Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Plot synopsis:
The film begins with a nightmare of Bruce Lee's father (Ric Young), who sees a terrifying phantom known as the Demon (Sven-Ole Thorsen) in black samurai armor that haunts the young Bruce Lee (Sam Hau). In a montage that passes quickly through his teenage years in Hong Kong, Bruce is shown receiving instruction in traditional Chinese martial arts. As a young adult, Bruce (Jason Scott Lee) fights with British sailors harassing a young Chinese woman, and this results in him having to leave Hong Kong. His father suggests that Bruce go to the US — Bruce was actually born in San Francisco, California when his father was a performer touring there and so Bruce has a US birth certificate. His father asks Bruce to become a success, so big a success that his name will be famous even back in Hong Kong.
In the US, Bruce works as a dishwasher at a Chinese restaurant, until a violent brawl with four of the cooks. The restaurant owner (Nancy Kwan) arrives and fires Bruce. As well as severance, she gives him an "all-purpose loan" and exhorts him to invest in an education. While studying philosophy in college, he begins to teach martial arts classes, where he meets Linda Emery (Lauren Holly). They marry in defiance of Linda's racist mother (Michael Learned). Linda suggests that Bruce open a martial arts school, but his Chinese peers demand he not train "blacks or Americans" and challenge him to settle the matter via combat. Bruce defeats Johnny Sun (John Cheung) in an secretive, illegal, no-holds-barred honor match, but an embittered Sun attacks Bruce after having already admitted defeat. Sun's cowardly, vengeful attack results in a seriously debilitating back injury for Lee.
Linda is upset that Bruce did not tell her about the match. However, she nurtures him through his recovery, despite his despair and assumption that she will abandon him. She convinces him to examine his flaws and weaknesses and thus develop the fighting philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, which is published in The Tao of Jeet Kune Do. During this period Linda gives birth to their first child, Brandon, which helps to assuage a reconciliation with Linda's mother.
Some months later, during Ed Parker's martial arts tournament, Bruce faces Johnny Sun again, in a 60-second demonstration of his new fighting style. Johnny Sun appears to have the upper hand in the first half minute, but then Bruce dominates Sun, finishing by kicking him over the top rope into the crowd. Bruce is subsequently praised by the crowd.
After the match, Bruce meets Bill Krieger (Robert Wagner) and is hired for The Green Hornet television series. Bruce and Bill work together and create the idea for the Kung Fu television series. At a cast party, Linda says she is now pregnant with their second child. Shortly afterwards, there is an announcement for the cancellation of The Green Hornet. Kung Fu makes it to television, but much to Bruce's frustration, it stars David Carradine, a Caucasian. Bruce believes that Krieger has betrayed him.
Bruce returns to Hong Kong for his father's funeral, where Philip Tan (Kay Tong Lim), a Hong Kong film producer, informs Bruce of his fame there, where the The Green Hornet show is called The Kato Show. Bruce begins work on the feature film The Big Boss. In the filming of the final scene, set in an ice factory, Johnny Sun's brother Luke attacks Bruce, wanting revenge.
The Big Boss is a success. Bruce makes several more films, working as actor, director and editor. This causes a rift between Bruce and Linda, as she wishes to return to the US. Bill Krieger shows up, and although he knows that Bruce is still angry with him, he offers him a chance to work on a big-budget Hollywood movie, particularly as Linda wishes to return to the States.
On the 32nd day of shooting Enter the Dragon, during the climactic "room of mirrors" sequence, Bruce has a terrifying vision of the phantom samurai that has haunted his dreams since childhood. However, this time, being shown and beaten against his own grave, he saves his son Brandon and breaks the dark warrior's neck. The film ends during a shot of the final scene of Enter the Dragon. The film that would make Lee an international film star. Linda informs the audience that Bruce died before the movie's release; she states that she has preferred to discuss his life, not his death.

Tags: dramatic, cult, violence, romantic

Review:
From his brief childhood days in Hong Kong, to his days as a dishwasher, martial-arts teacher and eventual cinema superstar in Hollywood.Critique: The life and death of Bruce Lee has inspired many a film and documentaries since his death.
The thing that makes it special is Jason Scott Lee's portrayal of the legend that is Bruce Lee.He successfully captures his mannerisms, attitude and even his fighting style, extremely convincingly (a truly remarkable feat of acting ability.)Although dramatised to heighten your viewing pleasure, the story actually follows the events in Bruce Lee's life and shows us the man behind the martial arts, covering his inner turmoils and personal struggles as well as his famous physical ability.A great movie, befitting the legend that is Bruce Lee.8/10.
