Best movies like Ashes of Time
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The film is set in five parts, five seasons that are part of the Chinese almanac. The story takes place in the jianghu, the world of the martial arts. Ouyang Feng has lived in the western desert for some years. He left his home in White Camel Mountain when the woman he loved chose to marry his elder brother rather than him. Instead of seeking glory, he ends up as an agent. When people come to him with a wish to eliminate someone who has wronged them, he puts them in touch with a swordsman who can do the job.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: art house, visual, atmospheric, epic, stylized, contemplative, exciting, serious, emotional, erotic
Best tv shows and movies like Ashes of Time (1994):
Similar in 83%
Swordsman III: The East Is Red (1993)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious
Similar in 79%
Crippled Avengers (1978)
Plot Summary:
Crippled Avengers is a 1978 Shaw Brothers kung fu film directed by Chang Cheh and starring four members of the Venom Mob. It has been released in North America as Mortal Combat and Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms. The film follows a group of martial artists seeking revenge after being crippled by Tu Tin-To (Chen Kuan Tai), a martial arts master, and his son (Lu Feng).
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: cult classic, grindhouse, exciting, serious, suspenseful, weird, cult film
Similar in 86%
The Bride with White Hair (1993)
Plot Summary:
The sensitive swordsman Cho Yi-Hang is tired of his life. He is the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against foreign tribes and an evil cult. One day, he meets the beautiful Lien, a killer for the evil cult who is equally unsatisfied with her situation, but their love angers both the Wu-Tang clan and the evil cult.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Fantasy, Romance, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, surreal, scary, exciting, serious, stylized, epic, splatter
Similar in 89%
One-Armed Swordsman (1967)
Plot Summary:
An evil gang attacks the Chi school of Golden Sword Kung Fu. One student sacrifices his life to save his teacher and his school, his dying wish is that his son be taken in as a student. Young Fang Kang grows up in the school and treasures his father's broken sword and the memory of his father's sacrifice. The other students (including the teacher's daughter) resent him and try to drive him away. The teacher's daughter challenges him to a fight and when he refuses she becomes enraged and recklessly chops off his arm! He retreats, broken and bloody, and is found by a young poor girl living alone who nurses him back to health. Meanwhile, the evil gang who originally attacked the Golden Sword school develops a weapon that renders the Golden Sword useless and starts killing off all of the schools students. Fang Kang eventually recovers with the girl's help but must now face a life with only one arm. Will he be able to recover and live to defend the school as his father did?.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, offbeat, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, stylized, spaghetti western
Similar in 81%
The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984)
Plot Summary:
The Yangs are betrayed by a government official conspiring with the Mongols. All of the Yang family males except the 4th, 5th, and 6th brothers are killed. Fu Sheng loses his mind after the death of his family, while the other brother, takes refuge in a temple. Liu's superb martial arts skill, impress the temple's senior monks. He learns that his sister has been captured by the conspirators.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, perverse, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 79%
The Blade (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young man adopted by a renowned swordsmith, discovers that his real father was killed by a powerful bandit called Lung. Leaving to seek revenge, he runs foul of a group of vicious desert scum, losing his right arm in the process. After being nursed back to health, he eventually learns to compensate for his loss and returns to confront the man who murdered his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: perverse, exciting, rough, epic, serious, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 81%
The Brave Archer (1977)
Plot Summary:
Guo Jing and Yang Kang are the sons of two rebels. The rebels are killed by imperial soldiers and the boys are rescued by six pugilists later. The pugilists agree to separate the two boys, tutor them separately in martial arts, and let them meet again when they have grown up, to determine whose abilities are better. Guo becomes the student of the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" while Yang Kang becomes the foster son of a Jurchen prince inadvertently.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 492
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 81%
Swordsman II (1992)
Plot Summary:
