Kung fu cinema peaked in the 1970s with its avatar Bruce Lee. The Way of the Dragon is the only film that Lee wrote, directed, and starred in. He plays a rural Hong Konger invited to Rome to defend an uncle’s restaurant from local goons. From a Jacques Tati-like nearly silent comedy of modern alienation set in Rome’s airport, the film moves to near-romance and full-on spectacular action.

A series of confrontations pit the restaurant staff, whom Lee’s character shapes into a formidable though comical fighting force, against a multi-ethnic array of local bullies. The film’s final fight is set in the Colosseum against Chuck Norris, and is one of the all-time classic set pieces of the genre. Lee’s combination of physical and spiritual charisma embodies Hong Kong’s force, speed, daring, and brilliance. His action choreography highlights his sleek, muscular body, incarnating a visceral challenge and riposte to Hong Kong’s and China’s history of colonial oppression.

Shelly Kraicer

Director

Bruce Lee (Li Xiaolong, 1940–1973) was born into an artistic family in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. Starting as a child actor, he went on to invent the hybrid martial arts philosophy Jeet Kune Do, and gained legendary status in a series of hugely popular martial arts films made in Hong Kong and Hollywood.

This film is part of

Homage to Hong Kong

Original title 猛龍過江

Country Hong Kong

Year 1972

Director Bruce Lee

Screenplay Bruce Lee

Cinematography Tadashi Nishimoto

Producer Raymond Chow, Bruce Lee

Cast Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, Chuck Norris, Ping-Ou Wei

Production Company Golden Harvest Films, Concord Productions, Golden Harvest Company

Runtime 1h 49m

Language Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Italiensk

Subtitles English

Genre Suspense, Classic

Format DCP

Age limit 15

Links IMDb Film Fra Sør: Introduksjon til Hongkongs filmhistorie

This film is in competition for the Audience Award.

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