Martial arts movies have fights that take place in a wide variety of settings, but snowy landscapes might just be one of the most compelling setpieces leaned on by the genre. The best martial arts movie fights make heavy use of their environment, which can be as much of a combatant as the opponents within, as the fighters use every advantage of their surroundings possible. In this respect, a wintry environment can do wonders for the memorability of a battle.

Snowy environments can sometimes be an apt metaphor for martial arts movies with a deeper meaning to lean on, with a calm icy realm perhaps standing in as a visual representation of the quiet calm within a character’s mind. Otherwise, an arctic tundra can be the perfect place for some creative choreography, as opponents slip, slide, and crunch through turbulent ice and snow. Whether just as pretty set dressing or a creative gimmick, snowy landscapes are perfect for any martial arts movie battle.

10

Jin Vs Leo

House Of Flying Daggers

The epic romance House of Flying Daggers remains one of the greatest wuxia films of all time, taking place in a long-forgotten ancient China. The final battle of the film converges in a dangerous blizzard, as romantic and political rivals Jin and Leo duke it out for the last time. The fight features some impressive and graceful wirework typical of the genre, as the two fated opponents dart back and forth over one another while trading blows.

What makes the snowy scenery so exciting in House of Flying Daggers is the fact that it was a sheer coincidental act of real nature that allowed it to happen. While filming in Ukraine, the film’s crew and cast were subject to sudden changes in weather that couldn’t always be accommodated for, including the very real snowfall that punctuated the climactic battle. This would go down as one of the happiest accidents in martial arts movie history, making for a breathtaking backdrop for the poignant conflict between the two leads.

9

Zatoichi Vs Akazuka

Zatoichi Challenged

The 17th entry in a mᴀssive 26-part film franchise, Zatoichi Challenged help popularize the famous concept of the Zatoichi, a blind samurai who nevertheless is able to outduel almost any seeing opponent. The particular film sees Zatoichi promise a dying woman that he’ll escort her son to his estranged father. His dangerous journey forces him to cross swords with all sorts of opponents, including a dramatic final fight with his old friend, Akazuka, amid a particularly heavy snowfall.

This visually striking battle is laden with emotional weight as heavy as the snow that accumulates on both fighters, trading blows with hesitancy and zeal as they weight their duties against their old friendship. Though the compeтιтion is fierce, Akazuka ultimately admits defeat after Zatoichi lands a killing blow, causing him to give up entirely and walk away from the conflict. Leading a trail of blood in the snow behind him, this emotionally devastating mortal battle makes full use out of its wintry aesthetic.

8

The Train Fight

The Grandmaster

While the Ip Man series might be the better-known adaptation of the real eponymous wing chun master, The Grandmaster took a slightly more biographical approach to recounting Ip Man’s storied life. That isn’t to say that the film didn’t know how to stylistically approach certain story elements, however, as is demonstrated in one thrilling battle taking place amid gentle snowfall. The film’s romantic lead, Gong Er, ends up having to confront a bad guy at a lonely train station in the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ of winter.

Wong Kar-wai’s genius sense of scale and scope is put to the test with this scene’s jaw-dropping cinematography, with close-ups nearly intense enough to make out the unique pattern of each individual snowflake. The snow itself is used as a brilliant way to trace the fluid movements of the two fighters, and the busy train platform the two duke it out on certainly comes into effect as a weapon in and of itself. The scene also brings Gong Er’s arc full circle by having her use one of her father’s moves to defeat her challenger.

7

Chi Keung Vs Snow Ninjas

Ninja Over The Great Wall

As a shameless clone of the late great Burce Lee attempting to cash in on his name recognition, Bruce Le had been known to star in some bizarre and flashy martial arts movies that pale in comparison to those of his namesake. That being said, Ninja Over the Great Wall is a particularly odd feature in his already strange filmography that breaks the mold with a daring snow-filled fight scene. A classic kung fu movie staple, the film stars Le as Chi Keung, a Chinese martial artist that has to fight off Japanese opponents in the midst of the Japanese occupation of China.

Strangely for Bruce Le’s filmography, Ninja Over the Great Wall is a shockingly heady and dialogue-heavy film, but the moment in which Chi Keung does battle with a coterie of snow-based ninjas lets the fists do the talking. It’s great to see some white-clad ninjas that appopriately dress to blend in with a winter season, and Le’s moves are admittedly quite impressive. Hats off to Bruce Le for not only starring in, but also writing and directing the chilling action sequence.

6

The Bride Vs O-Ren Ishii

Kill Bill Vol. 1

Even among the bloody filmography of Quentin Tarantino, the action of Kill BIll Vol. 1 is appropriately intense, making the idea of a final fight impressive enough to close things out seem like an impossible task to live up to. Yet the film manages to do exactly that with the help of a strikingly beautiful arena for Beatrix Kiddo, a.k.a. The Bride, to cross a name off of her revenge list. After chopping down hordes of her minions, The Bride makes it to O-Ren Ishii, one of her former ᴀssᴀssin sister-in-arms, for a tense katana duel.

