|
Bruce Lee, the Legend (1977)
More ancient than the earliest records
of Chinese civilization... are legends-- legends of great warriors, of knights and wizards... and mysterious monks who can perform wondrous feats. In these fabulous beings was embodied... the essence of good and evil. They had the power to fly... and the strength to defeat whole armies. These fables thrived until about 1 00 years ago. Then a new legend was born. According to the Chinese astrological calendar, 1 940 was the Year of the Dragon. Bruce Lee was born on the 27 th of November of that year. The place was San Francisco. His father, Lee Hoi Chuen, a leading comic actor in Hong Kong, was appearing in a touring Cantonese opera troupe, something like the Chinese equivalent of a vaudeville show. His wife, Grace, who was half German, was accompanying him. The tour over, the Lee family returned to Hong Kong... when Bruce was 3 months old. A family portrait in their Nathan Road flat... shows Bruce at the center. Bruce considered his first film role was in The Beginning Of A Boy, which he made when he was 6. Two years later, he played a leading role in My Son Ah Cheung. Much of the material written about Bruce Lee states... he never appeared in films with his father. These rare scenes from My Son Ah Cheung prove the opposite. Interestingly, this was the first of their films together... in which Bruce had a more important role than his father. The theme of this film was fairly typical... of many of the more than 20 he appeared in... before returning to San Francisco in 1 958. In Ah Cheung, Bruce Lee is an orphan... whose only education is what he can find on the street. You little brat! Put that down, you! Uncle. In what is almost a preview in miniature of a scene in Enter The Dragon... Bruce picks up a broomstick and attacks. - What'd you hit me for? - Why did you steal? It's not your business. You're a thief. I'll get you, you pig! Tell me the truth. Where were you last night? You scheming against me, eh? You little devil, you! Well, are you going to tell me the truth, are you? Come along. Speak up, I say. Tell me the truth, you little devil. You've been nothing but trouble ever since you came here. I'll see that you get a good hiding. Ohh! Ohh! Ohh! You've beaten up my brother. I'll chop off your head. Ohh! Ohh! Why, you devil! I'll kill you! How much of his own character did Bruce bring to these roles? And how much were his screen characters... beginning to infuse into his own personality? As time went on, Bruce would play more and more the kind of role... that could be described as a problem youth. Many of these reflected the themes of films... popular in the United States at the time, films like Blackboardjungle. One of Bruce's films is called Boys On The Street. If we watch him closely in the many street brawls with which these films abound, we can already see the beginnings of the trademarks of expression and gesture... which he would later make so very much his own. Yes, I got a big mouth, but I can back it up with my fists. - You want to pick a fight? - You said it, you asked for it. - A paper tiger after all. - Stop it, will you. You kids shouldn't fight here. This is my place. Get out of here. I dare you to follow me. - He took my box. - Get him! Come on! Hey, you! - Yay! - Yay! - Yay! - Yay! - Yay! - Yay! Those kids really have guts. You want some more? I took your shoe shine box to get you here for a square off. Now you know I mean business. Come on, kids. Come on, kids. Let's go. Come on. Let's go. Snapshots from the Lee family photo album... show Bruce growing to be a handsome young man... with a normal interest in girls and motorbikes. Although he was bright, Bruce was not a good student, at least not in the scholastic sense. He was more interested in learning martial arts. Bruce always maintained that his first teacher was his father... who was a devotee of the fighting forms known as Tai Chi. But his first real teacher was Yip Man, a master of the Wing Chun style. The roots of Wing Chun reach back to the famed Shaolin Temple. As this demonstration from the film Warriors Two shows, it emphasizes lightness and quickness... rather than power and strength. Stretch out two fingers. You must try to catch it when I let it go. Pick it up. Do you realize why you can't catch it? Because when your eyes see it fall, your brain signals your hand nerves to react, but there's a delay. So we're aiming to minimize that delay. That's why Wing Chun concentrates on touch and speed. Practice. There's no other way. The wooden man is a Wing Chun training aid... used to develop quickness and flexibility in attack. Your enemy will not stand still. Your reactions must be one step ahead of his. Otherwise, you're dead. Therefore, your fists have got to strike... with the speed of light. Try