A Brief History of Martial Arts Films

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Martial art films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters.

[00:00:08]Evolution could be defined as the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. Hi, I'm Liam George and today we're going to be talking about martial arts films.

[00:00:24]Martial art films are unquestionably one of the most entertaining and influential genre of motion pictures that have ever been put to screen.

[00:00:36]The very first martial art film that was ever put to silver screens is the 1928 Chinese silent film The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple. This film was directed by Jeang Shishuan and produced by the Ming Jing Film Company.

[00:00:58]Based on the Chinese novel, The Romance of the Red Lotus Temple, Jeang tells the story of a group of martial artists who band together to defend their temple from raiders. Early martial art films like The Burning of the Red Lotus were very minimal when it came to plots and true character development, choosing instead to focus more on action and film combat as opposed to much of anything else.

[00:01:32]With this new and exciting format, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood would start developing their own martial arts films. One of the earliest of these was titled Bad Day at Black Rock, released in 1955.

[00:01:53]This film would share similar features to those that came before it, but with a bit more of a focus on character development and the overall plot of the or overarching story. Some actors who star in martial arts films are lifelong martial artists themselves or learn to hone their craft before production.

[00:02:20]However, as with every genre of film making, eventually a star or stars are born.

[00:02:29]Stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michael Jawite, and countless others to follow in their footsteps. The history of martial arts films by pushing the bar for what action movies can become.

[00:02:52]These stars also inspire many actors and filmmakers to explore this adrenalinefilled genre and thus bringing more ideas and creativity into the fold.

[00:03:09]In fact, many martial arts fighters turn to film after their careers have ended, such as former twotime UFC welterweight and one-time UFC middleweight champion George St. Pierre, who has taken part in major blockbusters such as 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

[00:03:35]In short, martial arts films blends a spectacular mixture of cultures to create a fantastical genre that both entertains and inspires equally.