Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984) - full transcript
The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.
ANNOUNCER: More ancient
than the earliest records
of Chinese civilization
are legends.
Legends of great warriors,
of knights and wizards,
and mysterious monks
who could 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 100 years ago,
and then
a new legend was born.
According to the Chinese
astrological calendar,
1940 was the year
of the dragon.
Bruce Lee was born on the 27th of November of that year.
The place
was San Francisco.
His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen,
was a leading comic actor
in Hong Kong,
and 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 six.
Two years later,
he played a leading role
inMy Son, Ah Chung.
Much of the material
written about Bruce Lee
states that he never appeared
in films with his father.
These rare scenes
fromMy Son, Ah Chung
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 1958.
InAh Chung,
Bruce Lee is an orphan,
whose only education is what he can find on the street.
Hey, you little brat.
Put that down, you!
Uncle.
In what is almost
a preview in miniature
of a scene
inEnter The Dragon,
Bruce picks up a broomstick
and attacks.
Why did you
hit me for?
Why did you steal?
It'’s not your business.
You'’re a thief.
I'’ll get you, you pig!
Now then tell me
the truth.
Where were you
last night?
Are you scheming
against me, eh?
You little devil, you!
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'll
get a good fighting.
Oh!
You beat up my brother,
I'’ll chop off your head!
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
of the kind of role
that could be described
as a problem youth.
Many of these
reflected themes
of films popular in the United States at the time,
films like
Blackboard Jungle.
One of Bruce'’s films is calledBoys 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 fist.
You want
to pick a fight?
You said it,
you asked for it.
Hey, stop it.
Paper Tiger, after all.
Stop it, will you?
You kids
shouldn'’t fight here.
This is my place,
now get out of here.
Coward,
I dare you follow me.
Hey,
he took my box.
Get him.
Come on.
[ all clamoring ]
Hey, you!
[ cheers and applause ]
These kids
really have guts.
You want some more?
I took your shoeshine box to
get you your first square-off.
Now you know
I mean business.
Come on, kids.
Come on, kids,
let'’s go.
Oh, come on, let'’s go.
Snapshots from
the Lee family'’s 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 filmWarriors 2 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 kung fu was
not Bruce'’s only interest
outside movies
at that time.
He was quite
a snappy dancer,
and in 1958, won a Hong Kong
cha-cha champion.
But somehow,
even his achievements
on the dance floor
led back to kung fu.
This is Siu Hon Sung,
another of Bruce Lee'’s
kung 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 your styles of gung fu,
and I'’m a pretty good
cha-cha dancer.
Why don'’t we do a deal?
You teach me gung fu,
I'’ll teach you cha-cha."
Now an average person
would take 3 to 4 weeks
to learn my basic moves,
but Bruce took only 3 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
ofThe 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
inThe 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?
Mary, mom knows
you'’re leaving us.
It'’s hard to find jobs
these days.
She wants me
to give you $100.
Oh,
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.
Chan, 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 simple working man.
Yes, cooking meals,
washing clothes,
bearing children--
these are what
she'’ll be doing.
Any thoughts
of going to school
or marrying
a very wealthy man
will just 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 gonna kill him.
David!
Are you
out of your mind?
Mr. Chan, I think
you better excuse us.
All right.
Mr. Wong, I know
you dislike me very much.
However, I still want
to be your friend.
Let'’s shake hands.
I don'’t follow
foreign habits.
It is quite likely that
Bruce would'’ve returned
to San Francisco anyway,
as he needed to do so
by the time he was 18
to confirm
his American citizenship,
but the fact that
things were hotting up
in his constant confrontations with rival street gangs
and that his mother had
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
a little extra money
giving dance lessons.
From San Francisco,
he moved quickly to Seattle.
A Chinese restaurant
called Ruby Chows
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
kung fu passionately,
but not 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.
WOMAN: Bruce
was a good student.
And his work with me
was always very ambitious,
and I'’ve no doubt that he was
the same in all his classes.
For the ambitious Bruce Lee,
it was not enough to be
a good martial artist.
He had to be the best.
He taught kung fu
to a group
of fellow students,
one of whom
was a 19-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 kung fu demonstration
at Long Beach in 1964
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.
INTERVIEWER:
Tell us your name,
your age and where
you were born.
My last name is Lee.
Bruce Lee.
I was born
in San Francisco in 1940.
I'’m 24 right now.
And you worked in movies
and pictures in Hong Kong?
Yes, since I was
around 6 years old.
And when did you
leave Hong Kong?
1959,
when I was 18.
I see.
Now look over to me,
Bruce, as we talk.
I understand you
just had a baby boy.Yeah.
And you'’ve lost
a little sleep
over it, have you?
Three nights.
And tell the crew
what time
they shoot
the pictures
in Hong Kong.
Oh, it'’s mostly
in the morning
because it'’s kind
of noisy in Hong Kong,
you know, around
three million people there.
So every time
when they have picture,
it'’s mostly,
say around,
12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
in the morning.
I see.
Look directly
into the camera, Bruce.
Directly at it.
And now give me
a three-quarter this way.
And hold it.
And give me a profile
that way, all the way.
Good, hold it.
Now come back to a profile
on the other side.
Now hold that.
Give me a three-quarter
on that side.
And then give me a right
into the camera again.
All right, now the camera
will pull back.
And, Bruce,
first show me
the movements
in the classical
Chinese theater.
Classical Chinese theater?
Well, you know, what we
talked about in the office.
How they walk
and how they start to move.
Well,
in a Chinese opera,
they have the warrior
and then 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,
will be
just like a female,
a weakling, 90 pounds...
[ indistinct ].
He'’ll be just walking,
you know, like a girl, real--
shoulder up
and everything.
So by the way
they walk,
you can immediately
tell who they are.
Right. What character
they represent.
Now show us some
gung fu movements.
Well, it'’s hard
to show it alone,
but I will try
to do my best.
All right. Maybe one of
the fellows will walk in.
Yeah, it would be--
Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Come on, Lee, get in there!
