The Big Boss (1971)

Saw this in a theatre in 1971 and just revisited it 45 years later.

Conclusion:

As a film, it suffers badly from the massive improvements in choreography, skill, and staging that MA films have enjoyed in the interim. What seemed sort of "OK" in a dark theatre in 1971 becomes, after several decades, almost a slow dance of awkward fighting moves, with off-sync sound effects and blows that never seem to connect with anything.

In this instance it is not fair to judge the old by the new ... so, no rating.

And then there is the topic of Mr. Lee.

History tells us that Bruce Lee exploded into Asian cinema on this film and anyone can see why. IT IS AS IF HE IS OPERATING AT A FAST CAMERA SPEED AND THE REST OF THE CAST AT A SLOW CAMERA FEED. Of course, the speed of the camera is the same throughout, it is the speed of the actors that differed.

The cast were the usual bunch that made many dozens of these films in a year. They looked slow and awkward because they actually were slow and awkward.

Mr. Lee on the other hand lived (and ultimately died) for his craft. His whole life was MA and even today the debate continues as where he would have ranked against the best fighters of all time. At the top is my guess.

In essence, this is almost an audition tape for Mr. Lee and not much else. But it is a piece of history and deserves great respect.

Fmovies: Organized crime, conspiracy, drug-smuggling and murder in a Hong Kong ice factory, where vocal employees soon disappear without a trace. Of course, this is all just a simple vehicle to move us from one martial arts fight to the next. As Bruce Lee's first major starring role, such brawls are predictably excellent, though Bruce himself plays a quiet pacifist, fists in his pockets, until the third act. Until then, known quantity James Tien handles the action admirably (and was apparently a fallback option, in case Lee couldn't get it done) but he's clearly the second fiddle. By the time we've seen Lee face off with the boss himself in a bloody climactic duel, Tien is long forgotten.

Loaded with quick cuts and poor camerawork, it's not exactly the best showcase of Bruce's skills, but that last fight makes amends. It's all very, very stereotypically 70s, from the grainy film quality to the eyeball-rolling visual gags, the simple dialog to the brash, horn-rich soundtrack that suddenly swells and recedes with little regard for what's happening on-screen. Lee's acting has a way to go at this point, but his charisma is downright magnetic when he's in the midst of a rumble. This one's probably best viewed as a series of select highlights than a complete film.

Probably the only reason this film is remembered so well is because it's the first major feature starring Bruce Lee, the legendary martial arts actor. And yeah, he's good in it. The fight scenes are slick and showy, definitely the best part of the movie by far. But aside from that... it's pretty boring, if I'm being completely honest.

And it's not Lee in any way. He's there to be the protagonist and the deliverer of sick kung fu moves. And in that capacity he more than satisfies. It's just that the plot is so clichéd. There's an evil mob boss who rules over a business filled with suffering common workers. A country boy, who just happens to be a master kung fu fighter, moves into town and through various events ends up opposing the mob boss. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's the exact same plot used by every single B-movie kung fu movie ever made. Every. Single. One.

So yeah, the plot is boring, but admittedly Bruce Lee is entertaining enough to give the film some value. Do see it if you want to say you've seen them all. Aside from that, I wouldn't bother.

The Big Boss fmovies. Well, Bruce Lee did it: he finally hit stardom with one of the coolest movies that I've ever seen. "Tang shan da xiong" (called "Fists of Fury" in the US) has him going to work in an ice factory after having taken a vow not to fight. But when he discovers slimy deals at the factory, he realizes that he has no other choice.

As one might expect, the whole movie is an excuse to show off Bruce Lee's moves, and they do a great job with it. There's not much in the way of an actual plot here: they get straight down to the martial arts, and I shouldn't even have to tell you what sorts of things he does.

All in all, this movie will remain a classic for all time. These sorts of flicks make life worth living. You're sure to love it.

The film was based on the true story of Cheng Chiu-on who fought the tyrants in Thailand . As Chein (Bruce Lee choreographed his own fight scenes) is a city boy who moves with his relatives to work at an ice Factory . He does this with a family oath , as he was forced to make a promise to his mother after his father was killed in a fight . The promise was the following : never to get involved in any fight and to make sure he would not fall to the same fate and that he'd live to raise his own family. However, when members of his family begin disappearing after meeting the management of the factor , the resulting mystery and pressures forces him to break that vow . As he confronts it head on with his mastery of martial arts while investigating the strange disappearances his cousins . Meantime , he falls in love for beautiful women (Maria Yi and the usual Nora Miao as a Drinkstand owner) and Chein makes love prostitutes (Thai brothel featured in the film was actually a genuine and functioning brothel and they were actual whores who were paid more by Golden Harvest than they would normally receive in a day by their clients) . As Chein seeks vengeance for the death of his relatives and friends ; dispatching numerous thugs and hundreds of Karate experts at violent combats and , he , finally , takes on the villainy of the Big Boss.

A vengeance story about a young man in an ice factory that seeks revenge when his cousins mysteriously begin to disappear . Nice Bruce Lee as an undercover fighter who works with his cousins and sworn to an oath of non-violence . Although , the original star was also James Tien, who plays Hsiu Chien, while Bruce Lee was to be a co-star. However, when directors changed, the stars switched, giving Lee top billing. This violent Chop-Socky displays action-packed , thrills , fast-paced a lot of zooms , and wild fighting images . In fact , this is the only Lee film to be censored in its original country due to graphic violence . This is the only Bruce Lee film (excluding his childhood films and Green Hornet re-edit films) missing his use of the nunchucks . It packs violent combats sequences filled with bounds and leaps ; including Karate , Judo, Tae Kwon do , Hapkido , Wushu and being the only Lee trademark present in this film is his triple kick attack . Exciting and rousing struggles carried out by Bruce Lee , he wasn't doubled and did his own stunts . And impressive final fighting , the key fight sequence between Lee and the Big Boss . The international title of this film was "The Big Boss". In the United States the English dubbed version was originally to be released under the title "The Chinese Connection", a play on the title of the highly popular film French Connection (1971). For some reason the title was changed to "Fists of Fury". As a result, to avoid confusion with Bruce Lee's following film known elsewhere in the world as "Fist of Fury" (1972) , the latter film's title for its U.S. release became first "The Iron Hand" and then "The Chinese Connection".

The motion picture was professionally directed by Lo Wei and well produced by Raymond Chow-Golden Harvest . Although , the original director was Ng Gar Seung, however, he was replaced by Wei Lo a few weeks into production . It achieved big hit smash at box office , in fact , circa 1971 , this was the highest grossing film of all time in Hong Kong, beating out American productions Sound of the music (1965) and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970). Lo Wei also directed the succes

After seeing and admiring Enter The Dragon, I knew Bruce Lee wasn't just a name but a man with remarkable skills. Better than Jackie Chan and Jet Li. I figured the next Bruce Lee movies I'd see would have lousy plots but good action. That's how every Jackie Chan movie goes. Well, I was thrown a curveball. Fists of Fury has a very cool plot. It involves a company that smuggles heroin in blocks of ice and does away with employees who find out. An action movie with a plot. It's almost unheard of. The action is pretty good too. I'm always afraid when starting out a bruce lee movie that because it is so dated, the action will seem fake. Up until Lee starts fighting it ussually does. But once the man gets into it, the intensity is unquestionable. This movie was not quite as cool as Enter The Dragon, but it was very good. Much better than I would have ever thought. Its got a better plot than any of Chan's films and I've seen them all. Lucky me. At least Lee doesn't do corny humor. This guy is the real deal and this movie is dam good.