Cinema exists to entertain and excite scenes of ever-increasing tension. In action and martial arts films, these intense scenes feature audience-favorite actors immersed in harrowing chases, brutal gunfights and menacing fist fights. Obviously, actors should never be in danger while filming these scenes, although accidents can always happen when real (non-CG) stunts are involved. This is the case in many martial arts films, where highly trained actors, who are often real martial artists, want to realistically demonstrate their abilities.
In the list below, we’ve counted down 10 moments from martial arts movies where someone got hurt!
1. Jackie Chan – Enter the Dragon (1973)
In Enter the Dragon, Chan is “Thug in Prison,” one of the evil Han’s many generic henchmen sent to ambush Bruce Lee. Chan got hurt when Lee accidentally smacked him on the head with a wooden stick a little (or a lot) harder than he was supposed to. Although this accidental swat seems like nothing compared to the many insane stunts Chan would pull later in his career, it was enough to make the actor see black and nearly pass out. Chan recovered by the time Lee broke character and rushed over to see if he was okay, but he decided to play up the pain to bask in Lee’s concerned glow a little longer.RELATED:
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2. Jackson ”Rock” Pinckney – Cyborg (1989)
Cyborg is a run-of-the-mill low-budget action classic in the great tradition of Cannon Films. Throughout the film, Van Damme engages in several intense hand-to-hand fights and performs many of his signature moves to cripple the bad guys. However, in one fight, a group of thugs led by bodybuilder Jackson “The Rock” Pinkney whip out several knives to gain an advantage over Van Damme. According to Looper, “Van Damme uses his usual punching and kicking techniques and fends off the retaliatory attacks of the knife-wielding villains. Unfortunately, there was an accident when the prop knife hit Pinkney in the eye.” Pinckney sued and received a huge amount of damages, although Van Damme’s lawyers were adamant that it was an accident.
3. Tony Jaa – Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (2003)
Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior is an incredible martial arts film directed by Prachya Pinkaew. It stars Tony Jaa as the hero of a poverty-stricken Thai village who embarks on a perilous journey to reclaim a stolen statue that promises to restore the village’s spirit. Throughout the filming of the movie, Jaa engaged in all kinds of dangerous fights and stunt work. By far the most hazardous moment, however, was a scene that saw Jaa fighting with his pants on fire. At one point, the fire unexpectedly spread up his body and singed his eyelashes, brows, and part of his face.
4. Jackie Chan – Project A (1983)
Project A is a comedy-action classic that stars genre favorite Jackie Chan as a Hong Kong marine who teams up with the great Sammo Hung to take down a band of vicious pirates in the 19th century. Loads of death-defying stunt work and physical comedy make Project A one of the most fun martial arts flicks ever made, but there was one on-set mishap that very nearly ruined the whole thing. The now-iconic stunt saw Chan falling from a high clock tower through several layers of canopies and hitting the ground with a thud. It worked out in the end, but not without Chan walking away with a busted nose, a couple of broken fingers, and a neck injury that luckily didn’t do the action star in.
5. Jet Li in Fearless (2006)
The film was marketed as Jet Li’s last martial arts epic, but it was very nearly Li’s last anything, as one crazy stunt almost killed the famous actor. During the shooting of an intense fight scene, Li fell from a 12-foot tower and landed flat on his back onto the grass. Although he felt fine at first, continuing the shoot proved difficult as he began to suffer troubled breathing and painful movements. He eventually recovered, but made it clear that he was no longer interested in hurting others or himself in martial arts movies.
6. Michelle Yeoh – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a martial arts masterpiece from director Ang Lee about a legendary warrior whose famous sword is stolen by a dangerous thief, and the subsequent quest to reclaim it. It’s one of Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh’s greatest movies, and one that she really gave her all to. In one memorable scene, Yeoh had to sprint across a rooftop in pursuit of the sword-stealer and, in her total commitment to the scene, accidentally tripped up and tore her ACL. Although she had to have surgery to fix the injury, she defied doctors’ orders to stay off her feet for a while, instead opting to power through the pain and finish shooting her scenes for the film.RELATED:
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7. Donnie Yen – Once Upon a Time in China II (1992)
Once Upon a Time in China II is the stunning sequel to Tsui Hark’s wuxia masterpiece, and the breakthrough film for martial arts actor Donnie Yen. Now considered one of Yen’s best movies, Once Upon a Time in China II follows folk hero Wong Fei-hung, played by Jet Li, in his attempts to outwit Yen’s ruthless General Nap-lan. In their famous fight together, Yen and Li perform tons of dazzling stunts and beautifully-choreographed moves. One move doesn’t exactly go as choreographed, however, when Yen was almost blinded by an overzealous staff swing from Li. The staff ended up slicing across Yen’s forehead, cutting up the area around his left eye.
8. Cynthia Rothrock – Yes, Madam! (1985)
Speaking of Michelle Yeoh, Yes, Madam! is another classic movie of hers, in which she co-stars with International Sports Hall of Famer Cynthia Rothrock. The two icons of martial arts cinema play detectives in a convoluted murder plot that leads to a number of stunt-filled fight sequences. The injury-causing moment of the movie is found in the middle of the climactic final fight. Rothrock is pitted against famed villain actor Dick Wei, who, at one point, let loose a sweeping kick aimed just a little too low. His shoe collided hard with Rothrock’s head and split open her inner ear. As blood gushed out of her wound, a medical team checked her out and determined that the damage was too deep to stitch. With nothing to do about the painful injury but to dry up the blood, Rothrock stepped right back up and finished the scene.
9. Jimmy Wang Yu – The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
The Man from Hong Kong is a forgotten ’70s B-movie gem about a Hong Kong police officer who heads to Sydney, Australia, to bust an international crime lord. Starring martial arts legend Jimmy Wang Yu and former James Bond star George Lazenby, the movie is an unjustly under-seen action extravaganza that’s got more than its fair share of awe-inspiring stunts. While most of the crazy stunts went off without a hitch, there was one that nearly killed the film’s star. Wang, the titular “Man from Hong Kong”, hang-glided in several scenes, but one take ended with him crashing into the rocks of Sydney Harbour. As a result of the accident, he fell to the sand from a height of more than a hundred feet and lost consciousness. He then had to miss the next two days of filming to recover from his fall.