again. But Gung Fu was not Bruce's only interest outside movies at that time. He was quite a snappy dancer... and in 1 958 won a Hong Kong cha-cha championship. But somehow, even his achievements on the dance floor led back to Gung Fu. This is Siu Hon Sung, another of Bruce Lee's Gung Fu teachers. He explains how Bruce negotiated a deal with him. One day... Bruce took me to a coffee shop. He said, ''You're a master of Gung Fu. ''I'm a pretty good cha-cha dancer. Why don't we do a deal? Teach me Gung Fu, and I'll teach you cha-cha.'' Now, an average person... would take three to four weeks to learn my basic moves. But Bruce took only three nights to master the moves. So much for my cha-cha lessons. Bruce didn't even give me time to learn the basic beat. The Orphan was the second-last film... Bruce would make before leaving for America. In it, he played the most extreme of his delinquent loner roles. His final film in Hong Kong was a complete contrast to The Orphan... and to any role before or after. The Thunderstorm is probably the only film... in which he doesn't have one single fight scene. Although there are confrontations in the film... all the emphasis in The Thunderstorm... is on the character's refusal to be drawn to fight under any provocation. This reluctance, at least initially, was a character device... that would feature heavily in all of Bruce's later films. Mary. Can I help you, Mr. Chan? Mom knows you're leaving us. It's hard to find jobs these days. She wants me to give you $1 00. Thank her for me, please, but I just can't take her money. I'm really sorry about today. My brother didn't mean it. He's sorry. I promise he won't do it again. That's what he told me to tell you. Don't apologize, Mr. Chan. Well, anyway, I'm not your maid anymore. Mary, I've never treated you like a maid. - I'm your friend, Mary. - Leave her alone! Mr. Wong. Sorry about today. Just leave my sister alone. David, what's wrong with you? Mr. Chan was merely offering to help us out. We're from a poor family. My sister will marry a working man. Cooking meals, washing clothes, bearing children-- these are what she'll be doing. Any thoughts of going to school... or marrying a wealthy man will bring her disappointment. That's only one way of looking at it. I think-- - Chan, I'm warning you. - Warning? Yes. If I see anyone from your family seeing my sister... or coming to my neighborhood, I'm going to kill him! David! Are you out of your mind? Mr. Chan, you'd better excuse us. All right. Mr. Wong, I know you dislike me very much. However, I still want to be your friend. Uh, let's shake hands. I don't follow foreign habits. It is quite likely that Bruce would have returned to San Francisco anyway... as he needed to do so by the time he was 1 8 to confirm his American citizenship. But the fact that things were hotting up... in his constant confrontations with rival street gangs... and his mother having to stand guarantor for him to avoid police prosecution... probably hastened his departure. Bruce Lee took the next steamer to the city of his birth. On the way, he made extra money giving dance lessons. From San Francisco, he moved quickly to Seattle. A Chinese restaurant called Ruby Chow's... provided him with accommodation in return for work. He served in the restaurant and lived in the attic. Once established, a dramatic change occurred. He enrolled in high school, and the school dropout... became a diligent student. He still practiced Gung Fu passionately, but no longer on other people. Graduating from high school, he went to university to study philosophy. His art teacher still treasures two of the drawings... he did at the time. Bruce was a good student. His work with me was always very ambitious. I've no doubt he was the same in all his classes. For the ambitious Bruce Lee, it wasn't enough to be a good martial artist. He had to be the best. He taught Gung Fu to a group of fellow students, one of whom was a 1 9-year-old girl called Linda Emery. They were married and moved into this small, but comfortable house. The former bully and man about town... became the ideal husband and father to Brandon, and later Shannon. A Gung Fu demonstration at Long Beach in 1 964... turned out to be one of the most important events in Bruce Lee's life. It was seen by an acquaintance of a television producer... who was looking for someone to play Charlie Chan's number-one son in a proposed series. A screen test of Bruce was arranged. Tell us your name, age and where you were born. My last name is Lee. Bruce Lee. I was born in San Francisco in 1 940. I'm 2 4 right now. And you worked in motion pictures in Hong Kong? Yes, since I was around 6. When did you leave Hong Kong? 1 959, when I was 1 8. I see. Now look over to me, Bruce, as we talk. - You just had a baby boy. - Yeah. - You've