Tribute to Bruce Lee
When we mention chinese movies, we think of Bruce Lee. The little dragon made an impact in hollywood and Hong Kong so big, that nobody in the world will ever forget him. Bruce's claim to fame was when he was just a child actor in Hong Kong shows. Later he would get the role as "Kato" in the Green Hornet. Because of Bruce's skills in showcasing his Kung Fu, this developed a fan following as well as gave many ideas and hype for Hong Kong producers to create their own versions of the Green Hornet only that Kato would be the main character. After the cancellation of Green Hornet, a new show was developed by and for Bruce, but was giving to another actor "David Carradine" (This guy got no skills!).
Hoping that the fame from being kato in Green Hornet will help launch his career, Bruce contacted at the time a dominating movie production company called "The Shaw Brothers" only to not except the deal that the company was offering was only a regular paid salary. Bruce later found a more appropiate deal with Raymond Chow of Golden Harvest and director Lo Wei to make a feature called "The Big Boss" which debuted in 1971 along with "Fist of Fury" following the next year. Lee the same year released in the U.S was his first directed movie "Way of the Dragon" which was filmed throughout Rome. It also shows the classical confrontation between Bruce and Chuck Norris! Then came a hollywood feature called "Enter the Dragon" which was not a big hit release in Hong Kong, but was a major hit in the western borders. "Game of Death" was the last ever movie made by the little dragon and was released on 1978. Because of the untimely death, the movie was not finished except for the fight scenes that were choreographed by Bruce. The movie required a Bruce Lee double (played by Kim Tai Chung) along with some very cheap effects (In one scene, a picure of Bruce's head was placed on the double) to attempt trying to replace him.
After his uncanny death, many inpersonations and clones sprouted to imitate him. Of course none to were even as close to being like, or as good as him. Is he the best there is, was, and ever will be? There are many other martial artists out there in the world, but none has come as close to being like the dragon himself. For all we think of, there probably won't be another martial artist that will ever be like the little dragon, but time will only tell.
Cause of death? At the time, the doctor reported that his brain had swollen from 1400 to 1575 grams in size and that there was a substance known as Equagesic which contains aspirin and a number of herbal ingredients. A pathologist suggests that Lee died from an allergic reaction to the Equagesic. Source taken from the Eastern Standard Time book.
Rumors? There are many rumors that questioned the little dragons death. Being involved in a triad, or being pursued by them, took drugs, fought with Kung Fu experts for being too cocky and arrogant, had a disease (sex or non-sex related), inner demons (curse, spirits, and bad luck) and stress from over working and training. I guess we will never know.
My Opinion! Personally I think that Bruce Lee is the best there is at Kung Fu. Don't get me wrong though, as there are other great martial artists out there like in the Shaolin Temple and through out the world nation wide, but none has made as much impact as the little dragon has made. The dragon was strong both physically and mentally. Not only was he in great shape, but he was very strong and had a brilliant mind as well. I wouldn't refer to the Dragon as a role model though. I have heard of the dragon himself as to being arrogant and cocky. Arrogant and cocky as he would pick fights with people. I was also told that the dragon was actually beaten and got hurt in a fight which caused him a broken rib, or bruised back. This later gave him the determination to train harder than ever! I also think that the current events that took place in the movie "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" is not real and it's a fictional movie. Even though the movie was created from Linda Lee's book on the dragon himself. Some scenes in the movie that were supposed to be real events were changed. There are a lot of documentaries and books that tell of the dragon, but we will never know the true events of the dragon's life but from the memories of his movies.
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