Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

A fictionalized account of the life of the martial arts superstar.

Director:

Rob Cohen

Writers:

Robert Clouse (book), Linda Lee Cadwell (book)

Stars:

Jason Scott Lee, Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason Scott Lee	...	Bruce Lee
Lauren Holly	...	Linda Lee
Robert Wagner	...	Bill Krieger
Michael Learned	...	Vivian Emery
Nancy Kwan	...	Gussie Yang
Kay Tong Lim	...	Philip Tan
Ric Young	...	Bruce's Father
Luoyong Wang	...	Yip Man
Sterling Macer Jr.	...	Jerome Sprout (as Sterling Macer)
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	The Demon
Ong Soo Han	...	Luke Sun
Eric Bruskotter	...	Joe Henderson
Aki Aleong	...	Principal Elder
Chao Li Chi	...	Elder (as Chao-Li Chi)
Iain M. Parker	...	Brandon Lee

Storyline

Based on the life and career of Martial Arts superstar, Bruce Lee. Haunted by demons. Bruce was taught Martial arts at childhood. Bruce then was told by his father to flee to the United States. There, he opened up a Martial Arts school, then was chosen to be the Green Hornet's sidekick, Kato. Then, his big movie career that included "The Big Boss" and "Enter the Dragon". Fighting many enemies along the way, including his childhood demon.

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | kato | racism | martial arts | demon | 

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Taglines:

The Mystery. The Life. The Love. The Legend

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Genres:

Action | Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for martial arts violence and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese

Release Date:

7 May 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A sárkány - Bruce Lee élete

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$35,112,679

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$63,512,679

Company Credits

Production Co:

Raffaella De Laurentiis Productions, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 80 min (online release) (edited)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the Festival of Lanterns dance and fight scene, the song being sung is a Mandarin translation of lyrics by the movie's director, Rob Cohen (1960s pop songs in Hong Kong were sung in Mandarin, not Cantonese).

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Goofs

Raymond Chow was the man who discovered Lee.

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Quotes

Bruce Lee: I'm no bastard, I'm Bruce Lee!

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Alternate Versions

The climatic use of nunchaku in the dream sequence has been reduced to de-emphasize the display of weaponry in most UK versions; the initial lightning flash & zoom onto the highlighted weapon is gone, as are all shots of Lee twirling the weapon. This version was used as the basis for the European DVD release, since Universal did not want to create different DVD masters. Despite the BBFC's blanket ban on ninja weaponry being lifted in 1999 (and the cuts therefore being automatically waived), Universal still re-submitted the cut version to them in 1999 and 2000. The 2016 Blu-ray is uncut, despite the uncut version not having been submitted to the BBFC - however, the Irish classification board (IFCO) did see it in 2015 and lowered their original 18 certificate to a 15.

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Connections

References The Big Boss (1971)

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Soundtracks

Runaway
Written and Performed by Del Shannon

User Reviews

Cult Movies 52

52. DRAGON: The Bruce Lee story (action, 1993) A re-telling of the life of legendary martial-arts star Bruce Lee (Jason Scott Lee). From his brief childhood days in Hong Kong, to his days as a dishwasher, martial-arts teacher and eventual cinema superstar in Hollywood.

Critique: The life and death of Bruce Lee has inspired many a film and documentaries since his death. Most of these accounts center around Lee's 'mysterious' death from a 'brain edema', never developing anything really new of interest, just speculations. Incredibly it took over 20 years for a film to finally put to rest the many theories and innuendo.

"Dragon" is by far the best of the legendary Lee story, not only for omitting the many death scenarios but also for giving us the closest account of the man. Apart from these welcome omissions, the film wouldn't have worked without Jason Scott Lee in the role. He gives a spirited, charismatic performance that captures the zest for life that Lee possessed. It's a long way from one of his first 'extra' roles as an Asian immigrant in the rather forgetful "Born in East L.A." (1988). Scott Lee is totally appealing here, taking on such a legendary figure and making us believe that Lee is truly up there once again on the screen.

The film's major theme of the "demon curse" Lee's family inherited, had a frighteningly real resonance when, after the movie premiered, Lee's eldest son Brandon (for whom the film is dedicated) was accidentally killed on the set of "The Crow". This would prove to be his breakout film, just the same way Lee's last film, "Enter the Dragon", made him a world wide superstar. This gives the film an added prophetic note that puts it in a category all its own.

Based on wife Linda Lee Cadwell's book, "Bruce Lee: the man only I knew", directed with skillful restraint by Rob Cohen (who also co-scripted). Randy Edelman created the unforgettable musical score (you'll be humming the tune long after you hear it).

QUOTES: Linda: "All these years later people still wonder about the way he died. I prefer to remember the way he lived."