Member jobloski Posted September 11, 2011 Member Share Posted September 11, 2011 My brother and I always get in arguments about the significance of Bruce Lee. I know he brought kung fu to America but great kung fu was made before Bruce Lee and with better actors. Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Simon Yuen, and Hwnang Jang lee just to name a few. Now you have all these stars that say they were influenced by Bruce Lee. Is Bruce Lee that significant or are there just to many fanboys? http://generaldutch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/bruce-lee-chuck-norris-generaldutch.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kaleyboy Posted September 12, 2011 Member Share Posted September 12, 2011 I think your post is factually incorrect. All the guys you mention, Sammo, JC, HJL, etc, Bruce's films pre-date theirs by a long way. Without Bruce making kung fu films popular, maybe those guys would never have had the chance to make films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member jobloski Posted September 12, 2011 Author Member Share Posted September 12, 2011 All those guys were involved in kung fu movies before Bruce Lee even made his first movie. The Shaw Brothers were making kung fu movies also before Bruce Lee was on the scene. Bruce Lee made Americans aware of kung fu movies while hundreds were being produced in China and Taiwan at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kaleyboy Posted September 12, 2011 Member Share Posted September 12, 2011 They were working as stunt men and behind the scenes. You can see JC as an extra in Fist of Fury, he's just a goofy looking kid. But my point is this: these guys went on to make films and have careers because kung fu became much more popular, largely thanks to Bruce's films. And his impact was worldwide, not just the USA. You mention Shaw Brothers, and of course they were making martial arts films since the 1960s, but they were mostly wuxia, not by definition kung fu films. Cathay Studio's From The Highway (1970) is widely regarded as being the first modern kung fu film, with Wang Yu's Chinese Boxer running it a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member dadadove Posted September 13, 2011 Member Share Posted September 13, 2011 I'm new to the site, but I wanna chip in and say that Bruce Lee may have expanded global interest in kung fu, but I believe Jackie Chan, Hung Kam-Po and many significant others working in HK would have had careers regardless of Bruce. King Boxer was shown in the USA before Enter the Dragon. Boxer From Shantung was made before Bruce Lee died. Kwan Tak-Hing and Sek Kin's Wong Fei-Hong movie series had been around since 1949, I believe. There was going to be an industry in HK with or without him. Of course he was important and always will be, but I don't believe he single-handedly ensured anyone of having a career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Michael L. Posted October 4, 2011 Member Share Posted October 4, 2011 At the risk of being very, very unpopular, I think there is a validity to the above point. After all, Bruce Lee didn't get Green Hornet a second season and Kung Fu was WILDLY successful without him. Had he not died so young I wonder what his overall impact might have been. He could have easily ended up in Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires kind of stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member nectarsis Posted October 4, 2011 Member Share Posted October 4, 2011 All those guys were involved in kung fu movies before Bruce Lee even made his first movie. The Shaw Brothers were making kung fu movies also before Bruce Lee was on the scene. Bruce Lee made Americans aware of kung fu movies while hundreds were being produced in China and Taiwan at the time. Unless you count his movies as a kid/young adult At the risk of being very, very unpopular, I think there is a validity to the above point. After all, Bruce Lee didn't get Green Hornet a second season and Kung Fu was WILDLY successful without him. Had he not died so young I wonder what his overall impact might have been. He could have easily ended up in Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires kind of stuff! Kung Fu (series) probably would not have even existed without him as it was his idea/concept. The fact that from the get go (fu movie wise) he shattered HK movie records...repeatedly shows that he def massively "shook things up" in the genre (and movies as a whole) in Asia. There's a reason that he is still so revered/loved throughout the world. Overrated, possibly...but no more so than any other HUGE star (Jackie, Jet, Donnie, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member WonBin'sMojo Posted January 1, 2012 Member Share Posted January 1, 2012 The OP is an idiot.... Seriously, who let this clown in with only 10 post in this is what he came up with??? Dude how can you bash the guy and say you like these other stars but there in the exact same genre?? Without the significance of Bruce Lee how far would Kung Fu cinema go?? Will it be obscure and only die hard fans know about it or would it reach the impact it did once Bruce Lee hit the market and then it allowed the fans to dive deeper into the genre?? But to dismiss a guy who was innovative and tried to do everything on his own and you call him overrated?? Bruce Lee could have easily sign with Shaw Bros, but opted to Golden Harvest pushed his way into being the top dog in Hong Kong Cinema.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMK Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 I personally understand and appreciate the impact Bruce Lee had on the genre of martial art films, he undoubtedly paved the way for the Jackies, Sammos, and others to do what they do. But because Bruce only made a handful of films, there simply are much better kung fu films out there to his when compared. And of course, a lot of those came years after Bruce made his. If Bruce had made a Shaw Brothers movie or 2, or got to do battle with the likes of Hwang Jang Lee or Yuen Biao as an equal contender in the film, basically had left more films to be remembered by, those fans of the genre that are on the fence of whether or not Bruce is worthy of all the praise he seems to get, would pretty much seal the deal and would make it easier to accept the man as the true legend that he is. Please WonBin's Mojo, take it easy on other members here, if they happen to post a thought or feeling you do not agree with. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.