The Way of the Dragon

Bruce Lee Lives! Maybe not completely, but seeing the almost overwhelming amount of conspiracy theories around the master of martial arts and his sudden passing 30 years prior to the film’s release, it’s a magazine headline wanting to be written now or never. Jo Berry noted in his review, “So, although the man-myth does live on in a very real sense through his movies, the knotty issue of unravelling the star from the legends - let alone separating out the films - is a perpetual headache. One that often fogs the true brilliance of Lee’s performances and his feline prowess as a martial artist.”

“The Way of the Dragon,” released in 1972, is memorable simply for its final Coliseum fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris (at the time the champion of so many US and World Karate championships). This is the film that gives just about the best fight scene ever made. No fancy camera work, no tricks, just two guys at the prime of their career kicking seven colors from each other.

Berry ended his review by saying, “For better or worse, it’s also the film that launched Norris’ career and, whilst most of his straight-to-video output - along with that of Cynthia Rothrock, Michael Dudikoff and their ilk - is too easily dismissed, it was responsible for maintaining the momentum of martial arts films in America.”

This is a change of direction for Bruce Lee films because it has more of a comedy light to it than the others that we have seen. Maybe they wanted to change directions, so it may not be as good as some of the others, but it’s still a classic to check out. If you haven’t seen it, see it if you’re a Bruce Lee and/or martial arts fan. Sorry for posting this late, I was busy for a good majority of the day.

Look out next week when we look at the classic that really made Bruce Lee into a worldwide star in “Bruce Lee Month.”