Bruce Lee Lives!

On November 27th of this year, Bruce Lee would have been 65 years old. Amazing isn't it?

It's hard to imagine Bruce as ever being older than 32, since that's how old he was when he died on July 20, 1973. Think about that for a second. Bruce Lee died 32 years ago. Bruce has been dead now for a longer period of time than he lived. And yet, you can say his name to almost anyone of any age and they know who Bruce Lee was.

My guess is that he's more popular now than he was while alive. I say that because each year a new generation discovers Bruce Lee and his movies [and he only made a handful of kung fu movies before he died].

I'm old enough that my first memory of Bruce was as Kato on The Green Hornet. Man, Kato was cool! Of course, that was because of Bruce's charisma.

After The Green Hornet, Bruce's next onscreen performance was with James Garner in Marlowe. Bruce had a small role as a martial artist thug.

I also fondly remember my anticipation to see Bruce in the tv movie "Longstreet." Lee played the part of a martial artist who trains a blind insurance investigator the art of self defense. When the movie spun off into a short lived tv series, Lee was brought back for four of the 23 episodes.

It wasn't long after that Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury aka The Big Boss hit the US. It was quickly followed by The Chinese Connection and Return of the Dragon [with Chuck Norris fighting Bruce to the death]. Bruce Lee fever was growing, but it wasn't until the release of Enter the Dragon that Bruce Lee mania really soared. Sadly, Bruce Lee died three weeks prior to it's premiere in the USA.

As you probably know, Enter the Dragon is the classic Bruce Lee movie... it's still the best kung fu movie ever made... and arguments can be made the best action movie as well.

After Bruce's death, producers sought every way possible to continue to make money from Bruce Lee. Green Hornet episodes were combined and released as features with Kato getting top billing! The Game of Death, the movie that Bruce was working on when he died was completed with a look-alike and bad effects and it was released. Several movies were released "based" on the life of Bruce Lee [but made to look like new Bruce Lee movies], equally as bad were the movies starring guys like Bruce Li or Bruce Le trying to pass as the original. The one excellent documentary that should be in every Bruce Lee fan's collection is
Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.

Earlier this year Bruce Lee was named "Chinese Film's Bright Star of the Century." This November, in honor of Bruce's 65th birthday and bigger than life bronze statue of Bruce will be errected in Hong Kong's Avenue of Stars. You can read the details HERE.

Yeah it's true that Bruce Lee died 32 years ago... but it's equally true that Bruce Lee will live forever!

"Marlowe" rates a C+
"Fists of Fury" rates a C
"Chinese Connection" rates a C
"Return of the Dragon" rates a B
"Enter the Dragon" rates an A+
"Game of Death" rates a C
"Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" rates an A+