TOP 10 BRUCE LEE MOMENTS (10-6)
#10. Ice factory
The Big Boss • Cheng Chao-An
The Little Dragon is ambushed and outnumbered in an ice factory. Lee kicks attacker so hard the very Laws of Physics are defied, Roadrunner vs. Coyote style!
For the record, Lee was not impressed with the comical outline scene, but director Lei Wo insisted, and Lee did not yet have power over the film’s he starred in.
#9. Nunchuck Fight
Way of the Dragon • Tang Lung
Bruce Lee vs. The Mafia, in Rome. Mafia don sends Lee to be killed outside, but orders them to use no guns. Bad guys did not know that Lee had two sets of nunchucks hidden, well, somewhere. And as always, bad guys attack one at a time, because, well, because.
#8. Upgrades
Enter the Dragon • Lee
Lee takes out a total of 51 badguys, including Jackie Chan. Lee continually upgrades, starting with bare hands, before upgrading to a staff, and then twin sticks, and finally nunchucks. And of course, the shirt comes off.
#7. The Giant
Game of Death • Hai Tien
The Yellow Jumpsuit with a black stripe has become an iconic image in popular culture. The plot revolved around a five floor pagoda (in reality it was Beopjusa temple in Songnisan National Park in South Korea) with a different level of martial arts on each floor. On the third floor Lee has to overcome weapons. On the fourth floor, renowned Hapkido master Ji Han-Jae. And on the top floor waits Mantis, who represents all styles.
The 7′ 2″ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was in reality a student of the 5′ 7″ Lee, and the pair put on a memorable demonstration of technique, with Lee ending it via Bulldog Choke.
#6. Vengeance
Enter the Dragon • Lee
“Boards don’t hit back,” as Lee wreaks justice on O’Hara for causing his sister’s suicide. Still, Lee allows his adversary to live, until O’Hara dishonorably breaks two bottles and tries to kill him. In real life, the bottles were not props, and when Bob Wall mistimed his thrust of the broken bottle, Lee suffered a severe cut on his hand.
TOP 10 BRUCE LEE MOMENTS (5-1)
#5. Fight vs. Petrov The Russian Wrestler
Fist of Fury • Chen Zhen
The role of the Russian wrestler Petrov was played by real life Bruce Lee student and friend Bob Baker. Bruce Lee fans are familiar with the story of Lee’s breakthrough demonstration at Ed Parker’s Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1964. Lee demonstrated the 1″ and 6″ on an assistant who flew back, hit a chair, and sprawled on the floor. The assistant was Bob Baker.
“I told Bruce not to do this type of demonstration again”, he recalled. “When he punched me that last time, I had to stay home from work because the pain in my chest was unbearable.”
In the fight with Lee the Russian wrestler secures an armbar at one point, but Lee bites his way out, and eventually overcomes with some interdimensional hand techniques.
#4. No Respect
Fist of Fury • Chen Zhen
This scene helped transition Hong Kong cinema from weapons to bare hands, as Lee beats down an entire dojo singelhandly, with his shirt off, using just nunchucks, and forces the imperialists to eat their own words, literally.
#3. Finish Him
The Big Boss • Cheng Chao-An
Bruce Lee tales a pledge of non violence, but ends up murdering the man who murdered his family by kicking a knife into him, following that up with a double finger thrust into his body, and then punching him in the face until he’s dead.
#2. Hall of Mirrors
Enter the Dragon • Lee
“You have offended my family, and you have offended the Shaolin Temple,” and I am going to break as many of the 8,000 mirrors as necessary to impale you, and if I take some damage, it will leave me with iconic cuts the world may never forget.
#1. Colosseum Fight vs. Chuck Norris
Way of the Dragon • Tang Lung
Chuck Norris and Superman had a bet, whoever lost the bet had to wear their underwear outside of their pants for the rest of their life. But …
Lee uses Neo Footwork, Oblique Kicks, and eventually an Arm-In Guillotine to defeat the American karate champion Colt. It took the world a generation to catch up.
A Note on Film Titles
When The Big Boss was being prepared for American distribution, the intended title was The Chinese Connection, to borrow some of the luster from The French Connection. Lee’s second movie, Fist of Fury, was to get only minor modification, to Fists of Fury. Unfortunately, the titles were accidentally reversed – The Big Boss was released as Fists of Fury and Fist of Fury became The Chinese Connection. Film purists still refer to the films by their original titles, as do recent American TV showings and the official US DVD release from 20th Century Fox.
