Bruceploitation appreciation thread!!!

[edher_M.A.]

I remember when i was younger my mother told me "son, don't take everything so serious, learn to relax and enjoy life.." When it came to Bruce Lee, oh boy, i was so serious about him and as a serious compromised Bruce Lee fan, i HATED the bruce lee clones and there movies. I found them offensive, tasteless and very bad.

Now, years later, i took my mom's advice and give them a try. After watching them, i found those movies were pretty entertained. I laugh and laugh a LOT with them now that i stop been so serious about Bruce Lee.
God this movies are funny as hell. The dialog, the script, i mean, they are a mess , so mess that fall in the "so BAD is GOOD". Now i collect them with the same pasion i used to collect the Bruce Lee originals.

Another thing i founded was that those Bruce Lee clones were not bad as a martial artist. Bruce Lee fans use to say that those guy were bad, but not at all, they are not bad, the problem is that they are not Bruce Lee. On there own, i think some of them are pretty good.

People claim that Bruce Lee was so bad ass at Wing Chun but Bruce Li showed more Wing Chun in his movies than Bruce Lee ever did!!! Bruce Le wasn't that bad either. What ruined him (besided imitating BL) was that he took part in many Godfrey "cut & paste" Ho movies and all Korean Bruce Lee's imitators showed great kicking techniques.

We know and we have heard all the BAD things posible about the bruceploitation, now i wish i could see if someone else enjoy this kind of movies, come on people, they weren't all THAT bad, you just need to see them as what they are lol

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I am interested in seeing the movies listed, because I can't think of many bruceploitation movies I like except for Fist of Fury 2. And Dragon Lives Again is funny.

[edher_M.A.]

Tower of Death, Enter the Fat Dragon, Bruce Lee the Man, the Myth, Blind Fist of Bruce Lee, Dragon Claw's.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Oh yeah there are some good ones:p But I don't like The Man The Myth. I didn't see anything good in that movie. And I thought Blind Fist was decent at best. Is Dragon's Claws the one with Hwang Jang Lee? I haven't seen that.

[Way of the Dragon]

'the man, the myth' is really good, it showed some good training sequences.
I'd quite like to see 'Enter the fat dragon' with Sammo Hung, i also want to see some other movies with Bruce Li like 'Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger', 'The Deadly Strike' and 'The Gold Connection'. Ive put them on my amazon wishlist but havent brought them yet.

[The Dragon]

"...Ain't nuthin' like the real thing baby,... "

Isn't that a song?
:nerd:

[bruceleeclones]

Without doubt, Bruce Li was the most polished of the three main clones. I agree with what edher_M.A. said, too many of Bruce Lee fans take them far too seriously. What i really cant stand these people who still complain about the Bruce Lee Clones even after all these years, get over it. Of course the real Bruce Lee was a legend, and im just as big a Bruce Lee fan as anyone, but what is the point in still making pointless remarks about how much greater he was compared to his impersonators.

One of the reasons i started my site in the first place was because there is so much wrong or bad information around when it comes to these movies. Alternative titling can be a nightmare to those new to watching them.

[Way of the Dragon]

a good point there bruceleeclones
im a massive fan of bruce lee but i dont complain about the clones because everyone loves bruce and so many want to be like him. I like to watch the films with the clones because i like to see them capturing Bruce lee and trying to be like the master. we all know bruce lee cannot be replaced but its good to see how much of an influence he has on people, how much people want to be like him. Bruce Lee also was going to be in so many films which he could not do because he died, its good to see clones creating these films to tribute him.

[edher_M.A.]

At least Bruce Li can do his own acrobatics. lol :) Bruce Lee can't :P

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

At least Bruce Li can do his own acrobatics. lol :) Bruce Lee can't :P


oooooooh snap;):D:p

[kungfusamurai]

I think Ho Chung Tao/Bruce Li was in the better films overall. Better stories, better fighting, better costars. Bruce Le was in a lot of terrible films. His fighting was okay, but I don't feel he was as impressive to watch as Ho Chung Tao. The funniest Bruceploitation actor has to be Dragon Lee. He's got pretty good hapkido skills, but he's just such a caricature. He always seems to break out the white t-shirt and black pants, and he just seems to be a little over the top when he gets mad, shaking his head and fists.

