User reviews

Written & directed by Wei Lo (who also plays the role of The Inspector), "The Chinese Connection" is simply a classic Bruce Lee martial arts film. It of course serves its purpose of dishing out lots of great combat (complete with hilarious over use of "impact" sounds). But there's more here going on than that. This also features some funny comedy, and some particularly potent drama. It's a tale of bigotry, as the Japanese in Shanghai treat their Chinese counterparts with contempt, and demean them.

Taking place at the turn of the 20th century, it stars Bruce as Chen Zhen, a student who returns to his school to learn that the beloved "Master" has died. Not only that, but he just might have been murdered, to boot. Naturally, Chen swears to solve the crime and get some revenge. He takes on all comers, while the carnage mounts.

There's some pretty delicious gore in this lively affair, which goes on a bit long at one hour and 47 minutes, but it still has much to recommend it. Lo and Bruce get your attention and keep it with their many intense fight sequences. It also offers a little dose of romance, as Chen hopes to marry the girl whom he loves (Nora Miao). The villains are wonderfully despicable; you love to hate them, and eagerly anticipate the inevitable showdown between Bruce and characters such as Petrov (Robert Baker), a massive Russian who shows off his superhuman strength in one amusing segment.

The acting is just fine from everybody concerned. Bruce is indeed at his best, proving his physical prowess at every turn and displaying that memorable screen presence.

Good, solid action entertainment, a must for martial arts fans.

Eight out of 10.

before i start of on the review i just want to ask,"which other essentially non-American movie star (although he was born in San Francisco) is still on TV commercials over 40 years after his last completed film? i just saw 2 commercials on TV on the same day(no less), during major time-slots, one was a major car company and the other was a leading brand soda-pop. the mans legend lives to this day and far beyond, what is it about Bruce lee?

there has been 4 major stars of kung-fu movies that actually studied the martial-arts. Bruce lee, jet-li, Donnie yen, and Vincent zhao. one was even a world champion(jet-li) for a few years. Jackie, sammo, and yuen baio don't count, because they studied peking opera dance and acrobatics. my favorite out of all of them is Bruce lee. mark my words, just like there will never be another James Dean, there will never be another Bruce lee. the mans a legend and he had a total of four completed films, the last one in 1973, after that there were countless imitations. so if you are a true fan of Bruce lee, his last completed film was "enter the dragon" in 1973. he was about to take the world by storm right before his death.

OK, on to the movie...the setting is pre-world war 2 shanghai China, and it is about his masters poisoning death by the hands of the Japanese, while Bruce was away. he comes back for the funeral and is immediately suspicious unlike his other classmates.

the investigation goes deeper, he finds out people from his school were directly involved with the death and the bodies start piling-up from there on. the pacing got a little bit slow during the middle but thats okay, it wasn't just a kung-fu movie, there was serious acting in it too.

it is just the awesome imagery Bruce lee conveys when he is doing his thing...it is like on a visceral level impossible to duplicate. i love kung-fu movies in general but i have to say, there is no one like Bruce Lee...his style was his own and everybody tried to imitate him and everybody failed miserably or it was just meant to be comical. forget about other kung-fu movie stars trying to imitate him..., ever since i can remember(early 1980's)of my childhood in NYC, i would see him on TV, i walk down the street and guys are imitating him, i see t-shirts of him and this is in the United States...i can imagine how crazy it must have been in Hong Kong.

when Bruce lee did his moves they look so real and he was incredibly quick, like a cat and the closest i've seen in speed is jet li. watching Bruce lee beat up bad-guys is like a guilty pleasure that you don't mind.

there is so many classic images from this movie and they are like burned into my mind and i will never forget those images...the initial dojo fight, the ending where the shot ends on a freeze frame and like a hundred other shots in the movie. this movie is bleaker then his other three films, but it was shot beautifully, more so then the other 3 films.

thank you for your 4 completed films and may your legend and myth live on forever!

What's not to love about Bruce Lee? Simple answer, nothing. Bruce Lee is the man who made Hong Kong and martial art films the way they are way today. This despite he only be able to do four films.

