Fist of Fury (1972)

A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.

Director:

Wei Lo

Writer:

Wei Lo (screenplay) (as Lo Wei)

Stars:

Bruce Lee, Nora Miao, James Tien

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Lee	...	Chen Zhen
Nora Miao	...	Yuan Le-erh (as Miao Ker Hsiu)
James Tien	...	Fan Chun-hsia
Maria Yi	...	Yen
Robert Baker	...	Petrov
Fu Ching Chen	...	Chao
Shan Chin	...	Tung
Ying-Chieh Han	...	Feng Kwai-sher
Chikara Hashimoto	...	Hiroshi Suzuki (as Riki Hashimoto)
Jun Katsumura	...	Suzuki's bodyguard
Chung-Hsin Huang	...	Tien
Kun Li	...	Hsu (as Quin Lee)
Feng Tien	...	Fan
Ying-Chi Li	...	Li (as Yin Chi Lee)
Tony Liu	...	Chin

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

hand to hand combat | kung fu classic | roundhouse kick | fight to the death | teacher student relationship | 

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Taglines:

Unstoppable! Unbelievable! Unbeatable!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Cantonese English

Release Date:

9 September 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fist of Fury

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 102 min (PAL) 99 min (initial release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sync sound was not widely used in Hong Kong cinema for a long time, so the voices (even on the original Cantonese track) for the movie were dubbed.

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Goofs

Approx. one hour into the film, there is a scene where a phonograph player is playing. Record players of that type were not invented until near the end of the 19th Century.

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Quotes

Chen: I have come here to avenge my teacher. This doesn't concern you. I'll allow you to leave. Out.
[nobody moves]
Chen: Out.
[no response]
Chen: Out.
[nothing]
Chen: Out.
[screams]
Chen: SCRAM.

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Alternate Versions

For its original 1972 UK cinema release the BBFC requested a cut to remove a shot of a flying throat kick, though it appeared intact in all early theatrical prints and was possibly waived before release. In 1978 the film was withdrawn by BBFC director James Ferman (together with Enter the Dragon) and all nunchaku footage removed together with the previously mentioned throat kick, and these cuts, (totalling 2 mins 51 secs) would persist in all of the film's UK video releases. The cuts were fully restored for the 2001 Hong Kong Legends release.

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Connections

Version of Dragon in Fury (2004)

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Soundtracks

Atmospheres
Written by György Ligeti
Performed by Das Orchester des Südwestfunks Baden-Baden
Courtesy of MGM Records
Brief excerpt, played twice, during dramatic death scenes

User Reviews

Bodycount!

This film is a classic but then all of Bruce's completed films are classics. There are strong anti-Japanese messeges (including one Japanese guy having a tash similar to a certain German dictator) in the film but it has been over 33 years since the film was made and so this can be put down to it being dated. Ultimately it is a film about injustice and Revenge. The Bushido School's general evilness, the injustice against the Chinese in Shanghai and Bruce's (called Chen in this one) hot headedness create a circle of violence which escalates completely out of control. This is an intensely gritty Kung Fu film unlike Bruce's later films which were more escapist in nature and Fist Of Fury has the highest body count in terms of Bruce actually killing people with those fists. The legendary 'Sick Man Of Asia' scene is amazing and the end of Kill Bill clearly homage's this so any Tarentino fan's will get an added joy out of watching this beautiful sequence. DO get the uncut version.