[ indistinct
happy chatter ]
Although accidents
do happen, but, you know--
There are
various kinds of strikes.
It depends on
where you hit
and what weapon
you will be using.
To the eye,
you would use fingers.
Don'’t worry, I won't.
To the eyes
or straight at the face,
from the waist
everything on.
Hold it, just a minute.
Let'’s move this gentleman
around this way
so you'’re doing it
more into the camera.
Okay, swell.
And then there is
bent-arm strike
using the waist again
into a back fist.
Let'’s have
the assistant director
back up this way.
[ laughter ]
Okay, go ahead.
Continue.
And then, of course,
kung fu is very sneaky.
You know, the Chinese,
they always hit low,
from high
go back to the groin.
Now turn around
the other way,
would you, Bruce?
Okay. Yeah.
Would you want me to--
MAN: These are just
natural reactions.
Right, right.That is
a natural reaction.
Right into the camera.
Cheat into the camera
a little bit.
Show us again.
All right. Go ahead.
There is a finger jab,
there is a punch,
there is the back fist
and then low.
Of course,
then they use leg,
straight to the groin
or come up
or if I can back up
a little bit,
they start back from here
and then come back.
All right.He'’s kind of worried.
For various reasons,
the series
was never produced,
but it did lead
to the role of Kato
in the series
The Green Hornet.
While the show itself
was not exactly
an overwhelming success--
it lasted
30 half-hour episodes--
Bruce received
favorable reviews
and was probably more
popular than the star.
He had a small part
inMarlowe
with James Garner.
And then came
Longstreet.
I'’ll be kicking you.
You ready?
Ready.One and two!
You all right?That guy'’s fantastic!
Now what is this--
what is this thing
you do?
In Cantonese,
Jeet Kune Do,
the way of
the intercepting fist.
Intercepting fist, huh?
Or foot.
Come on, touch me
any way 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.
Well, 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 $275 an hour,
and 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,
and it was
a bitter disappointment
when he was passed up
for the lead
in the TV seriesKung Fu.
He returned once again
to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, 1970.
Apart from
one brief visit in 1968,
Bruce Lee had been away
for 12 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, it seems,
was Raymond Chow,
the head of
a small new studio,
Golden Harvest.
Good morning.Good morning.
The director says
it'’s his best work so far.
Well,
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.
[ indistinct conversation ]
On the busy
Hong Kong grapevine,
Chow had heard
of Shaw'’s unsuccessful offer
and made sure he saw
a demonstration Bruce gave
on a local TV station
before returning
to the U.S.
The demonstration
Bruce gave
on the TV show
was very impressive.
He side kicked
five 1-inch pots
and broke four.
In addition,
he kicked
and broke
a 1-inch pot dangling.
Now that takes tremendous
amount of strength
and perfect timing.
But what
impressed me more
was when I talked to him
on a 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 had to say yes.
He then assured me
with sincerity
and confidence
that he could do
much better.
How could
I doubt this man?
Raymond Chow
offered Bruce Lee
a two-picture deal
with Golden Harvest.
Bruce signed
and flew to Thailand
to start work
onThe Big Boss.
The Big Boss,
released asFists of Fury
in the U.S.A.,
was made on
a modest budget
under fairly
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
ofLongstreet.
Here were not the quick
economical knock-downs
ofThe Green Hornet.
And most certainly,
here was not the hard,
sharp economy of movement
that Bruce Lee 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.
And the public loved it!
In Hong Kong, it broke
all previous
box office records.
Bruce Lee was a star.
[ speaking
in foreign language ]
Bruce Lee is incredible.
Well, Bruce Lee didn'’t
like to waste any time.
He wouldn'’t beat
about the bush.
He got very direct.
Is Bruce Lee your hero?
Yes.
Tell me what you
like about him.
He always
wins the bad guys
and he is
a very quick mover.
A question of
body movement,
the choreography,
the timing--
in fact,
the overcoming
of the limitations
of the human body.
I mean,
he'’s not an action man
like Eastwood
or Bronson.
I suppose he'’s more
like a Nureyev.
Both Bruce Lee
and Raymond Chow
were delighted
with the success
ofThe Big Boss
and set about finalizing plans for the next film.
WithThe 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
and set up house
in suburban Kowloon Tong.
This 11-room,
2-story villa
with its small
Japanese-style garden
may not have turned heads
in Hollywood,
but for crowded
Hong Kong,
it was nothing
short of a palace.
There was room for the family
and friends to relax.
Bruce divided
his 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
asFist 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 so recently set.
Bruce was soon
at work again
developing ideas
for his next film.
He went location hunting
all over 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
Hwang In-Shik.
As well
as being the star,
Bruce Lee
wrote and directed
Way of The Dragon.
[ speaking
in foreign language ]
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 the police
worked out ways
to handle the traffic jams
and massive crowds.
Nora Miao, a dynamic
young Hong Kong actress
co-stared 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
start to know him?
Um, 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.
So I didn'’t get
to meet him
until he came back
to Hong Kong
for his first movies
for Golden Harvest.
But surprisingly I didn'’t
meet him in Hong Kong.
Really,
where did you meet him?
I actually met him
in Thailand,
where we were filming
The Big Boss.
I see,
talking about his movies,
a lot of people
observe that
there are a lot of
autobiographical elements
in Bruce Lee'’s movies.
Did you experience
or 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 foreign country.
And he likes to play
the part of a man
arriving in a strange land.
InThe 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.
Now this is a good town
and it'’s very different
to back home.
So be careful,
don'’t get into fights, Chang.
Remember your promise.
You'’re on your own
from now on.
Don'’t worry, uncle.
InFist 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.
InWay 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.
[ bizarre groan ]
Mommy!
Bruce went to the States
when he was very young.
And from
what 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.
InThe Big Boss,
the pendant Bruce wears
is a reminder of a promise he has made to avoid violence.
In his films, Bruce never went
looking for a fight.
Well, not initially,
anyway.
