Best movies like The Grandmaster
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. After the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man moves to Hong Kong and struggles to provide for his family. In the mean time, Gong Er chooses the path of vengeance after her father was killed by Ma San.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: visually stunning, exciting, atmospheric, captivating, suspenseful, realistic, stylized, lyrical, tense, retro
Best tv shows and movies like The Grandmaster (2013):
Similar in 83%
Li Xiao Long chuan qi (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story of the legendary martial arts icon Bruce Lee following him from Hong Kong to America and back again, leading up to his tragic death at the age of 32.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama
Country: China
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, stylized, retro, exciting
Similar in 77%
Birth of the Dragon (2016)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama
Country: China, Canada, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, inspirational, atmospheric, suspense, factual, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, action thriller
Similar in 82%
The Final Master (2015)
Plot Summary:
Determined to pass down his art, the Final Master of Wing Chun is caught in a power struggle with malicious local officials and ultimately must choose between personal honor and his master’s dying wish.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: China
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, suspense, tense, adaptation directed by original author
Similar in 79%
Fist of Anger (1973)
Plot Summary:
Historical movie set during the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. Jackie Chan is one of the good guys but has nothing much more than a supporting role.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 740
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: fast paced, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
My Kingdom (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the 19th century, the Prince Regent of the Qing Dynasty orders the mass execution of the entire Meng clan. Before his beheading, the leader vows that his family will avenge this travesty of justice. Awaiting his death, a five-year-old Meng boy named Erkui bravely sings an aria. The power and purity of his voice touches the opera star Master Yu and his seven-year-old pupil Guan Yilong. Master Yu rescues the boy and the two orphans become brothers. Years later, Master Yu wins the coveted golden "The Mightiest Warrior" plaque from the Prince Regent, but subsequently loses it in a duel with his archrival Master Yue. Banished from the stage upon his loss, Master Yu spends his time training the two brothers in the village. When the boys grow into men, they set off for Shanghai to pursue revenge. Once they reach Shanghai, they quickly defeat Master Yue, reclaiming not only the plaque but also taking over the Yue's opera troupe.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 482
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: exciting, sentimental, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, epic, stylized
Similar in 87%
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 75%
Ip Man 4: The Finale (2019)
Plot Summary:
Ip Man 4 is an upcoming Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed by Wilson Yip and produced by Raymond Wong. It is the fourth in the Ip Man film series based on the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster of the same name and features Donnie Yen reprising the role. The film began production in April 2018 and ended in July the same year.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: poignant, inspirational, atmospheric, uplifting, suspense, tense, serious, disturbing, spiritual, saga
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 88%
Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy (2018)
Plot Summary:
After being defeated by Ip Man, Cheung Tin Chi is attempting to keep a low profile. While going about his business, he gets into a fight with a foreigner by the name of Davidson, who is a big boss behind the bar district. Tin Chi fights hard with Wing Chun and earns respect.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, exciting, suspense, surprise ending, saga, cult classic
Similar in 88%
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
Plot Summary:
This film is a glimpse into the life, love and the unconquerable spirit of the legendary Bruce Lee. From a childhod of rigorous martial arts training, Lee realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in America. Before long, he is discovered by a Hollywood producer and begins a meteroric rise to fame and an all too short reign as one the most charasmatic action heroes in cinema history.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic, inspirational, cult classic, touching, psychotronic, exciting, erotic
Similar in 80%
Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019)
Plot Summary:
Ip Man’s promising career as a Policeman is ruined after he is framed for murder and targeted by a mob boss’s daughter.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action
Country: China
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, inspirational, atmospheric, rough, uplifting, touching, brutal, serious, captivating
Similar in 83%
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 83%
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 87%
Once Upon a Time in China III (1992)
Plot Summary:
Master Wong and his disciples enroll in the 'Dancing Lion Competition' to stop an assassination plot and to battle an arrogant, deceitful opponent.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: stylized, serious, cult classic, harsh, anamorphic, exciting, epic, silent, light, thought provoking
Similar in 89%
The Chinese Connection (1972)
Plot Summary:
Chen Zhen returns to the international compound of China only to learn of his beloved teacher's death. This is compounded by the continual racist harassment by the Japanese population in the area. Unlike his friends, he confronts it head on with his mastery of martial arts while investigating his teacher's murder.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, grindhouse, cult classic, stylized, harsh, psychological, retro
Similar in 84%
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 78%
The Banquet (2006)
Plot Summary:
907 AD, the Tang Dynasty in China. The movie is set in an empire in chaos. The Emperor, the Empress, the Crown Prince, the Minister and the General all have their own enemies.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, captivating, stylized, costume drama, serious, surprise ending, epic
Similar in 82%
Ashes of Time (1994)
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
Similar in 89%
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 83%
Fearless (2006)
Plot Summary:
Huo Yuan Jia became the most famous martial arts fighter in all of China at the turn of the 20th Century. Huo faced personal tragedy but ultimately fought his way out of darkness, defining the true spirit of martial arts and also inspiring his nation. The son of a great fighter who didn't wish for his child to follow in his footsteps, Huo resolves to teach himself how to fight - and win.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 78000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: inspirational, epic, intense, exciting, captivating, serious, cult classic, stylized, harsh, motivational
Similar in 90%
2046 (2004)
Plot Summary:
Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life, over the course of a few years, after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Hong Kong, China, France, Italy, Germany
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: touching, surreal, emotional, contemplative, art house, atmospheric, sexy, philosophical, enigmatic, visual
Similar in 89%
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 85%
Bruce Lee, My Brother (2010)
Plot Summary:
Bruce Lee, My Brother is an action-dramatic biopic of the eponymous martial arts legend as told by his younger brother, Robert Lee. It revolves around Bruce Lee's life as a rebellious adolescent in Hong Kong before he sets off for the USA and conquers the world at the age of 18 with only US$100 in his pocket.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, realistic, mind blowing
Similar in 78%
Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
Plot Summary:
In the sequel to the Tsui Hark classic, Wong Fei-Hung faces The White Lotus society, a fanatical cult seeking to drive the Europeans out of China through violence, even attacking Chinese who follow Western ways. Wong must also defend Dr. Sun Yat Sen, a revolutionary, from the military.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, History, Romance
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: stylized, enigmatic, cult classic, epic, exciting, serious, realistic, tense, light, road movie
Similar in 83%
Red Cliff II (2009)
Plot Summary:
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?.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: epic, saga, stylized, scenic, visual, tense, brutal, enigmatic, suspense, exciting
Similar in 87%
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 78%
Ip Man (2008)
Plot Summary:
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 232000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: heroic, epic, exciting, tense, uplifting, captivating, inspirational, touching, entertaining, fast paced
Similar in 83%
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 89%
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
Similar in 86%
Red Cliff (2008)
Plot Summary:
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, breathtaking, brutal, visual, intense, exciting, serious, action packed, saga