As a kid, Bruce Lee was (& still is) one of my biggest heroes.
I saw this movie on the big screen during a revival of it sometime in the early 80's and absolutely ate it up.
FF to this week I revisited this & watching it again through adult lenses
gave me a very different perspective of it.
This often unintentionally funny movie is a wild hybrid- It's part documentary (complete with occasional narration), drama, low budget kung fu flick, & biopic.
Of all the Bruce Lee clones that came in his wake, Bruce Li was arguably the best of the bunch.
"The Man, The Myth" loosely (& I emphasize *loosely*) follows his life starting as a young man in Hong Kong before he was sent to the US. It takes enormous liberties with his real life story with several ridiculous embellishments & outright fabrications of altercations with rival martial arts schools. Also some greatly exaggerated depictions of his training regimen.
(The massive machine he threw punches in)
The scene that stuck with me as a kid (that was likely yet another total embellishment) was when he was advised to go into hiding for 10 years & return in 1983. I recall hoping that was true.
What was funny to me about this film (& so many kung fu movies of that era) is the way they really drove the point of putting other martial arts down in favor of kung fu. Any long time fan knows this is something Bruce Lee would never do as he was always looking at other fighting styles to improve what he strove for. Taking what was useful & leaving behind the unnecessary.
I always wonder what Linda Lee went through during the 70s having to see all these sub-par movies being made with cheap imitations of her husband.
Still, nostalgia is a powerful thing & it was fun to revisit this movie again.
Do I recommend it? I'll say this is definitely Not a must-see. If you want a FAR more accurate retelling of Bruce's life watch "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" with Jason Lee.