Jet Li plays Ling, a student from the Blue Mountain school of martial arts, who, along with fellow students and Kiddo, find themselves embroiled in a country-wide political/clan war with the Highlander clan in the forefront of the battle.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: surreal, cult classic, exciting, serious, captivating, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 80%
Heroes of the Wild (1977)
Plot Summary:
A regional champion martial artist that moonlights as an honour-bound assassin, Tu Ta Shen, solidifies his reputation by challenging top fighters en route to the other champion, Nan Pa Tien, in order to unify both titles. Along the way he defeats a man who's shame in defeat drives him to suicide. Before he dies, recognizing Tu Ta Shen honour, he asks Tu Ta Shen to defeat a group of Manchu supporters led by none other that Nan Pa Tien. The dying mans son, Sa Woo, tries to kill Tu Ta Shen but is easily outmatched. Tu Ta Shen offer to teach Sa Yoo enough so that he can take revenge for his father. The two set out together; One to fulfill a promise to a dying man, one to keep a promise of revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, suspenseful, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 77%
5 Masters of Death (1974)
Plot Summary:
Hu Te et al. escape the burning Shaolin temple after the Qing soldiers destroyed it in Shaolin Temple. The group of 5 decide to develop secret codes to identify fellow patriots, enlist those patriots and eventually meet up again to escape to the south away from the Qings, and also identify the traitor who sold out Shaolin temple. Ma Fu Yi (the traitor, played by Wang Lung Wei), joins the Qing top fighters to eliminate the rebels but is exposed by Ma Chao-Tsing who gets captured by Ma Fu Yi. Hu meets up with a group of Shaolin men secretly posing as bandits to rescue Ma as their leader is killed in the process, thus the bandits join the rest of the Shaolin patriots.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Invincible Armour (1977)
Plot Summary:
Hwang Jang Lee is a corrupt Ming guard who frames John Liu for murder. A wanted fugitive, John hides out with a teen who is an expert in the infamous Iron Armor technique, a technique that means the expert can withstand anything. However, Hwang is an expert in it as well as the Eagle Claw's. Can John stop Hwang before it's too late?.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
The Swordsman (1990)
Plot Summary:
When a scroll containing valuable martial arts secrets is stolen from the Emperor, an army detachment is sent to recover it. It is based on the novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jinyong.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, History
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 77%
In Eagle Dragon Fist (1979)
Plot Summary:
A dishonored student of the Dragon Fist Sect seeks revenge for the death of his teacher.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: cult classic, action adventure, exciting, serious, realistic, stylized, fast
Similar in 84%
The Promise (2005)
Plot Summary:
An orphaned girl, driven by poverty at such a young age, makes a promise with an enchantress. In return for beauty and the admiration of every man, she will never be with the man she loves. This spell cannot be broken unless the impossible happens: snow falling in spring and the dead coming back to life. Now a grown and beautiful princess, she regrets her promise, for all of the men she's loved has always been met with tragedy. In love again with a man behind a red armor and a golden mask who rescues her from death, she is tormented by their inevitable parting. Meanwhile, Kunlun, the slave of a great general, is searching for the lost memories of a family he once had. Soon the fate of these two intertwine when the princess believes the general to be her hero, thus pulling him into this web of fate. What end will befallen our three characters? Are their fates already sealed by a higher power, or can they still choose a life they want?.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: China, South Korea, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: stylized, colorful, exciting, fairy tale, serious, epic, light, thought provoking, enigmatic, breathtaking
Similar in 82%
Executioners from Shaolin (1977)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, grindhouse
Similar in 84%
Blades of Blood (2010)
Plot Summary:
In the 16th century in Chosun dynasty, HWANG Jung-hak and LEE Mong-hak create the “Grand Alliance” with the united dream of a better world. While the new leader LEE dreams of eradicating this world of all its corruption and becoming king himself, the legendary blind swordsman HWANG who had once been his comrade goes after him with the loss of his good friend at the hands of LEE. Just as the king abandoned his kingdom from Japanese invasion, the two come face-to-face inside the empty palace and begin their last battle they were destined to fight.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 834
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, serious, tense, epic, realistic, stylized
Similar in 77%
The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Plot Summary:
Lei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beautiful girl in need, Pao Chiao. Even against impossible odds, he will prove a great warrior.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 75%