Invariably,
his character would resist
intolerable provocation
before violence
was virtually forced on him.
Yeah, we'’re very thirsty,
sweetheart.
We need to cool off,
come on.
GIRL: Leave me alone,
you'’re hurting me.
MAN: Come on, we'’d like
to have a little bit of fun.
Don'’t meddle,
no fighting.
Remember your promise.
GIRL: If you
don'’t leave me alone,
I'’m going to call
the police.
Please.
Then only when he was pushed
beyond his ability to resist
did he become the attacker,
the aggressor.
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.
Personally I think
Bruce was a great actor,
a very good director
and a very good filmmaker.
And his main ambition
in life
is to introduce
Chinese kung 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 all of Bruce'’s films,
the enemy were always
foreigners, non-Chinese.
Even when
he was pounding
the life
out of his compatriots,
it was made
abundantly clear
that they were misguided
pawns of a foreign boss.
InThe Big Boss,
he works in an ice factory
run by Thais.
The Thai foreman
and his gang
bully the Chinese workers
into servility.
[ indistinct chatter ]
[ chatter ceases ]
Get to work!
Inside!
To hell with you, man!
You lousy pig!
Bastard.
It took the brutal
and bloody murder
of his Chinese fellow workers to push Bruce over the edge.
InFist of Fury,
the Japanese are the enemy.
[ indistinct ] delivers
an insulting
message to Bruce'’s school.
The characters read,
"The Chinese are
the Sick Man of Asia."
Well,
clear a space there.
My friends here promise
to put up a good fight.
Must be someone.
Who'’s your champion, huh?
Mm, so many here and not
one of you with any courage.
What'’s the matter
with the lot of you?
You afraid of us, huh?
[ laughing ]
Later in the film, a sign
on a park gate is an insult
that cannot be ignored.
Hey, you.
What do you want?
I will pass.
No, no, not allowed,
I'’m afraid.
And that?
You'’re the wrong color,
so beat.
Hey, you,
come here.
You-- you were wanting
to get in here?
No, no, no, no.
Tell you what.
There'’s only one thing
you need to do.
Pretend you'’re a dog
and I'’ll take you in.
InWay Of The Dragon,
which takes place in Rome,
the underworld
is trying to extort money
from the Chinese restaurant
where Bruce is working.
Almost every day,
Italian thugs
go to the restaurant
to 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
who he championed
were not just personal
or physical,
but strongly racial,
leaving Bruce
no other alternative
but to demonstrate
the effectiveness
of Chinese martial arts.
Movement number four,
dragon seeks path.
Dragon whips his tail.
[ indistinct
happy chatter ]
Bruce'’s screen
personality as a hero
was undeniable
and unshakable.
How much of that personality
has been transferred
or injected
into his real life?
I would say
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.
And even when he was relaxing,
he looked very restless.
Left, right,
left, right, left.
One, two, left, right.
Hup two, three, four.
Left, right, left--
Hey,
what'’s going on there?
Hup two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Left, right, left,
right, left, right.
Hup two, three, four.
A-one, two, three, four.
Left, right, left, right,
left, right, left, right.
One, two, three, four.
Bruce didn'’t drink,
so the parts he played didn'’t
know how to drink either.
Well, Chang,
how about a little drink?
You'’re quite a drinker.
You put it away
like water.
MAN: That will make you
feel better.
In his movies,
his relationship with women
is usually shy
and awkward,
often coy
and invariably wholesome.
Mai, you'’ve grown
very pretty.
Well, if I was
10 years younger, I'’d--
Chang, meet our
younger sister, Chow Mai.
This is Chang,
our cousin.
How are you?
It'’s hot.
Chang.
Let me go.
I must go.
I'’ll see you later.
While there are occasional
hints of romantic feelings,
Bruce'’s leading ladies
are usually treated more like
one of the boys.
Overt sexuality
is only alluded to
when the encounter
is with a prostitute,
and then only when Bruce'’s lack of sophistication
allows it to happen.
The foreigners
here are quite friendly.
You'’ll see.
When people smile,
you 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,
and even then
he goes to sleep.
In his films, Bruce Lee
was at his best as a fighter
rather than a lover.
But he was very concerned
that he would be typecast
as a one-character performer.
InFist of Fury,
he used the device
of disguising himself,
perhaps with the object
of demonstrating
his dramatic range,
here as a news vendor.
You see
what they'’re doing?
Forcing my hand.
But where can
I find him in this place?
Sir,
why not try
to get back
to Jingwu school,
see if he'’s
turned up there, huh?
Here as
a telephone repairman.
Good afternoon there.
I'’m from
the telephone company.
Oh.
What on earth
took you so long?
We haven'’t got
all day, you know.
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 a whole range
of new characters.
He makes a very believable
blind swordsman,
his version of a character
called Zatoichi,
who appeared
in several Japanese films
popular in Asia
at the time.
Tagashira!
[ combatants react ]
Surprisingly,
these characters
were all developed
from classical archetypes,
and most were associated
with traditional weaponry,
contrary to his
declared philosophy
of the martial arts.
It is not possible to say
how he would'’ve developed
these characters,
but it is interesting
to conjecture
what Bruce Lee
would have made of roles
like the classic period
Chinese swordsman
in films like
Duel to the Death.
For some time,
actor James Coburn,
writer Stirling Silliphant
and Bruce had been
trying to put together
a project to be called
Silent Flute.
Finally, 20th Century-Fox
agreed to do it,
but on a tiny budget
and 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 it was in Nepal
that pagodas like these
gave Bruce an inspiration
forGame of Death.
Bruce never
crystallized the plot,
but it went
something like this:
there would be a great
martial arts training center
based in
a many-storied pagoda.
Each level would be
guarded by a master
of a different martial art.
Bruce began to accumulate
the people he wanted to use.
Dan Inosanto...
The Korean seventh-degree
Hapkido master
Ji Han Jae.
He began
doing screen tests.
This footage
of the tests and outtakes
has never been
publicly shown before.
