Bruce Lee, the Legend (1977) Movie Script
More ancient than the earliest records
of Chinese civilization...
are legends--
legends of great warriors,
of knights and wizards...
and mysterious monks
who can perform wondrous feats.
In these fabulous beings
was embodied...
the essence of good and evil.
They had the power to fly...
and the strength
to defeat whole armies.
These fables thrived
until about 1 00 years ago.
Then a new legend was born.
According to the Chinese
astrological calendar,
1 940 was the Year of the Dragon.
Bruce Lee was born on the 27 th
of November of that year.
The place was San Francisco.
His father, Lee Hoi Chuen,
a leading comic actor in Hong Kong,
was appearing in a touring
Cantonese opera troupe,
something like the Chinese equivalent
of a vaudeville show.
His wife, Grace, who was half German,
was accompanying him.
The tour over, the Lee family
returned to Hong Kong...
when Bruce was 3 months old.
A family portrait
in their Nathan Road flat...
shows Bruce at the center.
Bruce considered his first film role
was in The Beginning Of A Boy,
which he made when he was 6.
Two years later, he played
a leading role in My Son Ah Cheung.
Much of the material written
about Bruce Lee states...
he never appeared in films
with his father.
These rare scenes from My Son Ah Cheung
prove the opposite.
Interestingly, this was
the first of their films together...
in which Bruce had a more important role
than his father.
The theme of this film
was fairly typical...
of many of the more than 20
he appeared in...
before returning
to San Francisco in 1 958.
In Ah Cheung,
Bruce Lee is an orphan...
whose only education is what
he can find on the street.
You little brat!
Put that down, you!
Uncle.
In what is almost a preview in miniature
of a scene in Enter The Dragon...
Bruce picks up a broomstick
and attacks.
- What'd you hit me for?
- Why did you steal?
It's not your business.
You're a thief.
I'll get you, you pig!
Tell me the truth.
Where were you last night?
You scheming against me, eh?
You little devil, you!
Well, are you going to
tell me the truth, are you?
Come along. Speak up, I say.
Tell me the truth, you little devil.
You've been nothing but trouble
ever since you came here.
I'll see that you
get a good hiding. Ohh!
Ohh! Ohh!
You've beaten up my brother.
I'll chop off your head.
Ohh! Ohh!
Why, you devil!
I'll kill you!
How much of his own character
did Bruce bring to these roles?
And how much were
his screen characters...
beginning to infuse
into his own personality?
As time went on, Bruce would play
more and more the kind of role...
that could be described
as a problem youth.
Many of these reflected
the themes of films...
popular in the United States
at the time,
films like Blackboardjungle.
One of Bruce's films is
called Boys On The Street.
If we watch him closely
in the many street brawls
with which these films abound,
we can already see the beginnings of the
trademarks of expression and gesture...
which he would later make
so very much his own.
Yes, I got a big mouth,
but I can back it up with my fists.
- You want to pick a fight?
- You said it, you asked for it.
- A paper tiger after all.
- Stop it, will you.
You kids shouldn't fight here.
This is my place. Get out of here.
I dare you to follow me.
- He took my box.
- Get him!
Come on!
Hey, you!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
Those kids really have guts.
You want some more?
I took your shoe shine box
to get you here for a square off.
Now you know
I mean business.
Come on, kids.
Come on, kids. Let's go.
Come on. Let's go.
Snapshots from the Lee
family photo album...
show Bruce growing to be
a handsome young man...
with a normal interest
in girls and motorbikes.
Although he was bright,
Bruce was not a good student,
at least not in the scholastic sense.
He was more interested
in learning martial arts.
Bruce always maintained that
his first teacher was his father...
who was a devotee of the fighting forms
known as Tai Chi.
But his first real teacher
was Yip Man,
a master of
the Wing Chun style.
The roots of Wing Chun
reach back to the famed Shaolin Temple.
As this demonstration from
the film Warriors Two shows,
it emphasizes
lightness and quickness...
rather than power and strength.
Stretch out two fingers.
You must try to catch it
when I let it go.
Pick it up. Do you realize why
you can't catch it?
Because when your eyes
see it fall,
your brain signals
your hand nerves to react,
but there's a delay.
So we're aiming
to minimize that delay.
That's why Wing Chun concentrates
on touch and speed.
Practice.
There's no other way.
The wooden man is
a Wing Chun training aid...
used to develop quickness
and flexibility in attack.
Your enemy will not
stand still.
Your reactions must be
one step ahead of his.
Otherwise, you're dead. Therefore,
your fists have got to strike...
with the speed of light.
Try again.
But Gung Fu was not Bruce's only
interest outside movies at that time.
He was quite a snappy dancer...
and in 1 958 won a Hong Kong
cha-cha championship.
But somehow, even his achievements
on the dance floor led back to Gung Fu.
This is Siu Hon Sung, another of
Bruce Lee's Gung Fu teachers.
He explains how Bruce
negotiated a deal with him.
One day...
Bruce took me to a coffee shop.
He said,
''You're a master of Gung Fu.
''I'm a pretty good cha-cha dancer.
Why don't we do a deal? Teach me
Gung Fu, and I'll teach you cha-cha.''
Now, an average person...
would take three to four weeks
to learn my basic moves.
But Bruce took only three nights
to master the moves.
So much for
my cha-cha lessons.
Bruce didn't even give me time
to learn the basic beat.
The Orphan
was the second-last film...
Bruce would make
before leaving for America.
In it, he played the most extreme
of his delinquent loner roles.
His final film in Hong Kong was
a complete contrast to The Orphan...
and to any role
before or after.
The Thunderstorm is
probably the only film...
in which he doesn't have
one single fight scene.
Although there are confrontations
in the film...
all the emphasis
in The Thunderstorm...
is on the character's refusal to be
drawn to fight under any provocation.
This reluctance, at least initially,
was a character device...
that would feature heavily
in all of Bruce's later films.
Mary.
Can I help you, Mr. Chan?
Mom knows you're leaving us.
It's hard to find jobs these days.
She wants me to give you $1 00.
Thank her for me, please,
but I just can't take her money.
I'm really sorry about today.
My brother didn't mean it.
He's sorry.
I promise he won't
do it again.
That's what he told me
to tell you.
Don't apologize, Mr. Chan.
Well, anyway,
I'm not your maid anymore.
Mary, I've never
treated you like a maid.
- I'm your friend, Mary.
- Leave her alone!
Mr. Wong.
Sorry about today.
Just leave my sister alone.
David, what's wrong with you? Mr. Chan
was merely offering to help us out.
We're from a poor family.
My sister will marry
a working man.
Cooking meals, washing clothes,
bearing children--
these are what
she'll be doing.
Any thoughts of
going to school...
or marrying a wealthy man
will bring her disappointment.
That's only one way
of looking at it. I think--
- Chan, I'm warning you.
- Warning?
Yes. If I see anyone from your family
seeing my sister...
or coming to my neighborhood,
I'm going to kill him!
David!
Are you out of your mind?
Mr. Chan,
you'd better excuse us.
All right.
Mr. Wong, I know you
dislike me very much.
However, I still want
to be your friend.
Uh, let's shake hands.
I don't follow foreign habits.
It is quite likely that Bruce would have
returned to San Francisco anyway...
as he needed to do so by the time he was
1 8 to confirm his American citizenship.
But the fact that things
were hotting up...
in his constant confrontations
with rival street gangs...
and his mother having to stand guarantor
for him to avoid police prosecution...
probably hastened his departure.
Bruce Lee took the next steamer
to the city of his birth.
