Home / A Close Look At... / Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

While looking out for new DVD releases, I got my attention on the DVD of this movie and because there was a sale on it, I decided to buy it. After re-watching the movie, I felt that I had to take 'a closer look at' this movie.

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story DVD, is a superb package of goodies, built around the Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story movie from 1993. The DVD presents its wares in pristine quality, widescreen, surround sound, but requires the Region 2 hardware on which to view it. There should be an R0 release by now, though.

Back in 1993 Linda Lee paid a rare visit to these shores to promote the release of the 'then' newly released Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, starring Jason Scott Lee. She visited the Trocadero Centre in London, Linda had brought with her the replica jacket Jason Scott Lee wore in the movie based on Bruce Lee's multi-coloured jacket worn around the time he made Enter The Dragon. The jacket was destined to be placed on display at the London version of the famed Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, owned by Hollywood Superstars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and last but not least Jackie Chan. Linda looking extremely attractive in a turqoise green jacket held up the jacket for inspection by the hordes of 'paparazzi', the flash bulbs blinding her.

In the intervening years as we are all by now aware, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story has gone on to achieve critical acclaim, not least for its excellent central performance by Jason Scott Lee, but also for the amazing resurgance of interest in the life of its central character Bruce Lee.

The success of Dragon on both film and video has led to the release of a very special DVD version. This set contains a wealth of never before seen material, on both Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and more importantly Bruce and Brandon Lee. The DVD version opens dramatically with a shot of Bruce taken from his best of Black Belt cover, with a scrolled text featuring Bruce's own thoughts.

"As long as I can remember I feel I have this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand." - Bruce Lee

This is followed by the voice of Linda Lee, speaking over a succession of stunning photographs from the Bruce Lee archieves, many never before released.

Linda speaks... "The film you are about to see is the story of a real human being. A struggling person, a loving person, with a great many levels to his character. When I first spoke to Rob Cohen the director and co-writer of Dragon about making a motion picture of my husband's life, I told him that I wanted people to know about Bruce Lee the man, not just the powerful martial artist but also the loving husband, and father, the philosopher, and the teacher. Rob's creation is the story of that man, long before Bruce Lee was a role model to his own children. Before he was a heroic image to people all over the world, he was a hero in our own lives."

There was also a much deeper side to Bruce's personality that Dragon tells especially well, and that was his philosophical side. Immersed in the Eastern and Western philosophies, Bruce was a great deep thinker, always contemplating life and the meaning of his own existence, through study and intuition he had an inner awareness of his own potential, and he strove constantly to fulfill it.

When he was offered the chance to make films, Bruce saw the opportunity to show his beloved Chinese culture and his art to millions, and he focused all of his energy on it. Here was a chance to communicate to people how he felt about the martial arts, to show his way of living it, and to show the unique power and beauty of Asian culture. The world of the motion picture became the best classroom for the teachings of the 'Little Dragon - Lai Sui Loong'. With his new ambition though came new boundaries, mainly in the negative ways that Asians were then depicted in film and television. Bruce wasn't a person who recognized barries of any sort. In either filmmaking or martial arts he wouldn't be a party to the stereotype of the time. In tearing down barriers of fear and prejudice that were firmly entrenched in western film making, Bruce opened the door for all people of all races, cultures, and disabilities to fulfill their potentials. Bruce's work crossed boundaries of film and martial arts showed people of all walks of life that they could realize their dreams. If somebody told Bruce Lee he couldn't do something he would not accept it without exploring and examining it. While he had great respect for tradition he was not a slave to it and if he saw a better way he was faithful to the integrity of his opinions. He ruffled some feathers but he also changed a lot of attitudes and he definetely changed the way martial arts and Asian cultures are perceived. Over twenty years, after he left us, he's still changing peoples attitudes, this is what the film Dragon does so well, it does not show Bruce Lee a Chinese man, or Bruce Lee a fighting man, or Bruce Lee a family man, it is all of these and none of these. It's about Bruce Lee a 'Real human being'. I'm often asked to speculate on what Bruce Lee might be doing now if he were still here. I think it's safe to say that he would still be working in film. He loved film and it was his passion to show his philosophy to the whole world through the medium that could entertain as well as inform. He probably would have continued to write and produce, and to create opportunities for others to create their own art. And Bruce I am sure would have loved Dragon, Rob Cohen has done justice to the man.

Throughout Linda's commentary rare photographs of Brandon and Bruce are shown. Followed by a complete version of the widescreen version of Dragon this leads us into the DVD background menu section of the movie, outlining the actor's history.

Perhaps the most surprising new addition is director Rob Cohen's personal commentary with Rob's insights into the trials and tribulation of making the movie, as he comments on various scenes. A superb bonus for collectors (like me). Dragon DVD edition also features interviews with all the principle cast and crew plus some excellent interview footage of Linda Lee Cadwell. Ending with two widescreen trailers, which feature some alternate scenes, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story DVD, is a very pleasing package which presents the material in an excellent format, and is invaluable for the Bruce Lee collector, who owns the necessary DVD equipment to play it.

Written on May 13th 2002

<< back

Copyright © 2005 FULLTIME REVIEWS - Hussain Abdullah