Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)

Directed by Jimmy Wang Yu

Starring Jimmy Wang Yu

Synopsis: After his students are killed by a one-armed boxer, a vengeful and blind kung fu expert travels to a village where a martial arts contest is being held and vows to behead his nemesis.

Guillotine sits high atop my non-Shaw kung fu list, not because it's the best of the lot (there are technically better films on this list), but because it's Jimmy Wang Yu at his most absurdly creative and just a load of fun in general. Evil ronin, arrogant Thai kickboxers and impossibly long-limbed yoga masters abound, all waiting to do mortal damage to our limb-deprived hero.

The One-Armed Boxer (1972)

Directed by Jimmy Wang Yu

Starring Jimmy Wang Yu

Synopsis: After his schoolmate and master are killed and he loses an arm, student Tien Lung has to learn the art of one-arm boxing.

The prequel to Guillotine is every bit as inventive and action-packed. In fact, it's a toss-up as to which is the more entertaining film. Guillotine barely edges out Boxer in my opinion, but your mileage may vary. These films feature two of the best rogues galleries you'll find in a kung fu film.

Born Invincible (1978)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Carter Wong

Synopsis: Two warlord chiefs—a tonfa wielder and a half-crazed Tai Chi expert— send a pair of assassins to kill an old master swordsman who has given up fighting.

Carter Wong is primarily known to Western audiences as the lightning warlord in Big Trouble In Little China, but he enjoyed a lengthy career in kung fu movies well before that. Wong typically played the hero, but in Born Invincible he is at his dastardly best.

7 Grandmasters (1977)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Lee Yi Min, Jack Long, Mark Long

Synopsis: An aging martial arts sifu is gifted a plaque from the emperor declaring him the kung fu world champion. Unsure if he is deserving of the title, he embarks on a journey to defeat seven grandmasters.

A terrific and under-appreciated film from Joseph Kuo, one of the essential masters of classic kung fu cinema. His name appears several times on this list, and this movie is one of his very best.

Kung Fu from Beyond the Grave (1983)

Directed by Chiu Lee

Starring Billy Chong, Lo Lieh

Synopsis: The gates of hell open to let out the ghosts of the dead. Chun Sing is visited by his deceased father, who tells the young man that his enemy is a priest who commands the dark forces of black magic. Luckily, Chun Sing gets help from a magic book, a group of friendly ghosts, and a house full of hookers.

Read that synopsis again. If that doesn't do it for you, I should also mention that Dracula shows up. Makes a great double-bill with another Billy Chong kung-horror classic, Kung Fu Zombie.

Shaolin vs. Lama (1983)

Directed by Tso Nam Lee

Starring Alexander Rei Lo

Synopsis: Skilled fighter Sung Li Ting is looking for a kung fu master who can beat him in battle and teach him new techniques. Shaolin monk Shao Si Yer introduces Sung Li to the Shaolin teachings, but Sung Li is not allowed to enter the school until the return of a Lama monk who stole a secret scroll containing every known fighting style from the monastery 12 years earlier.

Great flick, and Phoenix easily wins the Grand Prize for Best Kung Fu Bad Guy Outfit.

Shaolin Invincible Sticks (1978)

Directed by Tso Nam Lee

Starring Chang Ji-Lung, Chang Yi

Synopsis: Wong Tao is the soon-to-be-leader of the Invincible Sticks Clan, but the Air Splitting Pole Fighter opposes his quest for control of the group.

If Chang Cheh is the Sergio Leone of kung fu flicks then Tso Nam Lee is... well, one of those other Sergios. His movies are usually very entertaining and several of them appear on this list.

Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979)

Directed by Yuen Woo-ping

Starring Yuen Siu-tien

Synopsis: Drunken boxing master Beggar So must train his bumbling son in order to take on a rival drunken boxing master and his student.

Any movie featuring Yuen Siu-tien in his drunken master role deserves to be on this list, it's one of the more iconic roles in kung fu history. The drinking duel with his nemesis (who employs the drunken mantis style!) has to be seen to be believed.

The Invincible Armour (1977)

Directed by See-Yuen Ng

Starring Hwang Jang-lee

Synopsis: A corrupt official frames a man for murder. The man studies a martial arts style that makes his body as strong as iron so that he can counter the official's own incredible fighting skills.

Fun fact: The traditional white-haired kung fu master is typically based on the traitorous Pai Mei character, which in turn is based off the real-life historical figure of Bak Mei.

