Fist of Fear, Touch of Death (1980)

A reporter interviews fighters and promoters about Bruce Lee, intercut with footage from old Bruce Lee films and pseudo-documentary footage.

Director:

Matthew Mallinson

Writers:

Ron Harvey (screenplay), Ron Harvey (story),

Stars:

Bruce Lee, Fred Williamson, Ron Van Clief

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Lee	...	The Martial Arts Master (archive footage)
Fred Williamson	...	Hammer, the ladies man
Ron Van Clief	...	The Boxer
Adolph Caesar	...	TV Anchorman
Aaron Banks	...	The Promoter
Bill Louie	...	Kato #2
Teruyuki Higa	...	Karate Instructor
Gail Turner	...	The Rape Victim
Richard Barathy	...	The Stone Smasher
Hollywood Browde	...	Hammer's Girlfriend
Louis Neglia	...	The Middleweight Champion
Cydra Karlyn	...	The Boxer's Girlfriend
Annette Bronson	...	The Jogger
John Flood	...	Cyclone
Ron Harvey	...	Jasper Milktoast

Storyline

A reporter interviews fighters and promoters about Bruce Lee, intercut with footage from old Bruce Lee films and pseudo-documentary footage.

---

Plot Keywords:

bruce lee | interview | mockumentary | madison square garden manhattan new york city | 42nd street manhattan new york city | 

---

Taglines:

The 3 Greatest Masters! Bruce Lee, Fred Williamson, Ron Van Clief

---

Genres:

Documentary | Sport

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fist of Fear

Filming Locations:

Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden - 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Aquarius Promotions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

References The Green Hornet (1966)

User Reviews

Only look to this for comedy!

FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH is to the martial-arts genre what KILLER CLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE is to the horror genre; it is pure and utter exploitational shlock...and yet it is hysterically, unintentionally funny.

Despite what others have said about this film being a "disgrace" to the name of Bruce Lee, I found it as more of a tribute, despite its numerous references to "Bruce Lee's successor." The general story is that the Madison Square Gardens is hosting a tournament to determine the aforementioned "successor," with Oscar-winner (not for THIS film!) Adolph Caesar as the hokey announcer. Also along for the ride is Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, determined to make his mark upon the blaxploitation world!! Through a series of poor flashbacks, the pair relate Bruce's (purely fictional) story.

The writer of this film certainly has a talent for penning crap, and yet my friends and I couldn't help but laugh so hard we cried. Clips from an old Chinese soap opera are re-dubbed to make Bruce's "biography," which then introduce a flashback-IN-a-flashback (got that?) about Bruce's great-grandfather, who was apparently a samurai. The footage for this segment is taken from INVINCIBLE SUPER CHAN, a cult classic in its own right due to a numerous wire tricks, a midget, and some guy with an abacus. Who knows what the writer of FIST OF FEAR was thinking when he wrote this...however, who cares??

The laughs that FIST OF FEAR will cause are practically nonstop, from Williamson's white beeyotch who insists on "making it a six-pack", to his being mistaken for Harry Belafonte, to Bill Louie's cameo as "Green Hornet"'s Kato (he kills a would-be rapist with shurikens!). The actual tournament footage is poor, and yet as a viewer you probably won't even care. After all, Adolph Caesar's final words about there being "no true successor to such a master" seem to make the whole movie alright.

Overall, FIST OF FEAR is a keeper. Show it to your friends, bring lots of snacks, and sit back to have a good long laugh. My rating: 8/10