KFS

[jiujitsu77]

bruce li forever. so underrated. bruce le....well...im not a fan of his AS MUCH, but still has some good flicks.

i wrote a thread about this along time ago explaining my position on the lee clones. i was young and since bruce only had a handful of films, i learned to appreciate the clones as a "continuation" of his films...even thought they were not as good. i just had fun with them.

and i stand by my statement before. say what you want about the clones, but i believe that they kept the genre alive even at it's lowest points here in the united states

[thegoldenstate]

It seems to me like the various clones have gotten a fair amount of positive attention on this forum in the past. As far as people bad-mouthing them, well, I don't think that anyone truly expects Le or whoever to be "as good as" Lee...rather, I think the negative treatment results from a combination of factors-- ranging from the silliness of some of the attempts to imitate him and the sheer ineptness of some of the filmmaking associated with the clones... to more serious complaints involving how Lee's personal life was dragged through the mud in some of the "biopics" that purported to tell his story, as well as some of the deceptive ways in which these films have been marketed over time.

It's nice that Ho Chung-tao has expressed regret for having gotten himself involved in some of these projects, but I don't know if he's ever addressed the fact that at least two of them featured outrageously inaccurate and sleazy portrayals of Lee as well as his family members' and colleagues' lives...

Granted, Ho later appeared in The Man, The Myth, which is perhaps the most benign of the biopics from that era, but even it is rife with inaccuracies and distortions. At a certain point it boggles the mind-- is it really so difficult to craft a reasonably accurate portrayal of Lee's life?

[thegoldenstate]

I'll chime in with some of my own opinions on these films that people mentioned upthread:

Tower of Death- silly Game of Death-redux story, but great action courtesy of choreographer Yuen Wo-ping and actors Hwang Jang Lee, Casanova Wong, Roy Horan
Enter the Fat Dragon- have never seen it, but it seems to be universally appreciated
Bruce Lee the Man, the Myth- way overrated in my book, but seeing what its competition was, I can understand why people give it a fair shake
Blind Fist of Bruce Lee- I'm convinced that this must be one of the worst films that Simon Yuen appeared in. A snoozer.
Dragon Claw's- I don't think I've ever seen this one, but having something of a weakness for Dragon Lee, I think I could stand to watch him and Hwang Jang Lee go at it
Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger- Better production than many other films of its type, but I found this one to be pretty dull, all in all.
The Deadly Strike- Best "Bruce Li" film I've seen. He doesn't try to do "Bruce" in this one, which has a "Deadly Dozen"-type plot similar to Incredible Kung Fu Mission (the John Liu flick).
The Gold Connection- Never seen it but would be curious to, based on reviews I've read.

[edher_M.A.]

well, i didn't mention Deadly Strike or The Chinese Stuntman because i don't consider those films as "bruceploitation" ones. They are Ho Chung Tao Films. The only thing in common with the other bruceploitation films is that it stars Bruce Li other than that you don't see any story of Bruce Lee, or his name, or his body gestures or anything.
I'm not sure if we should consider those films as bruceploitation because they have nothing to do with the bruce one.

[The Dragon]

At least Bruce Li can do his own acrobatics. lol :) Bruce Lee can't :P

The story goes; after he injured his back in the late '60's Lee cut back on any type of tumbling and what not. He was one of the most agile MA's around in the US at the time. When he did the HK films, he hated having to be doubled on gymnastic shots, and the reason was because of his back. He could do basic somersaults and no hand flips. See the GOD fight between he and Chi Hon Jae. When being flipped, Lee fell hard and did not require a double. As far as the multiple acrobatics, the HK Peking Opera trained stuntmen were the best, so why not let them make him look good. The few times Yuen Wah did double him, no one knew he was being doubled until it was revealed years later.

[edher_M.A.]

You know why none knew he was being double by Yuen Wah?? Because i think none even questioned he did those somersaults. lol We all thought Bruce Lee could do anything so why even think he was been double?? lol
I had a friend who refused to believe that Bruce Lee needed a double for those somesaults. :)

[Morgoth Bauglir]

'the man, the myth' is really good, it showed some good training sequences.


You got me there. I do remember a good training scene.

[jiujitsu77]

im serious when i say that deadly strike is to me one of the best independent kung fu flicks

[shukocarl]

Bruce Li (James Ho Chung Tao) was undoubtably the best of the imitators, being both awful when he started out and an accomplished screenfighter/actor by the time he called it quits. Some of his later work still stands up today (Deadly Strike, Dynamo, Gold Connection, Chinese Stuntman). His best fighting performance (and best film in my opinion) is Soul Brothers of kung fu....but try and see an uncut copy....it's the dogs!
Some of the 'Bruce Lee' type fare was worthwhile too (Man & Myth, Exit the Dragon-Enter the Tiger, Fist of Fury 2 & 3)...almost being a re-casting type of affair as per James Bond. - Li for Lee. More than anyone, he kept the LEGEND of Bruce Lee alive for a lot of fans.

