Bruce Lee ~ Jun Fan

Was born a month premature on 27 November 1940, in the year and hour of the dragon, in San Francisco. Thirteen months before the Lees lost a son and, this time, to confuse the spirits, the boy was given a girl's nickname - "Little Phoenix". (He was also enrolled in a girl's primary school, though not necessarily for the same reason.) In Hong Kong the family lived at 218 Nathan Road, Kowloon. About 18 years and 20 films later he returned to the States from Hong Kong. Here he studied, taught martial arts and developed Jeet Kune Do, got married, had children, and made several TV and film appearances. When it became clear that racist prejudice prevented him from a successful Hollywood career he went to Hong Kong, and became a superstar. Ironically he finally attracted the kind of attention from Hollywood he couldn't while right under their noses. The result was the only Hollywood-backed film he was to star in, Enter the Dragon. And then, after a much too short but extraordinarily energetic and driven life, he died.

By many accounts the film The Orphan features one of Bruce's best - if not his best - acting performance. The first 2 adult films he made in Hong Kong - for Golden Harvest - were low-budget affairs, the kind a martial-artist actor just starting out would be in. In spite of that they managed to be something new, something never seen before on Asian movie screens, and the public responded by sending its box office receipts through the roof. Bruce's vitality, personal charisma and sheer martial arts skill elevated them above the others made at the same time, above the trite plots and over-acting. At a time when actors had no say in their films and were simply employees Bruce got to write, direct and choreograph his next film (Way of the Dragon). Since this was the first film he directed, it has its flaws, but the main martial arts encounter survives to this day as one of the supreme examples of its kind.

With the aid of Warner Brothers the production values of Enter the Dragon were streets ahead of Bruce's other films, but it still has a derivative plot - which means that one has to look elsewhere for its continuing success. Bruce's presence comes off the screen, and the display of his physical skills still has the power to astound the viewer. For the first time since the Longstreet series he also managed to infuse the script with some of his philosophy of martial arts and life - which was his ultimate goal in movie-making. This was to be realised in Game of Death, which he never got to finish.

When one disregards the dazzling martial arts displays it is easy to dismiss his films as below par but that would be judging an extraordinary man on the few films he got to make before he died without taking into account the long struggle any actor/director/artist has before he gets to realise his vision onscreen. Bruce had just started to do this when his life ended. And the moments of brilliance and promise are there for those with eyes to see.

In addition to his films the martial art he created - Jeet Kune Do - is still being practiced and developed. In his short life he made a huge impact on those around him and those of us who are still discovering him as man and (martial) artist. He died on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32 of cerebral edema ... approximately three weeks before the opening of Enter the Dragon. At the inquest it was determined that he died of "death by misadventure" - the actual cause of death: hypersensitivity to one of the ingredients of Equagesic. The pill was given to him by the actress Betty Ting Pei, with whom he seems to have had an affair, after he complained of a headache. He lay down and could not be roused after two hours. Such was the end of the Little Dragon. He lies buried next to his son, Brandon, in Lake View Cemetary, Capitol Hill, Seattle. Many years after his death his is still a household name.

The Hong Kong Film Award Association elected Bruce Lee as "Chinese Cinema Star of the Century" in March this year. Golden Harvest's Raymond Chow Man-Wai and Shannon Lee accepted on behalf of Bruce. Shannon said: "Thank you for the love and support you have given my father all of these years. I hope that his spirit and philosophy will continue to live on." Kung Fu Hustle director Stephen Chow Sing-Chi credited Bruce with paving the way and turning kung fu into a respectable art. Apparently the HKFAA was to be involved in the Bruce statue to be unveiled on Bruce's birthday on November 27th. HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY BRUCE.

Now the Hong Kong government doesn't want to assist the fan club in paying for the statue. what's wrong with those people? Read the full article.

Hong Kong is finally going to honour its most famous son by erecting a Bruce Lee statue. Read the full article.

Raymond Chow says Bruce's death was an accident. Read the full article.

20 July marked the 32nd year of Bruce Lee's death at 32. A loss still keenly felt by the martial arts and fan community.

Hong Kong Legends news: "Sifu Dan Inosanto and world-acclaimed action-director, Jeff Imada, have both appeared in front of the HKL cameras recently to record two fascinating interviews on the life, philosophy and fighting techniques of the late, great Bruce Lee."

Last year (2004) the US Library of Congress selected Enter the Dragon, along with 245 other films, for the National Film Registry. Read the full article.

