"To Live" mentioned above is definitely a good one... Others are "Farewell, My Concubine," "Ju Dou,' "Raise the Red Lantern..." These are not action-movies but give them a try, they're very good...
if you want Chinese action/kung fu movies, look for ones with any of these actors: Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yan, Chiu Man-Cheuk (Zhao Wenzhuo), Sammo Hung...
Do you understand Chinese? I recommend you watch Hong Kong's movies, in its original sound track ie actors Stephen Chow's, Kenny B's, Brothers Sam and Michael Hui's, the late Fei Fei Lydia Shum's, Jet Li's movies are all very good.