[bruceleeclones]

Image of Bruce Lee is another of my favs of Li's that hasnt been mentioned on here.

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Image of Bruce Lee I suppose could be called a bruceploitation movie, because of Bolo and Han Ying Chieh. Bolo just tears up the screen. One of his best roles.

[edher_M.A.]

I still need to see "The Clones of Bruce Lee" . When i saw the trailer on youtube, im sure is going to be one of the funniest. I'll try to see it tomorrow.
By the way, besides Bolo, there's another villian that seems to be in most bruceploitation films, the one and only KONG DO!!! the man is fighting machine. lol

[AlbertV]

edher, when I was younger, I too took Bruce Lee films too seriously and didn't care too much for the clones. However, I too have matured and gotta say I am a huge fan of Bruce Li, or James Ho. He not only have polished skills in wing chun, but he was actually a decent kicker. My favorite Bruce Li films are: Last Strike (Soul Brothers of Kung Fu), Bruce Lee: The Invincible, Dynamo, Counter Attack (Chinese Stuntman), The Three Avengers

My 2nd favorite of the clones is Dragon Lee, or Vyachaslev Yasynski. Was a protege of Hapkido grandmaster Hwang In-Shik (or Whang In Sik). Loved Champ Against Champ where he has a steel leg. Also liked Dragon's Infernal Showdown and the clips I saw of Emperor of the Underworld where he took on Hwang Jang-Lee.

3rd favorite goes to Bruce Le, or Wong Kin-Lung. Like Dragon Lee, he tried too hard to be like Bruce the most. Went on to do some exploitative B-films like Comfort Women and spent time in prison for embezzlement.

Enter the Fat Dragon will be a classic for Sammo idolizing Bruce and acting like him. Definitely worth getting...especially when he beats up Tony Leung Siu-Hung (as a Bruce-alike) for doing a BAD impersonation of Bruce!!!

[bruceleeclones]

Bruce Le and Dragon Lee movies do have some good moments, but Li's are more watchable to the average kung fu movie fan. I suppose it all depends on peoples taste. Martial monks of Shaolin Temple is amongst my favs of Dragon Lee's. For Bruce Le, id go for Return of Bruce or Bruce's Fingers.

Also, a quick point, Dragon Lee's real name isnt Vyachaslev Yasynski, that name come from the bogus info about him that was floating around the net a few years ago.

[BlurayStation3]

Does anyone know of more Bruceploitation box sets? On Amazon I see:

ultimate dragon collection
kung fu theater collection
kung fu theater five fabulous features vol 1
kung fu theater legends of kung fu vol 1

[edher_M.A.]

Return of the Warrios box set have like 3 bruceploitations on it, plus all the Sonny Chiba's Streetfighter series.

[HyperDrive]

I have a 4-pack called Martial Arts EXTREME: Bruce Lee put out by Platinium Disc Corporation. It is composed of Blind Fist of Bruce, The Image of Bruce Lee, The Fists of Bruce Lee, and the bottom of the barrel Fist of Fear, Touch of Death.

[BlurayStation3]

Hmm those titles sound familiar. I think I have those in the Martial Arts 50/20 packs by Millcreek.

[AlbertV]

Bruce Le and Dragon Lee movies do have some good moments, but Li's are more watchable to the average kung fu movie fan. I suppose it all depends on peoples taste. Martial monks of Shaolin Temple is amongst my favs of Dragon Lee's. For Bruce Le, id go for Return of Bruce or Bruce's Fingers.

Also, a quick point, Dragon Lee's real name isnt Vyachaslev Yasynski, that name come from the bogus info about him that was floating around the net a few years ago.

Thanks for the clearup :) Good thing that is bogus....sounds like a fake name anyway.

[Squid Lips]

Dragon Lee has always been my favorite. Just the entertainment value of the guys is worth the price of admission. I also think his kicks are certainly stronger and more varied than either Li or Le.

Li's films tend to be the better made but The Dragon The Hero is pretty classic Dragon.

Bruce's Fingers and Bruce Le's Greatest Revenge are my two Favorite Le films (though never saw Ninja over The Wall)

Man The Myth and Dynamo are great for Li.

Back in the day, these were the guys who "broke me in" to Kung Fu movies after Lee so I have a special soft spot for them as well.

[The Dragon]

They're clones for God's sake!




Lol. :)

[edher_M.A.]

hummmm Yesss I think we're all aware of THAT. :l So?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

I don't think I saw Kung Fu Fever mentioned. It is bad in so many ways, but I enjoyed it. And Ron Van Clief looks hilarious with that mustache.

