Bruce Lee, the Legend Page #3

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one brief visit in 1 968,

Bruce Lee had been away

for 1 2 years.

Arriving in Hong Kong,

he first approached...

what was then Hong Kong's

biggest movie studios.

None of the studio bosses seemed

to recognize the potential in Bruce.

He was just another actor,

they said. Who could tell?

One who could

was Raymond Chow,

the head of a small

new studio, Golden Harvest.

- Good morning.

- Good morning.

The director said this is

his best work so far.

I've seen it once, and I think

it's absolutely terrific.

All right, let's roll then.

Raymond Chow was first

and foremost a filmmaker.

Although now the corporate head

of his new Golden Harvest studio,

his production background

led him to constant contact...

with producers, directors

and writers.

- Hello.

- How are you?

I saw your last picture.

Well, I don't want

to hold you up.

Been good seeing you.

On the busy Hong Kong grapevine,

Chow had heard of Shaw's

unsuccessful offer...

and made sure he saw a demonstration

Bruce gave on local TV...

before returning to the U.S.

The demonstration Bruce gave on TV...

was very impressive.

He sidekicked five 1 -inch boards

and broke four.

In addition, he kicked and broke

a 1 -inch board, dangling.

Now that takes...

a tremendous amount of strength

and perfect timing.

But what impressed me more

was when I talked to him...

on the long-distance call.

He picked the most popular Hong Kong

made action picture at that time...

and asked a very blunt question.

He asked me whether

that was the best we could do.

I said yes.

He then assured me

with sincerity and confidence...

that he could do much better.

How could I doubt this man?

Chow offered Bruce Lee

a two-picture deal with Golden Harvest.

Bruce flew to Thailand

to film The Big Boss.

The Big Boss, released

as Fists Of Fury in the U.S.A.,

was made on a modest budget

under appalling conditions...

in the small village

of Pak Chong in Thailand.

For the first time,

Bruce Lee was in his element.

Here was not the aesthetic

philosophizing of Longstreet,

nor the quick, economical knockdowns

of The Green Hornet.

And most certainly, here was not

the hard, sharp economy of movement...

Bruce had been

teaching his students.

Here, suddenly,

was a whole new style...

of martial arts choreography--

rich, red-blooded, extravagant,

and bursting

with power and energy.

- Hiyaahh!

- Agghh!

And the public loved it.

In Hong Kong, it broke all previous

box-office records.

Bruce Lee was a star.

Bruce Lee is incredible.

Bruce Lee didn't waste time.

He wouldn't beat about the bush.

He'd go very direct.

- Is Bruce Lee your hero?

- Yes.

Tell me what you

like about him.

He always wins the bad guys

and he's a very quick mover.

A question of

the body movement,

the choreography,

the timing--

the overcoming of the limitations

of the human body.

He's not an action man

like Eastwood or Bronson.

He's like a Nureyev.

Both Bruce Lee and

Raymond Chow were delighted...

with the success

of The Big Boss...

and set about finalizing plans

for the next film.

With The Big Boss

a huge success,

Raymond Chow allocated

a larger budget to the next film...

and agreed that Bruce would play

a larger role in producing it.

In the meantime, Linda

and the family moved to Hong Kong,

setting up house

in suburban Kuangchou.

This 1 1 -room, 2-story villa...

with its smalljapanese-style garden

may not have turned heads in Hollywood,

but for crowded Hong Kong,

it was a palace.

There was room for

family and friends to relax.

Bruce divided time at home

between his study...

and his exercise equipment,

which seemed to be everywhere.

The second film was called

The Chinese Connection in America,

but was released in Hong Kong

and elsewhere as Fist Of Fury.

This film took the cinematic expression

of rage and pure destructive fury...

to new limits.

It also put weapons

in the hands of Bruce Lee...

for the first time

in the form of the deadly nunchakus,

two sticks joined

by a thong or chain.

Not surprisingly, Fist Of Fury again

smashed box office records,

including the one

Bruce Lee had recently set.

Bruce soon developed ideas

for his next film.

He went location-hunting

in Italy.

And finally,

he decided on Rome.

He brought over Bob Wall,

a top U.S. martial artist...

and established champion

who would make a formidable opponent...

in his new film,

Way Of The Dragon.

From Korea, he added

Tae Kwon Do expert...

Whong In Sik.

Bruce Lee starred in,

wrote, and directed...

Way Of The Dragon.

The result is another

sell-out success,

to the extent

that in Hong Kong...

the showing of the film

had to be suspended at some theaters...

while police handled

traffic jams and massive crowds.

Nora Miao, a dynamic young

Hong Kong actress,

costarred with Bruce

in all but the last of Bruce's films.

Here she discusses the recurring themes

of Bruce Lee's films.

When did you first know him?

Our families

have known each other...

ever since I was a little kid.

But then at that time,

Bruce went to the States.

And he was very young too.

I didn't meet him...

until he returned to Hong Kong

for his first movie for Golden Harvest.

I didn't meet him

in Hong Kong.

Where did you meet him?

I met him in Thailand

when we were filming The Big Boss.

Talking about his movies,

many people observe...

there are a lot of autobiographical

elements in Bruce Lee's movies.

Did you find any incidents...

that he tried to relate

his experience through his movies?

- Did you find any?

- In a way, yes.

He always related his films...

to his growing up

in a foreign country.

He liked to play the part...

of a man arriving

in a strange land.

In The Big Boss,

he was alone in a new town...

trying to succeed

in a new job.

Even the country, Thailand,

is strange.

He has no friends and

does not know his potential enemies.

This is a good town.

It's very different to back home.

Don't get into any fights.

Remember your promise.

You're on your own from now on.

Aw, don't worry, Uncle.

In Fist Of Fury,

he was a student returning home

to find everything had changed--

his teacher murdered...

and his school and race insulted

by a foreign-led rival school.

In Way Of The Dragon, Bruce is a

country boy from a Hong Kong village...

who goes to Rome

to help in a Chinese restaurant.

The isolation of Bruce's character

is further underlined...

by the barrier of language.

Here, he can't make himself understood

enough to get something to eat.

- Uhh!

- Mommy!

Bruce went to the States

when he was very young.

Bruce told me he felt that,

being a foreigner,

he had to do his best

in whatever he did.

And also, perhaps--

he was such a good

martial artist, you know,

in times, people...

tend to pick fights with him.

In The Big Boss,

the pendant Bruce wears...

is a reminder of a promise

he has made to avoid violence.

In his films,

Bruce never looked for a fight.

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