Fist of Fury
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| Fist of Fury | |
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| Directed by | Lo Wei |
| Produced by | Raymond Chow |
| Written by | Lo Wei |
| Starring | Bruce Lee Nora Miao |
| Distributed by | Golden Harvest |
| Release date(s) |  Hong Kong March 22, 1972 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Country |  Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese Mandarin English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
- "Jing Wu Men" redirects here. For the real martial arts school, see Chin Woo Athletic Association.
Fist of Fury (simplified Chinese: 精武门; traditional Chinese: 精武門; pinyin: Jīng wǔ mén; formerly known as The Chinese Connection in the United States,[1] and not to be confused with Fists of Fury, which is the former US title of The Big Boss) is a Hong Kong film directed by Lo Wei in 1972. It starred the martial artist Bruce Lee in his second major film after The Big Boss. The film depicts a Chinese martial arts school in Shanghai International Settlement which fought against a Japanese karate school.
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[edit] Background
The film is loosely based on Chin Woo Athletic Association, the actual school from which the film took its Chinese title. The plot features the story of Chen Zhen (陳真; Cantonese: Chen Jen, played by Bruce Lee), a fictional character created by director Lo Wei for the film.[2] Chen Zhen is shown as a student of the real-life martial artist Huo Yuanjia (霍元甲; Cantonese: Fok Yun Gap) who, after the mysterious death of Huo, fought the Hongkou Dojo of Suzuki Taro.
The film is set in the early 20th century after the death of Huo Yuanjia, and during the occupation of Shanghai, China by several foreign countries, including Japan. It is about a Chinese Martial Arts school whose master (Huo) was recently killed by men associated with a rival Japanese Martial Arts School who continue to harass them. Chen is out to find out who is responsible for his master's death and get justice.
The film is famous for the scene in which Chen Zhen is denied entry into a park bearing a sign stating "No Dogs and Chinese Allowed" (Traditional Chinese: 「狗與華人不得入內」). After the turban wearing Sikh guard at the park allows a foreigner's dog to enter the park, a man out of a group of Japanese approaches Chen and tells him that if he pretends to be a dog then he will take him inside. Chen becomes furious and proceeds to attack the Japanese with punches and kicks. He then kicks the offending sign in the air and breaks it with a flying kick.
The former U.S. title The Chinese Connection, trading off the popularity of the recently-released Gene Hackman film The French Connection, was originally intended for Bruce Lee's previous film, The Big Boss, due to the drugs theme of that movie. However, the U.S. titles for the films were accidentally swapped for an unknown reason so this film carried the title The Chinese Connection until 2005, despite being obviously unrelated to the content of the movie. The Big Boss in the U.S. had the title Fists of Fury, leading to much confusion. Recent American TV showings and the current official US DVD release from Twentieth Century-Fox have restored the original titles of all the renamed Bruce Lee films; this film is now officially called Fist of Fury in the United States.
This film is one of Bruce Lee's most influential works, as it is one of the main reasons behind the shift in Hong Kong cinema from swordplay to empty-handed fighting, which initiated the "Golden era of Kung Fu Cinema" of the 1970s.
[edit] Cast
- Bruce Lee as Chen Zhen (traditional Chinese: 陳真; pinyin: Chén Zhēn)
- Nora Miao as Yuan Le-erh
- James Tien Chun as Fan Chun-hsia (范家祺)
- Feng Tien as Fan (大師兄)
- Paul Wei Ping-ao as Hu (胡恩)
- Maria Yi as Yen
- Lee Quin as Hsu
- Lo Wei as Inspector (探長)
- Hwong Chung Hsin as Tien the cook (田廚子)
- Han Yin-chieh as Feng Kwai-sher (馮貴石)
- Feng Wi as Yoshida (吉田?)
- Tony Liu as Chin
- Chin San as Tung
- Riki Hashimoto as Hiroshi Suzuki (鈴木寛 Suzuki Hiroshi?)
- Robert Baker as Petrov
- Lam Ching Ying (Stuntman)
- Jackie Chan (Stuntman) (uncredited)
[edit] Box office
Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury managed to gross HK$4,358,928.[citation needed]
[edit] Memorable lines
- "Now you listen to me, and I will only say it once...We are not sick men!" (after defeating the Japanese karate school for the first time; a reference to China being called the Sick man of Asia).
