Best movies like Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A model student transfers to the notorious Jungmoon High School known for its severe corporal punishment by teachers and power struggles between school gangs.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, suspenseful, exciting, rough, realistic, uplifting, biting, suspense
Best tv shows and movies like Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (2004):
Similar in 86%
To Kill with Intrigue (1977)
Plot Summary:
Young master Cao Le chases his pregnant girlfriend away from the family castle. He does it in order to save her from vicious bandits who are going to murder his family.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, South Korea
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, surreal
Similar in 82%
Way of the Dragon 2 (1979)
Plot Summary:
A classic tribute to a legendary Kung-Fu master. The high-powered action and deadly fistfights don’t let up for a moment. When all the chips are down, the Dragon Master will prevail!.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 123
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Angry Tiger (1973)
Plot Summary:
Chang Chen-Wai, a martial arts expert who runs a jade-importing business, follows his missing brother to Thailand and learns he has been murdered. Chang vows revenge.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong, Thailand
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 89%
Street Law (1995)
Plot Summary:
A martial arts-trained lawyer (Jeff Wincott) is forced to fight in illicit matches after he is framed for a crime, is dismissed from his firm, and all his assets are tied up, including his clothing and furniture after he is evicted from his apartment.
IMDB Rating: 3.8
IMDB Votes: 302
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 76%
Star Runner (2003)
Plot Summary:
Preparing for the hand-to-hand battle of his life and the title of Champion Star Runner, a headstrong fighter creates a deadly hybrid mix of Thai kickboxing and Chinese kung fu. Get ready for the ultimate Pan-Asian mixed martial arts competition, where anything goes and lives are bought and sold.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 329
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, South Korea
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 90%
Bruce Lee: A Dragon Story (1977)
Plot Summary:
Bruce Li plays a young kung fu expert (and waiter) who is trying to live peacefully in San Francisco with his marital arts-challenged friend. But they run afoul of some American thugs, and the fight is on...right!.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 298
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
The Legend of Bruce Lee (1976)
Plot Summary:
The young Bruce Lee (Ho Tsung-Tao AKA Bruce Li) has studied the philosophy and art of kung fu since boyhood, but his girlfriend says that he lives in a world of his own and all he thinks of is fighting. She begs him to change his ways, yet after a humiliating defeat Bruce vows that it will never happen again, and while witnessing street thugs preying on innocent people, he is driven to defend them. Things appear to be no better when Bruce comes to the United States to begin teaching, and is under constant attack by rival martial artists, but all the while his unorthodox style is beginning to catch on. Finally he becomes an international sensation as a movie star with a wife, kids, money, and everything he's always wanted - who then must fight for both his life and his reputation back home in Hong Kong.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 137
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
Only the Strong (1993)
Plot Summary:
Former Green Beret Louis Stevens returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil, only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers. After Stevens uses his capoeira skills to kick several drug dealers off of the school property, Kerrigan, one of Stevens' old teachers, sees the impact that Stevens has on the students. Kerrigan gives him the task of teaching Capoeira to a handful of the worst at-risk students at the school.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, independent film, cult film
Similar in 78%
Fists of Legend (2013)
Plot Summary:
On a television show billed as “the greatest fight show on Earth,” eager amateurs with lots to prove boldly step into the ring and expect to leave bloody but victorious. The ratings hungry producers seek out “legendary” but largely forgotten streetfighters and mine their desperation for recaptured glory and redemption into ratings gold.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action
Country: South Korea
Duration: 154 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, captivating, rough
Similar in 88%
The Sword with No Name (2009)
Plot Summary:
A Joseon dynasty bounty hunter becomes the body guard of the queen he secretly loves.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Romance
Country: South Korea
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, stylized, exciting, romantic, captivating, disturbing, scenic, entertaining
Similar in 83%
Gangnam Blues (2015)
Plot Summary:
A "gangster noir" set in the 1970s, when Gangnam, Seoul goes under development. Political powers and darker organizations collide as they seek to grab control of the influential and exclusive area.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, erotic, sexy, suspense, rough, suspenseful, serious
Similar in 81%
Fight the Fight (2011)
Plot Summary:
Having taken his father's advice, one man decides to return home in pursuit of a fresh start. While training at his father's martial arts school, he learns that his father has given consent to sell the school to a rival martial arts school.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 530
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
Bandits, Prostitutes and Silver (1977)
Plot Summary:
To free his girlfriend from her contract with a greedy madam, Shang Li (Don Wong) teams up with a cold-blooded thief called the Sparrow (Chiang-lung Wen) to hijack a large shipment of silver. But when the heist suddenly goes bad, Shang Li finds himself with blood on his hands and a price on his head. Martial arts superstars Angela Mao and Lieh Lo also star in this kung fu classic from writer-director Pao-Shu Kao.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 79%
Fury of the Shaolin Master (1978)
Plot Summary:
A government law officer is dispatched to bring his brother's killers to justice. On his bloody mission, untold assassins are thrown at him, but to no avail. One by one they are done away with in a most militant style.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Taiwan, Hong Kong
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 90%
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 79%
Damage (2009)
Plot Summary:
An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, psychological, tense, perverse, cult classic, rough, humorous, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010)
Plot Summary:
Featuring some of the most spectacular, innovative and explosive martial arts ever staged, The Legend Is Born is 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, The Legend Is Born has already been hailed as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time and features an all-star cast, including Sammo Hung (Enter The Dragon), Yuen Biao and Ip Man's real life son, 76-year-old Ip Chun, as Ip Man's kung fu master.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, Sport
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: heroic, exciting, sentimental, serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, epic
Similar in 81%
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)
Plot Summary:
Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death (Huo Yuanjia) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, stylized, anime, non stop action
Similar in 81%
Fighter in the Wind (2004)
Plot Summary:
An account of karate competitor Choi Yeung-Eui who went to Japan after World War II to become a fighter pilot but found a very different path instead. He changed his name to Masutatsu Oyama and went across the country, defeating martial artists one after another. This film concentrates on the period when he is still young, and developing his famous karate style, Kyokushin.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, spiritual
Similar in 86%
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 77%
Muay Thai Fighter (2007)
Plot Summary:
After learning the art of muay thai fighting from skilled masters, small town friends Piak (Akara Amarttayakul) and Phao (Thawatchai Phanpakdee) move their passion to Bangkok, where they become active in underground activities that put what they've learned to the test. But in the process of fighting for their lives, they also resurrect the sport -- and cement the bonds of their lifelong friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 772
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Thailand
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, fast
Similar in 77%
Friend (2001)
Plot Summary:
The film follows the lives of four childhood friends: Joon-seok, the leader, whose father is a powerful mob boss; Dong-su, whose father is an undertaker; class clown Jung-ho; and Sang-taek, an exemplary student. The story is the director's experience about his friends, a semi-autobiography set in his hometown, Busan. When it was released it was the highest-grossing Korean movie of all time.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, suspenseful, inspirational, crime drama, bleak, realistic
Similar in 90%
Kill the Shogun (1975)
Plot Summary:
Action-drama set during the 1904 occupation of Korea (by Japan). An incident is sparked when the Japanese force the Korean soldiers to strip off their uniforms. Two of the Korean soldiers refuse and go on a rampage against the Japanese, forcing them to take their uniforms off.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 47
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale I (2011)
Plot Summary:
Mouna Rudo was born and raised among the Seediq people, an indigenous tribe in Taiwan, and as he grew to be a man he became a member of the Seediq Bale, a courageous band of native warriors. However, Rudo's way of life is threatened under the yoke of occupying forces from Japan, who took over the nation in 1895. As Rudo sees the traditions and honor of his people stripped away, he realizes the time has come to fight back, and in 1930 he brings together a group of former Seediq Bale soldiers, many of whom have been reduced to infighting, and molds them into a revolutionary army. Rudo and his comrades make their stand when they confront Japanese occupation troops at a youth athletic event, leading to a violent confrontation between the Seediq forces and their oppressors. Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale - Part 1: The Sun Flag is Part one of the two-part, four-hour Taiwanese edition of the film Warriors of the Rainbow.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, stylized, aesthetic, anthropological, profound, epic, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Monga (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in the 1980s, “Monga” centers on five boys (Mosquito, Monk, Dragon, White Monkey and A-Lan) who join the "Gang of Princes" who are tired of being pushed around. As the "Gang of Princes" rise in stature, they come into conflict with other gangs jealous of their rising power.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, exciting, serious, captivating, heroic, hood, rough, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
A Dirty Carnival (2006)
Plot Summary:
Byung-du is a 29-year-old career criminal, working for the middle-rank enforcer Sang-chul. Burdened with a terminally ill mother and taking care of younger siblings, Byung-du is feeling financial pressure as a substitute patriarch. When the big boss President Hwang is cornered by a corrupt prosecutor, Byung-du volunteers for a whack job and wins the big man's trust.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, suspenseful, tense, bleak, realistic, neo noir, sincere, suspense
Similar in 83%
Best of the Best (1989)
Plot Summary:
A team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country--can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic, cult classic, independent film, feel good, unusual plot structure
Similar in 90%
White Vengeance (2011)
Plot Summary:
White Vengeance tells the story of two brothers contending for supremacy during the fall of the Qin Dynasty, which ruled Imperial China from 221 to 206 BC. As rebels rose, the nation fell into chaos. Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, became leaders of the rebellious army, and also became sworn brothers in battle.Xiang Yu and Liu Bang are close friends who both serve King Huai of Chu. King Huai uses a plot, saying that whoever can subvert the Qin kingdom in Guanzhong would be the Lord Qin, in order to benefit from the competition between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. Xiang Yu is over-confident. He fights against the main force of Qin army, and entrusts Liu Bang with Yu Ji, the woman he loves.Liu Bang expresses his love to Yu Ji and takes the chance to invade Guanzhong first when most of Qin army is outside fighting against Xiang Yu’s army.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: China
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, epic
Similar in 81%
Bodyguards and Assassins (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-Sen visits Hong Kong to discuss plans with Tongmenghui members to overthrow the Qing dynasty. But when they find out that assassins have been sent to kill him, they assemble a group of protectors to prevent any attacks.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: captivating, exciting, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, epic, crime drama, cult classic
Similar in 88%
The Showdown (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the 11th year of Kwang Hae-gun, Jo-seon soldiers go to war with China after an invasion. In the middle of Manchu, three people who have barely survived are being cornered by the Chinese forces, and begin a bloody battle not with their enemies but with their friends.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 364
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: South Korea
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, exciting, tense, rough, captivating, realistic, serious, stylized