Nice action scenes, nice soundtrack, nice photo...But it's not a biography of the greatest fighter of all time: Bruce Lee. I am a big fan of Bruce and I know his life from A to Z, and this is not what I saw in that movie.
However it feels more like a story based on the life of Bruce Lee rather then an actual biopic of his life.Jason Scott Lee perfectly plays Kung Fu legend Bruce Lee. Not only the way he plays Lee is impressive but also his fighting skills.The music by Randy Edelman was also surprising good.
OK it's not completely fair to compare this movie to "Ed Wood" since that was a far superior movie to "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" (what a horrible title by the way).The fight sequence are probably the best thing about the movie and they were highly entertaining, although very hard to believe that they actually really happened that way.It's a good entertaining movie but if you want to get to know more about Bruce Lee this isn't the best material for you to start with.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
I like the way the film captures the aura of Bruce Lee.There will indeed never be another Bruce Lee. I find it fascinating to imagine what Bruce would have done if he had lived, the 80's and 90's would have been very different if Arnie, Stallone, Wiilis, Seagal and Van Damme had Bruce to compete with, Bruce is sometimes critcised for being a bad actor, but i disagree, if anyone has seen his episodes of `Longstreet' or `Marlowe' they will see that Bruce could convincingly carry a dramatic scene given the right script and no dubbing and he oozed charisma, and he showed glimpses of good acting in Enter The Dragon.Being a Bruce fan i kind of wish that Jet Li would do the films that bruce did or was planning on doing, Jet's early work in Honk Kong like the Shaolin Temple or more recent stuff like Fist Of Legend(remake of Fist Of Fury) and Once Upon A Time In China was very promising and it seemed he was the successor to Bruce but instead now he's doing crap in Hollywood with DMX and Jason Statham.
That was the big inaccuracy-Bruce auditioned for another role in early 1965 before the role of Kato was offered to him.other roles he took in America were completely ignored: "Marlowe", his appearances on "Longstreet", etc...the movie went right from 1967 to 1972 within a minuteIf you want to see a really good special on Lee, as well as see lost footage from a project that was butchered after he died, check out the AMC documentary.
The turbulent, sometimes trying life of Bruce Lee, born Lee Jun-Fan in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong, who was the leading proponent of Wing Chun Gung Fu and Wu style Tai Chi Chuan in the mid-'60s, as well as a boxing champ, a California martial-arts teacher, loving husband to a young American woman who soon gave him two children, and an international television and movie star in the early 1970s.
My brother used to go to this rundown movie theater in Springfield,Massachusetts called The Jefferson Street Theater.From what I heard,it was a pretty bad place to go to.My brother would go there to see these kung fu flicks which probably excited him a lot being that he was a kid.A lot of kids went to or snuck to a martial arts film that probably made there day a lot better.Unfortunately,back on July 20,1973,the master of martial arts mysteriously died.His name was Bruce Lee.Years after his death,he is remembered throughout millions of fans,which includes me and is remembered around the world for his knowledge of martial arts."Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story" seems to be an appropriate title for a movie about the legend who reinvented martial arts .There has been a few biographies on Bruce Lee back in the 1970s.But none of those films didn't even bother to pay close attention to his lifestyle."Bruce Lee:The Man and the Myth" paid attention to Bruce Lee's fighting style and for that time the actor who played him did a fairly good job,but treated the character like a school kid performing kung fu moves after watching a martial arts movie.In "Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story",the actor,Jason Scott Lee,just doesn't portray Bruce Lee.His is Bruce Lee.He seems to take the role very seriously and surrounds his presence with Bruce Lee's spirit.This happens to be one of the best films of 1993 and happens to be a film that shows respect to the martial arts legend.The martial arts cheorography are one of the best that I have seen and I was really pulled into the action.Historicaly,"Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story" falls on its knees.Anyone who has studied Bruce Lee knows that what happens in this film didn't actually happen the way it actually did.For example,the scene in which he left Hong Kong and traveled to America in 1961.Any super Bruce Lee fan will know that he left Hong Kong in 1958.Biographies don't always get it right and I don't expect them to.Filmmakers usually do a pretty good job telling someone's true lifestory.Sometimes,they don't.The filmmakers who made "Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story",even though were not historically accurate,were accurate enough to qualify this as one of the best biographies that I have seen based on the martial arts legend.Jason Scott Lee should have been nominated an Academy Award for this film.I would given this film five stars.But the filmmakers failure to get into his life historicaly lowered down to four stars.This film I think works for fans of Bruce Lee..
