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Is Fist of Fury Bruce Lee’s best film? Behind the making of the actor’s longest running film
- Fist of Fury, directed by Lo Wei, sees Bruce Lee play a martial artist avenging the murder of his master in Shanghai by a villainous Japanese karate school
- During shooting of the film, Lee’s relationship with Lo was rocky – police were called to the set once after he threatened to kill the director
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Enter the Dragon is the Bruce Lee film that gets all the attention, but 1972’s Fist of Fury is probably his best film.
Directed by Lo Wei, an old hand who frequently argued with the forward-thinking Lee on the set, Fist of Fury sees the star play Chen Zhen, a martial artist who sets out to avenge the murder of his master in occupied Shanghai by a villainous Japanese karate school.
Lee’s Chinese nationalism had audiences cheering in cinemas when the film was released in Hong Kong, and the film also featured Lee’s first use of his weapon of choice, the nunchaku or nunchucks.
Bruce Lee expert Carl Fox, author of The KFM Bruce Lee Society, tells the Post the story behind Fist of Fury.
Where do you think Fist of Fury sits in the canon of Lee’s work?
Fist of Fury is one of Lee’s best films. The storyline is great considering the ad hoc manner in which his first couple of films were thrown together, and the fight scenes were a much-needed improvement on The Big Boss.
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