lost some sleep over it, have you? - Three nights. What time do they shoot pictures in Hong Kong? It's mostly in the morning... because it's kind of noisy in Hong Kong. Around three million people there and so... every time when they have a picture, it's mostly around 1 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. in the morning. Look directly into the camera. Directly at it. Now give me a 3/ 4 this way. And hold it. Give me a profile that way, all the way. Hold it. Now come back to a profile on the other side. Hold that. Give me a 3/ 4 on that side. And then give me right into the camera again. Now the camera will pull back. First show me the movements... in a classical Chinese theater. - Classical Chinese theater? - What we talked about in the office. How they walk and move. Well, in Chinese opera, they have the warrior and the scholar. The way the warrior walk will be something like this-- walking this way, straight, come out, bend, straight, and then walk out again. An ordinary scholar would be just like a female, a weakling, 90 pounds. He'll be just walking, like a girl, real shoulder up and everything. By the way they walk, you can immediately tell who they are. Right. What character they represent. Show some Gung Fu movements. It is hard to show it alone, but I will try to do my best. One of the fellows will walk in. Yeah. Come on, get in there. Although accidents do happen-- There are various kinds of strikes. It depends on where you hit and what weapon you will be using. To the eyes, you would use fingers. Don't worry. I won't-- To the eyes, or straight at the face. From the waist, everything up. Let's move this gentleman this way-- So you're doing it more into the camera. Okay, swell. And then there is an arm strike... using the waist again into a back flip. Let's have the assistant director back up just a ways. Okay, go ahead. Continue. Of course, Gung Fu is very sneaky. The Chinese, they always hit low. From high, go back to the groin. Turn the other way. Okay. Is this what you wanted? These are just natural reactions. Natural reactions. Cheat into the camera a little bit. Show us again. There is a finger jab. There is the punch. There is the back fist and then low. Of course, then they use leg. Straight at the groin or come up. If I can back up, they start from here and then come back. - All right. - He looks kind of worried. For various reasons, the series was never produced, but it led to the role of Kato in the series The Green Hornet. While the show was not an overwhelming success-- it lasted 30 1 /2-hour episodes-- Bruce received favorable reviews... and was probably more popular than the star. He had a small part in Marlowe with james Garner. And then came Longstreet. - I'll be kicking. - Ready. 1 , 2, 3! Hii, hii, hii! Are you all right? That guy's fantastic! What is this thing you do? In Cantonese,jeet Kune Do, the way of the intercepting fist. Intercepting fist? Or foot. Touch me anywhere you can. You see? To reach me, you must move to me. Your attack offers me an opportunity to intercept you. In this case, I'm using my longest weapon-- my side kick-- against the nearest target, your kneecap. This can be compared to your left jab in boxing, except it's much more damaging. I see. Speaking of a left jab-- Oh! This time I intercept your emotional tenseness. By now, Bruce Lee's jeet Kune Do classes were so famous, he could charge $27 5 an hour. Even then, he could pick and choose his students, students like Kareem Abdul-jabbar, Steve McQueen and james Coburn. However, Bruce Lee's overriding ambition was Hollywood. But Hollywood was not responding. The movie roles were not forthcoming. It was a bitter disappointment when he was passed up... for the lead in the TV series Kung Fu. He returned once again to Hong Kong. Hong Kong, 1 97 0. Apart from one brief visit in 1 968, Bruce Lee had been away for 1 2 years. Arriving in Hong Kong, he first approached... what was then Hong Kong's biggest movie studios. None of the studio bosses seemed to recognize the potential in Bruce. He was just another actor, they said. Who could tell? One who could was Raymond Chow, the head of a small new studio, Golden Harvest. - Good morning. - Good morning. The director said this is his best work so far. I've seen it once, and I think it's absolutely terrific. All right, let's roll then. Raymond Chow was first and foremost a filmmaker. Although now the corporate head of his new Golden Harvest studio, his production background led him to constant contact... with producers, directors and writers. - Hello. - How are you? I saw your last picture. Well, I don't want to hold you up. Been good seeing you. On the busy Hong Kong grapevine, Chow had heard of Shaw's unsuccessful offer... and made sure he saw a demonstration Bruce gave on local TV... before