Martial-arts movies revolutionized fight scenes by stressing two factors: dazzling kineticism (combined, at its best, with humor and lyricism) and the bona fide virtuosity of the performer. On the former count, the most influential martial-arts stylist of the genre's 1960s and '70s heyday was the Hong Kong director King Hu (Come Drink With Me, A Touch of Zen), who relied on elaborate choreography, strategic bursts of rapid editing, and pre-digital innovations like the use of off-camera trampolines.

But it was the kung fu heroes, like Bruce Lee, master of the intercepting fist, and his equally agile but more slapstick younger counterpart Jackie Chan, who brought martial arts to a global audience. For these actors, and those who followed in their tradition, it was a point of honor actually to carry out these fights, and it was important, not least for their vanity, that they be seen as doing so, unaided by stuntmen. Lee especially insisted that his fights be filmed expressly to showcase his skills, with minimal cutting and, where possible, in shots that frame him head to toe, as in this climactic scene from Return of the Dragon (aka The Way of the Dragon), a gladiatorial standoff with Chuck Norris—against the backdrop of the Roman Colosseum, no less.