Martial arts films didn’t start with Bruce Lee and they have continued long after his tragic 1973 passing at age 32. But Lee changed the way that Asians are portrayed in film and bridged the gap between the East and the West, in the process redefining what it was possible to do in martial arts movies.
Many of the Vegas casino online real money slots have been influenced by Lee. You can binge on some of the top Bruce Lee movies, play some slots and read about this remarkable actor, stuntman, fight choreographer and filmmaker who truly understood how important it is to the viewer to see a realistic fight seen in a long, unbroken take.
Lee’s films departed from the then-accepted standard of careful shooting and quick cutting that allowed a stuntman to substitute for the actor. Lee’s movies were famous for giving viewers a chance to see the real deal — Lee himself, kicking and throwing punches.
Lee was recognized as a charismatic actor, a natural star who drew viewer admiration and inspiration as he brought the image of an intelligent and well-schooled Asian leading man to the screen. After his first appearance as Kato, the driver/bodyguard in The Green Hornet, Lee left Los Angeles to produce his films in Hong Kong where, he was sure, he would be able to make movies in a way that would promote his vision of how an Asian man could and should be portrayed to the Western world.
Some of the top Bruce Lee movies for a binge festival include:
The Big Boss
The Big Boss was released in 1971 and is Bruce Lee’s first starring role on the big screen. In the film, Lee portrays an ice factory worker in Thailand. He discovers that the Big Boss is a crime lord who uses the ice factory to cover up a drug smuggling operation.
Lee wants to stop this criminal enterprise but he is bound by an oath that he made to his mother to forgo violence at all costs. After the crime boss and his henchmen continue to threaten Lee and the honest way of life that he wants to defend he has no choice but to take on the whole criminal crew and do his part to ensure that they are unable to carry out their plans.
Fist of Fury
Fist of Fury was made in 1972 and was Lee’s second film in which he had a starring role. In the movie he portrayed Chen Zhen, a kung fu student of Huo Yuanjia in Shanghai in 1910. Yuanjia was a controversial historical figure who was the co-founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Association and practitioner of the Mizongyi martial art which he used to defeat foreign fighters in highly publicized matches, earning him the admiration of many Chinese and the enmity of many enemies.
In the film, Yuanjia dies and Japanese karate dojo students show up at the funeral to mock him. Zhen suspects foul play and prepares to fight with the resulting kung fu vs. karate delivering a high-action martial arts event.
The Way of the Dragon
In 1972 The Way of the Dragon Bruce Lee wrote, starred and directed the story which takes place in Italy. The plot revolves around a restaurant owner in Rome who calls home for help after he is threatened by the Mafia. Bruce Lee, seemingly a bumbling country bumpkin, is the one who arrives to protect the business and he quickly makes it clear that he’s anything but clueless which then forces the Mafiosos to get some reinforcements of their own.
Chuck Norris, as one of the Mafia’s back-ups, goes head to head in several scenes which gives movie-goers a chance to see Norris’s debut in his own line of fighting flicks. The Way of the Dragon was Lee’s last film to be released during his lifetime, making this a special viewing experience.
Game of Death
Game of Death was originally scheduled to be released in 1972 but after Lee’s death, director Robert Clouse, who directed Enter the Dragon, filmed the final scenes and released the movie in 1978, a decision that ignited a firestorm of criticism. In the movie, Lee plays a movie star who is also a professional martial arts master. He resists pressure from a criminal syndicate that wants him to pay them a percentage of the film’s take.
An assassin shoots Lee in the face but he survives and undergoes reconstructive plastic surgery before going undercover with an altered appearance. Now he can exact revenge on those who tried to terrorize him.
The final Game of Death includes only 11 minutes of footage from Bruce Lee before an alternate actor is cast but those 11 minutes are action-packed Bruce Lee at his best as he takes on his real-life student, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