returning to the U.S. The demonstration Bruce gave on TV... was very impressive. He sidekicked five 1 -inch boards and broke four. In addition, he kicked and broke a 1 -inch board, dangling. Now that takes... a tremendous amount of strength and perfect timing. But what impressed me more was when I talked to him... on the long-distance call. He picked the most popular Hong Kong made action picture at that time... and asked a very blunt question. He asked me whether that was the best we could do. I said yes. He then assured me with sincerity and confidence... that he could do much better. How could I doubt this man? Chow offered Bruce Lee a two-picture deal with Golden Harvest. Bruce flew to Thailand to film The Big Boss. The Big Boss, released as Fists Of Fury in the U.S.A., was made on a modest budget under appalling conditions... in the small village of Pak Chong in Thailand. For the first time, Bruce Lee was in his element. Here was not the aesthetic philosophizing of Longstreet, nor the quick, economical knockdowns of The Green Hornet. And most certainly, here was not the hard, sharp economy of movement... Bruce had been teaching his students. Here, suddenly, was a whole new style... of martial arts choreography-- rich, red-blooded, extravagant, and bursting with power and energy. - Hiyaahh! - Agghh! And the public loved it. In Hong Kong, it broke all previous box-office records. Bruce Lee was a star. Bruce Lee is incredible. Bruce Lee didn't waste time. He wouldn't beat about the bush. He'd go very direct. - Is Bruce Lee your hero? - Yes. Tell me what you like about him. He always wins the bad guys and he's a very quick mover. A question of the body movement, the choreography, the timing-- the overcoming of the limitations of the human body. He's not an action man like Eastwood or Bronson. He's like a Nureyev. Both Bruce Lee and Raymond Chow were delighted... with the success of The Big Boss... and set about finalizing plans for the next film. With The Big Boss a huge success, Raymond Chow allocated a larger budget to the next film... and agreed that Bruce would play a larger role in producing it. In the meantime, Linda and the family moved to Hong Kong, setting up house in suburban Kuangchou. This 1 1 -room, 2-story villa... with its smalljapanese-style garden may not have turned heads in Hollywood, but for crowded Hong Kong, it was a palace. There was room for family and friends to relax. Bruce divided time at home between his study... and his exercise equipment, which seemed to be everywhere. The second film was called The Chinese Connection in America, but was released in Hong Kong and elsewhere as Fist Of Fury. This film took the cinematic expression of rage and pure destructive fury... to new limits. It also put weapons in the hands of Bruce Lee... for the first time in the form of the deadly nunchakus, two sticks joined by a thong or chain. Not surprisingly, Fist Of Fury again smashed box office records, including the one Bruce Lee had recently set. Bruce soon developed ideas for his next film. He went location-hunting in Italy. And finally, he decided on Rome. He brought over Bob Wall, a top U.S. martial artist... and established champion who would make a formidable opponent... in his new film, Way Of The Dragon. From Korea, he added Tae Kwon Do expert... Whong In Sik. Bruce Lee starred in, wrote, and directed... Way Of The Dragon. The result is another sell-out success, to the extent that in Hong Kong... the showing of the film had to be suspended at some theaters... while police handled traffic jams and massive crowds. Nora Miao, a dynamic young Hong Kong actress, costarred with Bruce in all but the last of Bruce's films. Here she discusses the recurring themes of Bruce Lee's films. When did you first know him? Our families have known each other... ever since I was a little kid. But then at that time, Bruce went to the States. And he was very young too. I didn't meet him... until he returned to Hong Kong for his first movie for Golden Harvest. I didn't meet him in Hong Kong. Where did you meet him? I met him in Thailand when we were filming The Big Boss. Talking about his movies, many people observe... there are a lot of autobiographical elements in Bruce Lee's movies. Did you find any incidents... that he tried to relate his experience through his movies? - Did you find any? - In a way, yes. He always related his films... to his growing up in a foreign country. He liked to play the part... of a man arriving in a strange land. In The Big Boss, he was alone in a new town... trying to succeed in a new job. Even the country, Thailand, is strange. He has no friends and does not know his potential enemies. This is a good town. It's very different to back home. Don't get into any fights. Remember your promise. You're on your own from now