Why are kung fu films falling in popularity

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0mega Spawn
Why are kung fu films falling in popularity.
By that i mean why and when did you start to not like them or get a distaste for them and what would restore your faith in them

Kazenji
Why and when did i start not to like when?

i've always liked them.

0mega Spawn
Me as well

But the fall in popularity is clear and evident

KingD19
I think it's just that so many action films and mega blockbusters have good fight choreography and are out everywhere, whereas kung-fu films are 90% Asian, come out mainly in Asia, and you have to search to find them. Jackie Chan's Zodiac and one or two more kung fu flicks are coming out this year. I'll definitely be seeing all of them.

marwash22
i still love and watch them, i think a lot of people do... Hollywood isn't making them, but people still love them.

There isn't a really big kung fu star in America right now. It looked like Tony Jaa was gonna be the guy, but he never took off over here.

0mega Spawn
What good mega blockbuster fight choreography do you speak of?
Two guys tackling eachother through glass for 2 minutes
Does not strike me as good choreography. Which is the only type of choreography i see in these mega blockbusters

quanchi112
Never really cared for them personally.

Kazenji
Because they never made heaps at the box office........ shifty

Dolos
Tony Jaa ran out of moves to hit.

the ninjak
Because this generation always wants something more....

But doesn't know exactly what that "more" is.

Chinese cinema has gone the way of 90's Hollywood and lost all of it's roots.

CG is the death of Horror, Sci Fi and Action films, for it eliminates the viewers "minds eye" perceiving what's real and whats not.

The original Star Wars films had alot of real models and puppets representing their illusions. The Prequels just replaced them with CG effects. And viewers knew they weren't remotely real.

The original Alien films had animatronics showing the monsters and they looked amazing. The failed sequels had the alien as CG effects.

The beauty of original Kung Fu cinema was real men doing real stunts. Modernization destroyed it. Even Tsui Hark films back in the day had some SFX involved but it was always equalized by the feats of the stuntmen who displayed the amazing feats.

The Art of Kung Fu in cinema is dying because "art" itself is dying in cinema.

We're being dumbed down. Audiences want "more digital SFX" and no substance.

Compare American Werewolf in London to Van Helsing. And see where I'm heading.

0mega Spawn
I feel the same way ninjak especially when looking back at actors such as yuen biao

BruceSkywalker
Originally posted by 0mega Spawn
Me as well

But the fall in popularity is clear and evident

it has to do with the story/actors etc

0mega Spawn
And Hollywood doesn't suffer from the same issues lol

super pr*xy
kung-fu movie were the rage back then.. i agree with ninjak, CG kill the kung-fu masters.. when you watch jackie chan back in day, you know he was risking his life and limb to do these stunts.. even before he became well known in the states with battle in the bronx, he was big in asia already.. the drunken master, operation condor, super cop.. now, it's all CG..

Kazenji
Originally posted by the ninjak

CG is the death of Horror, Sci Fi and Action films, for it eliminates the viewers "minds eye" perceiving what's real and whats not.


I agree with Action & Horror Films but as for Sci-Fi i disagree there.

0mega Spawn
Well for sci fi id only agree for futuristic movies

juggerman
Originally posted by 0mega Spawn
Why are kung fu films falling in popularity.

Cuz most are ass

Esau Cairn
I think the popularity of kung fu movies died with the advent of cheesey 80's movies that bombarded us with guns & explosions.

I mean look at Chuck Norris's early films, he went from martial arts to machine guns in the span of 3 or 4 films.

Kazenji
Originally posted by 0mega Spawn
Well for sci fi id only agree for futuristic movies

Yeah CGI can help sci-fi movies at times.

Mindship
The popularity of types of movies rises and falls. Decades ago, musicals were popular. Then by the 1950s, giant monsters wrought by radiation were the thing. 1970s: blaxploitations films; these days it's superhero flicks.

Sing with me:

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose,
under Heaven

A time to dance, a time to sing,
A time when black-n-white film noir was king,
A time to tell the army to fire,
A time for even superheroes to retire.

jaden101
There will probably always be crossover from Asian films that break to some extent into western cinema. Tends to be the big epics like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, Red Cliff etc.

With western movies themselves it seems the martial arts that are popular themselves have moulded what we see in films. The Bourne movies, Jason Statham films. I also think that any western movie that now has highly choreographed martial arts is going to inevitably be compared to The Matrix fight scenes which probably puts off a lot of film makers.

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