As odd as it sounds, Bruce Lee has been an action hero around the world, except in China. Lee films didn’t show up on video in China until the 80s, approximately 10 years after his death in 1973. Why was China behind the rest of the world in getting on the Bruce Lee martial arts train? It was due in part to the communist government.
But now, China is trying to make amends and give Lee his props. China Central Television has spent $7.3 million making “The Legend of Bruce Lee,” a 50 part series. This is the first time the country has made a movie or series about an actor.
The show was filmed in many locales over the span of nine months including China, Hong Kong (where Lee was raised and living when he died), Macau, the United States, Italy, and Thailand. The series will begin this Sunday with two episodes airing each night in a two hour slot.
I hope this comes out on DVD (even though I will have to read subtitles) because it begins with Lee’s teenage years in Hong Kong and then moves on to the start of his martial arts career in the United States. It will cover things other bios have not, such as the extent of the injuries he sustained and even odd footnotes like the fact that Lee was afraid of cockroaches. Danny Chan (Kwok-Kwan Chan), who has appeared in Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer will play Lee in the series. Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee Keasler, approved the script and it listed as an executive producer.
Before you begin to think it is very altruistic of the Chinese government to allow this series to be seen, you should know it appears to have an ulterior motive. The government likes the pro-Chinese stance Lee takes in films such as The Chinese Connection and Return of the Dragon. UC Santa Barbara Michael Berry said that Lee exhibits “strength, agility, pride, intelligence,” which makes him a “symbol for the powerful new China.” But, even though Lee is pro-China in his movies, it is unknown what his personal feelings were about the country and the government of it.