Set in the early twentieth century in the Japanese section of Shanghai, Fist of Fury tells the story Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee). He returns to the city to marry his fiancé but finds out that his master had died. He questions the official reason about how he was killed and the Japanese Bushidō school seek to close Chen's school. The Japanese plan to arrest Chen, learn the secret of the Fist of Fury and arrest every member of the school. Chen goes on a mission of vengeance, beating up and killing anyone who was involved in the Master's murder. But he has only three days to do it and uses his resourcefulness to avoid being arrested.

The story is skeleton thin, but who cares, it's Bruce Lee. And compared to most previous efforts in Hong Kong, Fist of Fury is pretty much Oscar worthy. Bruce Lee in trying to give Hong Kong films some story, and not just focus on the swordplay. The acting isn't exactly good. Bruce Lee and Nora Miao are the strongest performs. This film's winning feature (and the whole point of watching this type of film) is the martial arts sequence. Bruce Lee is obviously the best at what he does, beating up a lot of people on the way. The camera work is extremely well done, there is no shaky cam or over-editing that is a massive problem in today's cinema. Bruce Lee also uses his nunchakus which is always fun to see. Excellent viewing.

The film also has a couple of themes. There is the themes of vengeance and actions have consequence for everyone involved. There is also a major theme about Chinese and Japanese racism and the hatred the two nations have to each other. It was a nationalistic piece for the Chinese and show that they should be strong against the Japanese. This film was made when memories of World War II was still raw in the collective Chinese conscious.

A film for Bruce Lee fans.

The second of the Bruce Lee-starring movies is in terms of plot a lot less interesting than the first. Here, we have the 'student sets out to avenge his master's death' which was already the major storyline of most martial arts films. However, it is handled in a more realistic way then usual and technically it is far superior. Lee was allowed to choreograph his own fights and his battle with Japanese martial artists in their school and climactic duels with a Russian boxer and a Japanese swordsman remains classic fight scenes.

The film drags somewhat in the middle although the lengthy dialogue scene between Lee and his girlfriend was another step forward for the Hong Kong martial arts movie, vivid proof that Lee was a pretty good ACTOR. By contrast, Lee's final farewell to his girlfriend is all the more powerful for being done completely without dialogue at all. The ending is the most powerful and moving of all the Lee films, the final freeze frame managing to encapsulate Lee's grace and power in a single shot.

Many mock Lee's films as being silly and just consisting of fighting. Both accusations are completely untrue. They have far less fights than most films of this kind and, at least in the three Hong Kong films he made, there is a clear message that violence does not solve anything. They may not have the polish of the more recent works of Jackie Chan and Jet Lee but their power remains undiminished, as long as of course one does not watch the awful dubbed versions!

Chen Chen (Bruce Lee choreographed his own fight scenes) returns to the international compound of China to find his girlfriend (Nora Miao) and old friends , only to learn of his intimate teacher's death . This is compounded by the continual racist harassment by the Japanese population in the area . As he seeks vengeance for the death of his teacher and infiltrates Japanese territory to investigate the strange events . As he sets out to avenge the death of his teacher Huo Yuanjia (Fok Yuen Gap) and at one point during the film, the Chinese Wushu students are called "sick men of Asia" by their rivals . Unlike his friends, he confronts it head on with his mastery of martial arts while investigating his teacher's murder . Chen dispatches numerous thugs and hundreds of Karate experts before a violent slug-fest with Petrov , a baddie Russian (Robert Baker, in the Cantonese and Mandarin versions of the film, his voice is dubbed by 'Bruce Lee') . Chen Chen accepted the challenge of a Russian fighter who called all Chinese people "sick men of Asia" . According to certain historical sources in China , the real-life Chen escaped from Shanghai successfully .

This violent Chop-Socky displays action-packed , thrills , fast-paced and wild fighting images . The international title of this film was "Fist of Fury" , in the United States the English dubbed version was released under the title "The Chinese Connection" to avoid confusion with "Fists of Fury" or ¨The big boss¨ , the title for the U.S. release of Bruce Lee's previous film . Packs violent combats sequences including Karate , Judo, Tae Kwon do , Hapkido and Wushu . Exciting and rousing struggles , though Bruce Lee was doubled in the fight scene between Chen and Yoshida where Chen does a somersault, while Jackie Chan doubled for the villain Suzuki when he is kicked back through the large paper windows . And impressive final fighting , the key fight sequence between Lee and Robert Baker is a mixture of punishing action and dry humor, as at one point Lee bites Baker on his leg to escape an arm lock , plus Lee boxes with Baker, jabbing him repeatedly in the face whilst wearing a cheeky grin! ; the fight comes to a dramatic conclusion as Lee side kicks Baker in the head, knocking him senseless, and then Lee delivers a lethal karate chop to Baker's windpipe, terminating his bigger opponent.

