Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth
Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth
Directed by	Ng See-yuen
Written by	Ng See-yuen
Produced by	Pau Ming
Starring	Ho Chung-tao; Unicorn Chan; Chiu Chi-ling; Alan Chui Chung-San; Mars; Lee Hoi-sang; Fung Hak-on; Fung Ging-man
Cinematography	Wing Chen
Edited by	Mike Harris; Hung-yao Pan; Ming Sung
Music by	Chow Fook-leung
Distributed by	Eternal Film Company
Release date	28 October 1976;
Running time	98 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Mandarin

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (Chinese: 李小龍傳奇, also known as Bruce Lee: The True Story) is a 1976 Hong Kong semi-biographical martial arts film starring Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li) and directed by Ng See-yuen. The film was released in Hong Kong on 28 October 1976.

Plot

The film chronicles Bruce Lee's life beginning with Lee leaving China to go to the University in Seattle. Most of the benchmarks of Lee's later life (cast in Green Hornet television series, marriage to Linda Lee, stardom in Hong Kong, death) are covered, with a somewhat less tenuous relationship to the truth than in previous Lee biopics.

Cast

Ho Chung-tao – Bruce Lee
Unicorn Chan – Himself
Chiu Chi-ling – Mr. Chan
Alan Chui Chung-San – One of Bruce Lee's students (also a stunt double for Bruce Li)
Fung Ging-man – Lee Sifu
Sham Chin-bo – Bruce Lee's friend in San Francisco
Mars – Charlie
Fung Hak-on – Challenger to Bruce Lee on the set of Enter the Dragon
Lee Hoi-sang – Challenger to Bruce Lee on the set of Enter the Dragon
Yuen Biao – Challenges Bruce Lee on the set of Enter the Dragon (also a stunt double for Bruce Li)
Carl Scott – One of Bruce Lee's young students
Wong Mei – Extra
Fong Yuen – Fortune teller
Lau Kwok-shing – Bad guy extra Enter the Dragon
Leung Siu-cheng – Master beaten on street
David Chow – Murayaki
Lynda Hirst – Linda Lee
Ip Chun – Ip Man, Bruce Lee's Wing Chun Sifu
Roberta Ciappi – Daughter of Italian Mobster
Donnie Williams – Karate Thug
Siu Yuk-lung – Extra
Richard Cheung Kuen – Student
Chung Chaan-chi
Gam Tin-chue

Production

Linda Lee was played by Lynda Hirst, an English woman who was an army wife stationed in Hong Kong at the time of the filming. The director, having searched unsuccessfully for some time for a suitable 'Linda Lee' among available actresses, came across Lynda Hirst whilst out shopping in a local market and remarked on her resemblance to the late star's wife. On learning she was a 'Westerner' he immediately cast her in the (small) role. Lynda's real life sons can also be seen, very briefly, in the movie as Lee's children.^{[citation needed]}

Release

On 22 May 2000, DVD was released by Mia in the United Kingdom in Region 2. Two years later, Martial Arts Films Box Set DVD was released on 23 December 2002, at a 4 disc set that includes Black Friday, Legacy of Rage, and Rumble in Hong Kong. In the United States the film has been released on DVD several times due to it being in the public domain.

Reception

In his three part Bruceploitation essay for Impact Magazine, Dean Meadows writes: "This was a bigger and better production, providing a larger budget, international locations and the name Ho Chung Tao on the opening credits. Upon its release, earlier, scandalous elements of the exploitational deluge had all but disappeared. Overlong scenes of the Little Dragon "in action" with Betty Ting Pei were absent from the production and the full contact fury that people had been waiting to see from a Bruce Lee bio-pic was finally realised. Every director can of course be afforded a little artistic license and whilst a number of fight scenes were completely fictionalised, Ng See Yuen had undoubtedly created a fitting tribute to the memory of the undisputed "King of Kung Fu". With first class choreography, Ho Chung Tao mirrored the Little Dragon in a number of standout fights."^[1]

The Time Out Film Guide, for example: "Numbingly unimaginative and exploitative biography. Would you trust a film that opens on a '70s street scene and captions it 'Hong Kong 1958'?"^[2]

Joseph Kuby gave the film 7 out of 10 and said: "Missed opportunity on behalf of the filmmakers to add some depth to the film if they took the film more seriously (i.e. make it as credible as it is incredible), but still a fun effort that should please Bruce Lee fans and chop-socky aficionados who don't seem to mind watching films where a star is exploited for the gain of big bucks and shallow entertainment - though having said that there's much better in that regard (especially within the realm of Bruceploitation fare...or really farce)!"^[3]

References

^ Meadows, Dean (November 2002). "Bruce Li - The Manufactured Master of Bruceploitation". Impact (131). MAI Publications.
^ "Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
^ "cityonfire.com | Bruce Lee The Man The Myth". www.cityonfire.com.

External links

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth at IMDb

[1] Meadows, Dean (November 2002). "Bruce Li - The Manufactured Master of Bruceploitation". Impact (131). MAI Publications.

[2] "Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2014.

[3] "cityonfire.com | Bruce Lee The Man The Myth". www.cityonfire.com.

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v t e Works by Ng See-yuen
Films directed	Feng kuang sha shou (1971) The Bloody Fists (1972) Kung Fu, the Invisible Fist (1972) Meng hu xia shan (1973) Call Me Dragon (1974) Little Superman (1974) The Godfather Squad (1974) Shi san hao xiong zhai (1975) Lian zheng feng bo (1975) Secret Rivals (1976) Million Dollars Snatch (1976) Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (1976) Kidnap in Rome (1976) Secret Rivals 2 (1977) The Invincible Armour (1977) What Price Stardom? (1977) The Ring of Death (1980) Game of Death II (1981) Tiger and Crane Shaolin Kung Fu (1982) The Unwritten Law (1985) The Music Box (2006) Evening of Roses (2009)
Films written	Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978, also produced) Drunken Master (1978, also produced) Dance of the Drunk Mantis (1979, also produced) The Sweet and Sour Cops (1981, also produced) Legend of a Fighter (1982, also produced) Ninja in the Dragon's Den (1982, also produced) The Sweet and Sour Cops Part II (1982, also produced) Hao cai zhuang dao ni (1984, also produced)
Films produced only	Hong lou chun shang chun (1978) The Butterfly Murders (1979) She mao he hun xing quan (1980) We're Going to Eat You (1980) Ta Bei wu ai (1980) Shuang la (1980) No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) Hun wai qing (1988) Walk on Fire (1988) Once Upon a Time in China II (1992) Once Upon a Time in China III (1993) Once Upon a Time in China IV (1993) Once Upon a Time in China V (1994) Ren yue huang hun (1995) The Soong Sisters (1997)