In his still-
incomplete concept
forGame Of Death,
his ultimate 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 Bros.
to co-produce a project
with the 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.
Bruce Lee first formally
set out his methods
in this early book,
Chinese Kung Fu,
published in 1963.
He also 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 art students
demonstrate
how some of these moves
work in action.
During his career,
Bruce had never failed
to enlighten his peers
with his in-depth
analysis of martial arts.
Well, gung fu
is originated in China.
It is the ancestor
of karate and jujitsu.
It'’s more
of a compete system
and it'’s more fluid.
By that I mean
it'’s more flowing.
There is continuity
in movement
instead of one movement,
two movement
and then stop.
The best example would be
a glass of water.
Why? Because water
is the softest substance
in the world,
but yet it can penetrate
the hardest rock or anything,
granite, you name it.
Water also
is insubstantial.
By that I mean
you cannot grasp hold of it.
You cannot punch it
and hurt it.
So every gung fu man
is trying to do that,
to be soft like water
and flexible
and adapt itself
to the opponent.
A karate punch is like
an iron bar, wang!
A gung fu punch
is like an iron chain
with an iron ball
attached to the end,
and it go wang!
And it hurts inside.
Well, gung fu
can be practiced
alone or with a partner.
Practicing alone
may involve forms.
Some imitate a crane,
a monkey,
a praying mantis.
This is a crane form.
Start off.
Many of the moves
Bruce used in his films
were designed
more for a dramatic effect
than as examples
of Jeet Kune Do.
It is 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 that
this a very uneven contest
and would
normally be avoided.
And it'’s not a situation
which 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 the development
of the skills
and too little
to the development
of the individual
for participation."
MAN: As I worked with him,
I don'’t think anyone ever
trained as hard as Bruce did.
I don'’t think anyone
in the world ever trained
as dedicated a trainer
as Bruce was.
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 constant 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 art 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
in the world,
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 undeniable charms
had been revealed
to good advantage
in numerous film roles,
often as a seductress
or femme fatale.
For some three months, her name had been romantically linked
with that of Bruce Lee,
as had many others
in the past.
Whether there is any truth
behind any of the stories
of these liaisons
remains
a matter of speculation.
Certainly, though, it could not have been a disadvantage
for any ambitious
young actress
to be linked
with Bruce Lee.
On the afternoon
of July 20th, 1973,
Bruce Lee
went to the apartment
of Betty Ting Pei.
They were to meet
Raymond Chow
later for dinner,
an appointment
Bruce Lee was never to keep.
He was rushed to hospital
in an ambulance.
Betty had phoned
Raymond Chow at
the restaurant 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 Kowloon Funeral Parlor.
Several hundred
extra police were detailed
to try 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
very best friend,
but now he'’s gone.
Bruce trusted me a lot.
But at that time,
I didn'’t want to
nor do I need
to explain anything.
Because of our relationship,
I'’ve 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
filed past the open coffin.
Few can hide their grief.
Linda and the children take a last look as they too leave.
The public controversy
about Bruce Lee'’s death
was still raging,
but it was only
at the 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 myself
do not hold any person
or people 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.
Please remember him
for his genius, his art
and the magic he brought
to every one of us.
For we who knew him
very 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
a yin and yang symbol
of Jeet 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 goodbyes.
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?
Back in Hong Kong,
the inquest started,
and once again the public
began to speculate wildly
on Betty Ting Pei'’s role
in relation
to 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 have put up
with the gossip
without saying anything
to anyone.
The experts argued over
the results of the autopsy
until the court
was satisfied
Bruce Lee had died
of cerebral edema,
swelling of the brain
caused by hyper sensitivity
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 their 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
public statements
about Bruce Lee'’s death did
nothing to quell persistent
and popular rumors
that Bruce had died
while
they were making love.
Before long,
she became a devout Buddhist
and took to long periods
of fasting.
It was not until
10 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
on the day
of his death.
All she had done,
she said,
was to let Bruce
rest in her bed
and to give 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 had shot many thousands
of feet of film
forGame of Death.
After his death, an extensive
worldwide search was done
to find someone
who could possibly
double for Bruce
in the missing scenes.
Many candidates were flown to Hong Kong for screen tests.
And 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
onEnter The Dragon.
On the first day
of the recommencement
of filming,
the entire cast and crew took
part in a simple ceremony,
offering food and wine
and burning incense
to the spirit of Bruce Lee.
[ indistinct speech ]
Well,
how would you compare
Enter The Dragon
with Game Of Death?
Right.
Enter The Dragonwas done about,
I guess,
6 or 7 years ago,
and, um, was, uh,
the, uh, last picture
that Bruce made.
And then, of course,
now Game Of Death.
It'’s a very large film.
Production is large.
Most of the leading actors
are from United States.
Hugh O'’Brian, Gig Young,
Dean Jagger,
Colleen Camp, so on.
It did really
very well on the film.
It'’s interesting
because the film
was about a third done
before Bruce died.
There'’s a good question
in some people'’s mind
as to whether
Bruce did die.
Of course,
I'’ve always been
a fan of Bruce Lee'’s
as millions of people
have throughout the world,
Russell, so I was actually
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 kung fu.
Top Hollywood stuntmen
were brought to Hong Kong
for these exciting scenes.
[ whistle blows ]MAN: You all right, Billy?
Yeah.All right. Love it.
[ applause ]
Is Billy okay?
Nice one, nice one.
There were many who thought
it could never be done,
but in 1978,
Game Of Death
was finally 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.
The Bruce Lee imitators
have faded into obscurity,
but perhaps a new
young star like Jackie Chan
can rise
to the same heights,
a different kind of star
with his own unique style.
Hold it!
Get down!
[ gunshot ]
What'’s going on?
Look out!
But even a star
like Jackie Chan
does not claim to be
the new Bruce Lee.
There will never be
a new Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee has gone,
but his spirit lives on.
This is Bruce Lee,
the legend.
