Few deaths have had as wide-ranging an impact on global film culture as Bruce Lee’s. Following his untimely passing in 1973 at the age of 32— just as martial arts films were skyrocketing in popularity both at home and abroad, thanks in large part to the huge success of Lee’s own ENTER THE DRAGON— the film industries of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Philippines, and South Korea suddenly found themselves with an enormous Dragon-sized void to fill. Finding another performer of the same caliber as Lee was never going to be an easy task. Any actor with a mod haircut and a pair of aviators could read the same lines, but who could conceivably match the physical prowess and charisma that made Lee such a unique star?
Enter Bruce Li…
And Bruce Le…
And Bruce Leung… And Bruce Lai… And Bruce Thai… And Dragon Lee… You get the idea…
These were just a handful of the dozens of “Lee-alikes” that regional film industries tried to prop-up as, to put it mildy, “substitutes” for the real Bruce so that they could continue to capitalize off his lingering popularity, giving birth to the “Bruceploitation” subgenre of martial arts cinema. Ironically, though, what began as a crass attempt to cash-in on Lee’s likeness soon evolved into a genre whose purpose became celebrating the star’s legacy, paying tribute to the man while simultaneously expanding on his myth. The films began to directly incorporate Lee’s death, presenting their “Lee-alike” stars not as tasteless substitutes or replacements for the real deal, but as Lee’s own friends, humble successors, or any number of his inspired fans (and maybe a clone here and there).
This May, Spectacle Theater is thrilled to present this collection featuring the cream of the Bruceploitation crop, honoring Bruce Lee’s immeasurable impact on film industries across Asia and around the world.
THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN (aka THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU)
dir. Law Kei, 1977
98 min. Hong Kong.
In English (dubbed).
FRIDAY, MAY 5 – MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY, MAY 20 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, MAY 26 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, MAY 31 – 10 PM
The news of Bruce Lee’s death has shaken the foundations of Hell, and now he must fight his way through the Underworld to save his soul.
“Bruce” (Bruce Leung) awakens in the afterlife to discover that none other than the King of the Underworld, himself, sees him as the ultimate threat to his throne. Naturally, the King has no choice but to unleash his army of monsters, mummies, and copyright-infringing assassins— including the likes of James Bond, The Godfather, The One-Armed Swordsman, Zatoichi, The Exorcist, Popeye, Emmanuelle, and “Clint Eastwood”— to hunt him down once and for all.
Decades before comic book crossovers and multiverse madness came into vogue, Hong Kong gave us this truly insane martial arts spectacle that finally answers the age-old question of, “Who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee or Dracula?”
THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE
dir. Joseph Kong Hung & Nam Gi-nam, 1980
81 min. Philippines/South Korea/Hong Kong.
In English (dubbed).
SATURDAY, MAY 6 – MIDNIGHT
FRIDAY, MAY 12 – MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY, MAY 23 – 10 PM
The Mount Rushmore of Bruceploitation movies featuring not one, not two, not three, but FOUR of our foremost “Lee-alikes”.
Following Bruce Lee’s death, the Hong Kong Branch of Special Investigations hatches a scheme to obtain samples of his brain tissue and use them to create three crimefighting clones of the late master. “Bruce Lee 1” (Dragon Lee) is sent undercover as an actor to take down a gold smuggler, while “Bruce Lee 2” (Bruce Le) and “Bruce Lee 3” (Bruce Lai) are dispatched to Southeast Asia where they rendezvous with Chuck (Bruce Thai), a BSI agent who inexplicably also resembles Bruce Lee, to defeat an evil scientist intent on taking over the world with his army of bronze cyborgs. Little do our three Bruces know, though, that their biggest challenge yet still lies in wait.
Produced across Hong Kong, Philippines, and South Korea, the film is considered by many to be the ultimate Bruceploitation movie, not only due to the sheer quantity of Bruces featured, but also thanks to the involvement of many of the real Bruce’s former colleagues and co-stars, including Bolo Yeung—who appeared opposite Lee as the massive enforcer in ENTER THE DRAGON— and Jon T. Benn— the mob boss from Lee’s sole directorial feature, THE WAY OF THE DRAGON.
EXIT THE DRAGON, ENTER THE TIGER
dir. Lee Tso-nam, 1976
79 min. Taiwan/Hong Kong.
In English (dubbed).
THURSDAY, MAY 4 – 10 PM
TUESDAY, MAY 9 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, MAY 19 – MIDNIGHT
Bruce Li stars as “The Tiger”, a former student of Bruce Lee’s (also played by Bruce Li) who returns to Hong Kong in search of answers regarding the mysterious death of his master. Tiger winds up in much deeper than anticipated once his investigation puts him at odds with the Hong Kong mafia.
A pivotal early entry in the early Bruceploitation canon, and arguably the first in which its filmmaker and star attempted to approach the subject of Lee’s death in (arguably) a more tasteful manner. The film goes so far as to incorporate somber footage of Lee’s actual funeral in a montage that touches oddly close to Robert Drew’s FACES OF NOVEMBER. Li, a fixture of some much sleazier attempts to cash-in on Bruce Lee’s image, does justice to both Tiger and Dragon in a dual performance that playfully blends fact with fiction.
THE DRAGON LIVES AGAIN and THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE are courtesy of Severin Films, who will be premiering David Gregory’s documentary about the Bruceploitation craze, ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE LEE, at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival in June.