"I am Bruce Lee" is a worthwhile documentary = although long-time fans probably already know a lot of the information discussed here, the presentation of key film clips, interviews, screen-tests of Bruce Lee along with the new (as of 2012) extensive interviews with Linda Lee-Cadwell, daughter Shannon Lee, Jeet Kune Do master Dan Inosanto, and other celebrities he influenced like Mickey Rourke, Ed O'Neill, Ray Mancini, even Kobe Bryant and Manny Pacquiao!
Growing-up in Hawaii, one couldn't help being a super Bruce Lee fan! Of course during his brief Life and much beyond, Bruce Lee has continued to be a gigantic international Superstar up to the present-Day, and his films and undying-Legend continue to inspire people of widely-diverse backgrounds (e.g. from everyday movie-buffs, to current professional martial-artists and MMA/UFC champions, to boxers and top-athletes in other non-combative sports like basketball, to a number of other current celebrities and artists!)
Much of this 2012 documentary by Pete McCormack focuses on Bruce Lee's overall philosophy of Life about how determined he was to become an international success in both developing the perfect combination of multi-disciplinary martial-arts without 'dogma' or overly constraining & rigid 'rules' also creating/developing the image of an authentic Chinese/Asian 'hero' for the Big-screen! (goals which he amazingly completely achieved within the course of only a few years!)
I was too young to see his movies in the theaters when they first came-out in the very early-1970's - but I remember being completely enthralled/ blown-away when I saw them in the early-1980s (on VHS, etc.) To this day, I don't think anyone on screen has figured-out how to generate those lightening quick, explosive but still totally fluid (and of course highly effective) moves and choreography (Jet Li and Donnie Yen come very close - but still not quite with the electrifying-impact of Bruce Lee!)
But really what seems to be at the heart of the irrepressible inner-drive of Bruce Lee was his unshakable idea/ motivation that he must continually 'break-barriers' (no pun intended) = he needed to keep innovating and breaking new-ground in terms of martial arts (i.e. Jeet Kune Do) and especially the presentation of martial arts on screen (designed specifically to excite and intrigue movie-goers) ==> bringing not only those innovative martial-arts moves to the Big-screen but also introducing (mainly to Western-audiences) the underlying Asian culture & philosophies inherent = generating immense respect & amazement from audiences in the process. Again, Bruce Lee succeeded phenomenally in such a brief period!
Of course everyone wishes Bruce Lee could have lived even a few years longer = "Enter the Dragon" seemed like just a beginning for spectacularly intriguing action films (with deeper-insights into the Asian arts) - had he lived longer, I'm sure Bruce Lee would have changed the face of Hollywood films to an even greater degree - shinning a brightly intense spotlight on Asian culture with intensely-realistic heart-pounding action would have surely become the order of the Day!
note: the Hollywood biopic 'Dragon' starring Jason-Scott Lee from 1994 is also a great film to watch (if you haven't seen it already!)
Growing-up in Hawaii, one couldn't help being a super Bruce Lee fan! Of course during his brief Life and much beyond, Bruce Lee has continued to be a gigantic international Superstar up to the present-Day, and his films and undying-Legend continue to inspire people of widely-diverse backgrounds (e.g. from everyday movie-buffs, to current professional martial-artists and MMA/UFC champions, to boxers and top-athletes in other non-combative sports like basketball, to a number of other current celebrities and artists!)
Much of this 2012 documentary by Pete McCormack focuses on Bruce Lee's overall philosophy of Life about how determined he was to become an international success in both developing the perfect combination of multi-disciplinary martial-arts without 'dogma' or overly constraining & rigid 'rules' also creating/developing the image of an authentic Chinese/Asian 'hero' for the Big-screen! (goals which he amazingly completely achieved within the course of only a few years!)
I was too young to see his movies in the theaters when they first came-out in the very early-1970's - but I remember being completely enthralled/ blown-away when I saw them in the early-1980s (on VHS, etc.) To this day, I don't think anyone on screen has figured-out how to generate those lightening quick, explosive but still totally fluid (and of course highly effective) moves and choreography (Jet Li and Donnie Yen come very close - but still not quite with the electrifying-impact of Bruce Lee!)
But really what seems to be at the heart of the irrepressible inner-drive of Bruce Lee was his unshakable idea/ motivation that he must continually 'break-barriers' (no pun intended) = he needed to keep innovating and breaking new-ground in terms of martial arts (i.e. Jeet Kune Do) and especially the presentation of martial arts on screen (designed specifically to excite and intrigue movie-goers) ==> bringing not only those innovative martial-arts moves to the Big-screen but also introducing (mainly to Western-audiences) the underlying Asian culture & philosophies inherent = generating immense respect & amazement from audiences in the process. Again, Bruce Lee succeeded phenomenally in such a brief period!
Of course everyone wishes Bruce Lee could have lived even a few years longer = "Enter the Dragon" seemed like just a beginning for spectacularly intriguing action films (with deeper-insights into the Asian arts) - had he lived longer, I'm sure Bruce Lee would have changed the face of Hollywood films to an even greater degree - shinning a brightly intense spotlight on Asian culture with intensely-realistic heart-pounding action would have surely become the order of the Day!
note: the Hollywood biopic 'Dragon' starring Jason-Scott Lee from 1994 is also a great film to watch (if you haven't seen it already!)