Best of Girls with Guns Movies
Girls with guns is a sub-genre of films and animation, especially Hong Kong action films and anime, with a female protagonist in a strong lead role, set in a modern context. The genre involves gun-play, stunts and martial arts action. Some of the best known female fighters to Western audiences are Angela Mao Ying, Cheng Pei-pei, Moon Lee, Maggie Q, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi and Cynthia Rothrock.
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- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsZoë LundBogeyAlbert SinkysA timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.Ms. 45, also known as Angel of Vengeance, is a 1981 American low-budget exploitation film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Zoë Tamerlis Lund. Inspired by films such as Death Wish and Thriller - en grym film, the film is a rape and revenge story about Thana, a mute woman who becomes a misandristic spree killer (not strictly a vigilante) after she is raped twice in one day when coming home from work. It was critically maligned on its theatrical release, but is now generally highly-regarded among fans of underground film.
- DirectorCorey YuenStarsMichelle YeohCynthia RothrockJohn ShamTwo unlucky thieves break into a just murdered man's hotel room and steal his passport with a hidden microfilm wanted by a triad boss. Two hard kicking women cops from HK and UK get the case.Yes, Madam (traditional Chinese: 皇家師姐) is a 1985 Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock. The film is Yeoh's first major action role and Rothrock's first appearance in a feature film.
The film also features appearances from Dick Wei, Tsui Hark and the film's producer, Sammo Hung in a small role. - DirectorCorey YuenStarsBiao YuenCynthia RothrockMelvin WongYuen Biao plays Jason Chan, a lawyer angry at the way the law seems to protect the bad guys. He decides to take the law into his own hands when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. But Cindy Si is soon on his case and it all spirals into a situation only a few will survive.Righting Wrongs (traditional Chinese: 執法先鋒; pinyin: Zhi fa xian feng) is a 1986 Hong Kong action film starring Yuen Biao and Cynthia Rothrock and directed by Corey Yuen. This is one of Yuen Biao's better-known films that he made without film industry compatriots Sammo Hung and Jackie Chan.
- DirectorDavid ChungStarsMichelle YeohRichard NgTung-Shing YeeAction film about Chinese resistance after Japanese invasion in 1930's.Magnificent Warriors (pinyin: Zhong hua zhan shi, alternately Dynamite Fighters) is a 1987 Hong Kong action film starring Michelle Yeoh and Richard Ng and directed by David Chung.
- DirectorDavid ChungStarsMichelle YeohHiroyuki SanadaMichael WongMichelle Yip of the Hong Kong police is a mild-mannered Kung Fu expert; Michael Wong, from air security, is happy-go-lucky, stuck on himself, constantly talking, and smitten by her; Yamamoto is quiet, hard-boiled, leaving the Tokyo police to spend time with his wife and daughter. They form an alliance when they foil a hijacking on a plane flying a mob prisoner from Tokyo to Hong Kong. The mobster and his would-be rescuer die, and this sets off two avengers who were their blood brothers. Our three cops become the targets. A high-speed chase, a car bomb, the destruction of a nightclub, a spectacular suicide, dead bystanders, and a flying coffin litter the landscape by the end.
- DirectorGodfrey HoStarsPan Pan YeungDick WeiPhillip KoFemale agents battle a gang of diamond thieves.Angel Enforcers (Chinese: Wong ga fei fung) is a 1989 Hong Kong action film directed by Godfrey Ho and starring Pan Pan Yeung and Pauline Wong, in which female agents battle a gang of diamond thieves.
- DirectorCorey YuenStarsSammo Kam-Bo HungJoyce GodenziTony Ka Fai LeungWorking in a police precinct full of her in-laws, inspector Mina Kao and her colleagues are assigned a dangerous case involving Vietnamese criminal refugees, right after getting married to her fellow inspector Huang.She Shoots Straight (Chinese: Huang jia nu jiang, alternately Lethal Lady) is a 1990 Hong Kong action film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Sammo Hung and Joyce Godenzi.
- DirectorChun-Ku LuStarsSibelle HuMoon LeeYukari ÔshimaAn expert assassin - trained since childhood to be the perfect killer - loses her memory during a mission in Thailand, and ends up in the care of a wry ex-policewoman and her boxing cohort.