On the way, he made extra money
giving dance lessons.
From San Francisco,
he moved quickly to Seattle.
A Chinese restaurant
called Ruby Chow's...
provided him with accommodation
in return for work.
He served in the restaurant
and lived in the attic.
Once established,
a dramatic change occurred.
He enrolled in high school,
and the school dropout...
became a diligent student.
He still practiced Gung Fu passionately,
but no longer on other people.
Graduating from high school,
he went to university
to study philosophy.
His art teacher still treasures
two of the drawings...
he did at the time.
Bruce was a good student.
His work with me
was always very ambitious.
I've no doubt he was the same
in all his classes.
For the ambitious Bruce Lee,
it wasn't enough
to be a good martial artist.
He had to be the best.
He taught Gung Fu
to a group of fellow students,
one of whom was a 1 9-year-old girl
called Linda Emery.
They were married and moved
into this small, but comfortable house.
The former bully
and man about town...
became the ideal husband and father
to Brandon, and later Shannon.
A Gung Fu demonstration
at Long Beach in 1 964...
turned out to be one of the most
important events in Bruce Lee's life.
It was seen by an acquaintance
of a television producer...
who was looking for someone to
play Charlie Chan's number-one son
in a proposed series.
A screen test of Bruce
was arranged.
Tell us your name,
age and where you were born.
My last name is Lee.
Bruce Lee.
I was born in San Francisco in 1 940.
I'm 2 4 right now.
And you worked in motion pictures
in Hong Kong?
Yes, since I was around 6.
When did you
leave Hong Kong?
1 959, when I was 1 8.
I see. Now look over to me,
Bruce, as we talk.
- You just had a baby boy.
- Yeah.
- You've lost some sleep
over it, have you?
- Three nights.
What time do they shoot pictures
in Hong Kong?
It's mostly
in the morning...
because it's kind of noisy
in Hong Kong.
Around three million people
there and so...
every time when
they have a picture,
it's mostly around 1 2 a.m.
to 5 a.m. in the morning.
Look directly into the camera.
Directly at it.
Now give me a 3/ 4 this way.
And hold it.
Give me a profile that way,
all the way.
Hold it.
Now come back to a profile
on the other side.
Hold that.
Give me a 3/ 4 on that side.
And then give me
right into the camera again.
Now the camera
will pull back.
First show me the movements...
in a classical Chinese theater.
- Classical Chinese theater?
- What we talked about in the office.
How they walk and move.
Well, in Chinese opera,
they have the warrior
and the scholar.
The way the warrior walk
will be something like this--
walking this way, straight,
come out, bend, straight,
and then walk out again.
An ordinary scholar would
be just like a female,
a weakling, 90 pounds.
He'll be just walking,
like a girl,
real shoulder up
and everything.
By the way they walk, you can
immediately tell who they are.
Right.
What character they represent.
Show some Gung Fu movements.
It is hard to show it alone,
but I will try to do my best.
One of the fellows
will walk in.
Yeah. Come on,
get in there.
Although accidents do happen--
There are various kinds
of strikes.
It depends on where you hit
and what weapon you will be using.
To the eyes,
you would use fingers.
Don't worry. I won't--
To the eyes,
or straight at the face.
From the waist,
everything up.
Let's move this gentleman this way--
So you're doing it more
into the camera. Okay, swell.
And then
there is an arm strike...
using the waist again
into a back flip.
Let's have the assistant director
back up just a ways.
Okay, go ahead. Continue.
Of course,
Gung Fu is very sneaky.
The Chinese,
they always hit low.
From high,
go back to the groin.
Turn the other way.
Okay.
Is this what you wanted?
These are just natural reactions.
Natural reactions.
Cheat into the camera a little bit.
Show us again.
There is a finger jab.
There is the punch.
There is the back fist
and then low.
Of course, then they use leg.
Straight at the groin or come up.
If I can back up,
they start from here
and then come back.
- All right.
- He looks kind of worried.
For various reasons,
the series was never produced,
but it led to the role of Kato
in the series The Green Hornet.
While the show was not
an overwhelming success--
it lasted 30 1 /2-hour episodes--
Bruce received favorable reviews...
and was probably
more popular than the star.
He had a small part in Marlowe
with james Garner.
And then came Longstreet.
- I'll be kicking.
- Ready.
1 , 2, 3!
Hii, hii, hii!
Are you all right?
That guy's fantastic!
What is this thing you do?
In Cantonese,jeet Kune Do,
the way of
the intercepting fist.
Intercepting fist?
Or foot.
Touch me anywhere you can.
You see? To reach me,
you must move to me.
Your attack offers me an opportunity
to intercept you.
In this case,
I'm using my longest weapon--
my side kick-- against
the nearest target, your kneecap.
This can be compared to your left jab in
boxing, except it's much more damaging.
I see.
Speaking of a left jab--
Oh!
This time I intercept
your emotional tenseness.
By now, Bruce Lee's jeet Kune Do classes
were so famous,
he could charge $27 5 an hour.
Even then, he could
pick and choose his students,
students like
Kareem Abdul-jabbar,
Steve McQueen and james Coburn.
However, Bruce Lee's
overriding ambition was Hollywood.
But Hollywood
was not responding.
The movie roles
were not forthcoming.
It was a bitter disappointment
when he was passed up...
for the lead
in the TV series Kung Fu.
He returned once again
to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, 1 97 0.
Apart from
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.
Well, not initially, anyway.
Invariably, his character resisted
intolerable provocation...
before violence
was forced on him.
We're very thirsty, sweetheart.
We need to cool off.
- You're hurting me!
- We'd like to have a little bit of fun.
Don't meddle. No fighting.
Remember your promise.
If you don't leave me alone,
I'm going to call the police.
Please.
Only when he was pushed
beyond his ability to resist...
did he become the aggressor.
Yeeaahhh!
All right! Hold it!
Now you get out of here.
I'm warning you.
You bastards
can't push us around.
You want to fight?
I'll take you on.
I think Bruce was a great actor,
a very good director...
and a very good filmmaker.
His main ambition in life
is to introduce...
Chinese Gung Fu
and Chinese movies...
to the whole world.
And he wanted to show
that the Chinese...
could be just as good
as anybody else.
In Bruce's films, the enemy were
always foreigners-- non-Chinese.
Even when he was pounding
the life out of his compatriots,
it was abundantly clear they were
misguided pawns of a foreign boss.
In The Big Boss, he works
in an ice factory run by Thais.
The Thai foreman and his gang
bully Chinese workers into servility.
We're on strike!
We won't work anymore,
you slob.
Get to work! Inside!
To hell with you, man!
Bastard!
It took the murder
of his Chinese fellow workers...
to push Bruce over the edge.
In Fist Of Fury,
thejapanese are the enemy,
who deliver an insulting message
to Bruce's school.
The characters read,
''The Chinese are
the sick men of Asia.''
Well, clear a space there.
My friends promised
to put up a good fight.
There must be someone.
Who's your champion?
So many here, and not one of you
with any courage?
What's the matter with you?
Are you afraid of us? Huh?
Ha ha ha!
Later in the film,
a sign on a park gate...
is an insult that
cannot be ignored.
What do you want?
- I want to pass.
- Not allowed.
And that?
You're the wrong color.
Beat it.
Hey, you.
Come here.
You, uh-- You were wanting
to get in here.
No, no, no.
Tell you what.
There's one thing you need do.
Pretend you're a dog
and I'll take you in.
In Way Of The Dragon,
which takes place in Rome,
the underworld tries to extort money
from a Chinese restaurant
where Bruce is working.
