Long zheng hu dou jing wu hun (1975)

Martial arts legend Ron van Clief stars in this action thriller about rival gangs in search of a lost "finger fighting" manual written by Bruce Lee. From the heyday of 1970s Blaxploitation ... See full summary »

Director:

Chun-Ku Lu (as Tommy Loo Chung)

Writer:

Norbert Albertson Jr.

Stars:

Ron Van Clief, Charles Bonet, Phillip Ko

Cast

Credited cast:
Ron Van Clief
Charles Bonet	...	(as Charles 'La Pantera' Bonet)
Phillip Ko
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Canavarro
Lei Chang
Peter Chen Lau
Jackie Chen
Yao Lin Chen
Lung Chiang
Yun-Kin Chow
Tiet Wo Chu
Lee Chun-Wa
Yi-Sheng Han	...	(as Yi-sheng Han)
Linda Lin Di Ho
Kuo-Liang Huang

Storyline

Martial arts legend Ron van Clief stars in this action thriller about rival gangs in search of a lost "finger fighting" manual written by Bruce Lee. From the heyday of 1970s Blaxploitation and kung fu flicks, this movie demonstrates much of the same crude dialog and cut-rate film techniques usually found in those genres but succeeds by having a legitimate bad ass like van Clief in the lead role.

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Plot Keywords:

hong kong | investigation | fight | kung fu | violence | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Hong Kong USA

Language:

Mandarin English

Release Date:

November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Death of Bruce Lee

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yangtze Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Achingly funny experience on DVD!

I saw this as a part of THE RON VAN CLIEF/CLEEF COLLECTION, which also has WAY OF THE BLACK DRAGON included. DEATH OF BRUCE LEE is absolutely hysterical in terms of its cruddy presentation. The print used on the DVD seems to be close to the definition of "worst imaginable." As wrecked as possible while still telling some semblance of story and having images accompanied by sound --- barely. It is filthy, scratched, faded, littered with brutal jumpcuts, and at some point was transferred over to video, which is what was used for this DVD. You can see tape damage rolling in some scenes! On top of all of this is the spastic, nauseating panning & scanning throughout. The operator was REALLY INTO IT and whips his lens all over the original frame, often LOSING TRACK of characters, or unsure of where to focus, especially during conversations when a character unexpectedly begins speaking and the lens bangs over to frame right only to jar suddenly back left to capture the response (often too late). The panner also exhibits moments of squeamishness and will often pan AWAY from a moment of violence on screen! The print's audio track was also at some point clumsily edited to exclude all spoken references to "Bruce Lee," resulting in jarring jumps in dialogue, bad grammar, and general plot confusion. All the characters seem to be investigating the death of "Bruce," or "Him." It is almost impossible to tell if the film was well-made to begin with. I somehow doubt it, if the corny cackling villains and absurd zooms in-and-out are any indication. But the cast, especially the 2 male leads, are magnetic and charming, and super cool. This is the first "Ron Van Clief" (spelled "Cliff" in the credits and "Cleef" on the box art!) film I've ever seen, and it makes me wonder why he is not more famous; he's a cool dude who looks like he could break me in half. He's fast and HUGE and dresses like a pimp crossed with Hunter Thompson. His fight scenes and honestly his mere presence light up the screen and demand attention. His final confrontation with the bad guy was truly remarkable and savage. The fact that the film's merits can survive the ravages of abuse and technician interference noted above should be compelling evidence enough to give it a shot if this is the kind of thing you like.