[HyperDrive]

I'll just link to the old Bruceploitation thread.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4743&highlight=Bruceploitation

Hmm those titles sound familiar. I think I have those in the Martial Arts 50/20 packs by Millcreek.

Probably, I believe Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is public domain. And how did the Dragon Lee misinformation come about?

[falkor]

I'll just link to the old Bruceploitation thread.

http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4743&highlight=Bruceploitation



Probably, I believe Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is public domain. And how did the Dragon Lee misinformation come about?
Ever heard the fictional story about a notorious spammer who got killed by having a can of spam shoved down his throat? Well, it's now circulating on the Internet as fact.

[HyperDrive]

So another case of the internet blowing things out of proportion, thanks.

[bruceleeclones]

it was probably spread by the same guy who claimed he was Kim Tai jung (Tower of Death) lol.

[WongFury]

Has anyone heard or seen Enter Another Dragon? it says stars Bruce Le, Ron Van Clief and John Saxon.

speaking of which what ever happened to Bruce Le anyway where is he now?

[Morgoth Bauglir]

What what what?!?!? I need to see that.


I heard Bruce Le was in jail. I read it on this forum like a year ago. Somebody probably has more info...

[Way of the Dragon]

I cant seem to find the film 'Enter Another Dragon' anywhere.
What good bruce lee clone biopics are there? I want films on his life.
I have seen 'The Man, The Myth' and 'Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story'

[jkl]

i used to watch the bruce li films back in the day, i enjoyed the man the myth for what it was, also exit the dragon & enter the tiger, dragon dies hard, dynamo cant really comment on these films as i havent seen them for over 20 yrs, but some bitter sweet memories of them for sure.

[HyperDrive]

I cant seem to find the film 'Enter Another Dragon' anywhere.

That's because it probably doesn't exist. Apparently it never made it out of production as there are no reviews of it anywhere from anytime. :(

[Chen Kuan Tai]

Without doubt, Bruce Li was the most polished of the three main clones. I agree with what edher_M.A. said, too many of Bruce Lee fans take them far too seriously. What i really cant stand these people who still complain about the Bruce Lee Clones even after all these years, get over it. Of course the real Bruce Lee was a legend, and im just as big a Bruce Lee fan as anyone, but what is the point in still making pointless remarks about how much greater he was compared to his impersonators.

One of the reasons i started my site in the first place was because there is so much wrong or bad information around when it comes to these movies. Alternative titling can be a nightmare to those new to watching them.
I agree. It's like an action fan looks b-action movies. They look bad cause of this standard in the first moment, but after watching some movies it gets interesting, funny and with the time it's cult. The trash is to enjoy and what it makes in this genre.

One of my fav clone movies is Enter the Game of Death. How Le is beating Bolo in the ring is on of my greatest clone moments I really enjoy. The martial arts choreography is very good and rare for a clone movie. Just fighting up the pagoda like in Game of Death is nice. Think it's Le's best performance in his clone movie career. I can recommend it for all fans.

[WongFury]

what about one Le did Called Re-Enter The Dragon Ive seen posters of that online too like on ebay and some websites or could that be a re-title?

[Way of the Dragon]

what about one Le did Called Re-Enter The Dragon Ive seen posters of that online too like on ebay and some websites or could that be a re-title?

Ive heard of that one too but i checked it on IMDB and its another film to 'Enter Another Dragon' and I cant find this movie too....how annoying.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51L-RvwwljL._SL500_.jpg

All i can find of this, is the IMDB info saying it exists and this poster

[Karlos]

So there's a psuedo-official sequel to ETD with Le, Van Clief and my man, John Saxon and I've only just found out about it?!

Oh man, we've gotta find this!!

I'd help, but MY HEAD JUST EXPLODED!!

:p:p:p

[Karlos]

Phil Hobden, of Combat Magazine, mentions it in this article:

http://combatfilm.blogspot.com/2008/03/april-08-worst-named-martial-arts-films.html

Moreover, he mentions that he's got a copy - so it must've been finished!!

[bruceleeclones]

As far as im aware, Re-Enter the Dragon is another title for the Bruce Le movie, My Name Called Bruce, judging from a poster I saw.

[Way of the Dragon]

are you sure?
check this out: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0494686/
It seems like a different film to Re-enter the Dragon.

[Karlos]

There's no doubt that rock solid info on this flick, as far as the net goes, is thin on the ground, to say the least.

I REALLY hope someone can come up with a copy.

I will not rest until I find one!

If any of you guys do happen to find a copy - or any more info. - please pm me!