Almost every day,
Italian thugs harass the Chinese,
forcing them to agree
to the payments they demand.
May I help you?
May you help me? Sure.
Invariably, these foreigners' assaults
on Bruce and those he championed...
weren't just personal or physical,
but strongly racial,
leaving Bruce no other alternative
but to demonstrate the effectiveness...
of Chinese martial arts.
Movement number 4--
Dragon seeks path.
Dragon whips his tail.
Hey!
All right.
Bruce's screen personality
as a hero...
was undeniable
and unshakable.
How much of that personality...
was injected into his real life?
Without a doubt,
the screen image of Bruce...
was very much like
the Bruce in real life.
He was so energetic
that even when he was among friends...
his gestures
were very physical.
Even when he was relaxing,
he looked restless.
Left, right, left, right.
A-1 , 2, left, right.
Hup, 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left.
Hey, what's going on there?
Hup, 2, 3, 4.
A-1 , 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left, right.
Left, right, left.
1 , 2, 3, 4.
A-1 , 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left, right.
Left, right, left.
1 , 2, 3, 4. Halt.
Bruce didn't drink.
So the parts he played
didn't know how to drink either.
How about a little drink?
You're quite a drinker.
You put it away like water.
That'll make him feel better.
Strong.
Hey. Hey, hey!
In his movies,
his relationship with women...
is usually shy, often coy,
and invariably wholesome.
You've grown very pretty.
If I was ten years younger--
Chang, meet our sister,
Chow Mai.
This is Chang, our cousin.
How are you? It's hot.
Thanks.
Let me go!
Ow!
I must go.
I'll see you... later.
While there are occasional hints
of romantic feelings,
Bruce's leading ladies are usually
treated like one of the boys.
Overt sexuality is alluded to when
the encounter is with prostitutes,
and then only when Bruce's lack
of sophistication allows it to happen.
The foreigners here are friendly.
You'll see.
When people smile, smile back.
It's only right.
While you're here,
just don't be so uptight.
In the only bedroom scene
Bruce ever filmed,
a prostitute
first gets him drunk.
Even then, he goes to sleep.
In his films,
Bruce Lee was at his best...
as a fighter, not a lover.
He was concerned that he would be
typecast as a one-character performer.
In Fist Of Fury,
he disguised himself,
perhaps to demonstrate
his dramatic range,
here as a news vender.
They're forcing my hand.
Where can I find him in this place?
Sir, get back to
Ching Woo's school...
to see if he's
turned up there yet.
Here, as a telephone repairman.
I'm from the telephone company.
What took you so long?
We haven't got all day.
Just got my orders minutes ago.
These vignettes were
more comedic than convincing.
But later around the time
he was working on Game Of Death,
he was experimenting
with new characters.
He makes a very believable
blind swordsman,
his version of a character
called Zato-Ichi,
who appeared in severaljapanese films
popular in Asia at the time.
Tagashira!
Surprisingly, these characters
were developed...
from classical archetypes.
Most were associated
with traditional weaponry,
contrary to his declared philosophy
of the martial arts.
It's not possible to say how
he'd have developed these characters,
but it's interesting to conjecture what
Bruce Lee would have made of roles...
like the classic period
Chinese swordsmen...
in films like Duel To The Death.
For some time,
actorjames Coburn,
writer Sterling Silliphant,
and Bruce...
put together a project
to be called Silent Flute.
Finally, 20th Century-Fox
agreed to do it,
but on a tiny budget,
providing it could be shot in India.
Bruce and his colleagues spent weeks
location-hunting there and in Nepal.
India, they decided,
was a waste of time,
but in Nepal,
pagodas like these...
inspired Bruce for Game Of Death.
Bruce never crystalized the plot,
but it went something like this--
there would be a great
martial arts training center
in a many-storied pagoda.
Each level would be guarded by a master
of a different martial art.
Bruce accumulated the people
he wanted to use--
Dan Inosanto.
The Korean seventh-degree
Aikido master, Tse Hon joy.
He began doing screen tests.
This footage of the tests and outtakes
has never been publicly shown before.
In his still-incomplete concept
for Game Of Death,
his objective would be to get to
whatever was at the top of the pagoda.
In the middle of this,
producer Fred Weintraub...
had finally convinced Warner Brothers
to coproduce a project...
with a partnership of Raymond Chow
and Bruce Lee.
This was to be
Enter The Dragon.
At last, Bruce Lee was to play
the lead in a Hollywood movie.
He applied all his energies
to his performance...
and worked closely
with director Robert Clouse...
in staging all the martial arts action
in the film.
[Speaking Chinese]
Bruce Lee first
formally set out his methods...
in this early book, Chinese Gung Fu,
published in 1 963.
He illustrated it
with precise drawings...
which highlighted
every detail of the text.
The photographs were taken
in the parking lot next to Ruby Chow's.
Two martial arts students
demonstrate how some of these moves...
work in action.
During his career, Bruce never failed
to enlighten his peers...
with his in-depth analyses
of martial arts.
Gung Fu originated in China.
It is the ancestor
of karate and jujitsu.
It's more of a complete system,
and it's more fluid.
There is continuity
in movement...
instead of one movement
and then stop.
The best example is a glass of water.
Water is the softest substance
in the world,
but it can penetrate
the hardest rock...
or anything-- granite, you name it.
Water also is insubstantial.
You cannot grasp it.
You cannot punch it and hurt it.
Every Gung Fu man
is trying to do that--
to be soft like water
and adapt to the opponent.
A karate punch
is like an iron bar-- wham!
A Gung Fu punch
is like an iron chain...
with an iron ball
attached to the end,
and it go-- whang--
and it hurt inside.
Gung Fu can be practiced
alone or with a partner.
Practicing alone involves form.
Some imitate a crane,
a monkey, a praying mantis.
This is a crane form.
Start off.
Hiyeeee!
Many moves Bruce used
in his films...
were designed more
for dramatic effect...
than as examples
forjeet Kune Do.
It's also true that much was
an accurate exposition of his art.
Here he deals with
an attempted grab and throw...
followed unwisely by an attempt
to sneak up behind.
A defense and counter
to a clubbing attack from the side.
A deadly
two-handed knife attack...
is foiled with the help
of a jacket.
Nunchaku against a sword.
Even Bruce admits
this is an uneven contest...
and would normally be avoided.
But then it's not a situation many
students today are likely to encounter.
When used effectively,
the wooden staff...
is an excellent weapon
against knives.
A seemingly impossible situation--
an empty-handed defense
against a sword.
Only with incredible speed and
almost psychic anticipation...
could anyone survive.
Bruce was absolutely insistent
about physical fitness.
He said training is one of
the most neglected phases of athletics.
Too much time is given
to developing the skill...
and too little to developing
the individual for participation.
I don't think anyone trained
as hard as Bruce did.
I don't think anyone
was as dedicated a trainer.
It is a popular belief that Bruce Lee
was born with an exceptional physique.
Nothing could be further
from the truth.
As a child,
he was rather frail.
Reportedly,
he never ate well at home,
a habit which seemed to persist, even
when he returned to the United States.
It was only through
many years of exercise...
and finally reappraising
his dietary habits...
that he built himself into the superb
physical specimen he was to become.
Bruce's emphasis
on physical fitness...
opened up a new path
for martial arts students.
They followed his advice of applying
modern exercising techniques...
to the field of martial arts.
They learned to appreciate
Bruce's outlook--
''One may know
all the fighting techniques,
but if one is not fit, one does not
stand a chance in a real fight.''
