The Big Boss (1971)

A young man sworn to an oath of non-violence works with his cousins in an ice factory where they mysteriously begin to disappear.

Directors:

Wei Lo, Chia-Hsiang Wu (uncredited)

Writer:

Wei Lo (screenplay)

Stars:

Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien

Cast

Credited cast:
Bruce Lee	...	Cheng Chao-an
Maria Yi	...	Chow Mei
James Tien	...	Hsiu Chien
Marilyn Bautista	...	Miss Wuman (as Malalene)
Ying-Chieh Han	...	Hsiao Mi (The Boss)
Tony Liu	...	Hsiao Chiun (Mi's son)
Kun Li	...	Ah Kun (as Quin Lee)
Nora Miao	...	Drinkstand owner (as Mao Ke-hsiu)
Shan Chin	...	Hua Sze
Chia-Chen Tu	...	Uncle (as Chia-Cheng Tu)
Chih Chen	...	Ice Factory Manager
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Chan	...	Ah Pei (as Hui-yi Chen)
Lung Chan	...	Gatekeeper / Blue Shirt Henchman
Stephen Chang	...	Disciple
Ching-Ying Lam	...	Ah Yen (Cheng's cousin)

Storyline

Cheng is a city boy who moves with his cousins to work at a ice factory. He does this with a family promise never to get involved in any fight. However, when members of his family begin disappearing after meeting the management of the factor, the resulting mystery and pressures forces him to break that vow and take on the villainy of the Big Boss.

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Plot Keywords:

jeet kune do | kung fu | cult film | martial arts | factory | 

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Taglines:

Every Limb Of His Body Is A Leathal Weapon!!!

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Miramax [United States]

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese

Release Date:

February 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fists of Fury

Filming Locations:

Pak Chong, Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 115 min (uncut) 87 min (original rejected english dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While not mentioned in the film, a few books released in the '70s at the time of the film's release mentioned that Cheng Chao An was forced to make his promise to his mother after his father was killed in a fight. In order to continue the family name, Cheng's mother wanted to make sure he would not fall to the same fate and that he'd live to raise his own family. Film historian Bey Logan even mentions this in an audio commentary.

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Goofs

When Chao-an and "The Boss" face off, when "The Boss" pulls out his knives for attack, he slashes Chao-an once across the stomach, and once across the back. However, when slashing at his back, a sound effect implies that he misses, when a scar can be seen on his back seconds later.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cheng Chao-an: Uncle, is this it?
Uncle: Yes, right over there. That's the town, Cheng. That's right. Not much further to go.

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Alternate Versions

The 2016 Shout Factory blu-ray features a bonus audio track simply labeled "bonus Mandarin mono mix". This is actually a unique mix made especially for this release, which uses a late 90s Mandarin dub (first featured on the Hong Kong Universe Laser DVD), but with the Peter Thomas music score used in the western releases of the film instead.

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Connections

Referenced in Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007)

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Soundtracks

To Be a Man
Lyrics by James Wong
Performed by Mike Remedios
[English Dubbed Japan Version]

User Reviews

The Power of Holding Back

Throughout this film you see a constrained Bruce Lee. Lo Wei is deliberately holding him back in order to introduce him to audiences and to save the best of his fighting for the second film. What we see here is a humane Bruce Lee who has feelings, a sense of humour, enjoys sex and is in control of his temper. He strikes up a good friendship with Shu Sheng who life is eventually claimed by the antagonists. When Bruce witnesses the mistreatment of his family in the workplace, he still holds back. Until...they break his necklace. At that moment, he explodes into action with centrifugal force, picking off each opponent with pin-point accurate kicks. It is a work of art that is akin to 'Samson and Delilah'.