Can't believe that nobody has mentioned John Woo's <b>THE KILLER</b> - on my personal all-time top 10 list.

And you need to start exploring the Shaw Brothers catalog as being restored and released by Celestial (R3).

Don't be afraid - check out the International Forum for tons of suggestions.

just buy wong kar wai movies...

2046 in theaters now
in the mood for love
chungking express
As Tears Go By
Days of Being Wild
Fallen Angels
Happy Together

You find time for all sorts of stuff when you're no longer glued to the baseball playoffs, so here goes:

The Twilight Samurai (2002)
When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
The Hidden Blade (2004) - Hong Kong DVD release coming soon
Azumi (2003) - a little more love it or hate it than the aforementioned but I really enjoyed it. A less well-received sequel will soon be available.

Given that this has been such an amazing year on DVD for these types of films, I've been meaning to start a Movie Talk discussion along the lines of "The Ultimate Samurai/Ninja/Chambara/Jidai-geki Discussion Thread" but have been holding off, maybe I should forge ahead with the idea.

Some Korean suggestions:
Joint Security Area (2000)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
The above are both from the Director of "OldBoy"

Taegukgi (2004) - story of two brothers during the Korean War. Some stylistic and structural influence from "Saving Private Ryan" both the story is different
Silmido (2003) - sort of a Korean version of "The Dirty Dozen" with added power coming from the fact that it was based on a true story
3-Iron (2004)
Once Upon a Time in High School (2004)
Musa (2001) - if you like period adventure films

Some recommendations from mainland China:
A World Without Thieves (2004) - very, very enjoyable popcorn flick
Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004) - some idiot over in the International Forum called it the "Best Chinese Film of 2004!"
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003) - if you liked "Musa" go for this one too - another period adventure flick with influences from the classic American Western and also old-time pulp adventure films.

After you finish the already recommended "Infernal Affairs" trilogy from HK, you might consider:
One Night in Mongkok (2004)
Love Battlefield (2004) - it's a whole lot better than the title would have you believe.

Lies
Audition
Happiness of the katsukaris

i personally thought musa the warrior was a chore to get through (the 155 min version) and also the subs on my version have numerous spelling errors and no punctuation.

What are some of the "must see" Asian films in the past year or so?
 

First off, have any of you guys seen Jeon Ji-hyun's latest flick, Daisy? It just recently opened in South Korea I believe, and it's one I've been looking forward to since I first discovered Jeon Ji-hyun.

Like the topic says, what have been some of the "must see" Asian films of the past year or so? I kept up with everything for a while there when I went through watching My Sassy Girl, Oldboy, Memories of Murder, etc... but I've been out of touch for a few months now and I'd like to jump back in. I don't care if the flicks are on DVD yet or not, like Daisy, I'd just like to know which ones to keep my eyes out for. I haven't really seen too much excitement over any one film like I did a year or so ago.

EDIT:

Here is the trailer for Daisy if any of you want to check it out:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tQ3H2dTHq5E

Last couple I've seen have been Fearless (Jet Li) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. I'm interested to see what others recommend as well, and thanks for the heads up on Daisy.

Breaking News was pretty good. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance as well. R-Point and Spider Forest are okay as well, worth a watch.

= J

a few that i enjoyed within the past 5 years. i'll just list some. some are a bit more main stream. some are just fun popcorn flicks.

audition
battle royale
a bittersweet life
3 iron
casshern
hero
house of flying daggers
infernal affairs (1-3)
kung fu hustle
musa: the warrior
natural city (visually impressive, story ho hum)
ong bak
phone
princess blade
the returner
save the green planet
so close
spring, summer, winter, fall...and spring
suicide club
sympathy for mr vengeance
tom yum goong
twilight samurai
three...extremes
versus
volcano high (original, not the crappy MTV version)

Thanks a lot so far.

I edited my first post to include a trailer for Daisy.

god i can't wait to see fearless, i'm a huge jet li fan and i can't wait for sympahy either.

i forgot all about breaking news, i queued it up. had rpoint queued and added spider forest, thanks.

I've seen Breaking news, and I loved it. The opening shot is fantastic.

wow, daisy looks good, plus it has teh hottie from my sassy girl.

Don't get me started on Jeon Ji-hyun - I'll never shut up. ;)

have you seen windstruck? she's in it, but i've heard mixed reviews.

I saw Windstruck, and own it, and I actually loved it. It's not perfect, but it's a perfectly acceptable South Korean melodrama. For better of for worse, if you have ever seen My Sassy Girl then you owe it to yourself to watch Windstruck.

If you haven't seen it yet, then I highly recommend Il Mare (Siworae). It's not as great as MSG, which is in my top ten or so of all time, but it's up there pretty high.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0282599/

lol, glad to see another my sassy girl fan. that's actually #7 on my top ten personal faves. people keep calling windstruck "my sassy girl 2" but they aren't related are they? and thanks for Il Mare, sounds like something i'll really like.

Don't look into Windstruck at all. Just track it down and watch it blindly.

lol, i just queued up il mare and it's a long wait, i get it at #2 behind "one nite in mongkok" which is supposed to be another good asian film if the last year i believe.

ok, will do. i'll probably just end up buying it off ebay.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:309492

To Live (though this one is from '94)

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:134236

Of course you've seen this one already, but just in case...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

I haven't been checking up on enough of them lately, but picks of mine from a similar thread haven't changed:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=440645

alot of what you mentioned in that thread interested me. thanks.

Strong agreement with these.

I'll also add Won Kar Wai's segment of "Eros" (as well as his other movies, most of which I'm fairly certain you've heard of so I won't bother to list them). There's also a pretty nifty Thai horror film called "P" that's worth checking out. Purple Butterfly. Dolls. Few more, but it's bedtime and a lot of people have already posted my mild recommendations.

-JP