SHERDOG MOVIE CLUB: WEEK 117: Way of the Dragon

[europe1]

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Here's a quick list of all movies watched by the SMC. Or if you prefer, here's a more detailed examination.

"WOOOOOOO!!!! HYAAAAAA!!! WA-TAAAAAH!!!"

[Cue face-kicking]

Obligatory Background Music While Reading this Thread



Our Director/Star

​

Bruce Lee remains the greatest icon of martial arts cinema and a key figure of modern popular media. Had it not been for Bruce Lee and his movies in the early 1970s, it's arguable whether or not the martial arts film genre would have ever penetrated and influenced mainstream North American and European cinema and audiences the way it has over the past four decades.

The influence of East Asian martial arts cinema can be seen today in so many other film genres including comedies, action, drama, science fiction, horror and animation.....and they all have their roots in the phenomenon that was Bruce Lee.


Film Overview

Premise: A man visits his relatives at their restaurant in Italy and has to help them defend against brutal gangsters harassing them.

Budget: HK$130,000
Box Office: HK$5.30 million (Hong Kong) / US$5.2 million (US/Canada)

Trivia
(courtesy of IMDB)
​

* Last movie to be filmed in the actual Roman Colosseum. According to the assistant director, Ching-Shun Mao, filming around the Colosseum was strictly forbidden, and the few scenes actually filmed there were quickly shot without the knowledge of the Roman authorities.

* The whole thing was shot without sound, with the actors looping their lines in post-production.

* Bruce Lee wrote the death threat note which the mafia gave to Uncle Wang.

* Bruce Lee made several 'firsts' in the Hong Kong movie industry whilst making this. It was the first Chinese film be made in the West, and he was the first Hong Kong director to view daily 'rushes' in color. He insisted on doing this so he could ensure exact color - matching in editing, due to combining the location shots in Rome with the studio footage at Golden Harvest. He also refused to use the standard 'canned' music and commissioned a new score.

* Most of the crew did not have international passports or working visas which meant they could only work in Rome for a maximum of three weeks. Bruce Lee and the crew made sure they got all of their required footage within just two.

* Bruce Lee hired Tadashi Nishimoto as cinematographer because he considered the Japanese to have greater technical expertise.

* Part of the music in this film is actually originally from the Ennio Morricone score for the Sergio Leone western Once Upon A Time in the West (1968). The music used for Chuck Norris is taken from that film's track, "As A Judgment" (AKA: "The Grand Massacre"), and "The Transgression" was used in many of the suspenseful scenes (including when Bruce Lee explores the Colosseum to face Chuck Norris' character).

​

Members: @europe1 @MusterX @Scott Parker 27 @the muntjac @Cubo de Sangre @sickc0d3r @chickenluver @FrontNakedChoke @AndersonsFoot @Tufts @Coolthulu @Yotsuya @jei @LHWBelt @PommyBen @Deus Ex Machina @ArtemV @Bullitt68

​

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Best scenes were when the bearded henchman cracks himself with the nunchucks and right before the final showdown when a cat gets randomly tossed down the steps and runs off. Both great laughs.

Worst scene was the chick trying to pick up Bruce on the street. Far more forced than funny.

Helluva flick if you like to laugh while people get their asses kicked.

 

[Bullitt68]

This is your guys' fault for picking one of the two Bruce movies that I've written an essay on, so don't get mad at me for nerding out and using the following as my post: http://offscreen.com/view/bruce_lee_authorship_part_2

@europe1, I await your scholarly critique of my analysis

Best scenes were when the bearded henchman cracks himself with the nunchucks and right before the final showdown when a cat gets randomly tossed down the steps and runs off. Both great laughs.

Worst scene was the chick trying to pick up Bruce on the street. Far more forced than funny.

Helluva flick if you like to laugh while people get their asses kicked.

Check out the above link to learn you a little something about that cat and that hooker

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

This is your guys' fault for picking one of the two Bruce movies that I've written an essay on, so don't get mad at me for nerding out and using the following as my post: http://offscreen.com/view/bruce_lee_authorship_part_2

@europe1, I await your scholarly critique of my analysis



Check out the above link to learn you a little something about that cat and that hooker

Holy fuckin' where's the Cliff-notes Batman.

