Directed & written by Lo Wei
Uncredited co-writer: Ni Kuang
Composed by & starring Bruce Lee
Produced by Raymond Chow
Starring
Nora Miao
Riki Hashimoto
Cinematography Chen Ching-chu
Edited by Peter Cheung
Music by Joseph Koo
Distributed by Golden Harvest
Release date (Australia): July 1, 1973
Synopsis
A young man seeks vengence for the death of his teacher.
Review
All I ever hear action cinema fans talk about is how amazing either how good Lee was in Enter the Dragon or how good he was in this movie - Fist of Fury. And I have to say, they are right.
Bruce Lee plays Cheng Zhen, a Chinese Kung-fu student on a rampage to stop the racism in Japan. He kills many people during the process. One of the reasons I live this movie so much is because of how realistic it is. The Japanese in the 20th century were complete jerks. The world isn't all butterflies and toys. Behind the punches and yelling, there is a lesson behind it. The world should be united and not hating each-other no matter the race. The ending is also the most realistic part of the movie, with the main character dying. The good guy always wins right? Well, no. In this movie he kills & hangs at least 6 people, which is illegal, but it was for a good reason!! He gets shot down by the police which are also very unfair to the Chinese residents. And if you just think about 2020, that's pretty accurate to real life. Why is it a rule that in Hong Kong action cinema, the good guy has something bad happen to him at the end? Drunken Master 2, Fei-hung is blind and mentally stupid. The Young Master, Dragon is in a full-body cast. The Big Boss, Cheng-Chao an gets arrested. Urgh.
But enough the sad parts of this movie, can we talk about the action? This movie was one of the first to use the classic Nunchucks that Bruce Lee would go on to use in The Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon & Game of Death. The action is cleanly choreographed, and it might be so fast, but you can see every hit, and it makes you grimace. Mission succeeded! The beginning fight is one of Lee's most iconic fights ever and I see why. Trust me. He beats up about 20 Japanese students all by himself and with little-to-no emotion.
Speaking of emotion, this is a pretty emotional movie, as Lee comes to marry a women but then dies at the end of the movie. This film is one of my highest recommendations, and I guarantee you, you NEED to watch it.
Rating: 9.5/10
WATCH FIST OF FURY AT
https://archive.org/details/bruce-lee-fist-of-fury-1972-eng-sub (Cantonese version)
https://archive.org/details/fist-of-fury-bruce-lee-full-movie-in-english-black-belt-movie-night (English dub)
