In the early seventies the West went through a period of fascination with the Chinese martial arts. (I use that term as it is the one Westerners are most familiar with, although I am aware that some Chinese, my wife included, dislike it as sounding too aggressive and militaristic; they prefer the term "art of self-defence"). There was a popular TV series called "Kung Fu", a cartoon called "Hong Kong Phooey" (which featured a martial-arts dog) and even a pop song called "Kung Fu Fighting". In fact, it was a little bit frightening! The whole cult was memorably sent up by The Goodies, a British comedy team, as "Ecky-Thump", a Lancashire martial art which involves beating people over the head with a black pudding.
At the centre of the Kung-Fu cult was the actor Bruce Lee, a household name in both Britain and America even though he made few English-language movies. Lee was born in San Francisco, a city which is home to a large Chinese community and also produced the best-known Chinese-American film star, Anna May Wong. His family went back to Hong Kong while he was a child, but he returned to America in his teens, and went on to become a leading expert in, and teacher of, the martial arts. He became an actor on both sides of the Pacific, making martial-arts films and television series in both Hong Kong and America. His best-known American venture was the TV series "The Green Hornet" in which he played the role of Kato. His last, and best-known, film was "Enter the Dragon", filmed in English in Hong Kong, completed just before Lee's tragically early death at the age of 33.
It is a common convention in showbiz biopics that success doesn't come easily. The star can only get to the top by battling either external forces or internal demons. Or in this case, both. In this film the external force which threatens Lee is that of racism. In the sixties and seventies there was widespread discrimination against Chinese-Americans, and Asian-Americans in general; in an early scene Lee is appalled by Mickey Rooney's patronising portrayal of a Japanese in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". This discrimination affected Lee's career; he was originally to have been the star of the "Kung Fu" TV series, but television executives did not want an Asian actor in the leading role, so the character became mixed-race and a white actor, David Carradine, was cast in the part. Lee also faced racism in his personal life; in the film his future mother-in-law strongly opposes his marriage to her daughter on the grounds that she does not want "yellow grandchildren". (Lee was married to a white woman). Of course, racism can be a two-way street, and we also see how Lee faced opposition from conservative elements in the Chinese-American community who objected to him teaching fighting skills to white and black Americans.
As for Lee's internal demons, the film-makers seem to have interpreted the word "demon" absolutely literally. He is shown having recurrent nightmares in which he has to do combat with a mysterious armoured figure. Although this "demon" can be interpreted symbolically as a representation of negative emotions such as fear and anger, there are also hints that Lee actually had to battle against hostile supernatural forces.
Jason Scott Lee (no relation) makes a convincing hero, but the film's main weakness is that it is never sure what attitude to take towards its hero. The tone of the fight scenes, especially in the early part of the film, is often jokey, reminiscent of the fights in a Jackie Chan comedy. This light, comedic tone, however, does not sit well with the more reverential attitude of the later scenes. Lee's mysterious death is not dwelt on; instead, the film ends with a voice-over in which the actress playing his wife Linda announces:- "There are many people that want to know the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived". The film clearly intends that we should remember Lee not only as a good man but also as an international cultural icon of lasting significance and a figure who played a major part in combating prejudice against Asian-Americans.
Certainly, American society has become less racist, both towards Chinese-Americans and towards other ethnic minorities, since 1973; for example, Barack Obama's candidacy for the Presidency would have been virtually unthinkable 35 years ago. Whether one lone film star played much of a part in that change is debatable; the fact that Lee lost a major role to a white actor only a year before his death suggests that he did not make much headway in his lifetime. Even today, there are relatively few well-known Asian-American stars in the entertainment industry. Whether one considers Bruce Lee as a cultural icon of lasting significance largely depends on one's view of martial-arts based entertainment. "Dragon" is entertaining, both as an action film, and as a biography, but I felt it never quite justified the claims it made on behalf of its subject. 6/10
At the centre of the Kung-Fu cult was the actor Bruce Lee, a household name in both Britain and America even though he made few English-language movies. Lee was born in San Francisco, a city which is home to a large Chinese community and also produced the best-known Chinese-American film star, Anna May Wong. His family went back to Hong Kong while he was a child, but he returned to America in his teens, and went on to become a leading expert in, and teacher of, the martial arts. He became an actor on both sides of the Pacific, making martial-arts films and television series in both Hong Kong and America. His best-known American venture was the TV series "The Green Hornet" in which he played the role of Kato. His last, and best-known, film was "Enter the Dragon", filmed in English in Hong Kong, completed just before Lee's tragically early death at the age of 33.
It is a common convention in showbiz biopics that success doesn't come easily. The star can only get to the top by battling either external forces or internal demons. Or in this case, both. In this film the external force which threatens Lee is that of racism. In the sixties and seventies there was widespread discrimination against Chinese-Americans, and Asian-Americans in general; in an early scene Lee is appalled by Mickey Rooney's patronising portrayal of a Japanese in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". This discrimination affected Lee's career; he was originally to have been the star of the "Kung Fu" TV series, but television executives did not want an Asian actor in the leading role, so the character became mixed-race and a white actor, David Carradine, was cast in the part. Lee also faced racism in his personal life; in the film his future mother-in-law strongly opposes his marriage to her daughter on the grounds that she does not want "yellow grandchildren". (Lee was married to a white woman). Of course, racism can be a two-way street, and we also see how Lee faced opposition from conservative elements in the Chinese-American community who objected to him teaching fighting skills to white and black Americans.
As for Lee's internal demons, the film-makers seem to have interpreted the word "demon" absolutely literally. He is shown having recurrent nightmares in which he has to do combat with a mysterious armoured figure. Although this "demon" can be interpreted symbolically as a representation of negative emotions such as fear and anger, there are also hints that Lee actually had to battle against hostile supernatural forces.
Jason Scott Lee (no relation) makes a convincing hero, but the film's main weakness is that it is never sure what attitude to take towards its hero. The tone of the fight scenes, especially in the early part of the film, is often jokey, reminiscent of the fights in a Jackie Chan comedy. This light, comedic tone, however, does not sit well with the more reverential attitude of the later scenes. Lee's mysterious death is not dwelt on; instead, the film ends with a voice-over in which the actress playing his wife Linda announces:- "There are many people that want to know the way he died. I want to remember the way he lived". The film clearly intends that we should remember Lee not only as a good man but also as an international cultural icon of lasting significance and a figure who played a major part in combating prejudice against Asian-Americans.
Certainly, American society has become less racist, both towards Chinese-Americans and towards other ethnic minorities, since 1973; for example, Barack Obama's candidacy for the Presidency would have been virtually unthinkable 35 years ago. Whether one lone film star played much of a part in that change is debatable; the fact that Lee lost a major role to a white actor only a year before his death suggests that he did not make much headway in his lifetime. Even today, there are relatively few well-known Asian-American stars in the entertainment industry. Whether one considers Bruce Lee as a cultural icon of lasting significance largely depends on one's view of martial-arts based entertainment. "Dragon" is entertaining, both as an action film, and as a biography, but I felt it never quite justified the claims it made on behalf of its subject. 6/10