His fame and following
grew and grew.
Whole magazines were devoted
to one aspect or another...
of his life and career.
In the world of martial arts
and action movies,
Bruce Lee was king.
This is noted Taiwanese actress
Betty Ting Pei.
Her charms had been revealed to
good advantage in numerous film roles,
often as a seductress.
For some three months, her name had been
romantically linked with Bruce Lee's,
as had many others in the past.
Whether there's any truth behind
any of the stories of these liaisons...
remains speculation.
Certainly, though,
it wasn't a disadvantage...
for any ambitious actress
to be linked with Bruce Lee.
On the afternoon
ofjuly 20, 1 973,
Bruce went to the apartment
of Betty Ting Pei.
They were to meet Raymond Chow
for dinner,
an appointment Bruce Lee
was never to keep.
He was rushed to a hospital.
Betty had phoned Raymond Chow saying
Bruce had laid down with a headache...
and she couldn't rouse him.
Chow rushed to Betty's apartment.
Doctors were called, and finally,
an ambulance.
Bruce Lee was certified
dead on arrival...
at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Hong Kong was stunned.
And as the word spread,
people read with shock
and disbelief.
The next day, thousands of people
jammed the streets...
around the funeral parlor.
Several hundred extra police
were detailed...
to control the crowd.
No one could believe
that someone like Bruce Lee,
so young, so fit,
could just die.
But Betty Ting Pei
would say nothing.
Bruce was my best friend,
but now he's gone.
Bruce trusted me a lot.
At that time, I didn't want to,
nor do I need to explain anything.
Because of our relationship,
I have been blamed unfairly.
His death came as a shock and there
has been a lot of pressure on me.
But I'll never let anything
spoil the relationship I had with Bruce.
At the funeral,
Linda arrived with Raymond Chow.
Above a portrait of Bruce
is a banner in Chinese, reading,
''A star sinks in a sea of art.''
All around are draped
thousands of tributes.
Relatives and close friends
bow in respect.
Linda and the two children are draped in
the traditional white robes of mourning.
Members of the funeral party
file past the open coffin.
Few can hide their grief.
Linda and the children take a last look,
as they, too, leave.
The controversy about Bruce Lee's death
was still raging.
Only at Hong Kong Airport,
about to board a plane...
that was carrying Bruce's body
to Seattle,
that Linda finally
broke her silence.
It is my wish that the newspapers
and the people of Hong Kong...
will stop speculating
on the circumstances...
surrounding my husband's death.
Although we do not have
the final autopsy report,
I hold no suspicion of anything
other than natural death.
I do not hold any person
responsible for his death.
Fate has ways we cannot change.
The only thing of importance is that
Bruce is gone and will not return.
He lives on in our memories
and through his films.
Remember him
for his genius, his art...
and the magic he brought
to every one of us.
For we who knew him well, his words and
thoughts will remain with us forever...
and influence the rest
of our lives.
In Seattle
awaits Linda's family...
and more bereaved relatives
and friends...
and a second funeral.
Beside the coffin was placed the
yin and yang symbol ofjeet Kune Do.
Among the many who came to pay their
respects were friends and coworkers...
like Dan Inosanto,
Jim Kelly,
Robert Clouse
and other actors and producers.
Former students james Coburn
and Steve McQueen...
silently recalled
their memories of their master.
Bruce's mother
said her last good-byes.
And finally,
Linda and the children,
Brandon and Shannon.
Coburn, McQueen
and the other pallbearers...
throw their white gloves
on the flower-decked casket.
And at last, it was over.
Or was it?
In Hong Kong,
the inquest started.
Once again, the public
began speculating wildly...
on Betty Ting Pei's role
in Bruce's untimely death.
At that time, there was a lot of talk--
scandalous rumors about us.
I was under a lot of pressure,
but I told myself
silence is the best answer.
I treasured
Bruce's friendship very much.
That's why I've put up
with the gossip...
without saying
anything to anyone.
The experts argued
over the autopsy's results...
until the court was satisfied.
Bruce Lee had died of cerebral oedema--
swelling of the brain...
caused by hypersensitivity
to an ingredient of Equagesic,
the tablet he took
to relieve his headache.
The verdict,
death by misadventure.
Bruce has left us.
For movies,
it was the fall of a star.
For his fans, they have lost
their most-respected idol.
But most important,
his family lost the dearest one.
But for myself,
I have lost a very dear friend.
The coroner's verdict took some
of the pressure off Betty Ting Pei.
She resumed her film career.
But her subsequent evasive statements
about Bruce Lee's death...
did nothing to quell persistent
and popular rumors...
that Bruce died
while they were making love.
She became a devout Buddhist
and took to long periods of fasting.
It wasn't until 1 0 years
after the event...
that Betty Ting Pei went on Hong Kong
television and for the first time...
denied that she and Bruce
had sexual relations the day he died.
All she had done she said
was to let Bruce rest in her bed...
and gave him the painkiller
for his headache.
Letters continued to arrive
from Bruce's fans long after his death.
And there were others who saw it
as a great opportunity to be exploited.
Imitators on the screen
appeared by the score.
But there was one last
real Bruce Lee film.
He'd shot thousands of feet
of film for Game Of Death.
After his death,
a worldwide search was done...
to find someone who could double
for Bruce in the missing scenes.
Many candidates were flown
to Hong Kong for screen tests.
From the film footage
of these screen tests,
two look-alikes were finally selected
to enact the missing scenes.
To complete the film, Raymond Chow
brought back Robert Clouse,
the director who had worked with Bruce
on Enter The Dragon.
On the first day
of the recommencement of filming,
the cast and crew took part
in a simple ceremony...
offering food, wine,
and burning incense...
to the spirit of Bruce Lee.
How would you compare Enter The Dragon
with Game Of Death?
Enter The Dragon was done
about six or seven years ago...
and was...
the last picture
that Bruce made.
And then of course
now Game Of Death.
It's a very large film.
The production is large.
Most of the leading actors
are from the United States--
Hugh O'Brian,
Gig Young, Dean jagger,
Colleen Camp and so on.
They did really
very well in the film.
It's interesting because...
the film was about 1 /3 done
before Bruce died.
There's a good question
as to whether Bruce did die.
I've always been a fan of Bruce Lee's,
as millions of people have
throughout the world,
so I was very thrilled
to be in something...
which I consider
in many ways, not historical,
but to capture the footage...
that Bruce Lee had already shot
when he unfortunately died.
A traditional Chinese lion dance...
has always been a powerful means
of bringing in good fortune...
and dispelling evil spirits.
It's not so surprising
that the reworked plot...
of the prophetically titled
Game Of Death...
found room for a chase scene
through just such a spell.
Not all the action
would be Gung Fu.
Top Hollywood stunt men were brought to
Hong Kong for these exciting scenes.
- You all right, Billy?
- Yeah.
All right. Love it.
Is Billy okay? Nice one.
Many thought
it could never be done,
but in 1 97 8,
Game Of Death was completed,
and fans all over the world
could see at last...
the final work of Bruce Lee.
How do you like that?
Today his popularity
has hardly diminished.
He's still a popular feature of movie
and martial arts magazines...
of many countries.
Bruce Lee imitators
have faded into obscurity,
but perhaps a new young star
likejackie Chan...
can rise to the same heights.
A different kind of star
with his own unique style.
Hold it. Get down.
What's going on? Look out!
But even a star
like Jackie Chan...
doesn't claim
to be the new Bruce Lee.
There will never be
a new Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee is gone,
but his spirit lives on.