[bruceleeclones]

IMDB isnt exactly the most accurate resource for these sort of films. Until i see otherwise, I still just think its a American re-title.

[Karlos]

You're spot on - IMDB is very patchy when it comes to Asian movies.

I have feeling Re-Enter... is indeed an re-name, but Enter Another Dragon is a real film - but where is it??!

:p

[bolofan]

I reckon it could well be the case with at least one of these, for example, Bruce Le and Lo Lieh made a sequel to Big Boss and there is trailers for that proving it is a real film, but it has dissappeared from all existence.

[HyperDrive]

It seems like some of these had limited distribution or none at all, probably locked up in some archive or studio vault.

Anyways, is Dragon Shek modern bruceploitation?

[jiujitsu77]

you know i appreciated dragon shek in real bruce lee 2 and trinity goes east (more the second title because of my love of all things related to the spaghetti western genre) in trinity, shek didnt mug like lee as much....not saying they are great films, just saying he didnt look too bad

[jiujitsu77]

and on another note.....i would love to see more "modern" bruceploitation....seriously

[Morgoth Bauglir]

Anyways, is Dragon Shek modern bruceploitation?

Correct. According to hkcinemagic.com Dragon sek started acting in 1998. The only movie I've seen where he really gets to show off his skills is in Trinity Goes East (which for some reason isn't listed on hkcinemagic, even though it has John Liu, Robert Tai and Steve tartalia). There's a lot of stunt doubling for Sek for high flying kicks and acrobatics, but when they show his face it is clear he has skill. It's too bad that the majority of the movies he is in are REALLY bad. I would like to see more of him. I'll have to check out that Real Bruce Lee 2 jiujitsu77 mentioned.



and on another note.....i would love to see more "modern" bruceploitation....seriously

I would too. Have you seen Dragon In Fury? If you haven't, then don't go near it. Possibly the worst movie ever made. And that's true Dragon Sek didn't do much Bruce mugging in Trinity Goes East. Would have made the movie even stupider than it already was, so good move by the director. I had a lot of fun watching that movie.

[bruceleeclones]

Theres quite a few of Dragon Sek's movies that have yet to get released, including Hero the Great with Carter Wong. I liked Reurn of Dragon with him, and Dragon the master wasnt too bad.

[jiujitsu77]

i had a chance to get dragon in fury but was advised otherwise. however i still intend on sitting down and checking it out

[makone]

i like the old clone movies but i don`t see the need for new ones,they could make cgi animation, that would do more justice to the man,i don`t mean cgi mixed with real people thats lame,i mean like final fantasy.

[Way of the Dragon]

that could be quite cool, if they make it look mega realistic like what they did with the Final Fantasy movie. nice idea makone.

[Killer Meteor]

I find CGI to be rather poor at making realistic people, it tends to look rather odd. I'd much rather see a traditional cel animated film

[makone]

either way, in the 70`s & 80`s we had clone movies,which i have fond memories of but the fact that these guy`s resembeld bruce lee was the only reason (for a few of them anyway)that they got to make films,but not one of them could fight like him,(except for bruce li in one fight scene in fof 3)animation can recreate his style by digital mapping his fights,training footage etc. so what you would see is really bruce lee motion configured however they want,not the real bl but better than what anybody has done.

[Way of the Dragon]

yeah, i can visualise that, they can do all these amazing stuff with computers now.

[Way of the Dragon]

watched Story of the Dragon with Bruce Li last night. That was a good film, loved him when he was using the nunchaku.

[HyperDrive]

There was a CGI Bruce Lee project called Dragon Warrior in the works. The test footage looks decent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77IR-y_1Z6Q

I'll check out some Dragon Sek flicks too. Thanks for the information on those since I didn't know anything about them.

[Tigerstyles]

uploaded this from the uncut vhs

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=drlBU3gZSOM

[jiujitsu77]

maybe its my puter, but i cant see the image you uploaded. sorry

[jiujitsu77]

hey guys if you can take a moment at the thread i posted in general discussion about the clones documentary...please...i really would like your input

[Tigerstyles]

edited jiujitsui

[jiujitsu77]

thanks bro!

[jiujitsu77]

great clip by the way

[Chinatown Kid]

I'm curious about what you guys thought about Danny Lee in Bruce Lee and I aka Bruce Lee:His last Days, His Last Nights. I know the overall film was crap but I thought Danny looked suprisingly decent in his fight scenes, especially the dojo fight scene and the fight with the thugs in the desert. Seems he had the skills to do fighting roles if he had wanted too but didn't seem interested in going in that direction. Later he became known as playing the quentissential HK cop/detective.