The Real Bruce Lee (1979)

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The Real Bruce Lee? well, not unless you are really forgiving and decidedly myopic...More like the three not-quite-Bruce Lee's!: Bruce Li, Dragon Lee and some scratchy archival footage of the great one. Ardent fans of 'Enter the Dragon' may want to look elsewhere for their authentic Bruce kicks; but if, like me, you have a yen for crass, cash-in Brucesploitation you will certainly find much kinetic lunacy to enjoy here. Glorious old school Kung Fu, with nary a plot to impede all the relentlessly clunky, chop sock action. Personally, I can't get enough of this micro-genre, and spurious titles aside, Dragon & Li were always watchable pugilists, and this (Ham)-Fists of fury is no exception.

Oh man, this movie is the reason beer was invented! Seriously, although it is a total cheap cash-in on the death of a true legend, it nevertheless entertains, and at times, fascinates. The early section of the film, featuring clips of Bruce Lee as a child actor, in several different, very rare films, should be a great treat for fans of Lee. There is even a scene from his first film, "The Kid" where he acts with his real-life father. These obscure, shadowy black and white images provide proof that Bruce had the star quality and acting skills, even at age 5, and up, where he portrays a mean bully, a scared orphan, a silly carnival performer, all with amazing ability; he was a natural from the beginning. These are followed by a short look into his life, beginning with his journey to California, and showing him working in the school he opened there. The film noticeably skims over his iconic films, as they probably didn't have the rights to use clips from them. The shots of his huge funeral in Hong Kong are sad and moving, but the solemn feeling shifts gears quickly, when the film takes a look at the Bruce imitators. some brief shots of Bruce Li segue into a FULL-ON CRAPFEST FEATURE starring an imitator called Dragon Lee. to Dragon Lee's credit, the man had the moves, as well as an amazingly chiseled physique, but he did lack the physical beauty/grace of the original Bruce Lee, and the fact that while Bruce could act, Dragon really can't, makes this surreal film a disorienting freak show of riotous proportions. you'll be reaching for the remote control to replay the scene where the old man thrown across the cardboard room by Dragon, is plainly NOT the stunt double who goes flying, and is about 30 years younger and 40 pounds heavier. You will be wondering why most of the guys that Dragon fights are fat old slobs that were probably found under a bridge and paid in moonshine to perform. The sets and costumes are adequate, and Dragon Lee has a frenetic energy and there are some great fight scenes. nice touches and small details make this one stand out though, and this (un-named) film somehow possesses a noble and nostalgic quality all it's own. I have to admit that i enjoyed it from start to finish. Between the fits of laughter and the jarring visuals, this is a fascinating time capsule. Finally available in a decent print in an awesome box set called "Martial Arts Masters" This strange film is actually presented in widescreen! I just have to wonder how many suckers were duped into seeing this movie in the theater, lured in by the name of Bruce Lee. This kind of exploitation is a bit sad, but morbidly fascinating, like a train wreck...

There's very little of the "real Bruce Lee" in this film, its title notwithstanding. The brief clips of four of the movies he made as a Hong Kong child star ("Kid Cheung", "Bad Boy", "Carnival", and "Orphan Sam") are mildly interesting, but they don't really have anything to do with Lee's later career as a martial arts practitioner/teacher/writer and kung-fu film luminary. The rest of "The Real Bruce Lee" consists of a handful of clips of Bruce Li, the first and most watchable Lee impersonator, followed by a (way too) long mini-feature which the narrator calls 'The Ultimate Lee'. Said mini-feature stars Dragon Lee, a rather graceless Korean martial artist who was by far the LEAST adept of the three major Bruce Lee imitators! There are no credits for 'The Ultimate Lee', and I suspect that it is an edit of a longer film which has never been seen in its complete form in the United States. It appears to have been shot in Korea, rather than Hong Kong or Taiwan, and the fight choreography is--as in most Dragon Lee films--very clunky. The dubbing and sound effects are standard (which is to say terrible) for a low-budget chopsocky movie. The most laughable thing about 'The Ultimate Lee' is the narrator's claim that it was Bruce Lee's next scheduled project, and that Dragon Lee had to be brought in to replace him! Bruce Lee had already starred in "The Chinese Connection"; he wouldn't have gone anywhere near this sordid, clumsy little ripoff of his own classic film. Avoid.

An exciting and interesting documentary about Bruce Lee for about a 1/2 hour + a whole movie (unknown title) with a promising new fighter named Dragon Lee as the main attraction. (where is he today ?) The movie-part, as the documentary-part is a bit naive, like many of the martial art-movies was in the 70's, but it's real fun to watch. The effects in the movie is sometimes unrealistic, but you can see some real good martial arts here. I remember I saw this on video in 1984, when I was 15 years old, so I don't recommend this movie to audience who are over 20.