This is Bruce Lee - The Legend.
of Chinese civilization...
are legends--
legends of great warriors,
of knights and wizards...
and mysterious monks
who can perform wondrous feats.
In these fabulous beings
was embodied...
the essence of good and evil.
They had the power to fly...
and the strength
to defeat whole armies.
These fables thrived
until about 1 00 years ago.
Then a new legend was born.
According to the Chinese
astrological calendar,
1 940 was the Year of the Dragon.
Bruce Lee was born on the 27 th
of November of that year.
The place was San Francisco.
His father, Lee Hoi Chuen,
a leading comic actor in Hong Kong,
was appearing in a touring
Cantonese opera troupe,
something like the Chinese equivalent
of a vaudeville show.
His wife, Grace, who was half German,
was accompanying him.
The tour over, the Lee family
returned to Hong Kong...
when Bruce was 3 months old.
A family portrait
in their Nathan Road flat...
shows Bruce at the center.
Bruce considered his first film role
was in The Beginning Of A Boy,
which he made when he was 6.
Two years later, he played
a leading role in My Son Ah Cheung.
Much of the material written
about Bruce Lee states...
he never appeared in films
with his father.
These rare scenes from My Son Ah Cheung
prove the opposite.
Interestingly, this was
the first of their films together...
in which Bruce had a more important role
than his father.
The theme of this film
was fairly typical...
of many of the more than 20
he appeared in...
before returning
to San Francisco in 1 958.
In Ah Cheung,
Bruce Lee is an orphan...
whose only education is what
he can find on the street.
You little brat!
Put that down, you!
Uncle.
In what is almost a preview in miniature
of a scene in Enter The Dragon...
Bruce picks up a broomstick
and attacks.
- What'd you hit me for?
- Why did you steal?
It's not your business.
You're a thief.
I'll get you, you pig!
Tell me the truth.
Where were you last night?
You scheming against me, eh?
You little devil, you!
Well, are you going to
tell me the truth, are you?
Come along. Speak up, I say.
Tell me the truth, you little devil.
You've been nothing but trouble
ever since you came here.
I'll see that you
get a good hiding. Ohh!
Ohh! Ohh!
You've beaten up my brother.
I'll chop off your head.
Ohh! Ohh!
Why, you devil!
I'll kill you!
How much of his own character
did Bruce bring to these roles?
And how much were
his screen characters...
beginning to infuse
into his own personality?
As time went on, Bruce would play
more and more the kind of role...
that could be described
as a problem youth.
Many of these reflected
the themes of films...
popular in the United States
at the time,
films like Blackboardjungle.
One of Bruce's films is
called Boys On The Street.
If we watch him closely
in the many street brawls
with which these films abound,
we can already see the beginnings of the
trademarks of expression and gesture...
which he would later make
so very much his own.
Yes, I got a big mouth,
but I can back it up with my fists.
- You want to pick a fight?
- You said it, you asked for it.
- A paper tiger after all.
- Stop it, will you.
You kids shouldn't fight here.
This is my place. Get out of here.
I dare you to follow me.
- He took my box.
- Get him!
Come on!
Hey, you!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
- Yay!
Those kids really have guts.
You want some more?
I took your shoe shine box
to get you here for a square off.
Now you know
I mean business.
Come on, kids.
Come on, kids. Let's go.
Come on. Let's go.
Snapshots from the Lee
family photo album...
show Bruce growing to be
a handsome young man...
with a normal interest
in girls and motorbikes.
Although he was bright,
Bruce was not a good student,
at least not in the scholastic sense.
He was more interested
in learning martial arts.
Bruce always maintained that
his first teacher was his father...
who was a devotee of the fighting forms
known as Tai Chi.
But his first real teacher
was Yip Man,
a master of
the Wing Chun style.
The roots of Wing Chun
reach back to the famed Shaolin Temple.
As this demonstration from
the film Warriors Two shows,
it emphasizes
lightness and quickness...
rather than power and strength.
Stretch out two fingers.
You must try to catch it
when I let it go.
Pick it up. Do you realize why
you can't catch it?
Because when your eyes
see it fall,
your brain signals
your hand nerves to react,
but there's a delay.
So we're aiming
to minimize that delay.
That's why Wing Chun concentrates
on touch and speed.
Practice.
There's no other way.
The wooden man is
a Wing Chun training aid...
used to develop quickness
and flexibility in attack.
Your enemy will not
stand still.
Your reactions must be
one step ahead of his.
Otherwise, you're dead. Therefore,
your fists have got to strike...
with the speed of light.
Try again.
But Gung Fu was not Bruce's only
interest outside movies at that time.
He was quite a snappy dancer...
and in 1 958 won a Hong Kong
cha-cha championship.
But somehow, even his achievements
on the dance floor led back to Gung Fu.
This is Siu Hon Sung, another of
Bruce Lee's Gung Fu teachers.
He explains how Bruce
negotiated a deal with him.
One day...
Bruce took me to a coffee shop.
He said,
''You're a master of Gung Fu.
''I'm a pretty good cha-cha dancer.
Why don't we do a deal? Teach me
Gung Fu, and I'll teach you cha-cha.''
Now, an average person...
would take three to four weeks
to learn my basic moves.
But Bruce took only three nights
to master the moves.
So much for
my cha-cha lessons.
Bruce didn't even give me time
to learn the basic beat.
The Orphan
was the second-last film...
Bruce would make
before leaving for America.
In it, he played the most extreme
of his delinquent loner roles.
His final film in Hong Kong was
a complete contrast to The Orphan...
and to any role
before or after.
The Thunderstorm is
probably the only film...
in which he doesn't have
one single fight scene.
Although there are confrontations
in the film...
all the emphasis
in The Thunderstorm...
is on the character's refusal to be
drawn to fight under any provocation.
This reluctance, at least initially,
was a character device...
that would feature heavily
in all of Bruce's later films.
Mary.
Can I help you, Mr. Chan?
Mom knows you're leaving us.
It's hard to find jobs these days.
She wants me to give you $1 00.
Thank her for me, please,
but I just can't take her money.
I'm really sorry about today.
My brother didn't mean it.
He's sorry.
I promise he won't
do it again.
That's what he told me
to tell you.
Don't apologize, Mr. Chan.
Well, anyway,
I'm not your maid anymore.
Mary, I've never
treated you like a maid.
- I'm your friend, Mary.
- Leave her alone!
Mr. Wong.
Sorry about today.
Just leave my sister alone.
David, what's wrong with you? Mr. Chan
was merely offering to help us out.
We're from a poor family.
My sister will marry
a working man.
Cooking meals, washing clothes,
bearing children--
these are what
she'll be doing.
Any thoughts of
going to school...
or marrying a wealthy man
will bring her disappointment.
That's only one way
of looking at it. I think--
- Chan, I'm warning you.
- Warning?
Yes. If I see anyone from your family
seeing my sister...
or coming to my neighborhood,
I'm going to kill him!
David!
Are you out of your mind?
Mr. Chan,
you'd better excuse us.
All right.
Mr. Wong, I know you
dislike me very much.
However, I still want
to be your friend.
Uh, let's shake hands.
I don't follow foreign habits.
It is quite likely that Bruce would have
returned to San Francisco anyway...
as he needed to do so by the time he was
1 8 to confirm his American citizenship.
But the fact that things
were hotting up...
in his constant confrontations
with rival street gangs...
and his mother having to stand guarantor
for him to avoid police prosecution...
probably hastened his departure.
Bruce Lee took the next steamer
to the city of his birth.
On the way, he made extra money
giving dance lessons.
