211 Films & TV Shows Set In Asia During The Middle Ages
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Otello
🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇮🇹 Italy The 16th CenturyBased on Shakespeare's play, Verdi's opera depicts the devastating effects of jealousy, "...the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds upon". Believing Otello has promoted the fast-rising Cassio over himself, Iago plots to destroy both Cassio and Otello. Iago convinces the jealous Otello that his beautiful wife Desdemona is unfaithful, and that Cassio is her lover. Jealousy is followed by tragedy, then retribution, "Has Heaven no more thunderbolts?"
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The Avenger with a Flute
🇰🇷 South Korea The 16th CenturyThis movie tells the story of Hong Kil Dong, a legendary 15th century Korean Robin Hood figure. It is a mildly entertaining action film with an anti-feudal message.
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The Monkey King Conquers the Demon
🇨🇳 China The 7th CenturyIn the heart of wild mountains, a dreadful devil, disguised as a pretty young woman, tries to seize Xuan Zang to devour him. The holy monk is an easy prey because, naive and good, he is easily misled by appearances. But fortunately he is accompanied by the Monkey King, who is clairvoyant.
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Secret Service of the Imperial Court
🇨🇳 China The 15th CenturySecret Service of the Imperial Court was one of the last kung fu/swordplay films to be made at Hong Kong's Shaw Bros. studio. Set in the Ming Dynasty, it makes excellent use of the studio's vast array of sprawling sets and colorful costumes to give a real period flavor. It has a good cast, lots of large-scale fight action and an exciting storyline about a conflict between an honorable officer and a corrupt Eunuch.
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Little Dragon Maiden
🇨🇳 China The 13th CenturyWhen Hong Kong's new wave, gravity-defying action-look hit the scene in the early 1980's, so did a new wave of actors; Canto-pop stars. Little Dragon Maiden intelligently mixed the old with the new to create pure golden magic as kung-fu fighting veterans Chen Kuan-tai and Lo Lieh joined relative newcomer Leslie Cheung in a far-out, costume-action love story that really cooks. Cheung garnered international recognition in John Woo's A Better Tomorrow.
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Razia Sultan
🇮🇳 India The 13th CenturyThe film is based on the life of Razia Sultan (1205–1240), the only female Sultan of Delhi (1236–1240) and her speculated love affair with the Abyssinian slave, Jamal-ud-Din Yakut. Razia Sultan is 1983 Urdu film, written and directed by Kamal Amrohi, and starring Hema Malini, Parveen Babi and Dharmendra in lead roles. The film's music was provided by Khayyam, with lyrics by Jan Nisar Akhtar and two songs by Nida Fazli who walked into the project when Akhtar died. Some songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar, including classics like, "Aye Dil-e Nadaan".
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Shaolin Temple
Henan Province The 7th CenturyThe Tang emperor is betrayed by one of his generals, who installs himself as emperor in the East Capital. The son of one of his slave workers escapes to the Shaolin Temple, learns kung fu, and sets out to kill the traitor who killed his father.
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House of Traps
🇨🇳 China The 11th CenturyIt all started with The Five Venoms, the internationally loved kung-fu thriller. It continued through more than a dozen bloody good entertainments featuring the same actors in different roles. This is considered the last official "Venoms" movie, but what a film it is. There's one plasma-spurting attack after another as heroes and rogues alike try to solve the secrets of this hell house. The core Venoms themselves choreograph the gory fun in this fond farewell to their worldwide film series sensation!
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The Brave Archer and His Mate
🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇨🇳 China The 13th CenturyGuo Jing and Huang Rong return to Peach Blossom Island and are shocked to see that Guo's first martial arts teachers, the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan", have all been murdered except for Ke Zhen'e. Guo Jing is tricked into believing that Huang Rong's father, Huang Yaoshi, is responsible for the murders and he attempts to avenge his teachers by fighting Huang Yaoshi. The intelligent Huang Rong eventually uncovers the truth and reveals that the murders are actually part of a plot masterminded by Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang. Ouyang and Yang want to make Guo Jing and Huang Yaoshi kill each other and Yang can learn Ouyang's newly mastered skills from the fake copy of the Nine Yin Manual.
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Cat vs. Rat
🇨🇳 China The 11th CenturyChan Chiao a.k.a. The Cat (Adam Cheng) and Pai Yu-tang a.k.a. The Rat (Alexander Fu Sheng) compete in various flamboyantly choreographed duels before realizing that they must seek the judgment of their master (Lau Kar-wing). He disappoints them by ruling that their abilities are perfectly equal, then being so completely impartial as to give the Rat a nine-ringed sword which he can use to defeat the Cat, and giving the Cat a spear to defeat the sword which he just gave the Rat. A few more contests result in ties before a subplot gets underway involving a precious jade seal owned by the Emperor Yung Hsi (Gordon Lau) and the thieves out to steal it. This, finally, is what forces the Cat and Rat to work together and overcome their rivalry.
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Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils
🇨🇳 China The 11th CenturyA rather standard costume action/drama set in medieval China with a few fantasy overtones.
