| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Bruce Lee | ... | ||
| Nora Miao | ... |
Yuan Le-erh
(as Miao Ker Hsiu)
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James Tien | ... |
Fan Chun-hsia
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Maria Yi | ... |
Yen
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Robert Baker | ... |
Petrov
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Fu Ching Chen | ... |
Chao
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Shan Chin | ... |
Tung
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Ying-Chieh Han | ... |
Feng Kwai-sher
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Riki Hashimoto | ... |
Hiroshi Suzuki
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Jun Katsumura | ... |
Suzuki's bodyguard
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Chung-Hsin Huang | ... |
Tien
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Kun Li | ... |
Hsu
(as Quin Lee)
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Feng Tien | ... |
Fan
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Ying-Chi Li | ... |
Li
(as Yin Chi Lee)
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Tony Liu | ... |
Chin
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Returning to Shanghai to marry his fiancée, Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) a student of renowned martial arts teacher Huo Yuanjia, discovers his sifu has died. During the funeral, members of a local Japanese dojo show up and insult the Chinese students. The bullying continues, with Chen fighting back, but when he discovers the truth - that his teacher was poisoned on the orders of the dojo's master - he sets off on a doomed mission of revenge. Written by Matti-Man
Undoubtedly Lee's most intense performance, Wei's powerful kung fu classic is ripe with anti-Japanese hysteria and propaganda, so much so that there's not a single pleasant Jap' in the movie (unlike the up-to-date modern re-make). That aside, essentially this is a riotous Bruce Lee vehicle, kicking out trademarks and smashing up all evil in the process. The plot (Lee's sifu poisoned by Japanese school in turn-of-the-century Shanghai) is a valid excuse to string a great line-up of fight sequences together, and what great action this is: Bruce pounds the lights out of a dojo full of evil Japs using only fists, feet and nunchakus, and the duel with Baker (Lee's real-life personal bodyguard) near the movie's end is sheer entertainment typified. Though based on factual events, the subject matter is vastly exaggerated. Nevertheless, as kung fu theatre goes, Fist of Fury is an immensely satisfying experience, and stands as probably Lee's best Hong Kong work.