From San Francisco,
he moved quickly to Seattle.
A Chinese restaurant
called Ruby Chow's...
provided him with accommodation
in return for work.
He served in the restaurant
and lived in the attic.
Once established,
a dramatic change occurred.
He enrolled in high school,
and the school dropout...
became a diligent student.
He still practiced Gung Fu passionately,
but no longer on other people.
Graduating from high school,
he went to university
to study philosophy.
His art teacher still treasures
two of the drawings...
he did at the time.
Bruce was a good student.
His work with me
was always very ambitious.
I've no doubt he was the same
in all his classes.
For the ambitious Bruce Lee,
it wasn't enough
to be a good martial artist.
He had to be the best.
He taught Gung Fu
to a group of fellow students,
one of whom was a 1 9-year-old girl
called Linda Emery.
They were married and moved
into this small, but comfortable house.
The former bully
and man about town...
became the ideal husband and father
to Brandon, and later Shannon.
A Gung Fu demonstration
at Long Beach in 1 964...
turned out to be one of the most
important events in Bruce Lee's life.
It was seen by an acquaintance
of a television producer...
who was looking for someone to
play Charlie Chan's number-one son
in a proposed series.
A screen test of Bruce
was arranged.
Tell us your name,
age and where you were born.
My last name is Lee.
Bruce Lee.
I was born in San Francisco in 1 940.
I'm 2 4 right now.
And you worked in motion pictures
in Hong Kong?
Yes, since I was around 6.
When did you
leave Hong Kong?
1 959, when I was 1 8.
I see. Now look over to me,
Bruce, as we talk.
- You just had a baby boy.
- Yeah.
- You've lost some sleep
over it, have you?
- Three nights.
What time do they shoot pictures
in Hong Kong?
It's mostly
in the morning...
because it's kind of noisy
in Hong Kong.
Around three million people
there and so...
every time when
they have a picture,
it's mostly around 1 2 a.m.
to 5 a.m. in the morning.
Look directly into the camera.
Directly at it.
Now give me a 3/ 4 this way.
And hold it.
Give me a profile that way,
all the way.
Hold it.
Now come back to a profile
on the other side.
Hold that.
Give me a 3/ 4 on that side.
And then give me
right into the camera again.
Now the camera
will pull back.
First show me the movements...
in a classical Chinese theater.
- Classical Chinese theater?
- What we talked about in the office.
How they walk and move.
Well, in Chinese opera,
they have the warrior
and the scholar.
The way the warrior walk
will be something like this--
walking this way, straight,
come out, bend, straight,
and then walk out again.
An ordinary scholar would
be just like a female,
a weakling, 90 pounds.
He'll be just walking,
like a girl,
real shoulder up
and everything.
By the way they walk, you can
immediately tell who they are.
Right.
What character they represent.
Show some Gung Fu movements.
It is hard to show it alone,
but I will try to do my best.
One of the fellows
will walk in.
Yeah. Come on,
get in there.
Although accidents do happen--
There are various kinds
of strikes.
It depends on where you hit
and what weapon you will be using.
To the eyes,
you would use fingers.
Don't worry. I won't--
To the eyes,
or straight at the face.
From the waist,
everything up.
Let's move this gentleman this way--
So you're doing it more
into the camera. Okay, swell.
And then
there is an arm strike...
using the waist again
into a back flip.
Let's have the assistant director
back up just a ways.
Okay, go ahead. Continue.
Of course,
Gung Fu is very sneaky.
The Chinese,
they always hit low.
From high,
go back to the groin.
Turn the other way.
Okay.
Is this what you wanted?
These are just natural reactions.
Natural reactions.
Cheat into the camera a little bit.
Show us again.
There is a finger jab.
There is the punch.
There is the back fist
and then low.
Of course, then they use leg.
Straight at the groin or come up.
If I can back up,
they start from here
and then come back.
- All right.
- He looks kind of worried.
For various reasons,
the series was never produced,
but it led to the role of Kato
in the series The Green Hornet.
While the show was not
an overwhelming success--
it lasted 30 1 /2-hour episodes--
Bruce received favorable reviews...
and was probably
more popular than the star.
He had a small part in Marlowe
with james Garner.
And then came Longstreet.
- I'll be kicking.
- Ready.
1 , 2, 3!
Hii, hii, hii!
Are you all right?
That guy's fantastic!
What is this thing you do?
In Cantonese,jeet Kune Do,
the way of
the intercepting fist.
Intercepting fist?
Or foot.
Touch me anywhere you can.
You see? To reach me,
you must move to me.
Your attack offers me an opportunity
to intercept you.
In this case,
I'm using my longest weapon--
my side kick-- against
the nearest target, your kneecap.
This can be compared to your left jab in
boxing, except it's much more damaging.
I see.
Speaking of a left jab--
Oh!
This time I intercept
your emotional tenseness.
By now, Bruce Lee's jeet Kune Do classes
were so famous,
he could charge $27 5 an hour.
Even then, he could
pick and choose his students,
students like
Kareem Abdul-jabbar,
Steve McQueen and james Coburn.
However, Bruce Lee's
overriding ambition was Hollywood.
But Hollywood
was not responding.
The movie roles
were not forthcoming.
It was a bitter disappointment
when he was passed up...
for the lead
in the TV series Kung Fu.
He returned once again
to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, 1 97 0.
Apart from
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.
Well, not initially, anyway.
Invariably, his character resisted
intolerable provocation...
before violence
was forced on him.
We're very thirsty, sweetheart.
We need to cool off.
- You're hurting me!
- We'd like to have a little bit of fun.
Don't meddle. No fighting.
Remember your promise.
If you don't leave me alone,
I'm going to call the police.
Please.
Only when he was pushed
beyond his ability to resist...
did he become the aggressor.
Yeeaahhh!
All right! Hold it!
Now you get out of here.
I'm warning you.
You bastards
can't push us around.
You want to fight?
I'll take you on.
I think Bruce was a great actor,
a very good director...
and a very good filmmaker.
His main ambition in life
is to introduce...
Chinese Gung Fu
and Chinese movies...
to the whole world.
And he wanted to show
that the Chinese...
could be just as good
as anybody else.
In Bruce's films, the enemy were
always foreigners-- non-Chinese.
Even when he was pounding
the life out of his compatriots,
it was abundantly clear they were
misguided pawns of a foreign boss.
In The Big Boss, he works
in an ice factory run by Thais.
The Thai foreman and his gang
bully Chinese workers into servility.
We're on strike!
We won't work anymore,
you slob.
Get to work! Inside!
To hell with you, man!
Bastard!
It took the murder
of his Chinese fellow workers...
to push Bruce over the edge.
In Fist Of Fury,
thejapanese are the enemy,
who deliver an insulting message
to Bruce's school.
The characters read,
''The Chinese are
the sick men of Asia.''
Well, clear a space there.
My friends promised
to put up a good fight.
There must be someone.
Who's your champion?
So many here, and not one of you
with any courage?
What's the matter with you?
Are you afraid of us? Huh?
Ha ha ha!
Later in the film,
a sign on a park gate...
is an insult that
cannot be ignored.
What do you want?
- I want to pass.
- Not allowed.
And that?
You're the wrong color.
Beat it.
Hey, you.
Come here.
You, uh-- You were wanting
to get in here.
No, no, no.
Tell you what.
There's one thing you need do.
Pretend you're a dog
and I'll take you in.
In Way Of The Dragon,
which takes place in Rome,
the underworld tries to extort money
from a Chinese restaurant
where Bruce is working.
