Bruce Lee changed the cultural landscape. But he never lived to see just how he influenced martial arts and martial arts movies, the image of Asian men on screen, numerous directors from Ang Lee, who is planning on making a movie about Bruce Lee starring his son Mason, and Quentin Tarantino, action stars such as Jackie Chan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, comedians such as Eddie Murphy and Margaret Cho and singers including LL Cool J and RZA.
Lee was just 32 when he died on July 23, 1973 of what was described as “death by misadventure.” There have been numerous theories of what actually caused his death. One forensic scientist announced he died of cerebral edema due to a reaction to ingredients in the medication Equagesic he had taken. A 2022 study in the Clinical Kidney Journal stated that the cerebral edema was caused by hyponatremia-a lack of sodium in his blood. (Lee actually underwent surgery to have his sweat glands removed.)
He died just days before the Hong Kong opening of his landmark martial arts film “Enter the Dragon.” The first Hollywood kung fu production, “Enter the Dragon” opened in the U.S. on Aug. 17th Lee, who also choreographed and staged the breathtaking fight sequences, stars as s martial arts expert seeking revenge on the ruthless gang who killed is sister. He enters a bloodthirsty martial arts competition on island overseen by the ruthless head of the gang. John Saxon and martial artist/actor Jim Kelly also star. And up-and-comers Chan, Sammo Hung and Chuck Norris also appear.
“There was an intensity, realism, dynamism and energy to this stuff that no one had ever seen before,” producer and screenwriter Stephen Chin told me a decade ago for the L.A. Times when Chin donated his collection of kung fu film posters to the motion picture academy. While growing up in Toronto, Chin was bullied and beaten up because he was Chinese. But that all changed with Lee. “It was a profound transformation,” Chin recalled. “For me as a kid, to go from being mocked to being admired was amazing.”
The film also showcased Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid of different combat styles he created. Lee believed “the best fighter is not a boxer, karate or judo man. The best fighter is someone who can adapt to any style, to be formless, to adopt an individual’s own style and now following a system of styles.”
Reviews were strong for the film especially the New York Times’ which described the film as “expertly made and well-meshed; it moves like lightening and brims with color.” And he thought “on an adventure level, the performances are quite good. The one by Lee, not only the picture’s supermaster killer but a fine actor as well, is downright fascinating. Mr. Lee, who also staged the combats, died very recently. Here he could not be more alive.”
Considered one of cinema’s most influential action films, Vice’s Sascha Matuszak pointed out that “Enter the Dragon” is “referenced in all manner of media , the plot line and characters continue to influence storytellers today., and the impact was particularly felt in the revolutionizing way the film portrayed African-Americans, Asians and traditional martial arts.”
Saxon loved working with Lee on location in Hong Kong. “He took me seriously,” Saxon noted in my 2012 L.A. Times interview with the actor. “I would tell him I would rather do it this way and he’s say, ‘OK, try it that way.”’ But the film’s director Robert Clouse wasn’t happy with Saxon’s suggestions. “He actually wrote about me later in ways that were not favorable.”
Screenwriter Michael Allin recalled in 2013 he had “a lot of story conversations with Bruce and I did a rewrite according to his notes.” The two, though, would have a falling out while they were in Hong Kong. Still, Allin noted, Lee was “very good at what he did. He was an angel in terms of his skill. Warners thought he was going to be a really big deal.”
Lee wasn’t an unknown when “Enter the Dragon” opened. Television audiences knew him as Kato in the 1966-67 ABC series “The Green Hornet” and for his four appearances on the 1971-72 ABC series “Longstreet.” He also received good notices for his scene in 1969’s “Marlowe” where he uses his karate moves to destroy an office. Between gigs, Lee also offered lessons to the likes of Steve McQueen. Tarantino received blowback from Lee’s daughter Shannon and the legend’s fans with his portrait of Lee as an egotist of the first order in 2019’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
He achieved success when he finally moved back to Hong Kong in 1971 with 1972’s “The Chinese Connection” and “Return of the Dragon,” which opened in the U.S. a month after “Enter the Dragon.” Lee also wrote and directed the action comedy featuring Chuck Norris.
It was producer Fred Weintraub who came up the idea that Hollywood should get into the kung fu movie craze. He convinced Warner Bothers to back “Enter the Dragon.” According to TCM.com, Lee felt a lot of pressure because it was his first U.S .film. “He was so nervous that he didn’t appear for the first three weeks of shooting. Lee was feuding with his old boss Raymond Chow and giving him a hard time as well. They first day Lee appeared, his nerves manifested themselves in a facial tic that required 27 takes to get a good shot.”
Fathom Events held special theatrical screenings of “Enter the Dragon’ on Aug. 13 and 16th featuring an introduction by film historian and critic Leonard Maltin. Shannon Lee also offered the trailer of the upcoming Bruce Lee anime series “House of Lee” that was inspired by the Bruce Lee quote: “Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.”
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