 

[sickc0d3r]

The movie starts kind of slow. The first 20 or 30 minutes are Bruce at the airport, Bruce eating 5 bowls of soup when he can't read the menu, Bruce and a chick doing some banking, Bruce running out on a hot naked girl (WHY?!?), and Bruce taking a lot of dumps. Apparently the soup triggered his IBS. This was definitely more of a comedic role than usual for Mr. Lee, and you'll never see less action at the start of a movie of this genre.

Things heat up when they get to the Roman-Chinese restaurant. I perked up quickly when Bruce agreed to show those douchey waiters his Chinese boxing--maybe the slow pacing served its purpose by building anticipation--but fuck me, just when he was about to work the pads he got interrupted. I guess the waiters had customers.

So, off we go to take another dump (Bruce, not me) while in walks Gay Lo-Pan. He's the limp-wristed henchman of a gang that wants to buy out the restaurant. But, Lee was pooping so he missed the encounter, and the waiters all laughed at him for his weak Chinese boxing and being unable to thwart the troublemakers.

Luckily, some of the gang returned to continue the harassment, and everyone decided to step outside and just bang bro.

Finally! Dragon seeks path! Dragon whips his tail! Now we're cooking with gas!

Time for me to note here just how amazing Bruce was. We all know this, but it's easy to under-appreciate his impeccable balance and footwork. He's obviously limber and fast and all that, but the way he brings every technique to and from perfect balance, with feet always in position and ready for the next technique, is beyond impressive. I can't think of anyone else who has displayed his level of mastery on screen. Jackie Chan has the distinction of being more acrobatic (and more creative), but he doesn't really apply a fighters footwork consistently the way Bruce does. Maybe the only guy that comes close is prime Seagal. For all his faults (running, acting, sexual harassment-ing) he was technically excellent, and Aikido is a mesmerizing style so that helps.

Anyway, still only a taste... more than half an hour in...

Now the gang wants to deal with this kung fu PITA, so they send in some armed thugs, and from this point on it is vintage, prime, that-look-in-his-eye, Bruce. Glorious fights ensue, again with more than the usual share of comedy mixed in. And of course nothing tops Bruce with a pair of nunchucks in his hands, effortlessly swishing and cracking his way through bad guys. Lee is also flexing through every scene like a miniature, convulsing bodybuilder in a wife beater and a pair of Toms.

The remainder of the movie is a build up to the final showdown with Chuck-freakin-Norris (cue Norris, scowling beneath his aviators as he disembarks, and striding dick-first straight into the camera, like a true villain).

The payoff is nice. Chuck comes out guns blazing, surprising Lee with his violent skillz. But Lee adjusts nicely and picks him apart, showing off his most dazzling kicks and beating him up badly in the process.

This one had all the elements I would look for in a martial arts film, plus a nice change of pace comedic tone. Not as funny as a Jackie Chan, or as epic as Enter The Dragon, but still great for its originality and tempo.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

The movie starts kind of slow. The first 20 or 30 minutes are Bruce at the airport, Bruce eating 5 bowls of soup when he can't read the menu, Bruce and a chick doing some banking, Bruce running out on a hot naked girl (WHY?!?), and Bruce taking a lot of dumps. Apparently the soup triggered his IBS. This was definitely more of a comedic role than usual for Mr. Lee, and you'll never see less action at the start of a movie of this genre.

Things heat up when they get to the Roman-Chinese restaurant. I perked up quickly when Bruce agreed to show those douchey waiters his Chinese boxing--maybe the slow pacing served its purpose by building anticipation--but fuck me, just when he was about to work the pads he got interrupted. I guess the waiters had customers.

So, off we go to take another dump (Bruce, not me) while in walks Gay Lo-Pan. He's the limp-wristed henchman of a gang that wants to buy out the restaurant. But, Lee was pooping so he missed the encounter, and the waiters all laughed at him for his weak Chinese boxing and being unable to thwart the troublemakers.

Luckily, some of the gang returned to continue the harassment, and everyone decided to step outside and just bang bro.

Finally! Dragon seeks path! Dragon whips his tail! Now we're cooking with gas!

