Released: May 1993
Director: Rob Cohen
Rated PG-13
Run Time: 120 Minutes
Genre: Action, Drama, Biography
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Cast:
Jason Scott Lee: Bruce Lee
Lauren Holly: Linda Lee
Robert Wagner: Bill Krieger
Nancy Kwan: Gussie Yang
This post is going to be different than some of the ones that I did before. Why? Because I’m going to discuss one of the most influential people in history, not just in the world, but in MY life as well: Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee has been an inspiration to so many people in his short life. He is the reason that people like me have gotten into the martial arts in the first place. He helped bring Kung Fu to the west and made it cool. He made Chinese culture cool. While there are many people in the world of Wing Chun who vehemently disagree with how he founded Jeet Kune Do and the way he taught it as truth, I don’t think anybody can deny that he changed the world, and for the better, I think. What some people don’t seem to understand is that first and foremost, Bruce Lee was a human being. He made mistakes. He made enemies, both in the Chinese world and the West. But he NEVER gave up on his dream to show the West the beauty of Chinese culture. He did this not just by teaching Kung Fu, but by making movies. He made the martial arts accessible. He believed that everyone should be able to learn Kung Fu, and he defied a lot of traditions to do so. I, for one, am grateful that he did. While there have been movies made about the man, it was Rob Cohen’s Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story that got the most attention.
Based on Linda Lee Cadwell’s 1975 book, Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is the story of the legendary martial artist. From his early life in Hong Kong to his untimely death in 1973, Dragon covers Bruce’s training under Ip Man when he was younger, to when he fell in love with and married Linda Lee. It also covers his struggle with racism and his desire to teach people Kung Fu. While there are certainly aspects of Dragon that are definitely fictionalized in an attempt to dramatize Lee’s life, it definitely focuses on the man himself. It doesn’t just display his martial arts abilities, but it pays attention to who he was and his relationships with people. I like the fact that the movie focuses on the man and not the physical fighting. It shows that the man had his ups and downs, but it also showed that he had demons of his own, and that is illustrated literally here. I guess that’s one thing I didn’t particularly care about, was Bruce’s fight with his demon. I understand it was a metaphor for conquering his own fears, but I think it could have been done a little bit better. The story is captivating, emotional and inspirational, like the man himself. In spite of the film’s flaws, the story is amazing.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story wouldn’t have worked as well, if they didn’t get the right cast. It was particularly brilliant of Rob Cohen to cast Jason Scott Lee as Bruce Lee, despite not being related. In 1993, I don’t think anybody else could have done it as well. Jason has the range in terms of drama, comedy and physicality to bring the role to life, despite not being a martial artist himself. It’s a shame that his career didn’t take off the way I had hoped it would. He would star in a live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book in 1994, but I don’t think anybody really paid attention to him outside of Dragon. It’s too bad, he was really good. Lauren Holly is fabulous as Linda. She brought the right amount of charisma and charm that Bruce Lee fell in love with. While everybody else in the film did a good job, it’s Bruce’s relationship to Linda that is really the forefront of the film.
You would expect a movie about Bruce Lee to include some spectacular fight scenes, and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story delivers on that account. Be aware that some of the fights that you see in this film didn’t actually happen. His confrontation with British sailors never happened, nor did the confrontation with his fellow cooks at the restaurant. That used to spice up the movie, and I think it did the job. The fights are well-choreographed, and Jason Scott Lee trained with Jerry Poteet in Jeet Kune Do, to give the film an air of authenticity. One of the most underrated aspects of the film is the musical score by Randy Edelman. I did a post in my Best Composers series about Randy Edelmen and this was one of the scores that I had mentioned. It’s an incredibly powerful and moving score that I feel that Bruce Lee would appreciate. The soundtrack to Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. It’s….beautiful.
Before I finish up, I would like to discuss Bruce Lee’s influence on my life in general. When I was younger, I got bullied around a lot, so my parents that it was a good idea to have me study karate so I could defend myself. So, I ended up training in Shaolin Kempo for a number of years. While it was initially because of bullying that I started karate, it eventually became more than that. I had watched Enter The Dragon a number of times, and it was Lee that really got me into the world of martial arts. While I didn’t stick with karate, it definitely had a long-lasting effect on me. I became an enormous fan of martial arts films. The genre is one of my favorites. Seeing everybody from Jackie Chan to Chuck Norris work their magic, was something to behold. If it wasn’t for Bruce Lee, I probably never would have expected to get into Wing Chun Kung Fu when I did. While I haven’t been the most consistent student lately, Wing Chun has left an incredibly positive impact on me.
Bruce Lee changed the world with his philosophy, work ethic and his desire to teach. As I said before, there are people out there who really don’t agree with what Bruce did with Jeet Kune Do or his way of thinking. I personally believe that the man intended no harm, but wanted to expose the world to the wonder that is China and its culture. I can honestly say, along with millions of fans around the world, that he succeeded. Bruce Lee’s death in 1973 sent shock-waves throughout the entire world. Nobody had expected this to happen. At the age of 32, Bruce Lee was taken from us far too soon. While Enter The Dragon was his greatest film ever, I feel that had he lived, there would have been so much more for him to offer the world. Bruce achieved so many things during his short time on earth. There aren’t a whole lot of people out there that can honestly say that. Bruce had two children, Brandon and Shannon Lee. Unfortunately, Brandon was also taken from us due to an accident while he was filming The Crow in 1993, the year that Dragon was released.
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a wonderful film about a legendary martial artist who was nothing more than a man who achieved extraordinary things. Bruce Lee’s influence can be felt in almost every aspect of pop culture, movies and philosophy. While the film isn’t perfect, it’s heart was in the right place and we got to see sides of a great man that we never saw before. Is the film entirely accurate? No, a good chunk of it was fictionalized, but it respected the man, and I think that was the intention. Bruce Lee may not have been the biggest, physically, but he moved mountains. I can honestly say that 23 years after it’s release, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story stands up as one of the best movies about Bruce Lee. The film gets an 8.5/10, but Bruce Lee’s accomplishments cannot be measured with a score. 43 years after his death, Bruce Lee still inspires generations of film fans and martial artists alike. There has never been a person like him and never will be again.
In 2002, The Bruce Lee Foundation was formed by Linda Lee Cadwell and Shannon Lee to help educate and inspire generations of people of all ages. You can visit the organization at the following locations:
The Bruce Lee Foundation Official Website
The Bruce Lee Foundation Official Facebook Page