- "This time you're eating paper. The next time it's gonna be glass!" (after saying the "Sick men of Asia" line).
- "So why did you kill my teacher then?! WHY DID YOU KILL MY TEACHER?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?! Why?!...Why did you kill my teacher?!" (after capturing one of the men responsible for his teacher's death. He repeatedly pounds him in his belly with each "why", and was originally going to interrogate him before he ruptured his stomach, killing him in his fit of rage).
- "I have come here to avenge my teacher. This doesn't concern you. I'll allow you to leave. Out. Out. Out. Out. SCRAM!!!!!" (after entering the school in the final scenes.)
- "I am not educated much, do not lie to me..." (negotiating with the Chinese police officer before being arrested)
- "He was well, there was nothing wrong! How can a healthy man die?"
- "Know this! I shall repay for the lives that I took. You just leave this School alone!" (Bruce's last line in the film)
[edit] Trivia
- Sync sound was not widely used in Hong Kong cinema at the time so the voices (even on the original Chinese track) for this movie were dubbed. On the Chinese track, listen for the voice of the Russian fighter when he speaks English. It is none other than Bruce Lee himself (with added reverb).
- People in contemporary dress are shown circulating around the gateway to the facility Chen is trying to enter (featuring a sign reading "No Dogs and Chinese Allowed"). As the film is set in the early 20th century, this is an anachronism.
- Jackie Chan appears as an extra in the school training scenes just before the Japanese spring a surprise attack on the school. He was also the stuntman for the Japanese villain, "Mr. Suzuki", in the final scenes of Fist of Fury. He can be seen flying through the air after Bruce's character delivers a flying kick. Jackie fell much farther than originally intended, at a height of 15 feet. After it had been caught on film, Bruce rushed over to see if he was okay.
- One of the Japanese men during the park entrance scene is played by Yuen Wah, who later appeared in many other Hong Kong action films and in Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle. He was also Bruce Lee's acrobatics double.
- The real Jing Wu school still survives to this day and can be found in all major cities abroad (the Chinese ones are few in numbers, owing to the Cultural Revolution). Their headquarters are in Malaysia. Their students strive to keep the Jing Wu spirit to this day.
- In the original, Japanese martial artists are shown wearing their hakama (skirts) backwards. This is not the only Chinese martial arts movie of the time to make this mistake. Jet Li's Fist of Legend displays a better command of Japanese martial arts (and a more favorable and nuanced view of Japanese), perhaps a reflection of better relations between Hong Kong and Japan in more recent years.
- This film marks one of the few times that a DVD has an alternate new commentary. Media Asia UK distributor Hong Kong Legends has released this film as a "Special Collectors Edition" and a "Platinum Edition." Bey Logan recorded two alternate commentaries for both releases. The usual process with re-releases on DVD is that the commentary is passed onto the next release. Bey decided to re-record his second commentary as he wanted to give it a new light and also being an avid fan of this film.
[edit] Sequels
- Jackie Chan starred in a sequel titled New Fist of Fury; it was his first major lead role. The film was a total failure in theatres due to the incoherent storyline and poor fight scenes. The film nearly ruined Chan's future career and some considered him simply a Bruce Lee imitator.
- Two more sequels were made (which have no continuity with Jackie Chan's New Fist of Fury), starring Bruce Li as Chen Zhen's brother Chen Shen, avenging his brother's death. Despite the fact that New Fist of Fury is technically the "official" sequel (due to both director Lo Wei and leading actress Nora Miao returning), many martial arts film fans prefer the first of the Bruce Li sequels over Jackie Chan's sequel.
- Jet Li's Fearless is based on the real life of Huo Yuanjia, Chen Zhen's master in Fist of Fury.
[edit] Remakes
- In 1994, Fist of Legend, starring Jet Li, was released as a remake of the film.
- ATV (A terrestrial channel in Hong Kong), made a 30 episode TV series Fist of Fury starring Donnie Yen as Chen. The last 15 episodes have a similar plot to the movie while the first 15 are about Chen joining the Chin Wu school.
[edit] References
- ^ Fist of Fury (1972)
- ^ http://www.steelsamurai.co.uk/flicks/reviews/legendofafighter/legend_of_a_fighter.html this URL is not accessible
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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