Hua is Tai Tien-chou, the handsome swordsman who wants to avenge his father's death. Wang Ping is Wu Hsiao-yen, the lovely girl who must disguise herself as a boy to take on this pirate. Tien Feng both directs and co-stars as The Senior Master in this blade and battle-filled adventure of intrigue, treachery, and tragic triumph.

At her father's deathbed, Little Flower swears she will travel to Shanghai to locate his top students, Mercury and Stone, to revive the Ching Wu Men to beat back the Japanese still in the PRC.

The last of the Bai Family seeks revenge of the death of her whole family.

Smiling Swordsman is a Hong Kong Martial Arts Comedy starring Sammo Hung

Cathay Classic, Paul Chang and Melinda Chen star in this melodramatic Wu Xia picture. Sammo Hung is in the first minute or two as a duelist in the tournament and probably directed the fights.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the bandit Zhang Xianzhong, fearing that his treasures may be seized by the Manchurians, entrusts his henchman Yun to escort it to Mount Mei for safekeeping. However, Yun has made arrangements with the Manchurian spy Jin to ambush the treasure on the way to Mount Mei.

A Pearl in Command is a Hong Kong Martial Arts movie starring Sammo Hung

Melinda Chen Man-Ling stars in another Cathay wuxia flick.

Yeung and Kwok are best friends whose wives become pregnant around the same time. Yeung's wife, Pao Sik-yeuk, finds a wounded man hidden in the barn and secretly helps him. He turns out to be a foreign Prince and disaster follows. The sons are then scattered with one growing up in the Prince's kingdom and the other in Mongolia. Now grown, they go out into the world and discover the secret details of their lives.

The well-known "Flying Dagger" Chung and his nephew Lam lived on rewards from apprehending bandits. Chung refused the love of "Great Coquette" Lady Fung. Therefore, Fung always mess up Chung's business for revenge. Flying Fox, the country's number one bandit, had stolen the millionaire Tsao's evidence of being a traitor. Hence, Tsao employed Chung to catch the bandit. Flying Fox's wife, Flying Cat seduced Chung to save her husband, which caused jealousy and a severe fight with Fung. Meanwhile Lam was kidnapped by Tsao. Chung and Fung finally realized that Tsao was the head of East Wing. They united together to beat against Tsao...

A full journey from the beginning of "Swordplay" movies in Shanghai, growth in Hong Kong cinemas in the 60's and 70's and Ang Lee's epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in 2000. The series also features interviews with such luminaries including John Woo, Chu Yuen, Lau Ka Leung, Gordon Lau Ka Fai, Sammo Hung, David Chiang and Cheng Pei Pei.

Former wife of Chow Yun Fat, Candice Yu On-on stars in this gauzy softcore flick directed by Chor Yuen. Chun (Yu) is a high-class society woman who secretly dabbles in every sort of vice, from arranging murder to kidnapping young girls to serve as sex slaves for her brothel. One such lass is the beautiful Ai-nu, who manages to fight her way out of getting gang raped by Chun's minion. When she is recaptured, she promptly kills one of her first customers. Ai-nu's spunk intrigues Chun, prompting her to not only cover up the lass' crime but also seduce her as well. Detective Ling Yun (Alex Man Chi-leung) soon suspects something is amiss and begins investigating Chun's brothel over the objections of his superiors. When Ai-nu falls for Yun, Chun orders her lackey/lover Yeh to kill him. Instead, he tries to seduce Ai-nu himself. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Chin Ping Mei 金瓶梅 (1955) is a Hong Kong feature film written by Ku Wen-Chung and directed by Wang Yin, it was produced by Shaw Brothers Studio. This is an adaptation of the Lotus Pan tale.

Gui Wu happens upon a kidnapping with his wife Gan Lian-zhu at the Red Lotus Temple. Lian-zhu sends Wu to go for reinforcements while she stays to fight the kidnappers. Fortunately, the mysterious Scarlet Maid is surreptitiously helping her.

Princess Odette is hosting a music competition to celebrate Princess Alise's birthday. Prince Li of Cathay has entered, but his sister Princess Mei Li has stowed away on his ship to seek help from Odette and Derek for Chen, who has been cursed to live as a dragon. Who will win the music festival and will Chen ever be free from his curse?