Almost every day,
Italian thugs harass the Chinese,
forcing them to agree
to the payments they demand.
May I help you?
May you help me? Sure.
Invariably, these foreigners' assaults
on Bruce and those he championed...
weren't just personal or physical,
but strongly racial,
leaving Bruce no other alternative
but to demonstrate the effectiveness...
of Chinese martial arts.
Movement number 4--
Dragon seeks path.
Dragon whips his tail.
Hey!
All right.
Bruce's screen personality
as a hero...
was undeniable
and unshakable.
How much of that personality...
was injected into his real life?
Without a doubt,
the screen image of Bruce...
was very much like
the Bruce in real life.
He was so energetic
that even when he was among friends...
his gestures
were very physical.
Even when he was relaxing,
he looked restless.
Left, right, left, right.
A-1 , 2, left, right.
Hup, 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left.
Hey, what's going on there?
Hup, 2, 3, 4.
A-1 , 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left, right.
Left, right, left.
1 , 2, 3, 4.
A-1 , 2, 3, 4.
Left, right, left, right.
Left, right, left.
1 , 2, 3, 4. Halt.
Bruce didn't drink.
So the parts he played
didn't know how to drink either.
How about a little drink?
You're quite a drinker.
You put it away like water.
That'll make him feel better.
Strong.
Hey. Hey, hey!
In his movies,
his relationship with women...
is usually shy, often coy,
and invariably wholesome.
You've grown very pretty.
If I was ten years younger--
Chang, meet our sister,
Chow Mai.
This is Chang, our cousin.
How are you? It's hot.
Thanks.
Let me go!
Ow!
I must go.
I'll see you... later.
While there are occasional hints
of romantic feelings,
Bruce's leading ladies are usually
treated like one of the boys.
Overt sexuality is alluded to when
the encounter is with prostitutes,
and then only when Bruce's lack
of sophistication allows it to happen.
The foreigners here are friendly.
You'll see.
When people smile, smile back.
It's only right.
While you're here,
just don't be so uptight.
In the only bedroom scene
Bruce ever filmed,
a prostitute
first gets him drunk.
Even then, he goes to sleep.
In his films,
Bruce Lee was at his best...
as a fighter, not a lover.
He was concerned that he would be
typecast as a one-character performer.
In Fist Of Fury,
he disguised himself,
perhaps to demonstrate
his dramatic range,
here as a news vender.
They're forcing my hand.
Where can I find him in this place?
Sir, get back to
Ching Woo's school...
to see if he's
turned up there yet.
Here, as a telephone repairman.
I'm from the telephone company.
What took you so long?
We haven't got all day.
Just got my orders minutes ago.
These vignettes were
more comedic than convincing.
But later around the time
he was working on Game Of Death,
he was experimenting
with new characters.
He makes a very believable
blind swordsman,
his version of a character
called Zato-Ichi,
who appeared in severaljapanese films
popular in Asia at the time.
Tagashira!
Surprisingly, these characters
were developed...
from classical archetypes.
Most were associated
with traditional weaponry,
contrary to his declared philosophy
of the martial arts.
It's not possible to say how
he'd have developed these characters,
but it's interesting to conjecture what
Bruce Lee would have made of roles...
like the classic period
Chinese swordsmen...
in films like Duel To The Death.
For some time,
actorjames Coburn,
writer Sterling Silliphant,
and Bruce...
put together a project
to be called Silent Flute.
Finally, 20th Century-Fox
agreed to do it,
but on a tiny budget,
providing it could be shot in India.
Bruce and his colleagues spent weeks
location-hunting there and in Nepal.
India, they decided,
was a waste of time,
but in Nepal,
pagodas like these...
inspired Bruce for Game Of Death.
Bruce never crystalized the plot,
but it went something like this--
there would be a great
martial arts training center
in a many-storied pagoda.
Each level would be guarded by a master
of a different martial art.
Bruce accumulated the people
he wanted to use--
Dan Inosanto.
The Korean seventh-degree
Aikido master, Tse Hon joy.
He began doing screen tests.
This footage of the tests and outtakes
has never been publicly shown before.
In his still-incomplete concept
for Game Of Death,
his objective would be to get to
whatever was at the top of the pagoda.
In the middle of this,
producer Fred Weintraub...
had finally convinced Warner Brothers
to coproduce a project...
with a partnership of Raymond Chow
and Bruce Lee.
This was to be
Enter The Dragon.
At last, Bruce Lee was to play
the lead in a Hollywood movie.
He applied all his energies
to his performance...
and worked closely
with director Robert Clouse...
in staging all the martial arts action
in the film.
[Speaking Chinese]
Bruce Lee first
formally set out his methods...
in this early book, Chinese Gung Fu,
published in 1 963.
He illustrated it
with precise drawings...
which highlighted
every detail of the text.
The photographs were taken
in the parking lot next to Ruby Chow's.
Two martial arts students
demonstrate how some of these moves...
work in action.
During his career, Bruce never failed
to enlighten his peers...
with his in-depth analyses
of martial arts.
Gung Fu originated in China.
It is the ancestor
of karate and jujitsu.
It's more of a complete system,
and it's more fluid.
There is continuity
in movement...
instead of one movement
and then stop.
The best example is a glass of water.
Water is the softest substance
in the world,
but it can penetrate
the hardest rock...
or anything-- granite, you name it.
Water also is insubstantial.
You cannot grasp it.
You cannot punch it and hurt it.
Every Gung Fu man
is trying to do that--
to be soft like water
and adapt to the opponent.
A karate punch
is like an iron bar-- wham!
A Gung Fu punch
is like an iron chain...
with an iron ball
attached to the end,
and it go-- whang--
and it hurt inside.
Gung Fu can be practiced
alone or with a partner.
Practicing alone involves form.
Some imitate a crane,
a monkey, a praying mantis.
This is a crane form.
Start off.
Hiyeeee!
Many moves Bruce used
in his films...
were designed more
for dramatic effect...
than as examples
forjeet Kune Do.
It's also true that much was
an accurate exposition of his art.
Here he deals with
an attempted grab and throw...
followed unwisely by an attempt
to sneak up behind.
A defense and counter
to a clubbing attack from the side.
A deadly
two-handed knife attack...
is foiled with the help
of a jacket.
Nunchaku against a sword.
Even Bruce admits
this is an uneven contest...
and would normally be avoided.
But then it's not a situation many
students today are likely to encounter.
When used effectively,
the wooden staff...
is an excellent weapon
against knives.
A seemingly impossible situation--
an empty-handed defense
against a sword.
Only with incredible speed and
almost psychic anticipation...
could anyone survive.
Bruce was absolutely insistent
about physical fitness.
He said training is one of
the most neglected phases of athletics.
Too much time is given
to developing the skill...
and too little to developing
the individual for participation.
I don't think anyone trained
as hard as Bruce did.
I don't think anyone
was as dedicated a trainer.
It is a popular belief that Bruce Lee
was born with an exceptional physique.
Nothing could be further
from the truth.
As a child,
he was rather frail.
Reportedly,
he never ate well at home,
a habit which seemed to persist, even
when he returned to the United States.
It was only through
many years of exercise...
and finally reappraising
his dietary habits...
that he built himself into the superb
physical specimen he was to become.
Bruce's emphasis
on physical fitness...
opened up a new path
for martial arts students.
They followed his advice of applying
modern exercising techniques...
to the field of martial arts.
They learned to appreciate
Bruce's outlook--
''One may know
all the fighting techniques,
but if one is not fit, one does not
stand a chance in a real fight.''