on. Aw, don't worry, Uncle. In Fist Of Fury, he was a student returning home to find everything had changed-- his teacher murdered... and his school and race insulted by a foreign-led rival school. In Way Of The Dragon, Bruce is a country boy from a Hong Kong village... who goes to Rome to help in a Chinese restaurant. The isolation of Bruce's character is further underlined... by the barrier of language. Here, he can't make himself understood enough to get something to eat. - Uhh! - Mommy! Bruce went to the States when he was very young. Bruce told me he felt that, being a foreigner, he had to do his best in whatever he did. And also, perhaps-- he was such a good martial artist, you know, in times, people... tend to pick fights with him. In The Big Boss, the pendant Bruce wears... is a reminder of a promise he has made to avoid violence. In his films, Bruce never looked for a fight. Well, not initially, anyway. Invariably, his character resisted intolerable provocation... before violence was forced on him. We're very thirsty, sweetheart. We need to cool off. - You're hurting me! - We'd like to have a little bit of fun. Don't meddle. No fighting. Remember your promise. If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to call the police. Please. Only when he was pushed beyond his ability to resist... did he become the aggressor. Yeeaahhh! All right! Hold it! Now you get out of here. I'm warning you. You bastards can't push us around. You want to fight? I'll take you on. I think Bruce was a great actor, a very good director... and a very good filmmaker. His main ambition in life is to introduce... Chinese Gung Fu and Chinese movies... to the whole world. And he wanted to show that the Chinese... could be just as good as anybody else. In Bruce's films, the enemy were always foreigners-- non-Chinese. Even when he was pounding the life out of his compatriots, it was abundantly clear they were misguided pawns of a foreign boss. In The Big Boss, he works in an ice factory run by Thais. The Thai foreman and his gang bully Chinese workers into servility. We're on strike! We won't work anymore, you slob. Get to work! Inside! To hell with you, man! Bastard! It took the murder of his Chinese fellow workers... to push Bruce over the edge. In Fist Of Fury, thejapanese are the enemy, who deliver an insulting message to Bruce's school. The characters read, ''The Chinese are the sick men of Asia.'' Well, clear a space there. My friends promised to put up a good fight. There must be someone. Who's your champion? So many here, and not one of you with any courage? What's the matter with you? Are you afraid of us? Huh? Ha ha ha! Later in the film, a sign on a park gate... is an insult that cannot be ignored. What do you want? - I want to pass. - Not allowed. And that? You're the wrong color. Beat it. Hey, you. Come here. You, uh-- You were wanting to get in here. No, no, no. Tell you what. There's one thing you need do. Pretend you're a dog and I'll take you in. In Way Of The Dragon, which takes place in Rome, the underworld tries to extort money from a Chinese restaurant where Bruce is working. Almost every day, Italian thugs harass the Chinese, forcing them to agree to the payments they demand. May I help you? May you help me? Sure. Invariably, these foreigners' assaults on Bruce and those he championed... weren't just personal or physical, but strongly racial, leaving Bruce no other alternative but to demonstrate the effectiveness... of Chinese martial arts. Movement number 4-- Dragon seeks path. Dragon whips his tail. Hey! All right. Bruce's screen personality as a hero... was undeniable and unshakable. How much of that personality... was injected into his real life? Without a doubt, the screen image of Bruce... was very much like the Bruce in real life. He was so energetic that even when he was among friends... his gestures were very physical. Even when he was relaxing, he looked restless. Left, right, left, right. A-1 , 2, left, right. Hup, 2, 3, 4. Left, right, left. Hey, what's going on there? Hup, 2, 3, 4. A-1 , 2, 3, 4. Left, right, left, right. Left, right, left. 1 , 2, 3, 4. A-1 , 2, 3, 4. Left, right, left, right. Left, right, left. 1 , 2, 3, 4. Halt. Bruce didn't drink. So the parts he played didn't know how to drink either. How about a little drink? You're quite a drinker. You put it away like water. That'll make him feel better. Strong. Hey. Hey, hey! In his movies, his relationship with women... is usually shy, often coy, and invariably wholesome. You've grown very pretty. If I was ten years younger-- Chang, meet our sister, Chow Mai. This is Chang, our cousin. How are you? It's hot. Thanks. Let me go! Ow! I must go. I'll see you... later. While there are occasional hints of romantic feelings, Bruce's leading ladies are usually treated like one