The motion picture was well directed by Lo Wei , because of the movie's racial content and personal disagreements, Bruce Lee quit working with Lo Wei after this movie . Lo Wei also directed the successful ¨Fists of fury¨ and various Jackie Chan vehicles as ¨New fist of fury¨ and ¨Spiritual Kung Fu¨.

This is a top-notch Kung-Fu movie with the unforgettable Bruce Lee . Bruce Lee one of the biggest international hit smashes , ¨Fist of Fury¨ was previously realized to his American box office ¨Enter the dragon¨. This one was made later but released before ¨Lee's Return of dragon¨ with Chuck Norris as contender , and Lee had formerly starred ¨Fists of fury¨ or ¨The big boss¨. ¨Enter the dragon¨ is his last complete movie character but his next film ¨ Game of death¨ was absurdly edited after his death , this Kung-Fu actioner was realized by Robert Clouse , an expert on Chop-Socky movies and he directed Bruce Lee's last film . ¨Fist of fury¨ is indispensable and essential seeing for Lee fans and Karate enthusiastic.

This film is a classic but then all of Bruce's completed films are classics. There are strong anti-Japanese messeges (including one Japanese guy having a tash similar to a certain German dictator) in the film but it has been over 33 years since the film was made and so this can be put down to it being dated. Ultimately it is a film about injustice and Revenge. The Bushido School's general evilness, the injustice against the Chinese in Shanghai and Bruce's (called Chen in this one) hot headedness create a circle of violence which escalates completely out of control. This is an intensely gritty Kung Fu film unlike Bruce's later films which were more escapist in nature and Fist Of Fury has the highest body count in terms of Bruce actually killing people with those fists. The legendary 'Sick Man Of Asia' scene is amazing and the end of Kill Bill clearly homage's this so any Tarentino fan's will get an added joy out of watching this beautiful sequence. DO get the uncut version.

One of my favorite movies all time is a movie called "The Last Dragon." Of the 30 of you who've read this review maybe two of you have actually seen this movie. Who am I kidding... of the three of you who've read this review maybe none of you have seen "The Last Dragon." It's a kung-fu movie that takes place in Harlem starring Taimak and Vanity. It was very hip and trendy for the 80's. Anyway, in that movie there are several clips of a Bruce Lee film and I never knew what movie it was. Come to find out it's this one: "Fist of Fury."

Who would've thought that a kung-fu movie would try to tackle racism? I'm talking about "Fist of Fury" not "The Last Dragon." Along with the tried and true plot of avenging a fallen master, Bruce Lee had to deal with the bigotry and racism of the Japanese. As skilled of a fighter Bruce Lee was in all of his movies I'm sure he could've stamped out Japanese animosity one kick at a time. Just have him roam the country beating up bigots.

Beating up haughty arrogant Japanese was a biproduct of Lee's main goal: avenging his teacher. I love a no frills avenge-my-master kung-fu movie. In this particular movie a teacher of a kung-fu school was killed. It seems that everyone in the school is quite powerless to right this wrong with the exception of Bruce Lee. In fact, without Bruce Lee the school would be void of any half-way decent fighter. Says a lot about that school.

Bruce Lee was in fine form and covered a wide range of fighting and emotions. With fighting he displayed skills such as punching, kicking, chopping, and nun-chuckery. There was also flexing, posing, and his classic intimidation whine he does. That universally known Bruce Lee whine which translates to, "I'm a kung-fu master and I'm about to whoop dat a**." As far as his acting, he displayed such emotions as sadness, anger, passive aggressiveness, active aggressiveness, fury, indignance, and more anger. Oh yeah, you know when Bruce is unhappy. "Fist of Fury" is a simple enough movie with a lot of butt whippin'. Don't look too deeply you'll just catch a foot to the face.