A multitude of times growing up and is still one of my favorites.Jason Scott Lee does an amazing job of portraying Bruce Lee. An epic tail, great story, the hardships, and love, making this a great all around film.Being an Asian male born and raised in the western world may be one of the reasons I have a certain connection to the film more than others but I can't see why others wouldn't be able to relate.None the less, this movie has given me lots of inspiration, and recommend this film for anyone else who is seeking some great vision or just wondering who Bruce Lee was; because this film does an excellent job of displaying his life..
After failing to fulfil any of his potential while working as a dishwasher he goes to college and there learns that he could possibly do well as a martial arts teacher, and, by doing this, may be able to teach people more about his culture and open up the west to what China is and what it can be.We then witness a number of moments in his life that shape Bruce Lee the man and we watch him become the legend that we know, looking at his early movies in Hong Kong, his rapturous reception to the Big Boss, and his greater legacy.
The script is great and moves in such a way that when the action moments occur, they do not feel like inserts and instead seem to fall just at the right time, his recovery from his back injury whilst writing his book the art of Jeet Kun do (apologies to purists for the spelling) is handled well, as is the birth of Brandon and the effects it had on Linda's relations with her mother is just beautiful (especially when you bear in mind what a handsome man he turned out to be!) The performances are all great with Jason Scott Lee and Lauren Holly doing a splendid job as Bruce and Linda, giving a convincing portrayal of two people fighting against the odds to work together, Robert Wagner also excels in his brief role as the movie producer from hell.
RELEASED IN 1993 and directed by Rob Cohen, " Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" stars Jason Scott Lee as the martial arts superstar, tracing his early life in Hong Kong to his fresh start in the San Francisco area where he starts a martial arts school, meets his babe (Lauren Holly) and moves on to TV and Film.
I disagree; I sensed strong emotion on several occasions, like when Bruce exclaims to Linda: "You make be believe I can do anything" or when he wildly screams at her to leave his hospital room, not to mention his outstanding meltdown later in Hong Kong (I've had a few of those in my life, so I know).Speaking of Linda, Lauren Holly is just mind-blowing in her physical prime.THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours and was shot in California (San Francisco, Los Angeles & Valencia), China (Macau) and Hong Kong.
A film which successfully manages to tell the life story of superstar Bruce Lee in an interesting, exciting way; not a bad effort considering the dozens of low-budget similarities which followed in the '70s after the death of the Chinese legend.
The action scenes (of which there are plenty, martial arts fans will be pleased to hear) are invariably well-shot and offer maximum hard-hitting violence and cool choreography, with every punch in devastating detail and every kick captured in loving slow motion.Jason Scott Lee), who plays Bruce, may well offer the most noticeable performance in his career; as the kung fu legend he succeeds admirably.
Scenes in which Lee combats racism are excellently done, and the combination of film clips, interspersed with Jason Scott Lee playing Bruce Lee in the process of making his movies, comes off well.
I first watched this film in middle school when I didn't know much about Bruce Lee. Like any kid, I was fascinated by this mysterious and legendary martial artist, and this movie helped pique my interest.
Therefore I can't really say how factually accurate this film is (although, in the version I watched, Bruce Lee's real wife gave a brief speech at the beginning of the movie, saying how faithful it was).
I've read Bruce Lee 'purists' online saying how inaccurate this film is, but, the one thing even they can agree on, is what good performances Lauren Holly and Jason Scott Lee give as Bruce Lee and his American wife.Therefore, with good performances, decent fight scenes and an - albeit questionably good - storyline, there are worst films you can watch if anything about Bruce Lee's life or the martial arts genre in general interests you..
This is a interesting movie the details the life and death of martial arts star Bruce Lee. Dramatic and action-packed, it is good piece of action cinema that many action fans might find fun to watch.I thought Jason Scott Lee did a fine job portraying Bruce Lee, his moves and characteristics matching the late martial arts star's persona.
Sorry, but despite Jason Scott Lee and Lauren Holly giving very good performances, this film is about as historically accurate as a tabloid story on Madonna's intact virginity.What has been described as the director's 'artistic license' is in plain English another Hollywood huckster exploiting Bruce by manufacturing numerous inaccuracies to sell a film and line his pockets.
I hesitate to say artistic licence prevailed, because there is little art in this movie.I'm no expert but I have seen a number of martial arts films and researched the real-life characters, such as Yip Man with whom Lee learnt Wing Chun - a fascinating period of his life that is largely overlooked here.Jason Scott Lee is a decent enough actor who clearly works-out, but he demonstrates no mastery in this film.
