Facts: The 5 movies of Bruce Lee: The legend of martial arts on the big screen
As it has just been 45 years since his death, the legacy of the greatest martial artist of all lives on.
As the 45th anniversary of the enigmatic and sudden death of martial arts master Bruce Lee has just been commemorated, it remains important to rescue his legacy as an actor, director and profound philosopher through his great creations for the big screen. .
The artist, who grew up in Hong Kong and studied at the University of Washington, married Linda Campbell and had two children, Brandon and Shannon. He broke into big productions after starting a promising career in the television series “El Avispón Verde” (“The Green Hornet”), playing “Kato”. But Bruce was up for big things. This is how he chose the cinema to perpetuate his work, which was recorded in his filmography, highlighting the five most important films he made:
1.- "The Big Boss" ("The Big Boss, 1971)
This was the first film and great success made by the teacher, whose plot focuses on a young Cheng Chao-An, who begins to work in a family ice factory in Thailand. When his relatives discover covert heroin trafficking, the problems begin. Lee's character swears revenge and unleashes fury to regain the honor of his loved ones.
2.- "Fist of Fury" ("Fist of Fury", 1972)
It is the second martial arts film that Bruce Lee made. In it he personifies the student Chen Zen, whose mentor has been assassinated in Shanghai (China) and in which the Japanese mafia was involved. After a pitched war between the two sides, Lee's character defeats the Japanese school and its Russian ally Petrov in a memorable fight.
3.- “The return of the Dragon”
(“The way of the Dragon”, 1972) It is in this film where the martial icon Chuck Norris has a stellar participation, with whom he faces in a legendary fight in the Roman Colosseum. Like the other movies, revenge is the motivation for this story. Lee's character visits his family in Italy, which runs a restaurant and is harassed by the local mob.
4.- “Enter the Dragon”, 1973)
Considered the best martial arts movie in history, it was also the last movie that had Bruce Lee alive. In fact, the film was released 6 days after his fateful death, on July 20, 1973, so he could not see his remembered performance as Mr. Lee. In it he enters a tournament by invitation on an island organized by a mobster accused of trafficking and prostitution unleashing a trail of violence.
5. "Game of Death" ("Game of Death", 1978)
With the death of Bruce Lee in 1973 this project was left unfinished. He got to play Hai Tien, a martial arts instructor who is forced by the mafia to enter a pagoda to defeat a series of enemies to save his brothers. Like the actor, he died, the film only saw the light six years after its filming, with two doubles acting as Bruce Lee.