Film maker Lo Wei directed this Bruce Lee classic Fist of Fury immediately after the success of Lee's first martial art film, The Big Boss. Fist of Fury tells the story of Chen (Lee) who arrives in Shanghai to his martial art school, only to learn that his beloved teacher has died and the funeral is going on when he arrives. Soon it is revealed that the death was without a doubt a murder and our fierce hero is going to solve the mystery..With the power of his fists and kicks.

This film is prehaps little too racist towards Japanese since they are depicted as dirty and greedy criminals here and some lines in the script are very underlining and judge the Japanese people too much. Then again, the film makes me wonder about racism in general since there is so much mayhem in the film and so many Chinese and Japanese get killed by each other, so maybe this film was not meant to be racist at all. Maybe the intention was to tell something about us who cannot live in peace with each other. All these things happen even today, 30 years after the film's release so the subject matter is definitely universal as it was back then in 1972. Still I would have toned down some of the dialogue bits since they are little too strong, and I think Bruce Lee himself didn't like the film's racial elements.

On the other hand, this film is really beautiful as it depicts the sensitive love between Bruce and Nora Miao, who is very beautiful and sweet female in this film, and also in other Lee's films. The scene at the teacher's grave is one of the most sensitive scenes of love I've ever seen, and those two characters are hand touchingly full of emotion. The themes in this film are mainly about relationships between individuals and humans in general, so the film has many things to offer moreover mere action. This is action classic with heart.

The film is famous for its legendary first nunchaku fight scene at the Japanese' training camp as Bruce shows for the first time his personal fighting tool and weapon, a pair of nunchakus. That fight scene even before nunchakus is among the greatest ever filmed since the choreography and timing is totally marvellous as the one take lasts very long without edits, and Bruce kicks and hits about ten victims during that, and the timing and stunt men had to be really sharp in order to not to get hurt for real. Also, the nunchaku fights in the film are incredible as Bruce uses his weapon without flinching an eye and with fierce look on his face. This all is even more powerful in his next film, Way of the Dragon.

The film was shot mostly in studio and there are only few exteriors in Fist of Fury. The staging is very convincing and the film's bigger budget compared to that of The Big Boss' really shows. The last fight in night time at the Japanese yard is very beautifully lighted and full of cinematic magic. The film is full of details and elements from Chinese culture and traditions, so this is little more personal and interesting film than The Big Boss, which had some irritating little flaws like the sound of Bruce' necklace he got from his mother and the scene where Bruce punches a guy through a wall with funny and campy result, which director Lo definitely didn't meant to look that funny.

Fist of Fury is a stunning piece of Hong Kong and world cinema and easily among Lee's greatest films. The atmosphere is created so convincingly that even people who usually don't appreciate action films should appreciate this, since this film is many more things than just action and fighting. Fist of Fury hasn't lost any of its power and punch during these 30 years and will remain one of the most important martial arts movies ever made. 9/10

"Fist of Fury" is the second best Bruce Lee film that everybody can (and should) agree on. Released in the same year as "Way of the Dragon," this martial arts film became one of the biggest cinematic impacts of China to date, spanning many other sequels or remakes from martial artists like Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. (Fist of Fury 2 by Jackie Chan in 1978, Fist of Fury tv series by Donnie Yen in '95, and Jet Li's bone breaking classic, "Fist of Legend")

"Fist of Fury" is about a master's best student named Chen Zhen who arrives to his master's funeral and investigates on his master's death as suspicions rise within him as the Japanese mock his school. Like every martial arts film, it's simple yet emotionally charged. Bruce Lee displays several emotions going from the saddest emotions that he ever shown on screen, to the most violent and horrifying shout he has ever produced. The tension and suspense is strong as two Asian nationalities fight each other one by one. The fight scenes are one of the coolest and it is one of the more entertaining martial arts films to this day. The movie made Lee an icon of China as he made the message against racism. For I, a Japanese, can say that this film can be extremely racist most of the times. But, Bruce Lee did not hate the Japanese people in real life and he had to make a message against racial oppression.

The acting is probably the only cheesy problem that this film has, but it's one of the my favorite martial art films to date as it's not all about martial arts films and it takes politics up to the next level.

*Spoiler Alert!*

OK. I won't lie. I liked Fist Of Fury. I really did.