- DirectorClarence FokStarsChingmy YauSimon YamCarrie NgA young woman is trained by a martial arts specialist to become a professional assassin.Naked Killer (traditional Chinese: 赤裸羔羊) is a 1992 Hong Kong film written and produced by Wong Jing, and directed by Clarence Fok Yiu-leung. The film stars Chingmy Yau, Simon Yam and Carrie Ng.
The film is regarded as a cult classic. - DirectorAndy SidarisStarsDona SpeirRoberta VasquezBruce PenhallIn this follow up to Hard Hunted (1992), international arms dealer Kane seeks a Russian imperial diamond which was stolen by a Nazi officer from a Leningrad museum during WWII.Fit to Kill is a 1993 action adventure film starring Dona Speir, Roberta Vasquez, Cynthia Brimhall, Julie Strain, Bruce Penhall, Chu Chu Malave and Geoffrey Moore. It was written and directed by Andy Sidaris.
- DirectorMasaru KonumaStarsMakiko KunoJohnny OhkuraKatsuo TokashiShion is the most merciless assassin of the Magnificat crime group. However, when her hand and heart hesitate to murder the man she loves, her superior marks her for death. Torn from the crime lords who were her only family, Shion must choose between a life of killing and a life on the run.XX: Beautiful Hunter (XX 美しき狩人 XX: Utsukushiki karyuudo?) is a 1994 Japanese film directed by Masaru Konuma. The film stars Makiko Kuno, Johnny Okura and Kōji Shimizu.
- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.Ghost in the Shell (GHOST IN THE SHELL/攻殻機動隊 Gōsuto In Za Sheru/Kōkaku Kidōtai?, lit. Ghost in the Shell/Mobile Armoured Riot Police) is a 1995 anime film directed by Mamoru Oshii; an adaptation of the manga Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow, produced by Production I.G, and written by Kazunori Itō. A sequel, Innocence, was released in 2004.
- DirectorRachel TalalayStarsLori PettyIce-TNaomi WattsA girl is among the few survivors of a dystopian Earth. Riding a war tank, she fights against the tyranny of a mega-corporation that dominates the remaining potable water supply of the planet.Tank Girl is a 1995 science fiction, action film loosely based on the Tank Girl comic book created by Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett. It was directed by Rachel Talalay and stars Lori Petty as Rebecca Buck, aka the eponymous Tank Girl, who had originally appeared in the UK comic magazine Deadline.
- DirectorToshiharu IkedaStarsHakuryûTaka HiguchiDan LiRan comes to Japan, and makes an immediate impression by assassinating a Yakuza boss and his associates, while they dine in a restaurant.XX: Beautiful Beast (XX 美しき獣 XX: Utsukushiki kemono?) is a 1995 Japanese film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda. The film stars Kaori Shimamura, Takanori Kikuchi and Hakuryu.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsShôsuke TaniharaMiho NomotoTamaki KenmochiIn order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.Fudoh: The New Generation (Gokudō sengokushi: Fudō) is a Japanese movie directed by Takashi Miike. Two sequels followed, neither of which was directed by Miike. The film is based on a manga. Time Magazine listed Fudoh as one of its ten best movies of 1997.
- DirectorToshiharu IkedaStarsKei MarimuraMakiko WatanabeRen ÔsugiA policewoman becomes entangled in Japan's S&M underground, while investigating a gruesome murder.XX: Beautiful Prey (XX 美しき獲物 XX: Utsukushiki emono?) is a 1996 Japanese film directed by Toshiharu Ikeda. The film stars Kei Marimura, Makiko Watanabe and Ren Ōsugi.
- DirectorDavid HoganStarsPamela AndersonAmir AboulElaAdriana AlexanderDuring the Second American Civil War in 2017, Barb Wire owns a nightclub called the Hammerhead. Things become complicated when her ex-lover Axel Hood, who is married to the fugitive Corrina Devonshire, re-enters her life.Barb Wire is a 1996 American action-science fiction film based on the Dark Horse comic book series of the same name. The film was produced by Brad Wyman and directed by David Hogan in his film debut. Barb Wire stars Pamela Anderson Lee in the title role. The film was a vehicle for Baywatch star Anderson, intended to enable her to cross over from television to movie stardom.
- DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsRiona HazukiReiko TakashimaJinpachi NezuIkko, the six year old daughter of a yakuza gang boss witnesses the brutal slaying of her parents and is only saved from sharing their fate by an underground hitwoman who goes by the nom-de-guerre of "Black Angel." Years after escaping to America, Ikko returns to Tokyo as a young woman. She adopts the name "Black Angel" and is out for revenge.Kuro no tenshi Vol. 1 (黒の天使 Vol.1?) is a 1997 Japanese film directed by Takashi Ishii. The film stars Riona Hazuki and Reiko Takashima.
- DirectorDavid WinningStarsSean YoungKim CattrallEric McCormackA married jewel trader's business trip leads to an affair. Back home, he's blackmailed with a video to hand over diamonds or have his infidelity exposed.Exception To The Rule is a 1997 Canadian thriller film directed by David Winning and stars Kim Cattrall, Eric McCormack, Sean Young and William Devane.
- DirectorBharat NalluriStarsCraig FairbrassNigel LeachKendra TorganAfter the mobster who murdered his partner is acquitted, semicorrupt detective Robert Bryant hires a beautiful female assassin, Maria, to kill him. When he discovers that he cannot afford Maria's services, Bryant is forced to hire another assassin, Madison, to kill her. Maria survives the doublecross and sets out to collect what's owed to her, one way or another.After the mobster who murdered his partner is acquitted, semicorrupt detective Robert Bryant hires a beautiful female assassin, Maria, to kill him. When he discovers that he cannot afford Maria's services, Bryant is forced to hire another assassin, Madison, to kill her. Maria survives the doublecross and sets out to collect what's owed to her, one way or another.
Most of the movie takes place in a hotel room where the thugs come one by one to kill off the hitlady.
The hitlady, in between taking a bath, listening to instructional tapes and listening to music, dispatches all the thugs one by one, hence the opening title.
While the thugs sit around and wait to hear back from whichever one they've sent off to do the hitlady in, the police officer Bryant and his partner investigate an antique store killing, which rapidly becomes a debate about character when Bryant's partner quickly figures out that Bryant is involved. In the end, more violence and a clever twist. - DirectorSebastian GutierrezStarsAlan RickmanEmma ThompsonCarla GuginoA couple and two hired hands kidnap a business owner for a four million dollar ransom. A woman is killed. Collateral damage? The F.B.I. gets involved.Judas Kiss (1998) is a 1998 American crime thriller. It was directed by Sebastian Gutierrez, produced by Elaine Dysinger and Carla Gugino (who also co-starred in the film) and the screenplay was by Deanna Fuller and Sebastian Gutierrez.
The film premiered at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival and won the Critics Award at the 1999 Cognac Festival du Film Policier. - DirectorTakashi IshiiStarsYûki AmamiTakeshi YamatoReiko KataokaAssigned to kill a Japanese crime boss, Mayo miscalculates and kills an innocent man instead, and his widow pledges to avenge his death.Kuro no tenshi Vol. 2 (黒の天使 Vol.2?) is a 1999 Japanese film directed by Takashi Ishii. The film stars Yūki Amami and Reiko Kataoka.
- DirectorSimon WestStarsAngelina JolieJon VoightIain GlenVideo game adventurer Lara Croft comes to life in a movie where she races against time and villains to recover powerful ancient artifacts.Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (or simply Tomb Raider) is a 2001 adventure thriller film adapted from the Tomb Raider video game series. Directed by Simon West and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft, it was released in U.S. theaters on June 15, 2001. The film was a commercial success, although it did not fare very well critically. As of June 16, 2010 it is no longer the highest grossing video game to film adaptation worldwide, although it is still the highest grossing domestically. The worldwide record was taken by Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, which grossed $335 million worldwide as of October 10, 2010.
- DirectorJohn BradshawStarsFred WardChristopher PlummerRachel TicotinA reporter discovers a woman who is a suspected terrorist.Full Disclosure is a 2001 thriller film starring Fred Ward, Christopher Plummer, Rachel Ticotin and Penelope Ann Miller. It was directed by John Bradshaw.
- DirectorRandall FontanaStarsGabrielle FitzpatrickPhillip Rhys ChaudharyRobert CulpA child survives a family massacre by a criminal syndicate. Raised by a neighbor, she grows up hunting down the perpetrators one by one. Her actions incite fears in a rival gang, leading to her capture.Farewell, My Love is a 2001 action film by Randall Fontana starring Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Phillip Rhys and Robert Culp.