The Super Kung Fu Fighter (1978)

Directed by Yang Sun

Starring Fei Meng, Carter Wong

Synopsis: A bevy of top fighters attempt to rule the martial world using the rarest styles. Master Ko is in possession of a highly-coveted sword that can cut through anything and become invisible. One day, the master is killed and the sword is stolen.

Looking for more all-original kung fu poster art? Be sure to check out my Black Belt Theater series!

The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Kuan Wu-lung

Synopsis: A supposedly dead, embittered former official seeks revenge on the martial arts masters that once opposed him. His name is infamous and his Five Elements fighting style is deadly. Meanwhile, a young man joins a martial arts school in order to take revenge on the man who killed his father.

One of the better non-Shaws out there, and another Joseph Kuo gem. Plus you get two Wu Tang references in one film, what more could you ask for?

Master of Death (1978)

Directed by Han-Hsiang Yu

Starring Chi Kuan-Chun, Lo Lieh

Synopsis: After training at Shaolin for 18 long years, Lee Tien Chow sets out to avenge the death of his father.

Lo Lieh was the Samuel L. Jackson of kung fu flicks... the dude was in everything. He played the lead villain for the vast majority of his career (as he does here), but in an ironic twist, Lieh actually played the hero in a Shaw Brothers movie titled King Boxer. Why is that ironic? Well, before kung fu mania hit the States, King Boxer was brought Stateside and retitled Five Fingers of Death, and it is that film—not a Bruce Lee or Lo Lieh villain flick—that touched off America's obsession with martial arts cinema.

The Dragon's Snake Fist (1979)

Directed by Godfrey Ho

Starring Dragon Lee

Synopsis: Two highly acclaimed martial arts schools see their centuries-old rivalry explode.

The only movie on this list featuring Dragon Lee, one of many Bruce Lee clones during the late '70s Bruceploitation era. Bruceploitation films are often considered the lowest of the low for kung fu movie fans, but there are a few decent ones out there, and at least Dragon Lee carries the mantle well.

Snuff Bottle Connection (1977)

Directed by Dung Gam-woo, Lau Lap-lap

Starring John Liu, Hwang Jang Lee

Synopsis: The Chinese and Russian governments are talking peace, but traitorous agents on both sides seek war. A special agent is sent to identify the traitors.

Starring the amazing Hwang Jang Lee, this movie capitalizes on a very familiar narrative in kung fu movies, that of the dastardly foreign invader. To be fair, the Chinese have had more than their share of unwelcome visitors over the centuries, so perhaps it's not surprising to see this as a common motif.

For what it's worth, Snuff Bottle Connection is my favorite movie title on this list.

Fighting of Shaolin Monks (a.k.a. Shaolin Monk, Killer Priest) (1974)

Directed by Lin Fu Ti

Starring Chen Sing, Philip Ko

Synopsis: Tamo—the founder of Buddhism—travels throughout China seeking a disciple. He finds one in the son of a village doctor but the young man refuses.

Details are sketchy on this flick as it has been retitled several times over and is similarly titled to a different kung fu movie also named Killer Priest. The one I'm listing here is readily available on Wu Tang Collection and is where Wu Tang's Killah Priest gets his name.

Seven Men of Kung Fu (1978)

Directed by Chang Hung

Starring Chang Yi, Lo Lieh

Synopsis: A red-haired constable is deployed by the Manchus to round up all the Ming loyalists and eliminate them.

I had to include this flick on my list after watching it, it's just too bizarre to ignore. Actually, the movie itself would be fairly unremarkable were it not for the flamboyant villain, who sports a wig the color of Cherry Kool-Aid, has an enormous killer hawk for a companion, and is followed by a sorceress and a jiangshi (Chinese zombie).

Hitman in the Hand of Buddha (1981)

Directed by Hwang Jang Lee

Starring Hwang Jang Lee

Synopsis: A country bumpkin arrives to help his brother's rice business. Things get out of hand while a rival company becomes corrupt.

Hwang Jang Lee is better known for his villainous roles in kung fu flicks such as The 36 Deadly Styles and Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, but—as this movie proves—he makes for a fine heroic actor and director as well.

The 18 Bronzemen (1976)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Carter Wong

Synopsis: The son of a Ming dynasty general is sent to the Shaolin temple to learn martial arts so that he may seek revenge for his dead father. But first he must endure the test of the temple's legendary 18 Bronzemen.