Bosnians to build a monument to Bruce Lee - "Lee is a true international hero and is a hero to all ethnicities in Bosnia and that's why we picked him". Hope it does some good.

Bruce won a British Emma (ethnic multicultural media award) on May 24. Shannon accepted the "Legend" award on his behalf. Read more about the award.

The Green Hornet film is back on the cards with Kevin Smith attached as director, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Britt Reid.

Joe Lewis has written a new book called How to Master Bruce Lee's Fighting System. The book includes chapters by Mike Stone, Bob Wall, Danny Inosanto, Ted Wong, John Korab, Jhoon Rhee, and Joe Hyams. Click here for more details and to buy the book.

Bruce Lee Collectors Exhibit 2003 ran from June 26th through December 2003, in Seattle's international district.

Brandon-related news: a fourth Crow film is going to be made. Read more ...

Bruce's friend, actor James Coburn, died on November 18, 2003 of a heart attack at the age of 74. He won an Oscar in 1999 for his brilliant portrayal of Pop in Affliction, and starred in classics such as The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven. He will be missed. Read the obituary here.

Benjamin Turnbull @ Clapham Art Gallery - 12 November – 7 December (London)
"By placing familiar figures such as Superman, Bruce Lee or Dirty Harry within a framework informed by his own collected junk and memorabilia, Turnbull has created a personalised fusion of fictional character, bubble gum card and real-life Magnum Force board game (for ages twenty-one up only!).
... In effect Turnbull has created an overwhelming collection of works that reach beyond their original source matter. He has transferred his cult icons across mediums and consumed them within his own ideology. A startling representation of the contemporary heroic remains."

Bruce wins the Googlefight against Jackie Chan! Click here to see a screenshot. Or click here to play.

The American A&E documentary, The Immortal Dragon, is new on DVD includes fantastic extras. Get it from Sendit.com ( - click here for a detailed list of what the DVD covers).

Apparently Wong Kar Wai's new film Grand Master is going to be about wing chun grandmaster Yip Man, to be played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. He will train under Yip's son, Yip Yun. The story will include Yip's student, young Bruce Lee. Cool!

Some Brandon news for a change: Brandon's Harley Davidson motorbike was up for sale on EBay in 2002. Only $15 000 too. The auction ended without the reserve being met.

The Bruce Lee museum in Guangdong is doing very well. More ...

The Orphan (1960), starring Bruce in his last role before he left for the US the first time, was shown - free of charge and subtitled in Korean - at the International Federation of Film Archives' Asian Film Festival in 2002. The organisation held its 58th congress in the city.

Virgin Atlantic has hired former Bruce student James DeMile to teach cabin crew kung fu. More ...

A Bruce Lee museum has been opened in China's Guangdong province; both Bruce's father and grandfather were born there. Nothing yet in Hong Kong, of course. More ...

Universal Interactive, Inc. plans to release an action-adventure title, Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon inspired by the legendary martial artist Bruce Lee for the XboxTM video game system from Microsoft in third quarter 2002. The plot concerns Bruce battling "multiple enemies to rescue his kidnapped father and retrieve the mystical Golden Relic, keeper of ancient martial arts secrets". Read the full article.
GameSpot has an interview with production assistant Justin Lees as well as cool screenshots. The game looks fabulous!

Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Fame and Trade Show & Expo took place Jan. 18 & 19, 2002. Bob Wall (Enter the Dragon, Fist of Fury) presented one of the seminars. WorldBlackbelt.com had a booth - Chuck Norris and Wall are some of the founding members of what they call the world's first international martial arts community.

In FilmFour.com's survey of the 100 most popular film stars Bruce clocks in at #40, beating the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves. Old pal Steve Mcqueen is #17. The other Hong Kong stars who made the list are Jackie Chan (#56) and Chow Yun Fat (#80).

Bruce is to appear in a new movie: "a $50 million movie [Dragon Warrior] that recreates the martial arts star on film using digital, computer-generated images (CGI) and new voice technology". (Never mind that the reporter thinks Bruce was a "kickboxer" who died of "a brain hemorrhage".) Below are links to two tests the company (Korean Shincine Communications) created a year ago. They look fabulous! The project is expected to take three to four years.
Test 1 (no sound)
Test 2: "In Cantonese, 'jeet kune do', the way of the intercepting fist"

I know where Bruce Lee lives - mix your own kung fu sights, sounds and music with bits from Bruce Lee and kung fu movies using the "Ultrainteractive Kung Fu Remixer"

You can play the remake of the classic Commodore 64 Bruce Lee game on your PC now. (The site has some screenshots as well.) The same game is available at ClassicGaming.com - you need an emulator though.