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The Brave Archer 3
🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇨🇳 China The 13th CenturyGuo Jing and Huang Rong pursue Yang Kang to Iron Palm Peak, where Qiu Qianren and the Iron Palm Sect is based. Huang is injured by Qiu in a fight and she escapes with Guo Jing's help. Guo brings her in search of a cure to heal her wounds and they stumble upon a house in a swamp, inhabited by a woman called Yinggu. Yinggu tells them that the only person who can save Huang Rong's life is Duan Zhixing, the former ruler of the Kingdom of Dali, who has become a monk now.
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Kagemusha
Yamanashi Prefecture The 16th CenturyAkira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When Shingen dies, his generals reluctantly agree to have the impostor take over as the powerful ruler. He soon begins to appreciate life as Shingen, but his commitment to the role is tested when he must lead his troops into battle against the forces of a rival warlord.
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The Brave Archer 2
🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇨🇳 China The 13th CenturyHuang Rong is taken hostage by Ouyang Feng, who attempts to use her to seize the Nine Yin Manual from Guo Jing. Guo and Hong Qigong rescue Huang Rong and Guo gives Ouyang an "edited" version of the manual, that will eventually cause Ouyang to become insane after he practises the skills in the manual wrongly. Ouyang, Hong and Guo get into a fight, in which Ouyang Ke is injured, and Guo and Hong use the opportunity to escape. However, Hong Qigong is also wounded and he gives Huang Rong his Dog Beating Staff, effectively handing over his leadership of the Beggars' Sect to her. Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke pursue Guo Jing and Huang Rong to a deserted town for revenge. Guo and Huang take shelter in an abandoned tavern inhabited by a only a retarded girl called Shagu.
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The Battle Wizard
🇨🇳 China The 11th CenturyA brother who loves books and a sister who loves swords must face a yellow-robed warrior, the Red Python, a sinuous snake-charmer, and a silk-masked beauty (who must kill or wed the first man to see her face) before they can bring peace to their battle-addled family.
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The Brave Archer
🇲🇳 Mongolia 🇨🇳 China The 13th CenturyGuo Jing and Yang Kang are the sons of two rebels. The rebels are killed by imperial soldiers and the boys are rescued by six pugilists later. The pugilists agree to separate the two boys, tutor them separately in martial arts, and let them meet again when they have grown up, to determine whose abilities are better. Guo becomes the student of the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" while Yang Kang becomes the foster son of a Jurchen prince inadvertently.
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Karamurat
🇹🇷 Turkey The 14th CenturyAn adventure movie directed by Ernst Hofbauer and Natuk Baytan.
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All Men Are Brothers
🇨🇳 China The 12th Century"All Men Are Brothers" is the sequel to "Water Margin" a.k.a. "Seven Blows of the Dragon" from 1972. At the beginning of "All Men Are Brothers", we learn that the emperor forgives the 108 Liangshan rebels since he finds they have the same enemies. The small army tries to conquer the city Hangchow, but is defeated. They send 7 spies to gather information about the city's defense before they attack a second time.
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The Fantastic Magic Baby
🇨🇳 China The 7th CenturyIn The Fantastic Magic Baby, director Chang Cheh weaves a wild and woolly yarn about how the legendary Monkey King and Goddess of Mercy battle and defeat the child god Hung Hai-erh then point him down the road to righteousness.
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Arabian Nights
🇮🇳 India 🇨🇳 China 🇪🇹 Ethiopia The Middle AgesA film by Pier Paolo Pasolini — The final part of Pasolini's Trilogy of Life series is rich with exotic tales of slaves and kings, potions, betrayals, demons and, most of all, love and lovemaking in all its myriad forms. Mysterious and liberating, this is an exquisitely dreamlike and adult interpretation of the original folk tales.
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Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession
🇷🇺 Russia The 1970s The 16th CenturyShurik Timofeev builds a working model of a time machine. By accident, Ivan Bunsha, an apartment complex manager, and George Miloslavsky, a petty burglar, are transferred to 16th century Moscow, while Tsar Ivan the Terrible goes into the year 1973.
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The 14 Amazons
🇨🇳 China The 11th CenturyThe Yang family, men and women, have served their country loyally for generations. During the war General Yang is ambushed and killed. His widow and the entire family set out to avenge his death and defend the country.
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The Water Margin
🇨🇳 China The 12th CenturySeven masters with a thousand ways to kill! — The corruption in the Sung Dynasty of 11th century China is so rampant that it inspires a band of Oriental Robin Hoods - the Honorable 108. Mountain bandits who nevertheless live by a scrupulous code of conduct, the Honorable 108 pledge to end the repression of the brutal overlords.
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The Delightful Forest
🇨🇳 China The 12th CenturyLegendary fighter Wu Song is sent to prison in Mengzhou province after murdering his sister-in-law and her lover. There he meets with the prison officer Shih En, who saves Wu from the baton punishment required for new prisoners. Wu learns that Shih's restaurant, "The Delightful Forest" has been occupied by Chiang Chung. Wu returns to the restaurant- a place he's dined in previously.
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A Touch of Zen
🇨🇳 China The 14th CenturyMing dynasty noblewoman Yang must escape from the evil eunuch Hsu. She seeks refuge at a decrepit town where she gets assistance from a naïve scholar and a group of mysterious yet powerful monks.
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