My first encounter with the phenomenon that is Bruce Lee was when I was in my early-teens visiting my cousins in Sydney back in the mid-eighties. My older cousin Anthony was a Rugby league prospect for the North Sydney Bears and his father Fred was a former Judo champion in his homeland Germany. They both had a penchant for watching Bruce Lee movies. I didn’t share their enthusiasm glimpsing at the grainy-grindhouse footage on their VHS tapes but years later I eventually came ’round. Today’s movie Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a solid and enjoyable introduction for those unfamiliar with the history of martial arts in Western cinema and Bruce Lee’s impact on it and his legacy towards popularising Martial arts.
Based on the life and career of Martial Arts superstar, Bruce Lee. Haunted by demons. Bruce was taught Martial arts at childhood. Bruce then was told by his father to flee to the United States. There, he opened up a Martial Arts school, then was chosen to be the Green Hornet’s sidekick, Kato. Then, his big movie career that included “The Big Boss” and “Enter the Dragon”. Fighting many enemies along the way, including his childhood demon.
The brief but eventful life of actor and martial arts trailblazer Bruce Lee is portrayed in this drama, based on the biography written by his widow Linda Lee Caldwell. The film still causes some consternation with some Bruce Lee fans because in true Hollywood style it tinkers with facts, misses out other notable points and has some timeline issues. Yet if you can accept it as a “painted always in a positive light” homage piece more than a definitive biography then you can find some semblance of the man and his short life. The story follows the principal 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.
The scene I have presented below is one of my favourites from the film. It entails Bruce Lee’s comeback from a debilitating back injury where during a martial arts tournament run by Ed Parker he challenges anyone in the vicinity to disprove his martial arts method and philosophy (Jeet Kune Do) by lasting more than 1 minute in the ring against him.
The core of Jeet Kune Do is the interception of the opponent, making corresponding responses or counterattacks that strike at incoming attacks. JKD also incorporates a set of principles to help practitioners make instant decisions and improve the physical and mental self, being intended to have practical applications in life without the traditional routines and metaphysics of conventional martial arts.
Tao of Jeet Kune Do – Wikipedia
- In this film, when Linda tells Bruce that she’s pregnant, a musical band is visible in the background. The lead singer of this band is played by Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s real-life daughter.
- Dedicated to the memory of Bruce Lee’s son Brandon Lee, who died (March 31, 1993) due to an accidental shooting on the set while filming The Crow (1994). Filming was completed and the Dragon was less than two months away from opening when Brandon Lee died.
- When Bruce Lee is preparing to fight the martial artist chosen to stop him from teaching the “Guai Lo”, their warmup is obviously derived from Way of the Dragon (1972): Lee is exercising his flexibility, while his opponent, like Chuck Norris, is instead practicing a series of “rehearsed routines.”
- This film was released during the 20th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death on July 20, 1973.
- When Jerome Sprout knocks on the door to Bruce’s school, you can see the name of the school is Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. Lee Jun Fan is Bruce’s given name.
- Rob Cohen learnt that for the first two years of Bruce Lee’s life, his parents had dressed and passed him off as a girl to protect him from a superstitious Chinese belief that demons target first-born sons. When Rob Cohen first met Linda Lee Cadwell after giving her the screenplay, she asked how Cohen had learnt about Bruce’s demon. Cadwell said Bruce told her he felt as though a demon was trying to drag him away when he collapsed ten weeks before his death.
- None of the custom-made sound effects in the fight scenes were used twice.
References:
1. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story – Wikipedia
2. Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
He was very interesting. It took me awhile also….
We get a lot of Bruce movies on cable here in Colombia which is cool.
His Son was cool also…
Yeah I love the Crow. He would have been huge. Fkn sad man!
Yeah he would have had a fabulous career. Very sad…
He was a good looking young man. He had the moves and was an excellent actor. You never know what’s ’round the corner.
That was tragic. You are right. You never know…
Yeah, I loved this movie! Anything about Bruce Lee has my attention! I thought it was all over after he got that first kick in the bad…!!!
I did too Sharon. That fight scene is so inspirational . Although I’m no expert, the choreography was fantastic throughout. Also, according to the IMDB trivia page – None of the custom-made sound effects in the fight scenes were used twice.
Sorry Matt, I meant first kick in the *back*!!! Great martial arts movie!
https://powerpop.blog/2024/08/17/maxs-drive-in-movie-enter-the-dragon/
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has its moments, but this is where Tarantino like in the Hateful Eight starts to parody his own movies. Too big for his boots. Also I was infuriated with his portrayal of Lee in this. But anyhows….