Well, that is - I liked the wild, over-the-top fight scenes that were, at times, a literal frenzied roller-coaster ride of grunting, groaning, snapping, leaping, screaming bodies flying this way and that.

Yep. Bruce Lee (with his perfect coordination and his precision timing) really did a mighty fine job of royally kicking some serious ass.

And, in the lull between all of the Kung Fu action, I also liked the priceless "Geisha-Girl" striptease. (nudge-nudge-wink-wink) Now, that was a hoot-and-a-half!

And, I also got a really big kick (pardon the pun) at the moment when Bruce Lee's character who (not being able to put his opponent down with any of his deadly kicks or chops) actually resorted to (get this!) sinking his teeth into this fierce, unstoppable brute's foot. (I ain't kidding!)

Believe me, from where I was sitting, this was a sheer delight to watch. This sort of conduct from Bruce was a real slice of pure slapstick comedy, straight out of an episode from The Three Stooges.

This film also contained a helluva lot of outright prejudice and antagonism towards the Japanese. I certainly won't go into any great detail about it here - But, I will say that the Japanese were all depicted as being a truly despicable bunch of pseudo-Nazi types.

When it came to this picture's overall action sequences and the wonderful choreographing of its fight scenes, I was really quite surprised when I came to realize just how often these very scenes have been lifted and blatantly used, over and over again, in such films as The Matrix Reloaded, Kill Bill, and other such films.

Anyways - In spite of all the wooden performances, the laughable dialog, and the terrible dubbing that prevailed, it was undeniably Bruce Lee, the ultimate master of martial arts, who shone magnificently throughout this very film that literally started the whole Kung Fu movie-craze over 40 years ago.

What makes this Kung Fu classic stand out a bit more is the entire basis for the film: a group of Japanese in Shanghai (probably during the Japanese occupation of this part of China) are abusing the Chinese locals, and insulting them greatly. Constantly referring to the Chinese (as a whole) as the 'sick men of Asia,' and even thinking them lower than dogs (as is shown in some of the scenes).

The entire basis of this Kung Fu film becomes a real reaction to the pain of discrimination and the hatred of a sense of racism that the Japanese dished out to the Chinese, and is based actually off of a real story that followed similar tones. What makes this film very special is the commitment that Bruce Lee has to defeating the Japanese whose goal is to crush the will of the Chinese -- a very accurate reflection of the sentiment that existed.

Overall, this is a very good film that was well done; it has a lot of the defects that films similar to its' genre have (having the grainy feel of Kung Fu films of its' time) but other than the typical, it really sets a standard for Kung Fu and film in general. One can see it, in many ways, as being a good basis for subsequent action and Kung Fu films. A lot of the things in this film were very original and very interesting -- overall, a must see film for anybody who enjoys Action, Kung Fu, or 'political resistance' so to speak. A film for the downtrodden striking back.

This is the one film of Bruce's where I have actually seen him act (Outside of fighting scenes) with any credibility at all.

This film clearly demonstrates the anti-japanese feeling that Hong-Kong and mainland Chinese still posess. This is partly based upon WWII and partly on the thousand years or so of history before then, when China tried to invade Japan, Japan invaded China ect etc.

In fact, the way the Japanese are portrayed in this film is a very stereotypical Chinese one, long, thin pencil moustaches, usually large round glasses, oiled hair and well, evil.

This film goes over the top with this kind of view, and it's a pity as it tends to lessen the impact they were trying to make with the now infamous sign.

The end scene was excellent. It's truly disturbing how close this was to what happened to Brandon.

Shots to the head: Bruce acts - Better storyline than most of the genre - martial arts scenes ok from Bruce

Shots to the foot: Anti-Japanese characterisations go too far - martial art choreography of Bruce's opponents bad - "Kick" scene patently ridiculous.