Time for me to note here just how amazing Bruce was. We all know this, but it's easy to under-appreciate his impeccable balance and footwork. He's obviously limber and fast and all that, but the way he brings every technique to and from perfect balance, with feet always in position and ready for the next technique, is beyond impressive. I can't think of anyone else who has displayed his level of mastery on screen. Jackie Chan has the distinction of being more acrobatic (and more creative), but he doesn't really apply a fighters footwork consistently the way Bruce does. Maybe the only guy that comes close is prime Seagal. For all his faults (running, acting, sexual harassment-ing) he was technically excellent, and Aikido is a mesmerizing style so that helps.

Anyway, still only a taste... more than half an hour in...

Now the gang wants to deal with this kung fu PITA, so they send in some armed thugs, and from this point on it is vintage, prime, that-look-in-his-eye, Bruce. Glorious fights ensue, again with more than the usual share of comedy mixed in. And of course nothing tops Bruce with a pair of nunchucks in his hands, effortlessly swishing and cracking his way through bad guys. Lee is also flexing through every scene like a miniature, convulsing bodybuilder in a wife beater and a pair of Toms.

The remainder of the movie is a build up to the final showdown with Chuck-freakin-Norris (cue Norris, scowling beneath his aviators as he disembarks, and striding dick-first straight into the camera, like a true villain).

The payoff is nice. Chuck comes out guns blazing, surprising Lee with his violent skillz. But Lee adjusts nicely and picks him apart, showing off his most dazzling kicks and beating him up badly in the process.

This one had all the elements I would look for in a martial arts film, plus a nice change of pace comedic tone. Not as funny as a Jackie Chan, or as epic as Enter The Dragon, but still great for its originality and tempo.

Great review. Reminds me of all the stretching before he and Chuck duke it out. lol.

 

[europe1]

Man, I had no idea that Roman Holiday was such a violent, brawl-filled movie. Those are some scenic Roman ruins though so I can see why people think so highly off it. Audrey Hepburn is the Chinese chick, right?

Not going to read Bullitt's mega-essay... yet.


Zoom!!!

Has there ever been an actor who has had such an amorous love-affair with the quick-zoom as Bruce Lee? In most movies from the 70's, the quick-zoom often feels like a cheap way of generating drama or energy, like a second-rate dolly shot. However, in Bruce Lee movies, they always feel more organic and natural. I think they just synergize with the kinetic action a lot better than in most other pictures.

Comedy

Worst scene was the chick trying to pick up Bruce on the street. Far more forced than funny.

Really? I thought that was the funniest part of the movie (save, perhaps, the effeminate henchman getting straight up shoot by his boss after having bet his life that Chuck Norris would win). Bruce's laconicism just sells the awkwardness of it all, having just been told to act like a local and then that happened! I do sort of wonder how much they did it just to get some breasts in there though (also, reading through Malisa Longo's IMDB page made me realize that I've seen way, waaay to many of her movies).

There is a lot of comedy in this film in comparison to Bruce's other work. The early parts almost goes like a silent film, with Bruce ordering soup and all. That, of course, makes me think of another martial artist inspired by Silent Age comedians, Jackie Chan. To compare and contrast them, Bruce Lee was more this:

While Jackie was more this:

Stacked Crates

Ah yes, Stacked Crates. The blood-brother of any self-respecting martial artist. Whenever I see them I think of the stacked crates in Jackie Chan's Dragon's Forever. Does anyone even know who first allied combat sports with stacked crates? Could it be this film?

The UFC needs stacked crates.

Sub vs Dub

One thing I noticed. I sort of shifted between the Sub and the Dub in the early parts of the movie just to compare the two. There were some strange differences. For example, take the scene where Bruce Lee checks out his cousin's posh car after they leave the airport. In the Sub he says "A Mustang? A Chevy? A Flying Horse?" and she has this exasperated reaction based on his lame joke. While in the Dub, he says "A Rolls?"... which isn't even a joke! Sort of muddles the flow of the scene, don't you think?

