I’ve sacrificed many days of my life trawling through the Bruceploitation barrel and while I’d never argue that it’s all good, I’ve selected ten of the most enjoyable efforts (some silly, some serious) that I’d recommend to anyone with an interest in martial arts cinema: 10: Bruce Lee, The Man, The Myth (1976) Dir: Ng See-Yuen Bruce: Bruce Li You never knew the calibre you were going to get because the quality varied so wildly but, at its best, it was some of the most uninhibited and exciting martial arts cinema of the age. Bolo Yeung, Dan Inosanto, Wei Ping Ou) would appear in Bruceploitation as well. Often, those who’d starred alongside the real Bruce (e.g. Join Amazon Prime – Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime – Start Free Trial Now Sometimes genuine big stars like Lo Lieh appeared to fight the Bruce clones (thus giving kung fu fans a fight they’d always dreamed of – King Boxer vs The Dragon!). Others played it straight, using the Bruce name and image as a base but delivering seriously good, low-budget martial arts films that stack up easily against the bigger, more legitimate titles of the era. Some Bruceploitation just amped up the craziness as far as it would go, turning Bruce into a fantasy being who’d fight everyone from Superman and Dracula to black magicians and gangs of midgets. However, as time went on and the genre developed, some of these low-rent actors became credible martial arts stars and their films got more ambitious and interesting. In The True Game Of Death, for example, they recreate Bruce’s cerebral edema as he spasms in agony next to a writhing naked girl while “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” blares on the soundtrack (music copyright was not something these people cared about any more than they did good taste). Bill posters advertised new films starring Bruce Le, Bruce Li, Bruce Lai, Bruce Lea, Bruce Leong, Dragon Lee, Bruce Thai, and many more, boasting titles like Enter Another Dragon, Enter Three Dragons, The New Game Of Death, Fist Of Fury 2, and many more besides.Īrguably these started out as exploitative trash, cashing in on a man’s name in outrageous and tasteless ways. Send in the clones.Ī number of bit-part actors and stuntmen who bore a mild resemblance to the Dragon (often just a similar haircut at best) were rechristened.

What could be done? The demand all across the world for Bruce Lee was feverish and – besides the 40 minutes of unfinished Game Of Deathfootage languishing in the vaults at Golden Harvest – there was nothing left to give.

Hong Kong, having known for years that their cinema had international appeal, celebrated Lee’s crossover yet, at the same time, mourned the loss of their favorite superstar.

Bruce li