Transcript Bruce Lee; 1940 - 1973 The ‘Little Dragon’- even if you have never heard of Bruce Lee, or even if you have.

Bruce Lee; 1940 - 1973
The ‘Little Dragon’- even if you have never heard of
Bruce Lee, or even if you have but are unfamiliar
with his movies, you will probably have watched
and enjoyed many films or TV programmes that
might not of been made had it not been for his
influence. Can you think of any examples?
Bruce Lee
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If you thought of everything from ‘Hong Kong Fooey,’ to
‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,’ to the ‘Rush Hour’ or ‘Matrix’
films, Jackie Chan or Jet Li, then you are still only scratching
the surface of how important Bruce Lee was in bringing a
whole new type of movie experience to Western audiences.
Can you think of any film stars, or films and TV where the
martial arts are practised? If so, they probably all owe some
debt to Bruce Lee.
Bruce Lee – what could he do?
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Lee could spring a 235 lb (107 kg) opponent 15 feet (4.6 metres)
away with a 1 inch punch.
Lee could snatch a dime off a person’s open hand, then replace
it with a dollar before they could close their palm.
Lee could perform push-ups using only his thumbs.
Lee could throw grains of rice up into the air and catch them
using only chopsticks.
Lee could thrust his hands through unopened cans of Coca
Cola.
Lee could break wooden boards 6 inches thick.
Lee recommended a food high in nutrition. For instance, he
supplemented his diet with vitamins, bee pollen and chocolateflavoured protein tablets!
Bruce Lee
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‘I’m not a master, I’m a student master.’
‘If someone comes at you with a sword, run if you can. Kung fu
doesn't always work.’
Bruce Lee’s first breakthrough film was ‘The Big Boss (1971).’
He had tried his luck in the US, but had managed only smaller
roles in programmes such as ‘Batman’ and the ‘Green Hornet.’
But ‘The Big Boss’ made him a star throughout Asia.
His second movie, ‘Fists of Fury (1972),’ firmly
established him as an Asian superstar, and the third,
‘Way of the Dragon (1972),’ led to his first US Hollywood
movie, ‘ Enter the Dragon (1973).’
Lee seemed quicker than all the other martial arts stars,
he also had the film-star looks and the charisma to
break box-office records around the world.
Kung – fu films were here to stay!
Bruce Lee
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Bruce Lee died, July 20th 1973. His brain had swollen to many
times its real size. He was only 32 years old.
At the time, he was making ‘Game of Death,' a film that involved
Lee taking on various martial arts experts on his way to solving
a criminal mystery…
During his short life, he also trained many film stars in the
martial arts (developing his own style, Jeet Kune Do – what Lee
called ‘the art of fighting without fighting.’)
Stars such as James Coburn, Steve McQueen
and David Carradine all learned a great deal
from him.
Later, his son Brandon Lee became a star in
his own right. During the filming of ‘The Crow,’
Brandon was tragically
killed by a bullet which was meant to have been a dummy.
Bruce Lee
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Now look at these clips from You Tube, and see for yourself
what all the fuss was about. Enjoy!
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