of the boys. Overt sexuality is alluded to when the encounter is with prostitutes, and then only when Bruce's lack of sophistication allows it to happen. The foreigners here are friendly. You'll see. When people smile, smile back. It's only right. While you're here, just don't be so uptight. In the only bedroom scene Bruce ever filmed, a prostitute first gets him drunk. Even then, he goes to sleep. In his films, Bruce Lee was at his best... as a fighter, not a lover. He was concerned that he would be typecast as a one-character performer. In Fist Of Fury, he disguised himself, perhaps to demonstrate his dramatic range, here as a news vender. They're forcing my hand. Where can I find him in this place? Sir, get back to Ching Woo's school... to see if he's turned up there yet. Here, as a telephone repairman. I'm from the telephone company. What took you so long? We haven't got all day. Just got my orders minutes ago. These vignettes were more comedic than convincing. But later around the time he was working on Game Of Death, he was experimenting with new characters. He makes a very believable blind swordsman, his version of a character called Zato-Ichi, who appeared in severaljapanese films popular in Asia at the time. Tagashira! Surprisingly, these characters were developed... from classical archetypes. Most were associated with traditional weaponry, contrary to his declared philosophy of the martial arts. It's not possible to say how he'd have developed these characters, but it's interesting to conjecture what Bruce Lee would have made of roles... like the classic period Chinese swordsmen... in films like Duel To The Death. For some time, actorjames Coburn, writer Sterling Silliphant, and Bruce... put together a project to be called Silent Flute. Finally, 20th Century-Fox agreed to do it, but on a tiny budget, providing it could be shot in India. Bruce and his colleagues spent weeks location-hunting there and in Nepal. India, they decided, was a waste of time, but in Nepal, pagodas like these... inspired Bruce for Game Of Death. Bruce never crystalized the plot, but it went something like this-- there would be a great martial arts training center in a many-storied pagoda. Each level would be guarded by a master of a different martial art. Bruce accumulated the people he wanted to use-- Dan Inosanto. The Korean seventh-degree Aikido master, Tse Hon joy. He began doing screen tests. This footage of the tests and outtakes has never been publicly shown before. In his still-incomplete concept for Game Of Death, his objective would be to get to whatever was at the top of the pagoda. In the middle of this, producer Fred Weintraub... had finally convinced Warner Brothers to coproduce a project... with a partnership of Raymond Chow and Bruce Lee. This was to be Enter The Dragon. At last, Bruce Lee was to play the lead in a Hollywood movie. He applied all his energies to his performance... and worked closely with director Robert Clouse... in staging all the martial arts action in the film. [Speaking Chinese] Bruce Lee first formally set out his methods... in this early book, Chinese Gung Fu, published in 1 963. He illustrated it with precise drawings... which highlighted every detail of the text. The photographs were taken in the parking lot next to Ruby Chow's. Two martial arts students demonstrate how some of these moves... work in action. During his career, Bruce never failed to enlighten his peers... with his in-depth analyses of martial arts. Gung Fu originated in China. It is the ancestor of karate and jujitsu. It's more of a complete system, and it's more fluid. There is continuity in movement... instead of one movement and then stop. The best example is a glass of water. Water is the softest substance in the world, but it can penetrate the hardest rock... or anything-- granite, you name it. Water also is insubstantial. You cannot grasp it. You cannot punch it and hurt it. Every Gung Fu man is trying to do that-- to be soft like water and adapt to the opponent. A karate punch is like an iron bar-- wham! A Gung Fu punch is like an iron chain... with an iron ball attached to the end, and it go-- whang-- and it hurt inside. Gung Fu can be practiced alone or with a partner. Practicing alone involves form. Some imitate a crane, a monkey, a praying mantis. This is a crane form. Start off. Hiyeeee! Many moves Bruce used in his films... were designed more for dramatic effect... than as examples forjeet Kune Do. It's also true that much was an accurate exposition of his art. Here he deals with an attempted grab and throw... followed unwisely by an attempt to sneak up behind. A defense and counter to a clubbing attack from the side. A deadly two-handed knife attack... is foiled with the help of a jacket. Nunchaku against a sword. Even Bruce admits this is an