Bruce's Acting:

Actors with a background in dancing, sports, martial arts, basically anything physical -- tends to have a really good grasp of non-verbal, bodily acting. Arnold Swartznegger isn't the best thespian in the world. But he sure knows how to posture, how to stand so to project an aura of intimidation or stature. But Bruce? Bruce Lee knocks it out of the fucking ball-park.

(awkward)

(boyish)

(Bruce)

(this lady gets it too)

Acting

I sort of got the impression that Bruce always was going for more of a Steve McQueen approach of "let the silence do the acting, expressions not words," kind of thing. This is especially well done after he kills Chuck Norris. You see this painful contortion on his face (no image found online...). It's a good non-verbal cue since it a strongly informs us that Bruce do not like killing, that he considers it pointless, especially with how he gazed at Chuck while the man was practically limping, trying to continue the fight.

I would sort of have liked to seen this underbuilt a bit more through the narrative. I think that in Enter the Dragon (if memory serves) this is communicated with a bit more poignancy, where it's established that the Shaolin practice pacifism so by going on this quest for revenge, Bruce is violating the codes that he has been raised by. This adds more of an inner-dimension to his battles, that he chooses violence yet still recalls those lofty ideals that he was raised with. I figure that something more like that in the backstory would have added to the effect of Bruce killing Norris, as it's stand is basically just communicated with sudden facial expression and gestures (which is by no means bad, mind you).


Lastly... (saving the battles for later)

Uncle Wang turning traitor at the last second was just unbelievable and lame. It feels like one of those things added just for cheap melodrama.

 

[Bullitt68]

Holy fuckin' where's the Cliff-notes Batman.

I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Here's the cliff-notes:

Spoiler

The movie starts kind of slow. The first 20 or 30 minutes are Bruce at the airport, Bruce eating 5 bowls of soup when he can't read the menu, Bruce and a chick doing some banking, Bruce running out on a hot naked girl (WHY?!?), and Bruce taking a lot of dumps.

Because he was a 30-year-old virgin. He's like Arnold's character in Twins. He's been out in the country doing martial arts all his life. Ain't no womens out there.

This was definitely more of a comedic role than usual for Mr. Lee, and you'll never see less action at the start of a movie of this genre.

And, IMO, it's actually pretty good, especially for a first-time filmmaker. The whole airport sequence is like something you'd find in a Jacques Tati film.

Things heat up when they get to the Roman-Chinese restaurant. I perked up quickly when Bruce agreed to show those douchey waiters his Chinese boxing--maybe the slow pacing served its purpose by building anticipation--but fuck me, just when he was about to work the pads he got interrupted. I guess the waiters had customers.

I think Bruce was extending what Lo Wei had started in The Big Boss with the build-up to Bruce's medallion getting broken, only in The Way of the Dragon, it was more knowing on Bruce's part rather than some contrived crock about a promise to his mom (which he shows no compunction about horrifically breaking just because he lost his necklace ). Wei also did something similar in Fist of Fury with the Japanese guys taunting Bruce and his schoolmates and Bruce reining in his anger.

Time for me to note here just how amazing Bruce was. We all know this, but it's easy to under-appreciate his impeccable balance and footwork. He's obviously limber and fast and all that, but the way he brings every technique to and from perfect balance, with feet always in position and ready for the next technique, is beyond impressive. I can't think of anyone else who has displayed his level of mastery on screen. Jackie Chan has the distinction of being more acrobatic (and more creative), but he doesn't really apply a fighters footwork consistently the way Bruce does. Maybe the only guy that comes close is prime Seagal. For all his faults (running, acting, sexual harassment-ing) he was technically excellent, and Aikido is a mesmerizing style so that helps.

QFT.

Now the gang wants to deal with this kung fu PITA, so they send in some armed thugs, and from this point on it is vintage, prime, that-look-in-his-eye, Bruce. Glorious fights ensue, again with more than the usual share of comedy mixed in. And of course nothing tops Bruce with a pair of nunchucks in his hands, effortlessly swishing and cracking his way through bad guys. Lee is also flexing through every scene like a miniature, convulsing bodybuilder in a wife beater and a pair of Toms.

The best physical shape that Bruce was ever in IMO.

The remainder of the movie is a build up to the final showdown with Chuck-freakin-Norris (cue Norris, scowling beneath his aviators as he disembarks, and striding dick-first straight into the camera, like a true villain).