From start to finish, the Chinese Connection (originally released as Fists of Fury) is probably the most entertaining and satisfying of all the Bruce Lee movies. Well paced, with creative and fairly realistic fight scenes distributed evenly, the movie keeps the audience's attention all the way through the long fight scene near the climactic end (I won't spoil the actual ending for you). The predictable revenge plot provides the emotional trigger to release Lee's rage-filled fights and his now-famous smashing of the "No Dogs or Chinese Allowed" sign. Equally famous is his "this time you eat paper, next time you eat glass" line. Viewers are also treated to the only on-screen kiss by Lee, some comical moments with Lee playing a bumbling telephone repairman, a cameo by director Lo-Wei as the chief inspector, and a soundtrack which effectively builds tension in the fight scenes. You won't recognize Jackie Chan as the stuntman for one of the Japanese martial artists who flies through the screen door. The most memorable part of this movie is Lee's dynamic vitality as he goes about his business, cocksure and confident, and with the goods to back it up. I am forever grateful to those who, in marketing this movie to the west, decided to dub only the dialogue and to leave Lee's original fight sounds untouched. As is evident in the US version of Return of the Dragon (aka Way of the Dragon), dubbing Lee's fight sounds is nothing short of a sin.

The most important reason why one should watch this film is Bruce Lee's presence in it. I have long wanted to see more of his work - and get beyond the now famous "Enter the Dragon".

That said, "Fist of Fury" is almost impossible to perceive objectively. Is this a real movie: can it boast with impeccable cinematography, innovative storytelling techniques, inspirational acting? In all ways mentioned, "Fist of Fury" is a third-rate treat.

The only element that makes a difference is Bruce himself. He acts with aplomb, overdoing it most of the time, but still - making a great impression, being as agile and energetic as humanly possible. Unfortunately, this film's unnecessary aggressiveness, misplaced eroticism and biased hatred for all Japanese, do not reinforce the impression of his charismatic presence.

I do believe that "Fist of Fury" is worth watching - if you have seen Taranatino's "Kill Bill" or Jet Li's "Jing wu ying xiong" (aka "Fist of Legend"), you are bound to find an abundance of visual and plot parallels.

Imperfect as it is, "Fist of Fury" has established itself as a source of inspiration for both directors and actors of later time.

...most of you have seen the dubbed, cutted version. this review is for the uncut version.

bruce lee makes his most memorable performance in this excellent martial art film. the main character is not the perfect kind forgiving guy you always see in these types of movies. he cannot forgive all he can think of is revenge. he's even prepared to kick down some innocent people on the side if need be to achieve his goal.

martial art movies often suffer from the same problems as porn movies do. the lack of a decent plot.

in this one bad guys are really bad guys, the good guy is like 'the punisher', shows anger in every turn but is unable to show his emotions towards his girlfriend. here even the ending is an unconventional one.

a very good film, compared to the remake with jet li bruce lee's movie loses in great fighting scenes, but wins in attitude and depth. jet li wasn't very believable as chen zhen, but you can see the fire burning in bruce's eyes in every single screen.

After the enormous success in 1971 of "Tang Shan Da Xiong" ("The Big Boss") in 1971, Martial Artist Bruce Lee's career as an actor reached never before seen levels of popularity in Hong Kong cinema. With his unparalleled skill in the Martial Arts, his unique style for choreography (based on his Jeet Kune Do philosophy) and overall, his great talent for acting, Lee quickly became the icon for Martial Arts films, and the biggest star at Golden Harvest Studios. The follow-up for "The Big Boss", was a more traditional martial arts film: "Jing Wu Men" ("Fist of Fury"). A period piece directed again by Lo Wei, "Fist of Fury" would take Lee's star even beyond.

Set in 1908, the film is loosely based on the story of the Chin Woo Athletic Association, and the mysterious death of it's founder, the legendary Martial Artist Huo Yuanjia. Located in Shanghai, China, the Chin Woo school faces big problems now that their leader has died, as the Japanese occupation of Shanghai makes life very difficult for the Chinese. This makes Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) furious, as he suspects the Japanese are behind the death of his master. As his investigation proves him right, Chen goes on a murder spree in order to avenge the death of Huo Yuanjia.

Written and directed by Lo Wei, the film is a more straight forward Martial Arts film that follows almost to the letter the classic style that was dominating Hong Kong cinema at the time, with one important difference (add without a doubt Lee): the film favors a weaponless style of combat. Lo Wei's story, focuses mainly on the difficulties suffered by the Chinese with their land occupied by foreigners that used and abused the law for their advantage, and the rise of a hero to challenge the occupation. Many elements of the plot are centered around this nationalist pride, to the point of being overtly racist against the Japanese (this and other differences made Lee to decide to never work with Lo Wei again).