uneven contest... and would normally be avoided. But then it's not a situation many students today are likely to encounter. When used effectively, the wooden staff... is an excellent weapon against knives. A seemingly impossible situation-- an empty-handed defense against a sword. Only with incredible speed and almost psychic anticipation... could anyone survive. Bruce was absolutely insistent about physical fitness. He said training is one of the most neglected phases of athletics. Too much time is given to developing the skill... and too little to developing the individual for participation. I don't think anyone trained as hard as Bruce did. I don't think anyone was as dedicated a trainer. It is a popular belief that Bruce Lee was born with an exceptional physique. Nothing could be further from the truth. As a child, he was rather frail. Reportedly, he never ate well at home, a habit which seemed to persist, even when he returned to the United States. It was only through many years of exercise... and finally reappraising his dietary habits... that he built himself into the superb physical specimen he was to become. Bruce's emphasis on physical fitness... opened up a new path for martial arts students. They followed his advice of applying modern exercising techniques... to the field of martial arts. They learned to appreciate Bruce's outlook-- ''One may know all the fighting techniques, but if one is not fit, one does not stand a chance in a real fight.'' His fame and following grew and grew. Whole magazines were devoted to one aspect or another... of his life and career. In the world of martial arts and action movies, Bruce Lee was king. This is noted Taiwanese actress Betty Ting Pei. Her charms had been revealed to good advantage in numerous film roles, often as a seductress. For some three months, her name had been romantically linked with Bruce Lee's, as had many others in the past. Whether there's any truth behind any of the stories of these liaisons... remains speculation. Certainly, though, it wasn't a disadvantage... for any ambitious actress to be linked with Bruce Lee. On the afternoon ofjuly 20, 1 973, Bruce went to the apartment of Betty Ting Pei. They were to meet Raymond Chow for dinner, an appointment Bruce Lee was never to keep. He was rushed to a hospital. Betty had phoned Raymond Chow saying Bruce had laid down with a headache... and she couldn't rouse him. Chow rushed to Betty's apartment. Doctors were called, and finally, an ambulance. Bruce Lee was certified dead on arrival... at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Hong Kong was stunned. And as the word spread, people read with shock and disbelief. The next day, thousands of people jammed the streets... around the funeral parlor. Several hundred extra police were detailed... to control the crowd. No one could believe that someone like Bruce Lee, so young, so fit, could just die. But Betty Ting Pei would say nothing. Bruce was my best friend, but now he's gone. Bruce trusted me a lot. At that time, I didn't want to, nor do I need to explain anything. Because of our relationship, I have been blamed unfairly. His death came as a shock and there has been a lot of pressure on me. But I'll never let anything spoil the relationship I had with Bruce. At the funeral, Linda arrived with Raymond Chow. Above a portrait of Bruce is a banner in Chinese, reading, ''A star sinks in a sea of art.'' All around are draped thousands of tributes. Relatives and close friends bow in respect. Linda and the two children are draped in the traditional white robes of mourning. Members of the funeral party file past the open coffin. Few can hide their grief. Linda and the children take a last look, as they, too, leave. The controversy about Bruce Lee's death was still raging. Only at Hong Kong Airport, about to board a plane... that was carrying Bruce's body to Seattle, that Linda finally broke her silence. It is my wish that the newspapers and the people of Hong Kong... will stop speculating on the circumstances... surrounding my husband's death. Although we do not have the final autopsy report, I hold no suspicion of anything other than natural death. I do not hold any person responsible for his death. Fate has ways we cannot change. The only thing of importance is that Bruce is gone and will not return. He lives on in our memories and through his films. Remember him for his genius, his art... and the magic he brought to every one of us. For we who knew him well, his words and thoughts will remain with us forever... and influence the rest of our lives. In Seattle awaits Linda's family... and more bereaved relatives and friends... and a second funeral. Beside the coffin was placed the yin and yang symbol ofjeet Kune Do. Among the many who came to pay their respects were friends and