[ man reads
onscreen text aloud ]
than the earliest records
of Chinese civilization
are legends.
Legends of great warriors,
of knights and wizards,
and mysterious monks
who could 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 100 years ago,
and then
a new legend was born.
According to the Chinese
astrological calendar,
1940 was the year
of the dragon.
Bruce Lee was born on the 27th of November of that year.
The place
was San Francisco.
His father, Lee Hoi-Chuen,
was a leading comic actor
in Hong Kong,
and 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 six.
Two years later,
he played a leading role
inMy Son, Ah Chung.
Much of the material
written about Bruce Lee
states that he never appeared
in films with his father.
These rare scenes
fromMy Son, Ah Chung
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 1958.
InAh Chung,
Bruce Lee is an orphan,
whose only education is what he can find on the street.
Hey, you little brat.
Put that down, you!
Uncle.
In what is almost
a preview in miniature
of a scene
inEnter The Dragon,
Bruce picks up a broomstick
and attacks.
Why did you
hit me for?
Why did you steal?
It'’s not your business.
You'’re a thief.
I'’ll get you, you pig!
Now then tell me
the truth.
Where were you
last night?
Are you scheming
against me, eh?
You little devil, you!
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'll
get a good fighting.
Oh!
You beat up my brother,
I'’ll chop off your head!
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
of the kind of role
that could be described
as a problem youth.
Many of these
reflected themes
of films popular in the United States at the time,
films like
Blackboard Jungle.
One of Bruce'’s films is calledBoys 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 fist.
You want
to pick a fight?
You said it,
you asked for it.
Hey, stop it.
Paper Tiger, after all.
Stop it, will you?
You kids
shouldn'’t fight here.
This is my place,
now get out of here.
Coward,
I dare you follow me.
Hey,
he took my box.
Get him.
Come on.
[ all clamoring ]
Hey, you!
[ cheers and applause ]
These kids
really have guts.
You want some more?
I took your shoeshine box to
get you your first square-off.
Now you know
I mean business.
Come on, kids.
Come on, kids,
let'’s go.
Oh, come on, let'’s go.
Snapshots from
the Lee family'’s 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 filmWarriors 2 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 kung fu was
not Bruce'’s only interest
outside movies
at that time.
He was quite
a snappy dancer,
and in 1958, won a Hong Kong
cha-cha champion.
But somehow,
even his achievements
on the dance floor
led back to kung fu.
This is Siu Hon Sung,
another of Bruce Lee'’s
kung 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 your styles of gung fu,
and I'’m a pretty good
cha-cha dancer.
Why don'’t we do a deal?
You teach me gung fu,
I'’ll teach you cha-cha."
Now an average person
would take 3 to 4 weeks
to learn my basic moves,
but Bruce took only 3 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
ofThe 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
inThe 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?
Mary, mom knows
you'’re leaving us.
It'’s hard to find jobs
these days.
She wants me
to give you $100.
Oh,
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.
Chan, 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 simple working man.
Yes, cooking meals,
washing clothes,
bearing children--
these are what
she'’ll be doing.
Any thoughts
of going to school
or marrying
a very wealthy man
will just 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 gonna kill him.
David!
Are you
out of your mind?
Mr. Chan, I think
you better excuse us.
All right.
Mr. Wong, I know
you dislike me very much.
However, I still want
to be your friend.
Let'’s shake hands.
I don'’t follow
foreign habits.
It is quite likely that
Bruce would'’ve returned
to San Francisco anyway,
as he needed to do so
by the time he was 18
to confirm
his American citizenship,
but the fact that
things were hotting up
in his constant confrontations with rival street gangs
and that his mother had
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
a little extra money
giving dance lessons.
From San Francisco,
he moved quickly to Seattle.
A Chinese restaurant
called Ruby Chows
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
kung fu passionately,
but not 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.
WOMAN: Bruce
was a good student.
And his work with me
was always very ambitious,
and I'’ve no doubt that he was
the same in all his classes.
For the ambitious Bruce Lee,
it was not enough to be
a good martial artist.
He had to be the best.
He taught kung fu
to a group
of fellow students,
one of whom
was a 19-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 kung fu demonstration
at Long Beach in 1964
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.
INTERVIEWER:
Tell us your name,
your age and where
you were born.
My last name is Lee.
Bruce Lee.
I was born
in San Francisco in 1940.
I'’m 24 right now.
And you worked in movies
and pictures in Hong Kong?
Yes, since I was
around 6 years old.
And when did you
leave Hong Kong?
1959,
when I was 18.
I see.
Now look over to me,
Bruce, as we talk.
I understand you
just had a baby boy.Yeah.
And you'’ve lost
a little sleep
over it, have you?
Three nights.
And tell the crew
what time
they shoot
the pictures
in Hong Kong.
Oh, it'’s mostly
in the morning
because it'’s kind
of noisy in Hong Kong,
you know, around
three million people there.
So every time
when they have picture,
it'’s mostly,
say around,
12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
in the morning.
I see.
Look directly
into the camera, Bruce.
Directly at it.
And now give me
a three-quarter this way.
And hold it.
And give me a profile
that way, all the way.
Good, hold it.
Now come back to a profile
on the other side.
Now hold that.
Give me a three-quarter
on that side.
And then give me a right
into the camera again.
All right, now the camera
will pull back.
And, Bruce,
first show me
the movements
in the classical
Chinese theater.
Classical Chinese theater?
Well, you know, what we
talked about in the office.
How they walk
and how they start to move.
Well,
in a Chinese opera,
they have the warrior
and then 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,
will be
just like a female,
a weakling, 90 pounds...
[ indistinct ].
He'’ll be just walking,
you know, like a girl, real--
shoulder up
and everything.
So by the way
they walk,
you can immediately
tell who they are.
Right. What character
they represent.
Now show us some
gung fu movements.
Well, it'’s hard
to show it alone,
but I will try
to do my best.
All right. Maybe one of
the fellows will walk in.
Yeah, it would be--
Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead.
Come on, Lee, get in there!
