40 Years Later and Still Untouchable, by Mike Stradford – The Tall Guy’s Gear Guide | @MDWorld

Since July 20th, 1973:  We’ve had 8 presidents, Muhammad Ali won and lost the heavyweight title two more times, Michael Jackson became the biggest star in the world, the Berlin Wall came down, I had two marriages (and divorces), the Chicago Bulls won six world championships, an actor became the governor or California twice, Woody Allen directed and/or appeared in more than fifty movies and Bruce Lee was named one of the most important people of the twentieth century by Time magazine.

( One of the 100 most important people of the 20th Century, per Time magazine)

On July 20th, 1973, Bruce Lee died by ‘misadventure’ at the age of 32.  In the forty years since his passing, much has changed, but in the world of martial arts cinema, Bruce Lee is still the standard that all others are measured against, with no real challengers to the throne in sight.  Many have tried, and without hesitation cite Bruce Lee’s influence on their career, but from Van Damme to Jackie Chan, Jet Li to Donnie Yen and many more in between, they all come up short.  Some are very good martial artists, a few are good actors, but no one has demonstrated the charisma and unique intuitive understanding of how to play to both the camera and the audience that Bruce Lee enjoyed.

Bruce Lee vs. Bob Wall- Enter the Dragon

When I was 13, while on vacation with my parents in Atlantic City, they left me to explore the city while they did their thing.  Walking down the street, I saw two movie theaters.  Across the street on one marquee was Burt Reynolds starring in ‘White Lightning’ and in front of me was the new Blaxploitation flick, ‘Cleopatra Jones’.  I opted for Cleo.  Walking through the lobby I saw the photo below, trimmed in red paper dragons, flanked by smaller photos of a Black guy with a huge afro and and a white guy who I kind of recognized, but not enough to know his name.

(the first photo I saw of Bruce Lee)

I remember thinking that the Asian guy was in great physical shape and looked more badass than I had ever seen up to that point.  I settled in the theater and watched a few forgettable trailers until this trailer played:

Original ‘Enter the Dragon’ theatrical trailer- 1973

I was paralyzed.  I didn’t totally understand what I had just seen.  I barely remember anything about ‘Cleopatra Jones’, having been overwhelmed by two minutes of Bruce Lee.  It was like seeing a preview to a James Bond movie taken to a level of physicality beyond anything I’d ever experienced at a theater.  And that was just the trailer!

When we returned to Cleveland, I was ecstatic to discover that two of his films ‘Fists of Fury’ and ‘The Chinese Connection’ were playing at the Hippodrome downtown.  I hopped on the bus, got there early, sat through the two films and realized I had just watched this supernova in back to back movies with an even bigger one coming.  Bruce Lee was the ultimate special effect, ‘Star Wars’ and James Bond without CG, human action elevated to a heretofore unseen level.

(US one sheet, originally ‘Fist of Fury in Hong Kong)

Coming home, I ran into Ricky Thomas, who lived across the street.  I told him of my discovery and he said, ‘oh yeah.  He played Kato.  He just died.’  I told him he didn’t know what he was talking about, this guy wasn’t Kato and beside, he had a new film on the way.  Ricky went inside and brought out the clipping that he saved of Bruce Lee’s obituary.  I went from the highest of highs, to the lowest of lows in a matter of minutes.

Bruce Lee died about a month before ‘Enter the Dragon’ was released, so he never got to see the worldwide impact his talent had.  Costing a mere $500,000 to make, ‘Enter the Dragon grossed over $21 million domestic in its initial run.  Counting VHS, DVD, television sales and international grosses, the film has earned Warner Bros. well over $20o million and still counting.

Back in the ’90s, I wrote for a British film magazine called Impact.  One of the pieces that I wrote was about Brandon Lee, shortly after his passing.  He came to my radio station to discuss his first starring role in ‘Rapid Fire’ on our morning show.  The host, John London, didn’t think that he would be a good fit for the show.  John, as a middle aged white man playing R&B and hip hop music, had no idea of the weight that Bruce Lee’s name carried with the Black audience.  I convinced him to have Brandon on, and he was stunned at all of the phone calls for Brandon from listeners, wishing him well and paying respect to his father.  Brandon had a great time, we found that we had a common interest in Jackie Chan, exchanged numbers and he was gone.