The Kid with the Golden Arm (1979)
Plot Summary:
Jin bei tong opens with a group of escort/guards preparing to move a shipment of gold from the local government to an area stricken by famine... one of the very few Venom films where all six Venom actors are present within a single film.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, serious, realistic, stylized, fast, cult film
Similar in 78%
Dragon Inn (1992)
Plot Summary:
During the Ming Dynasty, Tsao Sui Yan, the power-hungry and ruthless eunuch leader of East Chamber, craves his own kingdom. He intends on destroying the rebelling clans by using a traitorous secretary's children as bait. Ultimately, the two warring factions - the rebels led by Chow Wai-on and Mo-yan Yau, the East Chamber led by Tsao - end up in the rundown Dragon Inn right in the middle of the desert. Jade King, the beautiful owner and proprietor of Dragon Inn, hopes to cash in on the incident. But problems arise when Wai-on, desperate for the quickest route of escape, attempts to marry Jade in hopes of prying her for information; and the two clans go head-to-head in a no-holds barred finale battle.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, stylized, epic, cult classic
Similar in 82%
Fist of Legend (1994)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: harsh, intense, tense, rough, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, cult classic, brutal
Similar in 85%
Out Live (2000)
Plot Summary:
A sweeping, epic tale of a martial arts warrior who attempts to defy a kingdom to be with his love.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Action, Fantasy, Romance
Country: South Korea
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, stylized, emotional, epic, serious
Similar in 76%
Shaolin (2011)
Plot Summary:
China is plunged into strife as feuding warlords try to expand their power by warring over neighboring lands. Fuelled by his success on the battlefield, young and arrogant Hao Jie sneers at Shaolin's masters when he beats one of them in a duel. But the pride comes before a fall. When his own family is wiped out by a rival warlord, Hao is forced to take refuge with the monks. As the civil unrest spreads and the people suffer, Hao and the Shaolin masters are forced to take a fiery stand against the evil warlords. They launch a daring plan or rescue and escape.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, exciting, bleak, captivating, realistic, epic, heroic, cult classic, action thriller
Similar in 90%
Clan of the White Lotus (1980)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, stylized, perverse, exciting, offbeat, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, cult film
Similar in 76%
Dragon (2011)
Plot Summary:
A sinful martial arts expert wants to start a new tranquil life, only to be hunted by a determined detective and his former master.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: stylized, enigmatic, melancholic, atmospheric, surreal, serious, suspense, cult classic, thought provoking, detective
Similar in 75%
The Lost Bladesman (2011)
Plot Summary:
During the warring period of the three kingdoms, ancient China is in turmoil. To unify the country, general Cao Cao (Jiang Wen), the real power behind the Emperor, enlists the aid of the greatest warrior in the land, Guan Yu (Donnie Yen). However, Guan Yu is a loyal friend of Cao Cao's enemy Liu Bei (Alex Fong) so to persuade the peerless warrior to fight, Cao Cao takes his beloved Qi Lan (Sun Li) hostage. After leading Cao Cao's forces to victory Guan Yu sets out with Qi Lan to rejoin Liu Bei. But now Cao Cao has deemed him too great a threat to live, and on the journey he must face all the forces at the Emperor's command sent to destroy him.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, emotional, stylized, action packed, serious, realistic, epic
Similar in 81%
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)
Plot Summary:
A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: China, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: stylized, light, exciting, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, cult classic, saga, scenic
Similar in 82%
Gerry (2002)
Plot Summary:
Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA, Argentina
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: surreal, minimal cast, art house, enigmatic, melancholic, disturbing, captivating, visual, mindfuck, independent film
Similar in 82%
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003)
Plot Summary:
A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: epic, breathtaking, exciting, serious, lyrical, historical drama, atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, road movie
Similar in 86%
Hero (2002)
Plot Summary:
One man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 186000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: breathtaking, atmospheric, visually stunning, philosophical, epic, serious, visual, stylized, exciting, colorful
Similar in 82%
House of Flying Daggers (2004)
Plot Summary:
In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 115000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: visually stunning, stylized, visual, exciting, epic, sexy, breathtaking, emotional, enigmatic, scenic