Martial arts movies don’t come more iconic than this kung fu masterpiece from director Lau Kar-leung. With an acute focus on the disciplines of combat, it’s the ultimate training film, as Gordon Liu’s lithe apprentice eschews the path of vengeance for one of grace and spiritual self-determination.

A pivotal classic that marked the rise of the 1970s kung fu craze, Jeong Chang-hwa’s international crossover hit ruled box-office charts upon its release in America. Starring martial arts legend Lo Lieh, this audacious tale of red-hot vengeance punctuates gravity-defying battles with startling gore.

Kung fu is pitted against Japanese fighting styles in this sparkling culture-clash romcom. Talked into a marriage of convenience, Gordon Liu meets his match in Yuka Mizuno’s feisty bride, while Lau Kar-leung shows why he’s the king of action staging, with some of the most dynamic battles on his CV.

The Venom Mob—five masked ruffians with singular fighting styles— would appear in dozens of films at Shaw Brothers, but Five Deadly Venoms is where they first made their mark. A Tarantino favorite endlessly sampled by the Wu Tang Clan, Chang Cheh’s kung fu murder mystery is a ferocious cult classic.

What good are codes of honor in an unchivalrous world? It’s the key question for director Chang Cheh in this period crime epic. With action staging by choreographer supreme Lau Kar-leung, The Boxer from Shantung builds to a pyrrhic last stand that ranks among the bloodiest battles in the Shaw canon.