That being said I have read other reviews of people - fans of Bruce Lee, who say that the movie contains inaccuracies, such as the reason he left Hong Kong for America.His actual wife Linda (nicely portrayed by Lauren Holly) said that the movie captures his personality and while this movie is really the only thing I have to base my opinions on (unlike other reviewers who obviously have had other material) - the fact that his wife has endorsed this movie tells me that the main facts - are intact.
It tells the story of Lee's youth in Hong Kong, before going to America where he is a dishwisher, goes to university, meets his wife Linda, sets up a successful school, writes his book on the philosophy of material arts and becomes a successful actor in Hong Kong before dying at the age of 32.This film is based on Linda Lee's book and she was involved with the production, but this film does have a artistic license with the events of Lee's life, especially of the inner demons he has to fight and some of the fight that Lee fought.This is the only Hollywood film that I am aware of that looks at the life of Bruce Lee. As well as the fight scene which were done with relish, the film goes deeper then that.
There were moments of comedy as well, which were decent for a small laugh.Jason Scott Lee (no relation) and Lauren Holly both offer good performances in this film, but I think Rob Cohen, the director of later hits the Fast and Furious, xXx (terrible film) and the Mummy: Curse of the Dragon Emperor, did his best work with this film.
He shows that he could easily direct fight scenes and able that he could balance it out with personal drama.If you are interested in Bruce Lee or material arts this film is worth a look..
while it's hard to say how accurate this depiction of Bruce Lee is,there's no denying it is entertaining.one thing that is probably depicted fairly accurately is the racism Lee faced from street punks to those in the entertainment industry,all of whom should have known better.but the movie also has it's lite side.there is some humour to lighten things up.the action sequences are done pretty well,but maybe a bit over the top.Jason Scoot Lee handles the role of Lee very well,even though he may not fit Lee physically.he is much larger than Lee was.Lauren Holley is good as Lee's love interest(and eventual wife)Linda Emery.
Michael Learned is particularly good as the mother of Linda Emery who does not approve of the union of the two,because Lee is Asian and her daughter is white.no doubt there are things this movie leaves out,and many things which are changed to make it more appealing to audiences,if you look at it as entertainment,you shouldn't be disappointed.for me,Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story is an 8/10.
This movie is fun to watch but that is about it, the fight scene where Bruce Lee has to fight to be able to keep teaching to non Chinese is misleading, when Lee's true wife Linda was asked about it she stated that Bruce spent the fight chasing his opponent who was to scared to fight him and he received no back injury from the fight, instead he hurt his back buy not warming up properly, i'm sure everyone would like it better if it was the way Hollywood laid it out for us but Mrs Lee would have no reason to lie, if you have the chance watch the AMC special about his life, it does not have all the Hollywood glam but it is so much more accurate.
The film is not too bad for a nights entertainment but if you're looking for accuracy this is not it and could confuse some people into thinking it is real.Bruce Lee was the greatest martial artist and fighter of all time and it could have showed a bit more of that side of himself rather than focusing on demons and fights that never took place.
I do Karate...and watching Dragon-The Bruce Lee Story actually got started.Its a great way to clear the mind and center and ground yourself..which is what he used to do...We also do a lot of the styles and techniques as well.Bruce Lee and his son Brandon were both mentally and Hartley connected to Martial arts...When Bruce died and was a tragedy..but when Brandon got shot in the making of the Crow..it devastated everyone..his little sister,his mum and his family.This movie had touched so many people and i think that Jason Scott Lee did a great job of retelling his life!.
This is probably an all around perfect film.The story is of Bruce Lee's, his childhood, his indulgence in Martial Arts at a young age, his running from his *demons* and his love with his future wife.
This movie was just great for all reasons a film should be and it proves that Bruce Lee was a great person and most likely the best martial artist ever..
Such as Bruce Lee's real life martial arts training with some of the biggest movie/sports stars in that era like Kareem abdul Jabaar and Steve Mcqueen.
This highly-romanticised American biopic may be historically bulls**t and over-dramatic, but it does make for a highly enjoyable experience, packed to the brim with sentiment and kung fu and offering to the uninitiated a window, if a little frosted, into the life and times of the late Bruce Lee. Jason Scott Lee (no relation) plays the man as we follow him from his rough early years in Hong Kong, onto university in Seattle, marrying Linda (Holly), trying aimlessly to make it in Hollywood up to his groundbreaking success in movies like The Big Boss and Enter the Dragon, through to his early death aged 32.