Connoisseurs of Violence: the Fight Choreographers of American Cinema

Connoisseurs of Violence: the Fight Choreographers of American Cinema http://www.imdb.com/list/7bYRW7pnX6c/ A cumulative sampling of fight/action coordinators frequently contributing to North American martial arts films. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:22:45 GMT Sat, 19 May 2012 14:14:44 GMT Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:23:00 GMT J.J. Perry http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675102/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0675102/ Style: acrobatic kickboxing with occasional grappling. I think it's fair to say that this longtime stalwart of the action genre is only as good as his director: he's cranked out crud when working with nobodies (e.g. "The Silent Force" by David H. May) and knocked my socks off when handled by someone with skill (e.g. "Blood and Bone" by Ben Ramsey). Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:23:48 GMT Peter Malota http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525782/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0525782/ Style: traditional karate with an emphasis on kicking. Has shown versatility in representing classic kung fu and other worldly styles. Peter Malota more or less became Jean-Claude Van Damme's personal fight choreographer for a solid decade, making the Muscles from Brussels look just about the best he could during the height of his career. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:24:16 GMT Art Camacho http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131064/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131064/ Style: straight stand-up kickboxing and karate. Low on acrobatics. I can't think of anyone who was more active in this specific role over an equal period of time. Though a whopping 45% of his work was in support of a single performer (Don 'the Dragon' Wilson), Camacho supplemented the low-budget scene in general with predictably solid fights. Disappointingly, I'm not a fan, thanks to the overuse of jump cuts and slow-motion in his features. See "Rage" for a veritable exception. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:25:36 GMT Akihiro Noguchi http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634012/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634012/ Style: lots of flipping and kicking, often shot with slanted camera angles. A veteran of Isaac Florentine and the Power Rangers, Noguchi is one of a handful of folks currently representing Japanese-style fight choreography in the States. Experience continues to add substance to this guy's flashiness. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:26:11 GMT Larnell Stovall http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1277586/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1277586/ Style: extremely versatile, working best with quick and flexible performers. Few stunt doubles necessary. One of the newest names on this list, the 35-year-old Larnell has already established himself as one of the best in the business with his work on "Mortal Kombat: Rebirth" and "Legacy," as well as Isaac Florentine's "Undisputed 3." I don't think there's anybody out there who knows who this man is and isn't anxious to see what he'll bring to the screen next. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:26:45 GMT Brandon Pender http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0671660/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0671660/ Style: traditional American cinefighting, mixing basic brawling with kicking, throwing, and swordfighting. Pender's work, while consistently solid, is as basic as you can get in the realm of low-to-mid-budget fight flicks when considering the number of diverse stars he's worked with. Nevertheless, his input to the better-than-average fights of "No Retreat, No Surrender" and "Breathing Fire" shows that he works best when part of a team and when his ideas can be interpreted by someone with a bit more flair. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:27:07 GMT Ron Yuan http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0950620/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0950620/ Style: realistic, gritty street fighting mixed with occasionally flashy jumps and kicks. Once an onscreen henchman and a veteran of Hong Kong, Yuan has been reinventing himself as a behind-the-scenes guy via some very promising work with Michael Jai White and Zoe Bell, among others. I can't help but think that before long, he's going to be directing in big-name features. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:27:34 GMT Frank Dux http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245235/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0245235/ Style: mid-speed mixed forms presented with a good deal of dramaticism. Dux served as choreographer for only three movies, but his contributions to the revolutionary "Bloodsport" earns him a spot by default. Never before had a westerner embraced such a wide variety of fighting disciplines and implemented them so smoothly. "Only the Strong" earns him considerable credit, too, for bringing capoeira to Hollywood. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:28:08 GMT Jeff Pruitt http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0699231/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0699231/ Style: fast-paced karate with smooth forms. Occasionally sends performers into the air on wires. A veteran of the Power Rangers franchise, Pruitt was the go-to guy during the golden age of home video action movies, supplying quality fight scenes to Jeff Wincott, Cynthia Rothrock, Gary Daniels, and Lorenzo Lamas. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:28:29 GMT James Lew http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506699/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506699/ Style: tailors his output to his directors' wishes. Capable doing both grounded pit-fighting and kick-savvy acrobatic stuff. As an all-around guy, it's impossible not to sing James Lew's praises. With a knack for being anything a director needs him to be - an actor, stuntman, fill-in producer, celebrity trainer - James is indispensable, but more or less rises and falls with who ever's making the movie. For his true expertise, check out "Xtreme Martial Arts" or "Fight Science." Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:29:03 GMT Eric Lee http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497224/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0497224/ Style: heavy on weapons, showing great aptitude at kung fu but serviceable with kickboxing. A hero of the performance circuit, Lee took to movie work with ease for a heaped handful of '80s and early-'90s B-movies. His work is hit & miss, but always recognizable by his effort and striving for originality - I mean, who else brought out the three-sectioned staff during this era? Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:29:35 GMT Philip Tan http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848883/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0848883/ Style: smooth karate and kickboxing, showing comfort with more exotic forms as well. For the most active part of his choreographing career in the '90s, Tan supplied good but arguably forgettable fights for Cynthia Rothrock and Daniel Bernhardt. Then in 1996, with "Bloodsport 2," he took a hodge-podge of varied practitioners and did better things with 'em than Frank Dux had done eight years before. Kudos for that! Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:30:06 GMT Pat E. Johnson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0425944/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0425944/ Style: powerful-looking street karate mixed with Japanese weapons-handling. Hollywood's go-to guy during a time when it was still considered acceptable to prominently feature martial arts in blockbuster films. Though some of his work is definitely showing its age, his amount of work in films considered nostalgia classics these days is unrivaled. Check out "Shootfighter" for his take on low-budget fare. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:30:27 GMT Jeff Imada http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408001/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0408001/ Style: capable of both low-budget forms work and bombastic Hollywood showmanship with CGI. Excels at close-range hand-to-hand fights and knives. Roughly three decades of stuntwork has made Imada the staple Hollywood fight coordinator. While his work with legitimate martial artists is eye candy, greater commendation is afforded to him for making non-fighters like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Sairose Ronan look convincing on the big screen. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:30:52 GMT Erik Betts http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0079430/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0079430/ Style: showy gymnastics-supplemented acrobatics and speedy hand-to-hand exchanges. Erik's uniquely varied background lends itself to a frequent mixing of styles and a knack for bringing out the cooler moves of karate, wushu, capoeira, or whatever he's coordinating. He's mostly been stuck doing fight choreography in lower-budget pictures and only doing stuntwork or tumbling in larger outings, but I'm sure a reversal of these roles would yield some fun results. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:31:17 GMT Aaron Norris http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635760/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0635760/ Style: an emphasis on traditional forms, letting the natural strength of karate-esque fighting styles work for him. Always tailing his older and more famous brother, Aaron learned how to shoot quality fights by Chuck's example. Who'd know better how to highlight your strengths than your own bro? Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:31:45 GMT Mike Stone http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0832048/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0832048/ Style: weapons-oriented combat, combined with one-against-many hand-to-hand setups. Limiting himself largely to movies with the word "Ninja" in the title, Mike Stone quickly learned how to best inflict pain with shuriken on the screen. His work's definitely aged over time, but it's obviously still cool enough to have helped inspire the recent ninja revival. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:32:44 GMT Chad Stahelski http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821432/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821432/ Style: CGI- and wirework-complemented hand-to-hand action, mixed with weapons work and occasional realism. A kickboxer, stuntman, and onscreen fighter from '90s B-movies, this guy seemed oddly unlikely to make it big with the big studios, but wouldn't you know it, he's already become a studio staple. I have great respect for this man's work. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:33:09 GMT Jon Valera http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0884497/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0884497/ Style: violent brawls backed by big budgets and CGI. The fastest-rising new choreographer in Hollywood, Valera is still occasionally limited to co-status but, judging by his upcoming credits, has earned much-deserved recognition for outings like "Ninja Assassin." I expect good things from this guy. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:33:36 GMT Koichi Sakamoto http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757084/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0757084/ Style: see #4, with perhaps a bit more grace. Ever seen "Drive" or "Broken Path"? Check out either, and this entry will have written itself. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:34:09 GMT Andy Cheng http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0155536/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0155536/ Style: fast-paced Hong Kong influences, occasionally without the wires and showing aptitude in weapons combat. Cheng received tutelage under Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan's stunt crew prior to striking out on his own in the States. See his work in the second half of Isaac Floretine's "U.S. Seals II" for an ideal display on how to pose quality Hong Kong fight scenes on a micro budget. Sun, 15 Jan 2012 05:18:59 GMT Chuck Jeffreys http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420333/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0420333/ Style: efficient, realistic hand-to-hand work with occasional spinning kicks. Having served as Wesley Snipes' official fight wrangler, Jeffreys provided the direct-to-video action scene with solid (if unspectacular) sustenance. Sat, 19 May 2012 14:07:18 GMT Jeff Ward http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911604/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0911604/ Style: Hollywood fantasy violence, able to work with both trained martial artists and performers in monster suits. Ward is Wesley Snipes' other official fight choreographer, for his better-received big-budget fare. Personally, I think he's underutilized: entire films could be built around the man's ability of making monster fights look cool. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:34:34 GMT Benny Urquidez http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0882054/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0882054/ Style: stand-up striking and kicking, occasionally mixed with gravity-defying acrobatics. The golden boy of professional kickboxing wrangles solid fight scenes for movies of greatly varying budgets, be it solo ring-based outings in "Kickboxer 2" or fantastic collaborations in "Spider-Man." Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:35:04 GMT Charlie Picerni http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0681604/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0681604/ Style: constantly evolving with the times, from basic brawling to traditional karate, eastern-influenced fantasy action, and modern grappling. The quintessential veteran of this list, Picerni's half-century career began in a time when few folks in the United States knew what martial arts even were and continues to this day, making legitimate MMA fighters like Andrei Arlovski look good onscreen. He's not the most distinguished entry to this list, but definitely one of the most respected within the industry. Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:11:04 GMT Jonathan Eusebio http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262389/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0262389/ Style: mixed martial arts matches and brawling, occasionally supplemented with wirework and weapons. Seemingly perfectly styled to the modern crop of action flicks, Eusebio owns movies based on grounded fight action and bolsters more fantastic pieces with gritty realism. He's on the rise. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:35:27 GMT Bruce Lee http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000045/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000045/ Style: deliberately-timed bursts of action, featuring stiff striking combinations and powerful roundhouse and side kicks. Lee didn't direct the fights of all of his movies and thus probably derived a lot of his on-film style from different parties, but his ability to effectively and excitingly translate his real-life techniques onto the screen for his most popular features - especially when it came to taking out entire roomfuls of opponents - has rightfully influenced virtually everyone else on this list. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:35:52 GMT Woo-ping Yuen http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0950759/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0950759/ Honorary Entry Style: graceful wirework, conveying strength through form and intensity through speed. Even before he put his mark on the "Matrix" and "Kill Bill" series, Woo-ping influenced American fight choreography as we know it with his Hong Kong output. Wirework had been seen before in the west, but for better or worse, this guy made it popular in the mainstream. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:36:20 GMT Corey Yuen http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0477035/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0477035/ Honorary Entry Style: maintains Hong Kong flair both with and without wires, with excellent back & forth striking exchanges. Pound-for-pound, kick-for-kick, Corey Yuen is my personal favorite here. Not unlike the previously-listed Yuen, he gained the majority of his fame in Hong Kong, but his work on the "No Retreat, No Surrender" series and many of Jet Li's American features qualifies him for the list. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:36:43 GMT Dion Lam http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482599/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0482599/ Honorary Entry Style: bombastic CGI-enhanced martial arts and sci-fi battles. Lam gets included on this list not just for his work on the "Matrix" trilogy and "Spider-Man 2," but because prior to these he was one of the first Hong Kong filmmakers to implement a western flavor in eastern action scenes through the inclusion of post-production add-ins and reliance on computer animation to supplement his fights. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:37:21 GMT Siu-Hung Leung http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504900/ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504900/ Honorary Entry Style: see #25 & 26, but with less elevation on the wirework. Kuang's experiences in America are limited to Ng See-Yuen's "No Retreat, No Surrender" successors following Corey Yuen's return to Asia, but these are all favorites of mine so I can't help but include him.