Hong Kong Legends released a restored version of Golden Harvest's Game of Death on Region 2 DVD in October. By all accounts a DVD to own, with some of Bruce's original scenes restored to the film. Click here for more info and to order.

Linda Lee Cadwell has called on the Hong Kong government to erect a permanent memorial for Bruce in the former colony. So far the only Bruce Lee landmark in Hong Kong was Jon Benn's Bruce Lee Cafe at The Rickshaw which has since closed. It existed for 3 years, and finally failed due to lack of local support. How is it that Bruce Lee's Chinese hometown makes no official effort to commemorate him? Bad show.

Hong Kong hosted the Bruce Lee Expo 2000. It was very well attended, lasting for 10 days. On Nov. 27th there was a 60th birthday tribute to the Master. It's hard to imagine Bruce as a 60-year old!

The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco showed Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey - John Little's new Bruce documentary - on Sunday, October 22, 2000. The documentary includes 34 minutes of original Game of Death footage edited into a film. This was the first time the world saw at least part of the film as Bruce intended it to be. For more information visit the Chinese Culture Center. The premiere formed part of a Little Dragon Celebration.

Time chose Bruce as one of the Twenty people who articulate the longings of the last 100 years [i.e. the twentieth century], exemplifying courage, selflessness, exuberance, superhuman ability and amazing grace.

Bruce never finished Game of Death. He worked on it after Way of the Dragon and then stopped to make Enter the Dragon. Years after his death Golden Harvest used portions of what he shot to make what they called Bruce Lee's Game of Death, but the film was changed unrecognisably from its original premise. Unlikely as it may seem the result did well enough that a second film was made, even further removed from Bruce's vision. Click on the READ MORE links to go to sections devoted to these two films.

NOTE: Hong Kong Legends will be releasing a restored version of Golden Harvest's Game of Death on Region 2 DVD in October. By all accounts a DVD to own, with some of Bruce's original scenes restored to the film. Click here for more info and to order.

Bruce originally intended Game of Death to be a more philosophical treatment of martial arts. He started working on the film in 1972, after completing Way of the Dragon. Reportedly he shot about 90 minutes of footage for the end of the film (of which 23 minutes can be used today). He never wrote a screenplay for it.

He envisioned a pagoda set on an island off the coast of Korea, with each level guarded by a different martial arts stylist. Three challengers - Bruce's character (Jeet Kune Do), Chieh Yuan (traditional Kung Fu) and James Tien - fight their way to the top of the pagoda and ultimate victory. The footage he shot only covers the upper 3 levels, guarded by Dan Inosanoto (Escrima), Chi Hon Tsoi (Hapkido) and Kareem Abdul Jabbar respectively. There is a sign at Dan Inosanto's floor which reads "Fu Deen" (Tiger Palace) and one at Chi Hon Tsoi's which reads "Lung Deen" (Dragon Palace).

The footage that survives includes the following scenes (films in which these scenes appear are noted in brackets):

Chieh Yuan vs Dan Inosanto

Bruce Lee: The Legend
Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend
James Tien vs Dan Inosanto
Bruce Lee: The Legend
Bruce Lee vs Dan Inosanto
Game of Death
Chieh Yuan and James Tien vs Chi Hon Tsoi; then Bruce Lee vs Chi Hon Tsoi
Bruce Lee: The Legend
Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend
James Tien vs Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Game of Death
Bruce Lee vs Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Game of Death
Bruce Lee shouting out of a window
Bruce Lee going down the stairs of the pagoda
Bruce intended starting the film with an image of a tree branch breaking under the weight of snow while a reed simply bends with it. The lesson was that one had to adapt to changing circumstances. This was the lesson Tang Lung learns and teaches in the final fight of Way of the Dragon, where he overcomes Chuck Norris's warrior by being fluid and adaptable. It was certainly quite an ambitious project - it would have been the first time that Bruce had the opportunity to showcase his art and philosophy in undiluted form on the big screen. What a pity it was never to be.
The Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco showed Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey - John Little's new Bruce documentary - on Sunday, October 22, 2000. The documentary includes 34 minutes of original Game of Death footage edited into a film. This was the first time the world saw at least part of the film as Bruce intended it to be.