His fame and following
grew and grew.
Whole magazines were devoted
to one aspect or another...
of his life and career.
In the world of martial arts
and action movies,
Bruce Lee was king.
This is noted Taiwanese actress
Betty Ting Pei.
Her charms had been revealed to
good advantage in numerous film roles,
often as a seductress.
For some three months, her name had been
romantically linked with Bruce Lee's,
as had many others in the past.
Whether there's any truth behind
any of the stories of these liaisons...
remains speculation.
Certainly, though,
it wasn't a disadvantage...
for any ambitious actress
to be linked with Bruce Lee.
On the afternoon
ofjuly 20, 1 973,
Bruce went to the apartment
of Betty Ting Pei.
They were to meet Raymond Chow
for dinner,
an appointment Bruce Lee
was never to keep.
He was rushed to a hospital.
Betty had phoned Raymond Chow saying
Bruce had laid down with a headache...
and she couldn't rouse him.
Chow rushed to Betty's apartment.
Doctors were called, and finally,
an ambulance.
Bruce Lee was certified
dead on arrival...
at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Hong Kong was stunned.
And as the word spread,
people read with shock
and disbelief.
The next day, thousands of people
jammed the streets...
around the funeral parlor.
Several hundred extra police
were detailed...
to control the crowd.
No one could believe
that someone like Bruce Lee,
so young, so fit,
could just die.
But Betty Ting Pei
would say nothing.
Bruce was my best friend,
but now he's gone.
Bruce trusted me a lot.
At that time, I didn't want to,
nor do I need to explain anything.
Because of our relationship,
I have been blamed unfairly.
His death came as a shock and there
has been a lot of pressure on me.
But I'll never let anything
spoil the relationship I had with Bruce.
At the funeral,
Linda arrived with Raymond Chow.
Above a portrait of Bruce
is a banner in Chinese, reading,
''A star sinks in a sea of art.''
All around are draped
thousands of tributes.
Relatives and close friends
bow in respect.
Linda and the two children are draped in
the traditional white robes of mourning.
Members of the funeral party
file past the open coffin.
Few can hide their grief.
Linda and the children take a last look,
as they, too, leave.
The controversy about Bruce Lee's death
was still raging.
Only at Hong Kong Airport,
about to board a plane...
that was carrying Bruce's body
to Seattle,
that Linda finally
broke her silence.
It is my wish that the newspapers
and the people of Hong Kong...
will stop speculating
on the circumstances...
surrounding my husband's death.
Although we do not have
the final autopsy report,
I hold no suspicion of anything
other than natural death.
I do not hold any person
responsible for his death.
Fate has ways we cannot change.
The only thing of importance is that
Bruce is gone and will not return.
He lives on in our memories
and through his films.
Remember him
for his genius, his art...
and the magic he brought
to every one of us.
For we who knew him well, his words and
thoughts will remain with us forever...
and influence the rest
of our lives.
In Seattle
awaits Linda's family...
and more bereaved relatives
and friends...
and a second funeral.
Beside the coffin was placed the
yin and yang symbol ofjeet Kune Do.
Among the many who came to pay their
respects were friends and coworkers...
like Dan Inosanto,
Jim Kelly,
Robert Clouse
and other actors and producers.
Former students james Coburn
and Steve McQueen...
silently recalled
their memories of their master.
Bruce's mother
said her last good-byes.
And finally,
Linda and the children,
Brandon and Shannon.
Coburn, McQueen
and the other pallbearers...
throw their white gloves
on the flower-decked casket.
And at last, it was over.
Or was it?
In Hong Kong,
the inquest started.
Once again, the public
began speculating wildly...
on Betty Ting Pei's role
in Bruce's untimely death.
At that time, there was a lot of talk--
scandalous rumors about us.
I was under a lot of pressure,
but I told myself
silence is the best answer.
I treasured
Bruce's friendship very much.
That's why I've put up
with the gossip...
without saying
anything to anyone.
The experts argued
over the autopsy's results...
until the court was satisfied.
Bruce Lee had died of cerebral oedema--
swelling of the brain...
caused by hypersensitivity
to an ingredient of Equagesic,
the tablet he took
to relieve his headache.
The verdict,
death by misadventure.
Bruce has left us.
For movies,
it was the fall of a star.
For his fans, they have lost
their most-respected idol.
But most important,
his family lost the dearest one.
But for myself,
I have lost a very dear friend.
The coroner's verdict took some
of the pressure off Betty Ting Pei.
She resumed her film career.
But her subsequent evasive statements
about Bruce Lee's death...
did nothing to quell persistent
and popular rumors...
that Bruce died
while they were making love.
She became a devout Buddhist
and took to long periods of fasting.
It wasn't until 1 0 years
after the event...
that Betty Ting Pei went on Hong Kong
television and for the first time...
denied that she and Bruce
had sexual relations the day he died.
All she had done she said
was to let Bruce rest in her bed...
and gave him the painkiller
for his headache.
Letters continued to arrive
from Bruce's fans long after his death.
And there were others who saw it
as a great opportunity to be exploited.
Imitators on the screen
appeared by the score.
But there was one last
real Bruce Lee film.
He'd shot thousands of feet
of film for Game Of Death.
After his death,
a worldwide search was done...
to find someone who could double
for Bruce in the missing scenes.
Many candidates were flown
to Hong Kong for screen tests.
From the film footage
of these screen tests,
two look-alikes were finally selected
to enact the missing scenes.
To complete the film, Raymond Chow
brought back Robert Clouse,
the director who had worked with Bruce
on Enter The Dragon.
On the first day
of the recommencement of filming,
the cast and crew took part
in a simple ceremony...
offering food, wine,
and burning incense...
to the spirit of Bruce Lee.
How would you compare Enter The Dragon
with Game Of Death?
Enter The Dragon was done
about six or seven years ago...
and was...
the last picture
that Bruce made.
And then of course
now Game Of Death.
It's a very large film.
The production is large.
Most of the leading actors
are from the United States--
Hugh O'Brian,
Gig Young, Dean jagger,
Colleen Camp and so on.
They did really
very well in the film.
It's interesting because...
the film was about 1 /3 done
before Bruce died.
There's a good question
as to whether Bruce did die.
I've always been a fan of Bruce Lee's,
as millions of people have
throughout the world,
so I was very thrilled
to be in something...
which I consider
in many ways, not historical,
but to capture the footage...
that Bruce Lee had already shot
when he unfortunately died.
A traditional Chinese lion dance...
has always been a powerful means
of bringing in good fortune...
and dispelling evil spirits.
It's not so surprising
that the reworked plot...
of the prophetically titled
Game Of Death...
found room for a chase scene
through just such a spell.
Not all the action
would be Gung Fu.
Top Hollywood stunt men were brought to
Hong Kong for these exciting scenes.
- You all right, Billy?
- Yeah.
All right. Love it.
Is Billy okay? Nice one.
Many thought
it could never be done,
but in 1 97 8,
Game Of Death was completed,
and fans all over the world
could see at last...
the final work of Bruce Lee.
How do you like that?
Today his popularity
has hardly diminished.
He's still a popular feature of movie
and martial arts magazines...
of many countries.
Bruce Lee imitators
have faded into obscurity,
but perhaps a new young star
likejackie Chan...
can rise to the same heights.
A different kind of star
with his own unique style.
Hold it. Get down.
What's going on? Look out!
But even a star
like Jackie Chan...
doesn't claim
to be the new Bruce Lee.
There will never be
a new Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee is gone,
but his spirit lives on.
This is Bruce Lee - The Legend.