While the story is definitely the one of a typical revenge story, it's in the execution where the film truly excels and shows why is considered a landmark in Hong Kong Action films. Now familiar with his star's abilities, director Lo Wei gives Bruce Lee enough freedom to direct and choreograph his own stunts, resulting in a better, more realist way of portraying Kung-Fu than in their previous film together ("The Big Boss"). Sadly, this also allows Lo Wei's flaws to be obvious when compared to Lee's directing style. Lo Wei focuses on telling a patriotic action-filled story of revenge, while Lee wants a stylish drama with lesson on Kung-Fu included (Lee would do this in his next film, "Men Lung Guojiang" or "Way of the Dragon").

To Lo Wei's credit, the discovery and eventual exploitation of Lee's natural talent for acting is one of the film's best characteristics. Bruce Lee finally gets a chance to show a lot more depth in small but significant scenes where he does comedy and melodrama in a remarkable way. While the rest of the cast is not as refreshing or surprising as Lee himself, there are two exceptions: the beautiful Nora Miao (Lee's regular collaborator), and the excellent Ping-Ao Wei, who delivers a great performance as the treacherous Wu.

Like in most Hong Kog films of its time, "Jing Wu Men" suffers from a really low-budget (although not as bad as "The big Boss"), some amateurish acting and an awful dubbing. However, this movie is one of Bruce Lee's most important films, as despite its flaws the legendary Martial Artist shows his best moves and his natural talent in an excellent way. Sure, Lo Wei's plot is not the most original and suffers from a lot of problems, but it also features some of Lee's best scenes in his tragically short career.

Raw and gritty, yet somewhat stylish, this movie became a huge success and consolidated Lee as a major Action star. Personally, I prefer "Way of the Dragon" and "Enter the Dragon" over this film, however, "Jing Wu Men", the "Fist of Fury" is an excellent Martial Arts film that set the standard for the explosion of Kung-Fu cinema that would follow it. 7/10

Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) returns to Shanghai and is shocked to find his master Huo Yuanjia's funeral. Huo had started the Ching Wu School. The local Japanese dojo intrudes on the funeral and challenge them to a fight. Chen is suspicious of the death and investigates. He answers the challenge alone and takes down everybody forcing them to eat their words. He goes to a park where he's forbidden to enter. A sign reads "NO DOGS AND Chinese ALLOWED". As Chen continues to fight, his Japanese foes push the police to stop him.

This is a classic kung fu movie. Bruce Lee is playing the martyr, the terminator, and the underdog. It doesn't get much better than Bruce taking on dozens of enemy. The best is probably him kicking the sign at the park to smithereens. There are some dubbing issues but this is still one of Bruce's best. His charisma shines through. This a real audience pleaser especially for Chinese national pride.

A young man, Chen, returns to Shanghai to marry his fiancée to discover that his martial arts teacher has died. The circumstances surrounding his death start to appear suspicious when a local Japanese martial arts school starts harassing the students at the Chinese school in an attempt to drive them out of the area. Chen is intent on revenge for the death of his mentor.

An entertaining, action-packed Bruce Lee film. Plot is okay and better than your average martial arts movie, not that this says much. It's still a bit contrived and filled with convenient discoveries and turns of events but for the most part the plot is decent.

Production values are good and performances are mostly okay, with a few exceptions.

Obviously it's the action scenes that stand out in movies like this and Fist of Fury is no exception. Exciting, well-choreographed fight scenes that are plausible - none of the stupid hanging-in-mid-air, 6-metre-high jumps with somersault or similar contrivances here.

Good entertainment.

Fanatic film with a wonderful ending, making you feel sorrow and anger at the same time. Bruce Lee is a legend, everyone knows it. The fighting scenes are hypnotic. Will watch again and again.

With all the due respect to Bruce Lee and his fans, I found this movie quite boring. I understand the reasons why people liked it in '72, but for today standards it's really a poor movie, with laughable acting and fake fighting. Watch instead the '94 remake "Fist of legend" starring Jet Li. It's got a better plot and, more important since we're talking about martial arts, way better fight scenes (Actually this is one of the best M.A. flicks ever). Once again, Bruce Lee is a legend, but that's not enough to save this film.