Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth
Directed by	Ng See-yuen
Produced by	Pau Ming
Written by	Ng See-yuen
Starring	Ho Chung-tao Unicorn Chan Chiu Chi-ling Lee Hoi-san Fung Hak-on Fung Ging-man
Music by	Chow Fook-leung
Cinematography	Wing Chen
Edited by	Mike Harris Hung-yao Pan Ming Sung
Distributed by	Eternal Film Company
Release dates	28 October 1976 (1976-10-28)
Running time	92 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Language	Mandarin

Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (Chinese: 李小龍傳奇, also known as Bruce Lee: The True Story) is a 1976 Hong Kong semi biographical martial arts film starring Ho Chung-tao and directed by Ng See-yuen. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 28 October 1976.

Plot

The film chronicles Bruce Lee's life beginning with Lee leaving China to go to University in Seattle. Most of the benchmarks of Lee's later life (cast in Green Hornet television series, marriage to Linda Lee, stardom in Hong Kong, death) are covered, with a somewhat less tenuous relationship to the truth as in previous Lee biopics.

Cast

• Ho Chung-tao – Bruce Lee
• Unicorn Chan – Himself
• Chiu Chi-ling – Mr. Chan
• Fung Ging-man – Lee Sifu
• Alan Chui Chung-san – One of Bruce Lee’s students
• Sham Chin-bo – Bruce Lee’s friend in San Francisco
• Mars – Charlie
• Fung Hak-on – Challenger to Bruce Lee on Enter the Dragon Set
• Lee Hoi-san – Challenger to Bruce Lee on Enter the Dragon Set
• Yuen Biao – Challenges Bruce Lee on the set of Enter the Dragon
• Carl Scott – One of Bruce Lee’s young students
• Wong Mei – Extra
• Fong Yuen – Fortune teller
• Lau Kwok-shing – Bad guy extra Enter the Dragon
• Leung Siu-cheng – Master beaten on street
• David Chow – Murayaki
• Lynda Hirst – Linda Lee
• Ip Chun – Bruce Lee’s Wing Chun Sifu
• Roberta Ciappi – Daughter of Italian Mobster
• Donnie Williams – Karate Thug
• Siu Yuk-lung – Extra
• Richard Cheung Kuen – Student
• Chung Chaan-chi
• Gam Tin-chue

Production

Linda Lee was played by Lynda Hirst, an English women who was an army wife stationed in Hong Kong at the time of the filming. The director, having searched unsuccessfully for some time for a suitable 'Linda Lee' among available actresses, came across Lynda Hirst whilst out shopping in a local market and remarked on her resemblance to the late star's wife. On learning she was a 'Westerner' he immediately cast her in the (small) role. Lynda's real life sons can also be seen, very briefly, in the movie as Lee's children.

Release

On 22 May 2000, DVD was released by Mia in the United Kingdom in Region 2. Two years later, Martial Arts Films Box Set DVD was released on 23 December 2002, at a 4 disc set that includes Black Friday, Legacy of Rage, and Rumble in Hong Kong.

There are plans for a new Blu-ray and DVD release of the film in the U.S. with remastered and restored sound and picture quality in its uncut version with deleted scenes from the Criterion Collection.

Reception

In his three part Bruceploitation essay for Impact Magazine, Dean Meadows writes:

"This was a bigger and better production, providing a larger budget, international locations and the name Ho Chung Tao on the opening credits. Upon its release, earlier, scandalous elements of the exploitational deluge had all but disappeared. Overlong scenes of the Little Dragon "in action" with Betty Ting Pei were absent from the production and the full contact fury that people had been waiting to see from a Bruce Lee bio-pic was finally realised. Every director can of course be afforded a little artistic license and whilst a number of fight scenes were completely fictionalised, Ng See Yuen had undoubtedly created a fitting tribute to the memory of the undisputed "King of Kung Fu". With first class choreography, Ho Chung Tao mirrored the Little Dragon in a number of standout fights."

The Time Out Film Guide, for example: "Numbingly unimaginative and exploitative biography. Would you trust a film that opens on a '70s street scene and captions it 'Hong Kong 1958'?"

External links

• Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth at IMDb