Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (1977)

Such a frustrating disappointment

It is a performances centric movie

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Bruce Li turns in one of his best performances in this mostly fictional biography about the life of Bruce Lee. Li does a very good imitation of Bruce Lee but not surprisingly, falls slightly short of capturing the true essence of what made Bruce Lee such a special presence on film.While this was supposed to a biography about the life of Bruce Lee, it is much more concerned with presenting Kung Fu street fights rumor and gossip, whether based on any true factual reality or not, might have at one time had it said Lee had a penchant for getting involved in. The fights themselves are not badly executed and again Li has most of Lee's mannerisms down pat. Still he always falls slightly short of the mark as you might well expect even from the best of imitators.In the end, I have to admit to enjoying this film on a pure guilty pleasure level. It really is just using Bruce Lee's name as an excuse for yet another Kung Fu movie and cleverly ties itself to his legacy most likely hoping to cash in on his name. Still, Bruce Li isn't half bad at that and this movie moves at a nice, brisk exciting pace and is filled with decent Kung Fu fighting action. There's certainly worse efforts that this out there that also tried to cash in on the Lee name and legacy.

I think this is the filck I first saw during a stormy night in San Francisco's Chinatown - terribly dubbed, choppily edited and I have been looking for this movie ever since. It was more fun that I remember having had watching a fake Bruce Lee movie -- ever!There are several heavily symbolic montages with sappy lounge-style romantic musical themes, my personal favorite involved cross-cutting between the usual "romping at the beach" footage with what I think was a dachshund running down a hill ... an obvious tribute to "Battleship Potemkin" -- foreshadowing a life out of control.I was so certain that this grindhouse goodie would disappear forever that I saw it 5 times in the course of the week it played at that Chinatown Cinema(THIS IS NOT A SPOILER, BUT SCROLL DOWN ANYWAY> I NEED TO REMARK ON THE FINAL FOOTAGEThere is a wonderfully unintentionally hilarious tribute in song to Bruce Lee --- as Bruce Li, that is... which ends with the repeated cry of "Bruuuuuce! -- Bruuuuuce!", with mondo echo effects.It just doesn't get better.

Bruce Lee: The Dragon Lives carries the legacy of classic Bruceploitation flicks and starring the forerunner of that movement Chung Tao Ho a.k.a. Bruce Li. This one strays far and away from Bruce's life, but that doesn't mean it's not funny!The film delves into the curse of Bruce Lee, symbolized by lightning, rain, and strong winds. Then, ZIP to the U.S. where Bruce is hassled by the man, does martial arts training at a conveniently found wooden pole park, and tries to hitch a ride. Unfortunately, motorists are very wary of giving Bruce Li a lift, so much so he is almost run off the road by a sadistic hippie. Bruce responds by yelling "BASTARDS, damn you!" I'm not so sure if Bruce Lee was quite so hostile. Then, at the tournament, he sees his cop friend. Gee, thanks Officer for offering me a lift! Maybe Bruce should've just asked him.The tournament: I swear the thai guy is based on the thai villain in Master of Flying Guillotine; a much MORE credible martial arts film. The battles include no hold barred, blood spilling action and even a Chinese Hitler joins in. Don't forget Sammuel Curtis who has the most 70s jive turkey voice EVER and taunts with remarks like "Look at this kid!" and "Go on home China boy and take your kung fu with you!" Remember, Bruce hates wearing ponytails and anyone putting down kung fu. Not only does he draw boos, laughs, and ridicule from the crowd, he also manages to get beat up during fights and almost knocked into unconsciousness. This is Bruce??They go through Bruce's rise to fame including shooting Fist of Fury with Bruce sporting a mustache! Eventually, Bruce's training goes extreme and his obsession with his idol from the depths-of-hell punching machine. Man, if he was so worried about being cursed, it'd be wiser not to keep an evil deity apparatus in your home. Oh, and Bruce cheated on his wife and laughed maniacally after doing the nasty.Watch this one and know this was not even a glimmer of the real Bruce Lee. Not as great as "Bruce Lee True Story", but way better than "Bruce Lee A Dragon's Story". How could I forget the awesome theme song? "He's a Legend, he's a hero" is still emblazed in my mind.

I saw this film under the title "Bruce Lee:the Man and the Myth" If this is the true story, he certainly led a pretty hectic life. All he seems to do is get into fights. But they are well staged and make exciting viewing.Li is a good lookalike for Lee and does a good impression of him. But he has neither the charisima or style of the man who meant as much to his generation as Valentino and Dean did to theirs. What is all boils down to is just another cash in on Lee's death. The exercise sequences are the most interesting.