Within hours of his 1974 funeral, Hong Kong movie studios began to produce hundreds of unauthorized biopics, spin-offs and rip-offs starring a competing roster of Bruce Lee lookalikes. Over the next decade, ‘Bruceploitation’ would become a staple of global cinema. Director David Gregory – whose award-winning documentaries include LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU and BLOOD & FLESH: THE REEL LIFE & GHASTLY DEATH OF AL ADAMSON – now examines this fascinating phenomenon via interviews with Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Liang and Dragon Lee; martial arts legends like Angela Mao, David Chiang, Phillip Ko and Sammo Hung; and the producers, directors, distributors and experts – along with copious clips from the films themselves – that for the first time reveal the history, controversy and legacy behind one of the most bizarre genres in movie history.
What We Thought:
Enter the Clones of Bruce was right up my alley. I grew up watching Bruce Lee flicks on cable and knew of the many clones after his death. If you looked enough like Bruce Lee and could fight, you became a lead actor going by the name of Bruce Li, Bruce, Le, Dragon Lee, etc. The best part is, most of these men came from different parts of Asia whether it was Japan, Korea or Taiwan and weren’t even Chinese. At the time of his death Bruce Lee was the biggest name in martial arts movies and studios couldn’t let that popularity die. This documentary shows how far some studios went to exploit Bruce and how Bruce Lee eventually became a character in hundreds of movies played by various men.
When I say exploited, I mean exploited. Some of the copycat films had footage of Bruce Lee’s actual funeral in them. Some of their movie posters used the famous picture of Bruce in his coffin on the actual poster. Did Bruce Lee’s family get anything out of these studios? Nope. Were they financially compensated for his likeness or the actual footage? Also nope. Studios didn’t care, they were going to take advantage of anything they could to get people into seats.
The worst part is, these actors copying Bruce probably could have been leading men in their own right. Most had fantastic martial arts backgrounds, but were told to copy Bruce’s moves like his infamous nose wipe. One of the clones talks about how he didn’t want to just copy Bruce and wanted to be his own character, but the studios kept pumping out these movies and he couldn’t say no to the (little) money he was paid. On top of the clones the studios hired actors and actresses from past Bruce Lee films to be be able to say “Angela Mao from Enter the Dragon starring Bruce Lee” was in the movie.
What I loved about the documentary is it shows what eventually killed the production of these films, Jackie Chan. Chan was very much a martial arts expert, but he brought something new to the genre, comedy. Jackie did things Bruce would never do, get beat up before eventually winning or bring comedic elements to get the crowd laughing. He changed the seriousness of action flicks and studios decided that’s where the genre was heading. Bruceploitation films were over, the crowd wanted laughs and personality.
Enter the Clones of Bruce is a must watch for Bruce Lee fans, Asian cinema fans and people who like behind-the-scenes/making of bonus features on movies. The documentary is filled with information on Bruce and filmmaking making it equal parts biography and movie history. Along with the clones you get interviews with legends like Sammo Hung and footage of a young Jackie Chan. Nothing else to say besides…
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary With Co-Executive Producer/Director David Gregory; Co-Producers Frank Djeng, Vivian Wong And Michael Worth; And Director Of Photography Jim Kunz
- Working At Shaw Brothers – Outtakes With Godfrey Ho, David Chiang, Yasuaki Kurata, Lee Chiu, Lo Meng, Mars And Phillip Ko
- Bruce Lee And I – Outtakes With Sammo Hung, Phillip Ko, Yasuaki Kurata, Mars, Angela Mao, Andre Morgan, Lee Tso Nam and More
- The Lost World Of Kung Fu Film Negatives – Outtakes With Godfrey Ho, Joseph Lai, Angela Mao, Lee Tso Nam And Film Preservationists
- Bruce’s Hong Kong – Location Tour With Frank Djeng
- Severin’s Kung Fu Theater With Actor/Director/Bruceploitation Expert Michael Worth
- Trailers
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