Fist of Fury (5 Stars)

This is the second film in the Bruce Lee Master Collection that I bought this week. It's the first time I've seen the film on Blu-ray. The picture quality isn't as perfect as "The Big Boss", but it's still reasonable quality for a film that's 48 years old. In my last review I complained about the sound quality, but that's no longer a problem in the Blu-ray edition.

Maria Yi is featured very prominently in the opening credits, the third name after Bruce Lee and James Tien, but she only plays a small role in the film. We see her occasionally as one of the students in the Jingwu School, and she only has a few lines of dialogue. Her character is unnamed in the film itself, but the credits list her as Yen.

Bruce Lee's love interest is 19-year-old Nora Miao, also a student in the Jingwu School. She also remains unnamed in the film, despite having an important role. The credits list her character as Yuen Li-er.

That's where the film starts. Bruce Lee plays Chen Zhen, a Jingwu student returning to Shanghai. In my last review I claimed he was coming home to visit his master, but after watching the film again today I couldn't see any reason for his return. He just came back, and his master was dead. The other students naively think that he died of natural causes, but Chen Zhen suspects foul play. His investigations lead him to a Japanese Bushido School.

The new head of the Jingwu School asks Chen Zhen to stay away from the Japanese, because it would cause problems for their martial arts school, but Chen Zhen doesn't listen to him. All that matters is that he avenges his master's death.

The film is full of Chinese nationalist sentiments and anti-Japanese rhetoric. That's hardly surprising. The film was made in 1972, less than 30 years after Japan was occupying China. The memories were still fresh in the minds of the Chinese public, making it the highest grossing Chinese film up until that point. When the film was first released in Hong Kong the audiences went wild, stamping and applauding every time Bruce Lee attacked any Japanese.

Since this film was made, Chen Zhen has been elevated to a national hero. He's become so popular that many Chinese don't even know he's only a fictional character. Chen Zhen has appeared in many other films, some of them remakes of "Fist of Fury", others sequels. Among others, Chen Zhen has been played by Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Donnie Yen. Playing Chen Zhen in film or on television is considered to be stepping into Bruce Lee's footsteps, so only the most talented actors are given this honour.

But as I'm sure you'll agree, there's only one Bruce Lee. Anyone stepping into his footsteps does so with the greatest respect, following him at a distance.

If you haven't watched this film yet, what are you waiting for?

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