This is a documentary about the life of Bruce Lee. It is part of season 4 (according to Amazon) of ESPN's 30 for 30 series. It is told primarily through old footage and photographs that are supplemented with interviews and readings from letters that he wrote. The interviewees aren't shown on screen until the end of the movie.
The movie opens with a quick look at Bruce's success with his first two movies: The Big Boss and Fist of Fury. The focus next shifts back 12 years to when he moved to the United States in 1959. He was born in San Francisco in 1940. His father was part of a traveling theater company. They moved back to Hong Kong when he was just a few years old. Bruce was already an actor and appeared in a number of movies in Hong Kong.
Bruce's focus shifted once he got to the United States. He started to teach martial arts to others. He learned Wing Chun when he was in Hong Kong from Yip Man, who has been the subject of a number of films. Bruce took what he had learned and started to develop his own system. His school grew. He came to the attention of Hollywood after his appearance at a martial arts exhibition in Long Beach, CA.
Bruce met and married one of his students, Linda Emery. They had a couple of children. Once it looked like Hollywood's interest was sincere they moved to Los Angeles.
Bruce didn't have a lot of success in Hollywood. They were interested but they didn't seem to know what to do with him. He didn't fit the mold that they had for leading men. He wasn't white. He found some small parts but he turned down parts if he he felt that the roles were too insulting or stereotypical of the parts that Asians were asked to play at that time. He wound up teaching a number of actors including Steve McQueen and James Coburn.
Bruce longest running stint on television was on The Green Hornet, where he played Kato, the Hornet's chauffeur. He was underused and the show was canceled after a single season. He made a number of appearances on other shows. His biggest disappointment came after he helped to develop a show in which he would star. He didn't get the part. Instead it went to a white actor. The show was called Kung Fu.
Bruce didn't become a star until he returned to Hong Kong to make movies. He only made 4 complete films, the two mentioned above plus Way of the Dragon and Enter the Dragon. He died suddenly of an aneurysm on July 20, 1973 less than two weeks before Enter the Dragon opened in the United States.
Thoughts
The documentary focuses on Bruce Lee, the man, and leaves his legend alone. There aren't any long extended fight scenes from films but there are plenty of clips from movies and television shows in which he appeared. The documentary emphasizes on numerous obstacles to Bruce's success in Hollywood and in the United States in the 1960s and early 1970s and the various places from which he drew inspiration.
I was really impressed by this movie. The ending was very moving. There is so much content in this movie that I can see myself watching it again and getting more out of it the second time around.
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