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Got some Christmas money that is burning a hole in your pocket? Looking for an exciting action star that has never been replaced? In the mood for some high kicking retro fun?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions allow me to be your guide to the most passionate and skilled martial artist of the 20th Century, Bruce Lee.

This article has been written in the style of an Amazon how to guide, back when that was still popular.

First, consider the fact that Bruce Lee got his start as a child star in Hong Kong making family comedies and dramas. That means the logical starting point is The Kid made way back in 1950 and starring Bruce Lee at 10.

Also called My Son A-Chang, The Kid is based on a Chinese comic about the merry adventures of Kid Cheung. Contrary to a myth popular in Hong Kong that Bruce never appeared in a movie with his father, Lee Hoi-chuen, Bruce’s real father,acted with his boy.

Bruce plays a bratty kid that would make Ozu proud and to a Western audience a throwback to classic shows like Our Gang and the Little Rascals. Many of Lee’s famous gestures such as thumbing his nose and facial expressions can be seen in The Kid. So watch this first.

The second movie to watch is The Guiding Light, (1953,) a story about a maid who has an illegitimate son, San, played by Lee. San gets into trouble and scrapes as he desperately searches for his true parents.
Also from the same collection is An Orphan’s Tragedy, (1955) that is a very loose interpretation of Dicken’s Great Expectations. Bruce plays Frank Wong, a teenager who is captured by an escaped convict in this Noir performance.

Ok, that wraps up the childhood movies that are available. I will avoid his cameo in Marlowe, Longstreet TV series and just pick one movie that showcases his television work on the series that helped to compel him to stardom playing the deadly chauffer, Kato in The Green Hornet. Back in ’74, when American was experiencing Kung Fu mania that was ignited by the popularity of Enter the Dragon, several episodes were edited together for The Green Hornet movie.

This showcases Kato and his supercharged kung fu attacks. It is interesting to note that this is Bruce before his weightlifting accident that injured his back and made filming his popular movies painful. There was a second Green Hornet called Fury of the Dragon that is best avoided.

Because the Green Hornet was renamed Kato on HK TV, Bruce was sought out by Golden Harvest and signed a contract that led to Lee starring in The Big Boss. That movie became so popular on release in 1971 and made Bruce a mega star in Asia. The Big Boss was followed by Fist of Fury, a movie in the Shaw Brothers style about a young student returning to his school and learning that his master is dead. The villains are the Japanese and their ruthless Bushido dojo. Bruce Lee wrote, directed, and starred in 1972’s Way of the Dragon that contains the best martial arts movie fight ever filmed, Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris.

The set below is the best I’ve seen with the Dvds and Blu-rays , plus all the good documentaries. I would avoid Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story starring Jason Scott Lee because it has too many facts wrong. To learn about Bruce Lee, just watch the documentaries instead.

Finally, the movie that made Lee an international star and started the martial arts movie craze of the 70’s that is still influencing movies today is Warner Brothers, Enter the Dragon. A co-production between American and Chinese filmmakers blossomed in this beautifully shot movie that shows Lee at his most iconic. This is Bruce Lee’s finest moment. The martial arts movie equivalent to Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock.

Again on all the available versions, this one is the best with the most extras and superior audio and visual quality.

Take a chance on Bruce Lee and experience a true and gifted legend.

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"The Asian Aperture" is ©2015 by Jason Fetters. All contents of Crazed Fanboy are ©2015 by Nolan B. Canova and Terence Nuzum.

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