top 25 Asian films you must see before you die
by theo_aivazian | created - 29 Jun 2020 | updated - 29 Jun 2020 | PublicI dare you to challenge these
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1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,673 | Gross: $128.08M
2. Hero (2002)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang
Votes: 187,683 | Gross: $53.71M
3. House of Flying Daggers (2004)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song
Votes: 116,279 | Gross: $11.05M
4. Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
R | 114 min | Action, Drama, Romance
During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Gong Li, Jay Chou, Ye Liu
Votes: 45,973 | Gross: $6.57M
5. The Assassin (2015)
Not Rated | 105 min | Action, Drama, History
A female assassin receives a dangerous mission to kill a political leader in eighth-century China.
Director: Hsiao-Hsien Hou | Stars: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Yun Zhou, Satoshi Tsumabuki
Votes: 17,992 | Gross: $0.61M
6. Ashes of Time (1994)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A broken-hearted hit man moves to the desert where he finds skilled swordsmen to carry out his contract killings.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Votes: 16,972 | Gross: $0.17M
7. Iron Monkey (1993)
PG-13 | 85 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A martial artist/doctor steals from the corrupt authorities as a masked thief to give to the poor while another martial artist/doctor is forced to hunt him down. But a major threat unites them as a powerful and traitorous shaolin monk takes over the authorities.
Director: Woo-Ping Yuen | Stars: Rongguang Yu, Donnie Yen, Jean Wang, Sze-Man Tsang
Votes: 17,227 | Gross: $14.68M
8. Nirvana in Fire (2015–2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Story about a son's search for his family's lost honor.
Stars: Kei Gambit, Ge Hu, Tu-Te-Ha-Meng, Kai Wang
Votes: 2,865
9. 14 Blades (2010)
R | 114 min | Action, History, Thriller
A kung fu thriller set during the Ming Dynasty and centered on a secret service agent (Donnie Yen) in the emperor's court who is betrayed and then hunted by his colleagues.
Director: Daniel Lee | Stars: Donnie Yen, Wei Zhao, Chun Wu, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung
Votes: 8,471
10. Dragon Inn (1992)
88 min | Action, Thriller
During the Ming Dynasty, Tsao Siu-yan, a power-crazed eunuch who rules his desert region of China as if he were the Emperor, ruthlessly thwarts plots against him and sets a trap for one of this enemies at the Dragon Gate Inn.
Directors: Raymond Lee, Siu-Tung Ching, Hark Tsui | Stars: Tony Ka Fai Leung, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen
Votes: 4,840
11. Reign of Assassins (2010)
R | 117 min | Action, Adventure
Drizzle/Zeng Jing tries to start a new life after she had betrayed her gang and hid the remains of monk.
Directors: Chao-Bin Su, John Woo | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Jung Woo-sung, Xueqi Wang, Barbie Hsu
Votes: 8,997
12. The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)
PG-13 | 102 min | Action, Fantasy, Romance
A master monk tries to protect a naive young physician from a thousand-year-old snake demon. A contest of psychic powers results in mayhem.
Director: Siu-Tung Ching | Stars: Jet Li, Shengyi Huang, Raymond Lam, Charlene Choi
Votes: 8,979 | Gross: $0.02M
13. Battle Through the Heavens (2018–2024)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Xiao Yan is a genius child who suddenly loses all his powers. In a world governed by strength and power, Xiao Yan's lack of talent is an embarrassment to his family.
Stars: Chu-Ho Chen, Liu Mei Tong, Lei Wu, Zhan Xiao
Votes: 740
14. Ever Night (2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Ning Que flees ruthless attack on general's regime, reaching Du City with maid Sang Sang. At academy, Ning learns Sang Sang reincarnated from prophesied being. Sinister forces now try seizing her power, forcing Ning to be her shield.
Stars: Ziyi Meng, Arthur Chen, Yiren Song, Yao Tong
Votes: 399
15. Nirvana in Fire 2 (2017–2018)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
They killed his brother and destroyed his family. They thought he was too weak to do anything. They thought wrong.
Stars: Huiwen Zhang, Haoran Liu, Xianxu Hu, Hui-Wen Chang
Votes: 247
16. Feng Qiu Huang (2018)
Romance
Her singular mission is to overthrow the emperor. When Liu Zi Ye (Zhang Yi Jie) ascends the throne in AD 464, he proves himself to be a tyrannical emperor, capable of great cruelty and violence.
Stars: Xiaotong Guan, Weilong Song, Lu Bai, Lusi Zhao
Votes: 125
17. Kwaidan (1964)
Not Rated | 183 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirô Ishiyama
Votes: 20,002
18. After Life (1998)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, Fantasy
After death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naitô
Votes: 13,760 | Gross: $0.80M
19. Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)
R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Star-crossed lovers must fight on opposing sides in a battle that will determine the next Shogun.
Director: Ten Shimoyama | Stars: Yukie Nakama, Joe Odagiri, Tomoka Kurotani, Erika Sawajiri
Votes: 12,944
20. Blade of the Immortal (2017)
R | 140 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Cursed with a life of immortality, a samurai is tasked by a young girl to help avenge the death of her father. Based on the manga series by Hiroaki Samura.
Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara
Votes: 19,448 | Gross: $0.15M
21. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 366,966 | Gross: $0.27M
22. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)
PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War
A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu
Votes: 38,194
23. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,403
24. Sanjuro (1962)
Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty samurai helps a young man and his fellow clansmen trying to save his uncle, who has been framed and imprisoned by a corrupt superintendent.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, Yûnosuke Itô
Votes: 41,147
25. Red Beard (1965)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama
In 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan
Votes: 21,111
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