[ indistinct
happy chatter ]
Although accidents
do happen, but, you know--
There are
various kinds of strikes.
It depends on
where you hit
and what weapon
you will be using.
To the eye,
you would use fingers.
Don'’t worry, I won't.
To the eyes
or straight at the face,
from the waist
everything on.
Hold it, just a minute.
Let'’s move this gentleman
around this way
so you'’re doing it
more into the camera.
Okay, swell.
And then there is
bent-arm strike
using the waist again
into a back fist.
Let'’s have
the assistant director
back up this way.
[ laughter ]
Okay, go ahead.
Continue.
And then, of course,
kung fu is very sneaky.
You know, the Chinese,
they always hit low,
from high
go back to the groin.
Now turn around
the other way,
would you, Bruce?
Okay. Yeah.
Would you want me to--
MAN: These are just
natural reactions.
Right, right.That is
a natural reaction.
Right into the camera.
Cheat into the camera
a little bit.
Show us again.
All right. Go ahead.
There is a finger jab,
there is a punch,
there is the back fist
and then low.
Of course,
then they use leg,
straight to the groin
or come up
or if I can back up
a little bit,
they start back from here
and then come back.
All right.He'’s kind of worried.
For various reasons,
the series
was never produced,
but it did lead
to the role of Kato
in the series
The Green Hornet.
While the show itself
was not exactly
an overwhelming success--
it lasted
30 half-hour episodes--
Bruce received
favorable reviews
and was probably more
popular than the star.
He had a small part
inMarlowe
with James Garner.
And then came
Longstreet.
I'’ll be kicking you.
You ready?
Ready.One and two!
You all right?That guy'’s fantastic!
Now what is this--
what is this thing
you do?
In Cantonese,
Jeet Kune Do,
the way of
the intercepting fist.
Intercepting fist, huh?
Or foot.
Come on, touch me
any way 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.
Well, 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 $275 an hour,
and 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,
and it was
a bitter disappointment
when he was passed up
for the lead
in the TV seriesKung Fu.
He returned once again
to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, 1970.
Apart from
one brief visit in 1968,
Bruce Lee had been away
for 12 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, it seems,
was Raymond Chow,
the head of
a small new studio,
Golden Harvest.
Good morning.Good morning.
The director says
it'’s his best work so far.
Well,
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.
[ indistinct conversation ]
On the busy
Hong Kong grapevine,
Chow had heard
of Shaw'’s unsuccessful offer
and made sure he saw
a demonstration Bruce gave
on a local TV station
before returning
to the U.S.
The demonstration
Bruce gave
on the TV show
was very impressive.
He side kicked
five 1-inch pots
and broke four.
In addition,
he kicked
and broke
a 1-inch pot dangling.
Now that takes tremendous
amount of strength
and perfect timing.
But what
impressed me more
was when I talked to him
on a 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 had to say yes.
He then assured me
with sincerity
and confidence
that he could do
much better.
How could
I doubt this man?
Raymond Chow
offered Bruce Lee
a two-picture deal
with Golden Harvest.
Bruce signed
and flew to Thailand
to start work
onThe Big Boss.
The Big Boss,
released asFists of Fury
in the U.S.A.,
was made on
a modest budget
under fairly
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
ofLongstreet.
Here were not the quick
economical knock-downs
ofThe Green Hornet.
And most certainly,
here was not the hard,
sharp economy of movement
that Bruce Lee 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.
And the public loved it!
In Hong Kong, it broke
all previous
box office records.
Bruce Lee was a star.
[ speaking
in foreign language ]
Bruce Lee is incredible.
Well, Bruce Lee didn'’t
like to waste any time.
He wouldn'’t beat
about the bush.
He got very direct.
Is Bruce Lee your hero?
Yes.
Tell me what you
like about him.
He always
wins the bad guys
and he is
a very quick mover.
A question of
body movement,
the choreography,
the timing--
in fact,
the overcoming
of the limitations
of the human body.
I mean,
he'’s not an action man
like Eastwood
or Bronson.
I suppose he'’s more
like a Nureyev.
Both Bruce Lee
and Raymond Chow
were delighted
with the success
ofThe Big Boss
and set about finalizing plans for the next film.
WithThe 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
and set up house
in suburban Kowloon Tong.
This 11-room,
2-story villa
with its small
Japanese-style garden
may not have turned heads
in Hollywood,
but for crowded
Hong Kong,
it was nothing
short of a palace.
There was room for the family
and friends to relax.
Bruce divided
his 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
asFist 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 so recently set.
Bruce was soon
at work again
developing ideas
for his next film.
He went location hunting
all over 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
Hwang In-Shik.
As well
as being the star,
Bruce Lee
wrote and directed
Way of The Dragon.
[ speaking
in foreign language ]
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 the police
worked out ways
to handle the traffic jams
and massive crowds.
Nora Miao, a dynamic
young Hong Kong actress
co-stared 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
start to know him?
Um, 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.
So I didn'’t get
to meet him
until he came back
to Hong Kong
for his first movies
for Golden Harvest.
But surprisingly I didn'’t
meet him in Hong Kong.
Really,
where did you meet him?
I actually met him
in Thailand,
where we were filming
The Big Boss.
I see,
talking about his movies,
a lot of people
observe that
there are a lot of
autobiographical elements
in Bruce Lee'’s movies.
Did you experience
or 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 foreign country.
And he likes to play
the part of a man
arriving in a strange land.
InThe 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.
Now this is a good town
and it'’s very different
to back home.
So be careful,
don'’t get into fights, Chang.
Remember your promise.
You'’re on your own
from now on.
Don'’t worry, uncle.
InFist 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.
InWay 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.
[ bizarre groan ]
Mommy!
Bruce went to the States
when he was very young.
And from
what 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.
InThe Big Boss,
the pendant Bruce wears
is a reminder of a promise he has made to avoid violence.
In his films, Bruce never went
looking for a fight.
Well, not initially,
anyway.
