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IMDbPro

Birth of the Dragon

  • 20162016
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
8.5K
YOUR RATING
Birth of the Dragon (2016)
Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for.  It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man -- a battle that gave birth to a legend.
Play trailer2:21
4 Videos
17 Photos
ActionBiographyDrama
Set against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still con... Read allSet against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man - ... Read allSet against the backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is a modern take on the classic movies that Bruce Lee was known for. It takes its inspiration from the epic and still controversial showdown between an up-and-coming Bruce Lee and kung fu master Wong Jack Man - a battle that gave birth to a legend.
IMDb RATING
5.6/10
8.5K
YOUR RATING
    • George Nolfi
    • Stephen J. Rivele
    • Christopher Wilkinson
    • Michael Dorgan(based on the article "Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight" by)
  • Stars
    • Billy Magnussen
    • Yu Xia
    • Philip Ng
    • George Nolfi
    • Stephen J. Rivele
    • Christopher Wilkinson
    • Michael Dorgan(based on the article "Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight" by)
  • Stars
    • Billy Magnussen
    • Yu Xia
    • Philip Ng
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 209User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
    • 35Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Watch Official Trailer
    BIRTH OF THE DRAGON - OFFICIAL TRAILER (2017)
    Trailer 2:14
    Watch BIRTH OF THE DRAGON - OFFICIAL TRAILER (2017)
    Accept Your Challenge
    Clip 1:07
    Watch Accept Your Challenge
    Alley Fight
    Clip 0:59
    Watch Alley Fight

    Photos17

    Yu Xia and Philip Ng in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Philip Ng in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Yu Xia and Philip Ng in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Yu Xia, Philip Ng, and Billy Magnussen in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Ron Yuan, Philip Ng, and Simon Yin in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Ron Yuan in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Yu Xia and Ron Yuan in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Ron Yuan and Philip Ng in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Vincent Cheng and Jingjing Qu in Birth of the Dragon (2016)
    Terry Chen, Xing Jin, and Vincent Cheng in Birth of the Dragon (2016)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Billy Magnussen
    Billy Magnussen
    • Steve McKee
    Yu Xia
    Yu Xia
    • Wong Jack Man
    • (as Xia Yu)
    Philip Ng
    Philip Ng
    • Bruce Lee
    • (as Philip Wan-Lung Ng)
    Jingjing Qu
    • Xiulan Quan
    • (as Qu Jingjing)
    Wang Xi'An
    • Tai Chi Grandmaster…
    Hai Yu
    • Shaolin Abbot
    • (as Yu Hai)
    Yue Wu
    Yue Wu
    • Wang Biao
    • (as Wu Yue)
    Steven Roberts
    Steven Roberts
    • Beat Poet
    • (as Steven F. Roberts)
    Riley Wood
    • Hippie Girl
    Simon Yin
    • Vinnie Wei
    Terry Chen
    Terry Chen
    • Frankie Chen
    Ron Yuan
    Ron Yuan
    • Tony Yu
    Lillian Lim
    Lillian Lim
    • Janet Wei
    Yee Jee Tso
    Yee Jee Tso
    • Winston Peng
    Simon Chin
    Simon Chin
    • Wai Fu
    Nikson Kong
    • Wong's Cousin
    • (as Nickson Kong)
    Davin Tong
    Davin Tong
    • Busboy
    • (as Peter Chao)
    Hawlan Ng
    Hawlan Ng
    • Valet
    • (as Haiwian Ng)
      • George Nolfi
      • Stephen J. Rivele
      • Christopher Wilkinson
      • Michael Dorgan(based on the article "Bruce Lee's Toughest Fight" by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The original cut of the movie was so poorly received by audiences that the film had to be extensively re-edited in a desperate attempt to please fans by removing many scenes of Billy Magnussen as Steve McKee, and focusing more on Philip Ng as Bruce Lee.
    • Goofs
      The film's portrayal of Wong Jack Man contains numerous factual errors. The biggest being that he was not a Shaolin monk and he didn't come to San Francisco as penance for nearly killing a man in a duel. Also he didn't return to China afterwards since he continued to teach martial arts in the Fort Mason Center of San Francisco until he retired in 2005.
    • Quotes

      Bruce Lee: You're a great advertisement for our training.

      [telling a former student he sees badly beaten in an alley way]

      Steve McKee: I'm fine.

      [he says weakly]

    • Crazy credits
      A few of the job titles in the scrolling credits such as "stunt coordinator" and "set designer" change back and forth from English to Chinese.
    • Connections
      Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Birth of the Dragon (2017)

    User reviews209

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    I love surprises
    I it nice to watch a movie that you are curious about, without any expectations, and then be very pleasantly surprised. I have to thank all the haters out there for making this experience even better than it would have been. Without elaborating to much, this is a really nice, fun movie with a good solid cast and some great moments on the screen. By writing this review I wanted to restore a little balance into the mix, considering the bad reviews this movie has been getting. By just looking at this low rating I can tell a lot of people have missed the point of this movie, at least what I think the point was. By elaborating a little bit more, what happened here was a case of taking a past unrecorded event and making a movie around it by making assumptions and filling in the blanks and thus creating something new. All I can say is that the crew make this process work pretty good. This movie doesn't give you a very accurate history lesson but it has a purpose non the less. A part of that purpose was to give us a little bit of a different version of Bruce Lee and his story. This movie didn't idealize him which in my opinion was a great move because it made Bruce Lee seem like a more relatable person, flawed and a little immature at the time. This movies statement was that he was a genius, talented, charismatic, but also probably a little cocky, arrogant and immature in his beginnings as a teacher. I'm not making assumptions on the authenticity of his character but I like that this wasn't a typical hero that wins the day story. Just at the very end it turns it around to give us the moral of the story which is in my opinion the best part of the movie. When you think you know everything, life tells you otherwise. In summation I would definitely recommend this movie because it has a lot going for it. If nothing else, there is some nice philosophy, plus some good martial art fights. Most importantly, Bruce Lee remains a very cool guy thanks to a great cast. A nice surprise.
    helpful•11
    6
    • halcyon_king
    • Nov 12, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 25, 2017 (United States)
      • China
      • Canada
      • United States
      • English
      • Mandarin
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Anomaly Entertainment
      • Groundswell Productions
      • Kylin Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 35 minutes
      • Color

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