Bit of trivia: They couldn't afford an actual airport/airplane sequence, so all of the shots of Colt arriving in the movie...are shots of Chuck arriving for the movie

The payoff is nice. Chuck comes out guns blazing, surprising Lee with his violent skillz. But Lee adjusts nicely and picks him apart, showing off his most dazzling kicks and beating him up badly in the process.

GOAT one-on-one fight scene

This one had all the elements I would look for in a martial arts film, plus a nice change of pace comedic tone. Not as funny as a Jackie Chan, or as epic as Enter The Dragon, but still great for its originality and tempo.

Maybe you or @europe1 could help jog my memory, but didn't Jackie Chan do a movie with an homage to Bruce's restaurant troubles? I could've sworn Jackie has a scene in one of his movies where he's unable to read a menu...

 

[sickc0d3r]

I sort of got the impression that Bruce always was going for more of a Steve McQueen approach of "let the silence do the acting, expressions not words," kind of thing.

Ahaaa, good call.

Because he was a 30-year-old virgin. He's like Arnold's character in Twins. He's been out in the country doing martial arts all his life. Ain't no womens out there.

Yes, he did play it like Arnold, constantly nerding out on his fighting moves, oblivious about women, ignorant of big city ways.

The best physical shape that Bruce was ever in IMO.

Quite possibly. Not sure if he was heavier than usual but he looked like he put on some muscle mass for this one.

Bit of trivia: They couldn't afford an actual airport/airplane sequence, so all of the shots of Colt arriving in the movie...are shots of Chuck arriving for the movie

Hmm, I guess I always assumed Chuck HALO jumped into every location.

GOAT one-on-one fight scene

The chest hair was glorious, and I dug the way Bruce adjusted his strategy. He was used to just wrecking fools with speed, but he didn't phase Colt with the basics.

He figured out he had to circle and work the legs and body to defeat him.

And I dug the camera work

Maybe you or @europe1 could help jog my memory, but didn't Jackie Chan do a movie with an homage to Bruce's restaurant troubles? I could've sworn Jackie has a scene in one of his movies where he's unable to read a menu...

Don't recall.

 

[Yotsuya]

I voted for Way of the Dragon because I remember that I loved the naive country boy comedy stuff and it was even funnier than I remembered. I was cracking up already for the opening scene with the snobby old lady. Bruce is still maybe the most charismatic and photogenetic martial artist ever to appear on camera and that certainly helps doing minimalist comedy too. I actually liked the first half better than the latter half. Fighting the thugs was a lot of fun. My favourite sequence was when Bruce slip’n’ripped the black dude who came in throwing jabs.

Awesome opening credits btw. Dragon sails west!

 

[Yotsuya]

didn't Jackie Chan do a movie with an homage to Bruce's restaurant troubles? I could've sworn Jackie has a scene in one of his movies where he's unable to read a menu...

Battle Creek Brawl maybe? Isn't that the movie in which Jackie Chan arrives to America to work at a Chinese restaurant. Owner of the place was such a pacifist, that he gave Jackie hard time every time he tried to defend against thugs by kung fu. The funny thing was, that the restaurant that was used for exterior shots for the movie had NRA membership sign on the window.

 

[MusterX]

Was the lady watching Bruce at the beginning of the film in the airport a statement on racism between Japan and China? Was it a statement on fatism when Bruce scared the little kid into dropping his ice cream in the airport? The entire first 15 minutes of the film plays out like a silent film with a Pink Panther twist containing no dialogue. Bruce is being stared at but says nothing, Bruce messes with a kid eating ice cream, but neither says anything, Bruce goes into a restaurant where he can't read the menu and doesn't understand the currency. Bruce has to take a dump and needs to find a bathroom, and finally one of the first things he says is now where is the toilet.

I can appreciate that this film is from 1972 and seems to have impacted every marital arts film since. I really would have preferred to watch one of the other films nominated just because everyone is so familiar with the Chuck Norris fight but even so, an enjoyable 5th or 6th viewing. I think even bad boy Chuck has admitted before that Bruce was the greatest martial artist of his era if not all time, mostly because he has somehow become a legendary figure in modern culture. What a terrible shame he died when he was only 32 and even moreso that his son Brandon Lee died on set at age 28. The two of them only lived a combined 60 years.