coworkers... like Dan Inosanto, Jim Kelly, Robert Clouse and other actors and producers. Former students james Coburn and Steve McQueen... silently recalled their memories of their master. Bruce's mother said her last good-byes. And finally, Linda and the children, Brandon and Shannon. Coburn, McQueen and the other pallbearers... throw their white gloves on the flower-decked casket. And at last, it was over. Or was it? In Hong Kong, the inquest started. Once again, the public began speculating wildly... on Betty Ting Pei's role in Bruce's untimely death. At that time, there was a lot of talk-- scandalous rumors about us. I was under a lot of pressure, but I told myself silence is the best answer. I treasured Bruce's friendship very much. That's why I've put up with the gossip... without saying anything to anyone. The experts argued over the autopsy's results... until the court was satisfied. Bruce Lee had died of cerebral oedema-- swelling of the brain... caused by hypersensitivity to an ingredient of Equagesic, the tablet he took to relieve his headache. The verdict, death by misadventure. Bruce has left us. For movies, it was the fall of a star. For his fans, they have lost their most-respected idol. But most important, his family lost the dearest one. But for myself, I have lost a very dear friend. The coroner's verdict took some of the pressure off Betty Ting Pei. She resumed her film career. But her subsequent evasive statements about Bruce Lee's death... did nothing to quell persistent and popular rumors... that Bruce died while they were making love. She became a devout Buddhist and took to long periods of fasting. It wasn't until 1 0 years after the event... that Betty Ting Pei went on Hong Kong television and for the first time... denied that she and Bruce had sexual relations the day he died. All she had done she said was to let Bruce rest in her bed... and gave him the painkiller for his headache. Letters continued to arrive from Bruce's fans long after his death. And there were others who saw it as a great opportunity to be exploited. Imitators on the screen appeared by the score. But there was one last real Bruce Lee film. He'd shot thousands of feet of film for Game Of Death. After his death, a worldwide search was done... to find someone who could double for Bruce in the missing scenes. Many candidates were flown to Hong Kong for screen tests. From the film footage of these screen tests, two look-alikes were finally selected to enact the missing scenes. To complete the film, Raymond Chow brought back Robert Clouse, the director who had worked with Bruce on Enter The Dragon. On the first day of the recommencement of filming, the cast and crew took part in a simple ceremony... offering food, wine, and burning incense... to the spirit of Bruce Lee. How would you compare Enter The Dragon with Game Of Death? Enter The Dragon was done about six or seven years ago... and was... the last picture that Bruce made. And then of course now Game Of Death. It's a very large film. The production is large. Most of the leading actors are from the United States-- Hugh O'Brian, Gig Young, Dean jagger, Colleen Camp and so on. They did really very well in the film. It's interesting because... the film was about 1 /3 done before Bruce died. There's a good question as to whether Bruce did die. I've always been a fan of Bruce Lee's, as millions of people have throughout the world, so I was very thrilled to be in something... which I consider in many ways, not historical, but to capture the footage... that Bruce Lee had already shot when he unfortunately died. A traditional Chinese lion dance... has always been a powerful means of bringing in good fortune... and dispelling evil spirits. It's not so surprising that the reworked plot... of the prophetically titled Game Of Death... found room for a chase scene through just such a spell. Not all the action would be Gung Fu. Top Hollywood stunt men were brought to Hong Kong for these exciting scenes. - You all right, Billy? - Yeah. All right. Love it. Is Billy okay? Nice one. Many thought it could never be done, but in 1 97 8, Game Of Death was completed, and fans all over the world could see at last... the final work of Bruce Lee. How do you like that? Today his popularity has hardly diminished. He's still a popular feature of movie and martial arts magazines... of many countries. Bruce Lee imitators have faded into obscurity, but perhaps a new young star likejackie Chan... can rise to the same heights. A different kind of star with his own unique style. Hold it. Get down. What's going on? Look out! But even a star like Jackie Chan... doesn't claim to be the new Bruce Lee. There will never be a new Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is gone, but his spirit lives on. This is Bruce Lee - The Legend. |
|