The Dragon Lives

The Dragon Lives (Chinese: 詠春大兄; pinyin: Yǒng Chūn Dà Xiōng; Jyutping: wing6 cheun1 daai6 hing1), also known as He's a Legend, He's a Hero, is a 1976 Hong Kong martial arts film starring Bruce Li and directed by Wang Hsing-lei (credited as Singloy Wang). A fictional account of Bruce Lee's life,[3] it is one of numerous films which exploited the popularity of Lee after his death, a practice called Bruceploitation.[4][5] The film was released in the United States by Film Ventures International on 19 September 1978.[1]

The Dragon Lives
Traditional Chinese詠春大兄
Simplified Chinese咏春大兄
Literal meaningWing Chun Big Boss
Hanyu Pinyinyǒng chūn dà xiōng
Directed bySingloy Wang[1]
Written by
Produced byC.H. Wong[1]
Starring
CinematographyChen Wing Sing
Music byAnders Nelsson
Production
company
First Films
Release date
  • 7 October 1976 (1976-10-07)
Running time
90 minutes[2]
CountryHong Kong

The film has often been mistaken for Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth, another 1976 film depicting Bruce Lee's life and starring Bruce Li.[6][7]

Cast
  • Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li) as Bruce Lee
  • Caryn White as Lin, Bruce's wife
  • Chen Pei-zhen (Betty Chen) as Betty Ting Pei
  • Ernest 'Curt' Curtis as Sam Curtis, a boxer
  • Joe Nerbonne
  • Fred Cargle
  • Lee Wan-chung (Li Won Chung) as Raymond Chow, a film producer
  • Elton Hugee
  • Jim Burnett
  • Kjell Wallen
  • Mark Ruth
  • Jack Nickelson
  • Su Hsiang as Lo Wei, a film director
  • Hsieh Han as swordsman in film-shooting
  • Yam Ho as Bruce's friend

Release

The Dragon Lives was released in Hong Kong on 7 October 1976. In the United States, the film was released by Film Ventures International on 19 September 1978.[2]

Critical response

Poll, a critic for the American film magazine Variety, criticized the technical deficiencies of The Dragon Lives ("cracking noises regularly precede the blows themselves.... characters appear in consecutive frames dressed differently"), but noted that its target audience is the least critical among moviegoers. The critic would also surmise that the film could have a short run in cinemas due to being less bloody than other Bruce Lee-inspired films.[2]

Home media

The Dragon Lives was released on DVD in the United States on 12 March 2002.[7]

References
  1. @grady_hendrix (30 January 2020). "I'm assuming every film school in the world centers its entire final semester on the last 10 minutes of BRUCE LEE - THE DRAGON LIVES" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Variety's Film Reviews: 1978-1980. Bowker. 1983. ISBN 0-8352-2795-2. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. TV Guide, Volume 33. Radnor, Pennsylvania: Triangle Publications. 1985. p. 31. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  4. Wallis, J. Doyle (17 February 2002). "True Game of Death". DVD Talk. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. Katayama, Lisa (23 March 2007). "Bruce Lee Lives On". Wired. Condé Nast Digital. Archived from the original on 17 September 2009.
  6. Davies, Clive (2015). Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About. Headpress. ISBN 9781909394063. Retrieved 19 May 2020. THE DRAGON LIVES See: BRUCE LEE, THE MAN, THE MYTH
  7. "The Dragon Lives". Amazon.com. 12 March 2002. Retrieved 19 May 2020. Also known as Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth


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