Invariably,
his character would resist
intolerable provocation
before violence
was virtually forced on him.
Yeah, we'’re very thirsty,
sweetheart.
We need to cool off,
come on.
GIRL: Leave me alone,
you'’re hurting me.
MAN: Come on, we'’d like
to have a little bit of fun.
Don'’t meddle,
no fighting.
Remember your promise.
GIRL: If you
don'’t leave me alone,
I'’m going to call
the police.
Please.
Then only when he was pushed
beyond his ability to resist
did he become the attacker,
the aggressor.
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.
Personally I think
Bruce was a great actor,
a very good director
and a very good filmmaker.
And his main ambition
in life
is to introduce
Chinese kung 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 all of Bruce'’s films,
the enemy were always
foreigners, non-Chinese.
Even when
he was pounding
the life
out of his compatriots,
it was made
abundantly clear
that they were misguided
pawns of a foreign boss.
InThe Big Boss,
he works in an ice factory
run by Thais.
The Thai foreman
and his gang
bully the Chinese workers
into servility.
[ indistinct chatter ]
[ chatter ceases ]
Get to work!
Inside!
To hell with you, man!
You lousy pig!
Bastard.
It took the brutal
and bloody murder
of his Chinese fellow workers to push Bruce over the edge.
InFist of Fury,
the Japanese are the enemy.
[ indistinct ] delivers
an insulting
message to Bruce'’s school.
The characters read,
"The Chinese are
the Sick Man of Asia."
Well,
clear a space there.
My friends here promise
to put up a good fight.
Must be someone.
Who'’s your champion, huh?
Mm, so many here and not
one of you with any courage.
What'’s the matter
with the lot of you?
You afraid of us, huh?
[ laughing ]
Later in the film, a sign
on a park gate is an insult
that cannot be ignored.
Hey, you.
What do you want?
I will pass.
No, no, not allowed,
I'’m afraid.
And that?
You'’re the wrong color,
so beat.
Hey, you,
come here.
You-- you were wanting
to get in here?
No, no, no, no.
Tell you what.
There'’s only one thing
you need to do.
Pretend you'’re a dog
and I'’ll take you in.
InWay Of The Dragon,
which takes place in Rome,
the underworld
is trying to extort money
from the Chinese restaurant
where Bruce is working.
Almost every day,
Italian thugs
go to the restaurant
to 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
who he championed
were not just personal
or physical,
but strongly racial,
leaving Bruce
no other alternative
but to demonstrate
the effectiveness
of Chinese martial arts.
Movement number four,
dragon seeks path.
Dragon whips his tail.
[ indistinct
happy chatter ]
Bruce'’s screen
personality as a hero
was undeniable
and unshakable.
How much of that personality
has been transferred
or injected
into his real life?
I would say
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.
And even when he was relaxing,
he looked very restless.
Left, right,
left, right, left.
One, two, left, right.
Hup two, three, four.
Left, right, left--
Hey,
what'’s going on there?
Hup two, three, four.
One, two, three, four.
Left, right, left,
right, left, right.
Hup two, three, four.
A-one, two, three, four.
Left, right, left, right,
left, right, left, right.
One, two, three, four.
Bruce didn'’t drink,
so the parts he played didn'’t
know how to drink either.
Well, Chang,
how about a little drink?
You'’re quite a drinker.
You put it away
like water.
MAN: That will make you
feel better.
In his movies,
his relationship with women
is usually shy
and awkward,
often coy
and invariably wholesome.
Mai, you'’ve grown
very pretty.
Well, if I was
10 years younger, I'’d--
Chang, meet our
younger sister, Chow Mai.
This is Chang,
our cousin.
How are you?
It'’s hot.
Chang.
Let me go.
I must go.
I'’ll see you later.
While there are occasional
hints of romantic feelings,
Bruce'’s leading ladies
are usually treated more like
one of the boys.
Overt sexuality
is only alluded to
when the encounter
is with a prostitute,
and then only when Bruce'’s lack of sophistication
allows it to happen.
The foreigners
here are quite friendly.
You'’ll see.
When people smile,
you 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,
and even then
he goes to sleep.
In his films, Bruce Lee
was at his best as a fighter
rather than a lover.
But he was very concerned
that he would be typecast
as a one-character performer.
InFist of Fury,
he used the device
of disguising himself,
perhaps with the object
of demonstrating
his dramatic range,
here as a news vendor.
You see
what they'’re doing?
Forcing my hand.
But where can
I find him in this place?
Sir,
why not try
to get back
to Jingwu school,
see if he'’s
turned up there, huh?
Here as
a telephone repairman.
Good afternoon there.
I'’m from
the telephone company.
Oh.
What on earth
took you so long?
We haven'’t got
all day, you know.
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 a whole range
of new characters.
He makes a very believable
blind swordsman,
his version of a character
called Zatoichi,
who appeared
in several Japanese films
popular in Asia
at the time.
Tagashira!
[ combatants react ]
Surprisingly,
these characters
were all developed
from classical archetypes,
and most were associated
with traditional weaponry,
contrary to his
declared philosophy
of the martial arts.
It is not possible to say
how he would'’ve developed
these characters,
but it is interesting
to conjecture
what Bruce Lee
would have made of roles
like the classic period
Chinese swordsman
in films like
Duel to the Death.
For some time,
actor James Coburn,
writer Stirling Silliphant
and Bruce had been
trying to put together
a project to be called
Silent Flute.
Finally, 20th Century-Fox
agreed to do it,
but on a tiny budget
and 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 it was in Nepal
that pagodas like these
gave Bruce an inspiration
forGame of Death.
Bruce never
crystallized the plot,
but it went
something like this:
there would be a great
martial arts training center
based in
a many-storied pagoda.
Each level would be
guarded by a master
of a different martial art.
Bruce began to accumulate
the people he wanted to use.
Dan Inosanto...
The Korean seventh-degree
Hapkido master
Ji Han Jae.
He began
doing screen tests.
This footage
of the tests and outtakes
has never been
publicly shown before.