Here is young Lee with his teacher Ip man.

Bruce Lee was also FAR FAR ahead of his time in terms of his training methods and his fighting philosophy. He felt that there were certain principles that were "self evident" with fighting and he incorporated those ideas into his fighting style called Jeet Kune Do. Be like water, don't follow any styles or patterns, as well as other ideas about stance, kicks, and intercepting attacks were all very much ahead of their time.

For exmaple, on stance Lee's philosophy was this...

Seen in many of his movie fight scenes such as in The Way of the Dragon vs Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee fought in a side southpaw horse stance. His jabs and crosses came from his right hand and followed up with a lot of side kicks. Instead of a common check seen in Muay Thai, Bruce uses an oblique leg kick to block a potential kick. Bruce Lee adopted other defensive concepts found in many other systems such as slipping and rolling from Western Boxing and forearm blocks found in Eastern martial arts such as Kung Fu.

We didn't see oblique kicks really used effectively in the UFC until Jon Jones came along and used one. Another thing is Lee was ripped, like Frank Shamrock ripped but way back in the 1960's.

One of his methods to get ripped was using electric shock.




This is an interesting quote from Lee's wife concerning how Bruce would multitask everything.

“He was always using that dumbbell… Bruce had the unique ability to do several things at once. It wasn’t all unusual for me to find him watching a boxing match on TV while simultaneously performing a full side split, reading a book in one hand, and pumping a dumbbell in the other.” – Linda Lee, wife of Bruce Lee

Anyway, still an incredible man and story all these years later. I wonder what he would have inspired had he remained alive.

 

[the muntjac]

I haven't seen this since I was a youngin', so it was nice to watch this one fresh again. I didn't remember the tone being so comical, but it was a pleasant surprise. Lee was a goofball, the bad guys were goofballs, the restaurant staff were goofballs, the old lady with the soups was a goofball, Chuck looked goofy without a beard, everybody was a goofball. Well, not everybody, but close. My point is, the movie was funny and made me chuckle many times.

The fight scenes were the least dated thing about this movie. In fact, I would say not at all. Lee kicking ass is still a marvel to witness. Fights ranged from humorous to straight up bad ass, and every single one clicked.

I only have one major complaint about the story, and that's the sudden late heel turn of the uncle. If he wanted to sell the restaurant all this time, why wouldn't he have just made it known that he's in talks of selling it? It's his place. Why would he keep his niece and the rest of the staff in the dark about it and pretend he's getting muscled out? None of this made sense to me. I had to watch the dubbed version, so perhaps something gets lost in translation that better explains the uncle's deceptiveness, or maybe I missed something that explains why he couldn't just say to the staff, "Hey, these guys want to buy the restaurant, so I'm working out a deal with them. Someone should probably wire Tang Lung and tell him to not bother flying out here."

A minor nitpick is that Lee's character came off like a condescending one-upper at times when traversing Rome. He's that guy your friend invites, and you try talking to him, but he's quick with the snobby remarks, "Yeah, well, in Hong Kong it's better because blah blah blah..." That's when you give your friend that look of, "Why'd you bring this dude?"

Other than that, pretty entertaining flick. Quite commendable for being a debuting directorial effort on Lee's part.

 

[LHWBelt]

I'll say that I'm not a big fan of martial arts films like that but I gave it a shot anyways. At the beginning it was hard to tell if it'd be a parody. Bruce Lee with full IBS had to come to Italy and take out the effeminate villain and strong arming a restaurant owner. Cliche AF minus the IBS and effeminate villain. Anyways I really didn't like it until later on when the other restaraunt employees learned to fight. Before that it was basically villains line up and get kicked in the head by Bruce one by one taking turns instead of you know tackling the fucker. When they learned to fight it was a little more even and entertaining. The fight between Lee/Norris was pretty dope though. Somehow through all this bad mouthing the movie I gave it a 6/10. Some of the comedy was decent too. Just not great for me.

 

[the muntjac]

So, off we go to take another dump (Bruce, not me) while in walks Gay Lo-Pan.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who drew comparison to Mr. Ho being a Gay Lo-Pan.