(Brandon Lee with a young fan during his visit to 92.3 The Beat)

Following his tragic passing, I wrote a piece about his visit to the radio station and my impressions of him.  His mother, Bruce Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, saw the piece and invited me to speak at a Bruce and Brandon Lee scholarship banquet in Southern California.  To say I was shocked doesn’t begin to cover it.  I accepted, went up to the to podium and got a little choked up, said whatever I had to say and stumbled off of the stage.  Mrs. Cadwell then gave me a medalion with Bruce’s saying ‘using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation’ inscribed on it.  Unemployed at the time, immediately following my remarks, I was offered a job overseeing Warner Bros films, by a Warner VP who was in the audience.  There are no coincidences.

(Linda Lee Cadwell giving me the Bruce Lee medalion in 1998)

What was it about him that cut through all barriers?  He was a little guy (5’7″, 140 pounds) who should have been the underdog, but he refused to play into that role.  Rejecting what he called the ‘pigtails and chop chop roles’ that had plagued Asian actors for years, Bruce Lee consciously created a character that Asians could look up to, and other ethnicities did too.  In ‘The Chinese Connection’ he invades a Japanese dojo to fight more than a dozen guys and make them eat a sign that was dropped at his door proclaiming the Chinese were ‘Sick Men of Asia’.  When Lee destroyed all of his combatants and shouted ‘The Chinese are not sick men of Asia’, theaters throughout Hong Kong erupted in patriotic cheers.  Bruce Lee understood early that he was doing more than making exciting films, he was representing his people and supposed underdogs everywhere.

‘Chinese are not the Sick Men of Asia’- The Chinese Connection

While Bruce Lee was embraced by his people as a hero, his appeal extended to women, who found his physique and handsome features exotic and appealing, and to anyone who enjoyed action oriented cinema.  He also enjoyed a special connection with Black audiences.  Growing up, most Black kids had at least one of three posters: The Jackson Five, Muhammad Ali, and Bruce Lee.  He happened at the height of the Blaxploitation craze, with his rhytmic fighting style (remniscent of Ali), his natural swagger and ultra masculine cool, he fit right in.  The fact that he had massive ability and style was especially appealing to an audience that was turned on to ‘Shaft’, ‘Superfly’ and ‘Black Caesar’.  That he represented a force that resisted oppression and disrespect had resonance that we were probably unaware of on a conscious level, but definitely clicked somewhere deep inside.

(Bruce Lee with Jim Kelly on the set of ‘Enter the Dragon’)

It’s no coincide that when Jim Kelly built on his success from ‘Enter the Dragon’, he did it by incorporating a number of iconic Bruce Lee moves, yelps and attitudes into his persona.  The familiar touchpoints for the filmgoing audience and young Black kids in particular, helped fan the hope that he would be able to fill Lee’s shoes.  While that ultimately wasn’t the case, Kelly developed his own fan base and was always quick to give major props to Bruce Lee.

(Jim Kelly strikes a familiar pose)

A further example of his impact on Black culture is found in the cult classic valentine to Bruce Lee, ‘The Last Dragon’, an action comedy produced by Motown’s Berry Gordy.   The film focuses on a young Black martial artist, Bruce LeRoy (Taimak), who aspires to emulate the icon’s onscreen persona.  Hokey and corny, it’s still a heartfelt undertaking and enjoys a loyal audience to this day.

The Last Dragon trailer

In addition to being called ‘The Father of Mixed Martial Arts’, Bruce Lee is known as a scholar, who had a vast library and majored in philosophy while attending the University of Washington.  The martial art that he developed, Jeet Kune Do, which means ‘the way of the intercepting fist’ was his progressive idea that required doing away with traditional styles and forms of combat, adapting to a more real world scenario that would have practical applications.  Revolutionary at the time, this concept is the foundation that Mixed Martial Arts and other contemporary fight strategies have evolved from.

Bruce Lee saw marital arts as the ultimate manner of honest self expression.  As he said in an interview, ‘Here I am as a human being.  How can I express myself, totally and completely?’

Bruce Lee on self expression-

Forty years later, it’s clear that he succeeded.

There are dozens of Bruce Lee documentaries to check out, but for a great look at how his influence carries over today, ‘I Am Bruce Lee’ is a wonderful tribute.  Here’s the trailer:

This Sunday at the Arclight Hollywood, a special screening of ‘Enter the Dragon’ will be shown in the Cinerama Dome at 8pm, one day after the fortieth anniversary of Bruce Lee’s passing.  Hope to see you there (if there are any seats left).

Ali, Jordan, Bruce Lee: all are often imitated, never duplicated.