You had me at "kung fu disciples vs. bronze warrior statues." Add Carter Wong to the mix and I'm 100% sold.

Fun fact: The further you indulge in kung fu b-movie culture, the more you realize that Joseph Kuo is the man. Not only did he direct many of the films on this list, he also wrote the score for Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.

The Fatal Flying Guillotines (1977)

Directed by Raymond Lui

Starring Carter Wong

Synopsis: A young fighter confronts a rogue kung fu master armed with weapons capable of severing heads from 100 feet away.

What's deadlier than a flying guillotine? How about two?!? Despite the blatant cash-in on  guillotine-mania, this movie manages to entertain with a compelling plot, some brilliant set and costume design, and intense fight choreography.

The Magnificent Butcher (1979)

Directed by Yuen Woo-ping

Starring Sammo Hung

Synopsis: A hot-headed young butcher, who is also a kung fu disciple, gets embroiled in a feud with a rival shaolin temple.

It's a bit unfair adding a Sammo Hung movie to this list as he's every bit the megastar as Bruce and Jackie in his homeland. Westerners may recognize Hung from the short-lived CBS drama Martial Law, but his storied career in kung fu cinema is the stuff of legend.

Of Hung's earliest films, Butcher is a must-see. The credits read like a who's who of classic kung fu, including future The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fight guru Yuen Woo-Ping, and Tak-Hing Kwan reprising his role as the legendary Wong Fei-Hung, the single-most important name in early martial arts cinema.

The 36 Deadly Styles (1979)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Hwang Jang Lee, Jack Long

Synopsis: A villain and his henchmen cause problems for good guy Wah-jee, pretty soy-milk seller Tsui-jee and her father.

If there was a sub-genre for "bad wig kung fu," this movie would be at the top of the heap. We're talking some really awful hairpieces here! Bonus points if you can spot Bloodsport baddie Bolo Yeung underneath a mess of brown knitting yarn.

This flick is far from Joseph Kuo's best moment, mainly because the comedy falls flat. Still, there are plenty of kung fu stars and the action is great. If you're on a Kuo kick (pun fully intended) I'd put this one just behind the others on this list.

Eagle's Claw (1978)

Directed by Tso Nam Lee

Starring Chi Kwan Chun, Wong Tao

Synopsis: The Eagle's Claw and Praying Mantis schools are rivals. When the Mantis attacks the Eagles and kills their head teacher, the Eagle's prized student joins the Mantis.

Some fans rate kung fu movies based on the plot, others the fight choreography. I tend to rate them based on the villain's wardrobe, so this movie ranks fairly high as you can see!

Actually, the movie itself is solid as well, great fights and a surprisingly tight storyline. Definitely worth checking out.

Stranger From Shaolin (1977)

Directed by Jo-Myeong Jeon

Starring Cecilia Wong Hang-Sau

Synopsis: A female martial artist undergoes rigorous training to avenge the murder of her family by the Manchus.

Women are woefully underserved in kung fu starring roles, often relegated to playing damsels in distress or foul temptresses. Which is unfortunate, because—as this South Korean production loosely based on the origins of Wing Chun proves—they can kick just as much ass as their male counterparts.

Phantom Kung Fu (1979)

Directed by Tso Nam Lee

Starring Wong Tao, Ching Yi

Synopsis: The master of the Palm of Death is recruited by the Qing government to collect a manuscript written by the leader of the Ming rebels and kill all those who get in his way.

Another very enjoyable flick from the same team that brought us Eagle's Claw. Great costume and set designs, entertaining plot. Perhaps it's no surprise as Taiwanese director Tso Nam Lee turned out several great kung fu movies on this list and Chang Yi made his mark as the stereotypical kung fu villain.

The 8 Masters (1977)

Directed by Joseph Kuo

Starring Carter Wong

Synopsis: A Shaolin temple student's refusal to involve himself in fighting is challenged when the Eight Masters kidnap his mother as revenge for his father's misdeeds.

May as well wrap up with one more Kuo-Wong collaboration. This one's got a bit of everything: a stellar revenge story inspired by classic Westerns, decent (if limited) fight scenes, and brief cameos from bronzemen, ghosts and hopping vampires! It may not reach the heights of Kuo's epic 7 Grandmasters, but The 8 Masters is still better than most.