The swordfight takes place in a hauntingly beautiful personal garden owned by O-Ren, bright white with snowfall to match her white kimono. Compared to the fervent chaos and fast-paced movements of her last crowded battles, this backdrop is a breath of fresh air. Even if it is oddly serene, the film’s final fight is no less gory, using the beautiful snow as a perfect canvas to be painted with the signature high-pressure blood jets of The Bride’s enemies.

5

Yuki Vs Shibayama And His Men

Lady Snowblood

Of course, the imagery used at the end of Kill Bill Vol. 1 would never exist if it weren’t for Lady Snowblood, perhaps the most famous martial arts movie to be known for its snowy sensibilities. Centered on a woman literally named after the falling snow, the film presents a similarly bloody tale of revenge perpetrated by Yuki Kashima, an ᴀssᴀssin seeking vengeance on her family’s killers. One of the most visually striking of the film’s swordfights occurs early one when Yuki claims her first victims.

Running into a gang of nasty men led by the shrewd Shibayama, the image of Yuki silently approaching in the falling snow, umbrella sword in hand, is pure cinematic iconography. Her moves as she utilizes her unique sword’s hidden sheath and somersaults over her hapless opponents’ heads are complemented well by the silence of the snowfall that matches Yuki’s own quiet beauty. The most iconic samurai movie to dash the snow with blood, Lady Snowblood may as well have invented martial arts battles in wintry locales.

4

The Carriage Sled Fight

Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell

The Lone Wolf and Cub series represents some of the best in katana-wielding martial arts action, featuring the wandering disgraced executioner, Ogami Ittō, and his young son Daigoro. The final film in the franchise, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell lives up to its тιтle by featuring a mᴀssive, extravagant final battle in the snow. One of the few films in the franchise to adopt a supernatural element, the fight pits Ogami Ittō up against a literal army of unᴅᴇᴀᴅ zombie ninjas that hide in the snow, ambushing him and Daigoro in a pure white field.

Daigoro’s baby carriage has always been the source of creative combat setpieces in the series, and the final fight of Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell is no exception. As Daigoro’s carriage morphs into a sled, Ogami Ittō tears a bloody path down the mountain side cutting ninjas apart with hidden blades, his own sword, and even a full-on Gatling gun somehow hidden within the carriage. Featuring an unprecedented army of enemies to chew through, few battles wash the snow with blood as effectively as the father-son duo does.

3

Shimada Toranosuke Vs ᴀssᴀssins

The Sword Of Doom

An eerily bleak and typically bloody samurai film from the mid 60s, The Sword of Doom includes a haunting use of a snowy battle scene to help set the stage of its violent world. Based on the novel of the same name, the pulpy action film was originally meant to be the first of a trilogy, though the sequels sadly never panned out. The film centers on an emotionless and cruel master swordsman whose confidence in his own skill is shattered after witnessing the talents of another samurai, Shimada Toranosuke.

Played by the iconic Toshirō Mifune, it’s no wonder that protagonist Ryunosuke Tsukue’s faith in himself is shaken after witnessing Shimada in action amid the beautiful snowfall. Despite being ganged up on by a legion of ᴀssᴀssins, Shimada is unwavering in his confidence as he cuts them down, the wind whipping snow and sleet all around him. It’s a haunting scene that shows of an ice-cold Mifune performance characterized by nature’s cruelty, leaning into the film’s themes.

2

Lei Ming’s Snow Duel

The Chinese Boxer

For the most part, martial arts movies with a heavy emphasis on snowy battles heavily favor samurai movies, emphasizing swordsmanship over unarmed combat. The Chinese Boxer was among the first martial arts films to focus on hand-to-hand combat instead, telling the story of a Chinese martial arts student who takes revenge on a gang of Japanese karate-users who destroy his local dojo. Though it may have moved away from blades, the film certainly took inspiration from samurai movies as clearly homaged in moments like the snow fight.

Coming into contact with two of the Japanese villains in a snowy field, lead Wang Yu’s Lei Ming draws on all of his skill, technique, and equipment to defeat them in a 2-on-1 battle. The entire sequence is framed like a Mexican standoff in an old Western, with Lei Ming slowly holstering twin daggers as his foe gets ready to unleash a holster of throwing stars. Describing a rare martial arts fight that happens at a range, The Chinese Boxer shows off the versatility and creativity of its choreography with this tense standoff.

1

The Ice Cave Fight

Kung Fu Yoga

2017’s Kung Fu Yoga likely doesn’t rank as one of Jackie Chan’s best modern films in the eyes of many fans, but it admittedly features one of the best snow-based fights in recent memory. Another one of the many franchise attempts to turn Jackie Chan into an Indiana Jones-type action-adventurer, Kung Fu Yoga reprises Chan’s character, Jack, from the film The Myth. The plot sees Jack journey to India to find some valuable artifacts from ages past.

Of the film’s many memorable set pieces, the hectic hand-to-hand brawl in a sprawling icy cavern is easily the best. In typical Jackie Chan fashion, Jack uses the environment to his advantage, forcing attackers to make a fool of themselves on slippery snow and even scaring one mook into knocking himself out by running headfirst into the ice. The ice cave fight sequence in Kung Fu Yoga illustrates the creativity possible in a snowy setting explored by few other martial arts movies.