In his still-
incomplete concept
forGame Of Death,
his ultimate 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 Bros.
to co-produce a project
with the 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.
Bruce Lee first formally
set out his methods
in this early book,
Chinese Kung Fu,
published in 1963.
He also 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 art students
demonstrate
how some of these moves
work in action.
During his career,
Bruce had never failed
to enlighten his peers
with his in-depth
analysis of martial arts.
Well, gung fu
is originated in China.
It is the ancestor
of karate and jujitsu.
It'’s more
of a compete system
and it'’s more fluid.
By that I mean
it'’s more flowing.
There is continuity
in movement
instead of one movement,
two movement
and then stop.
The best example would be
a glass of water.
Why? Because water
is the softest substance
in the world,
but yet it can penetrate
the hardest rock or anything,
granite, you name it.
Water also
is insubstantial.
By that I mean
you cannot grasp hold of it.
You cannot punch it
and hurt it.
So every gung fu man
is trying to do that,
to be soft like water
and flexible
and adapt itself
to the opponent.
A karate punch is like
an iron bar, wang!
A gung fu punch
is like an iron chain
with an iron ball
attached to the end,
and it go wang!
And it hurts inside.
Well, gung fu
can be practiced
alone or with a partner.
Practicing alone
may involve forms.
Some imitate a crane,
a monkey,
a praying mantis.
This is a crane form.
Start off.
Many of the moves
Bruce used in his films
were designed
more for a dramatic effect
than as examples
of Jeet Kune Do.
It is 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 that
this a very uneven contest
and would
normally be avoided.
And it'’s not a situation
which 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 the development
of the skills
and too little
to the development
of the individual
for participation."
MAN: As I worked with him,
I don'’t think anyone ever
trained as hard as Bruce did.
I don'’t think anyone
in the world ever trained
as dedicated a trainer
as Bruce was.
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 constant 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 art 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
in the world,
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 undeniable charms
had been revealed
to good advantage
in numerous film roles,
often as a seductress
or femme fatale.
For some three months, her name had been romantically linked
with that of Bruce Lee,
as had many others
in the past.
Whether there is any truth
behind any of the stories
of these liaisons
remains
a matter of speculation.
Certainly, though, it could not have been a disadvantage
for any ambitious
young actress
to be linked
with Bruce Lee.
On the afternoon
of July 20th, 1973,
Bruce Lee
went to the apartment
of Betty Ting Pei.
They were to meet
Raymond Chow
later for dinner,
an appointment
Bruce Lee was never to keep.
He was rushed to hospital
in an ambulance.
Betty had phoned
Raymond Chow at
the restaurant 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 Kowloon Funeral Parlor.
Several hundred
extra police were detailed
to try 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
very best friend,
but now he'’s gone.
Bruce trusted me a lot.
But at that time,
I didn'’t want to
nor do I need
to explain anything.
Because of our relationship,
I'’ve 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
filed past the open coffin.
Few can hide their grief.
Linda and the children take a last look as they too leave.
The public controversy
about Bruce Lee'’s death
was still raging,
but it was only
at the 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 myself
do not hold any person
or people 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.
Please remember him
for his genius, his art
and the magic he brought
to every one of us.
For we who knew him
very 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
a yin and yang symbol
of Jeet 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 goodbyes.
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?
Back in Hong Kong,
the inquest started,
and once again the public
began to speculate wildly
on Betty Ting Pei'’s role
in relation
to 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 have put up
with the gossip
without saying anything
to anyone.
The experts argued over
the results of the autopsy
until the court
was satisfied
Bruce Lee had died
of cerebral edema,
swelling of the brain
caused by hyper sensitivity
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 their 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
public statements
about Bruce Lee'’s death did
nothing to quell persistent
and popular rumors
that Bruce had died
while
they were making love.
Before long,
she became a devout Buddhist
and took to long periods
of fasting.
It was not until
10 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
on the day
of his death.
All she had done,
she said,
was to let Bruce
rest in her bed
and to give 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 had shot many thousands
of feet of film
forGame of Death.
After his death, an extensive
worldwide search was done
to find someone
who could possibly
double for Bruce
in the missing scenes.
Many candidates were flown to Hong Kong for screen tests.
And 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
onEnter The Dragon.
On the first day
of the recommencement
of filming,
the entire cast and crew took
part in a simple ceremony,
offering food and wine
and burning incense
to the spirit of Bruce Lee.
[ indistinct speech ]
Well,
how would you compare
Enter The Dragon
with Game Of Death?
Right.
Enter The Dragonwas done about,
I guess,
6 or 7 years ago,
and, um, was, uh,
the, uh, last picture
that Bruce made.
And then, of course,
now Game Of Death.
It'’s a very large film.
Production is large.
Most of the leading actors
are from United States.
Hugh O'’Brian, Gig Young,
Dean Jagger,
Colleen Camp, so on.
It did really
very well on the film.
It'’s interesting
because the film
was about a third done
before Bruce died.
There'’s a good question
in some people'’s mind
as to whether
Bruce did die.
Of course,
I'’ve always been
a fan of Bruce Lee'’s
as millions of people
have throughout the world,
Russell, so I was actually
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 kung fu.
Top Hollywood stuntmen
were brought to Hong Kong
for these exciting scenes.
[ whistle blows ]MAN: You all right, Billy?
Yeah.All right. Love it.
[ applause ]
Is Billy okay?
Nice one, nice one.
There were many who thought
it could never be done,
but in 1978,
Game Of Death
was finally 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.
The Bruce Lee imitators
have faded into obscurity,
but perhaps a new
young star like Jackie Chan
can rise
to the same heights,
a different kind of star
with his own unique style.
Hold it!
Get down!
[ gunshot ]
What'’s going on?
Look out!
But even a star
like Jackie Chan
does not claim to be
the new Bruce Lee.
There will never be
a new Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee has gone,
but his spirit lives on.
This is Bruce Lee,
the legend.
[ man reads
onscreen text aloud ]