10. Pray Vs. Chang - Last Hurrah for Chivalry
Before John Woo made his name depicting the heroic bloodshed of Hong Kong gangsters he cut his teeth on this explosive wuxia masterpiece. Created as a tribute to Chang Cheh (the prolific director of many Shaw Brothers' classics), Woo does his mentor proud by creating one of the most memorably nail-biting throwdowns ever. The diabolical Pray (Hark-on Fung) runs amok and goads sword-fighter Chang (Pai Wei) out of retirement to prove his prowess. Pray made a bad call. The combatants meet in a field and proceed to hack and slash with reckless abandon, evading their opponent's blade by a hair's-breadth. Woo brings the full force of his unrivaled talent for action sequences to bear and before the final blow falls the audience realizes they're watching a future master come into his own.