Mr. Ho was an easy highlight in this for me. Entertaining character.

Zoom!!!

Has there ever been an actor who has had such an amorous love-affair with the quick-zoom as Bruce Lee? In most movies from the 70's, the quick-zoom often feels like a cheap way of generating drama or energy, like a second-rate dolly shot. However, in Bruce Lee movies, they always feel more organic and natural. I think they just synergize with the kinetic action a lot better than in most other pictures.

I was taught to not use zooms. The reason being that the eye processes a dolly more naturally because the movement is organic, whereas humans are unable to zoom with their eyes. Zooms can actually end up having a jarring and opposite effect of what they were meant to convey. However, I find that zooms can have their place at times. They work well for comedic effect, and heck, even Hitchcock's "Vertigo" effect is a zoom with a dolly, and you can't tell me that doesn't look cool. I agree that the zoom here in WOTD works for its purpose.

Must...resist...urge...for...Simpsons...reference...

Ah heck, I can't do it.

One thing I noticed. I sort of shifted between the Sub and the Dub in the early parts of the movie just to compare the two. There were some strange differences. For example, take the scene where Bruce Lee checks out his cousin's posh car after they leave the airport. In the Sub he says "A Mustang? A Chevy? A Flying Horse?" and she has this exasperated reaction based on his lame joke. While in the Dub, he says "A Rolls?"... which isn't even a joke! Sort of muddles the flow of the scene, don't you think?

In the subbed version, does the mob boss speak a different language from Lee's character? There's that one scene where Lee is clutching the boss, and he looks at Mr. Ho and tells him to tell the boss to stop coming around. I assumed in the subbed version that Mr. Ho then translates what Lee says to him, but since I watched the English dubbed version, everyone is "speaking" English, so it was funny that Lee was demanded Mr. Ho to tell the boss what he was saying.

(this lady gets it too)

Ah, Kung-Fu Hustle. Fun movie. Somehow this screened in my podunk country town's movie theater with the subtitled version, and I may have been one of the five people who went and saw it there.

Uncle Wang turning traitor at the last second was just unbelievable and lame. It feels like one of those things added just for cheap melodrama.

Because he was a 30-year-old virgin. He's like Arnold's character in Twins. He's been out in the country doing martial arts all his life. Ain't no womens out there.

That's kinda what I took from it. He's a loner who spends all his free time honing his craft. Put a socially awkward guy like that in a situation where a strange woman throws her breasts at him, and he's gonna freak out and run.

Bit of trivia: They couldn't afford an actual airport/airplane sequence, so all of the shots of Colt arriving in the movie...are shots of Chuck arriving for the movie

That's freakin' hilarious. That was actually Chuck's shirt. That's great.

 

[Tufts]

Obligatory Background Music While Reading this Thread

 

[Tufts]

This is your guys' fault for picking one of the two Bruce movies that I've written an essay on, so don't get mad at me for nerding out and using the following as my post: http://offscreen.com/view/bruce_lee_authorship_part_2

@europe1, I await your scholarly critique of my analysis

I'll read it this time. But no nominating films you wrote your PhD on. I'm not up to reading any dissertations <45>

 

[Tufts]

Really? I thought that was the funniest part of the movie (save, perhaps, the effeminate henchman getting straight up shoot by his boss after having bet his life that Chuck Norris would win). Bruce's laconicism just sells the awkwardness of it all, having just been told to act like a local and then that happened! I do sort of wonder how much they did it just to get some breasts in there though (also, reading through Malisa Longo's IMDB page made me realize that I've seen way, waaay to many of her movies).

The set up was humorous. Bruce was hilarious. The boobs were gratuitous.

 

[Tufts]

There is a lot of comedy in this film in comparison to Bruce's other work. The early parts almost goes like a silent film, with Bruce ordering soup and all. That, of course, makes me think of another martial artist inspired by Silent Age comedians, Jackie Chan. To compare and contrast them, Bruce Lee was more this:

While Jackie was more this:

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I only have one major complaint about the story, and that's the sudden late heel turn of the uncle.

Agreed. How many bad guys did the film need?