Oh wow, this is such a tough question. It's nearly impossible to narrow down the great kung fu titles that are available now on DVD. There are so many out there that it's practically unreal. I'll try to narrow down the search for you a little, though.
First off, what kind of DVD player do you have, Scott? The reason is because a company called Celestial has been releasing incredible Shaw Brothers (a big name in old-school kung fu flicks) DVD's for the past few months. Unfortunately, you have to have a region free player in order to play them. I believe that the DVD's are either Region 2 or 3, I can't remember which. Anyways, if you have a region free player, I'd suggest seeking these DVD's out, because I've heard mostly great things about them.
These web sites should give you better outlook on which movies to get:
Linn's Cave of Kung Fu -
http://www.tombofdvd.com/linnscave1.htmThis is a great site for beginners. It talks about kung fu movies in order of which ones that are worth seeking out the most, to the least. Although it is simply a matter of his opinion, he gives brief descriptions of the movies themselves. A great place to start.
Kung Fu DVD -
http://www.dvdcult.com/KFDVD.htmThe best kung fu movie/DVD related site, period. An amazing wealth of info. can be found here, and all of the DVD reviews are well-written and extremely informative. Plus, the forum is a great place to hang out at and ask questions. You simply have to go to this site.
Kung Fu Cinema -
http://www.kungfucinema.com/Another tremendous site. Again, a lot of information can easily be found here concerning which movies to get, and on what DVD's. Another great starting point.
Hope this'll help you out a little, Scott. I have a list of movies that I'd personally recommend, but these are simply a matter of opinion:
Chinese Super Ninjas (My favorite of all time)
Death Duel of Kung Fu (With incredible super kicker John Liu)
Incredible Kung Fu Mission (Again, with John Liu, one of the most underrated martial artists of all time)
Born Invincible (Another one of my favorites)
Master of the Flying Guillotine (Great movie, great DVD)
The Victim (With Sammo Hung)
This should get you started. There are plenty more movies out there, but visiting these sites should help at least a little.
Oh yeah, and I agree with you about the Five Deadly Venoms. An overrated, yet important movie. It helped spawn several other Venoms movies that are much better, IMO.
Nick