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Bruce Lee filmography

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Bruce Lee filmography

Lee as Kato in the television series The Green Hornet (August 1967)

Filmography
Feature films 37
Television appearances 20
Documentaries 52
Other 102

This article details the filmography of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee.

Several of Lee's films premiered after his death, including Enter the Dragon, Game of Death and Circle of Iron.

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Chinese title Role Notes
1941 Golden Gate Girl 金門女 As an infant
1946 The Birth of Mankind 人类的诞生
1948 Wealth is Like a Dream 富貴浮雲
1949 Sai See in the Dream 夢裡西施 Yam Lee
The Story of Fan Lei-fa
1950 The Kid 細路祥 Kid Cheung Alternate title: My Son, Ah Chung. Available on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch.
Blooms and Butterflies
1951 Infancy 人之初 Ngau
1953 A Myriad Homes 千萬人家
Blame it on Father 父之過 Alternate title: Father's Fault
The Guiding Light 苦海明燈 Son as teenager Available on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch / Alternate title: A Son Is Born
A Mother's Tears 慈母淚 Alternate title: A Mother Remembers
In the Face of Demolition 危樓春曉
1955 An Orphan's Tragedy 孤星血淚 Frank Wong (child) Available on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch
Orphan's Song 孤兒行
Love 愛
Love Part 2 愛(下集)
We Owe It to Our Children 兒女債 Alternate title: The More the Merrier
The Faithful Wife
1956 The Wise Guys Who Fool Around 詐痲納福
Too Late For Divorce 早知當初我唔嫁
1957 The Thunderstorm 雷雨 Chow Chung Based on the play Lei Yu by Cao Yu
Darling Girl
1960 The Orphan 人海孤鴻 Sam His last Hong Kong widely released film until 1971
1968 The Wrecking Crew 風流特務勇破迷魂陣 Action director
1969 Marlowe 醜聞喋血 Winslow Wong Also action director
1970 A Walk in the Spring Rain 春雨漫步 Action Director Lee, personal friend of producer Stirling Silliphant, is credited as the film's fight choreographer.
1971 The Big Boss 唐山大兄 Cheng Chao-an Also action director
Alternate title: Fists of Fury[a]
His first Hong Kong widely released film since 1960
1972 Fist of Fury 精武門 Chen Zhen Also action director
Alternate title: The Chinese Connection[a]
The Way of the Dragon 猛龍過江 Tang Lung Also producer, director, action director and screenwriter
The film was released in the U.S. after Enter the Dragon; hence the Alternate title: Return of the Dragon
1973 Fist of Unicorn 麒麟掌 Action Director and fight choreographer

Released posthumously

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Year Title Chinese title Role Notes
1973 Enter the Dragon 龍爭虎鬥 Lee Also action director, writer and producer
Sent as a spy into a martial arts tournament hosted by a rogue-monk-turned-drug lord
Released six days after Lee's death
1974 The Green Hornet 青蜂侠 Kato A compilation of episodes from the TV series edited together and released as a feature film
Released one year after Lee's death
1976 The Fury of the Dragon 巨龙之怒 A compilation of episodes from the TV series edited together and released as a feature film
Released three years after Lee's death
1978 Game of Death 死亡遊戲 Billy Lo There are two versions of this film, each one with a different plot (the original from an incomplete 1972 film and the 1978 build doing a "footage mashup")
Lee was shown in incomplete original footage from 1972, plus stock footage from Enter the Dragon and other films
The original was finally released as a short film in the year 2000.
Circle of Iron Co-writer
Alternate title: The Silent Flute
Film co-written by Bruce Lee, who was seeking to illustrate the differences between Eastern and Western philosophies
1981 Game of Death II 死亡塔 Billy Lo / Lee Chen-chiang Alternate title: Tower of Death
Unrelated to the first Game of Death, it was marketed as a sequel in the U.S.
Lee appears in stock footage from Enter the Dragon and other films

Box office performance

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Year Title Worldwide gross revenue (est. US dollars) Budget
(US dollars) 		Return on investment
(ROI) 		Notes
Nominal value Inflation adjusted
1968 The Wrecking Crew $8,000,000 $70,000,000 ? ? [b]
1971 The Big Boss (Fists of Fury) $50,000,000 $400,000,000 $100,000 50,000% [c]
1972 Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) $100,000,000 $730,000,000 $100,000 100,000% [d]
Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon) $130,000,000 $730,000,000 $130,000 100,000% [e]
1973 Enter the Dragon $400,000,000 $2,000,000,000 $850,000 47,000% [f]
1978 Game of Death $50,320,736 $240,000,000 $850,000 5,900% [g]
Circle of Iron $2,600,000 $12,000,000 ? ? [h]
1981 Game of Death II $349,181 $1,200,000 ? ? [i]
Total $741,269,917 $3,964,000,000 $2,030,000 100,000%
Average $92,658,740 $496,000,000 $406,000 37,000%

Television appearances

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Year Title Chinese title Role Country and channel Notes
1966 The Green Hornet 青蜂侠 Kato  U.S. – ABC Alternate title: The Kato Show (Hong Kong title)
1966–1967
Where the Action Is Himself  U.S. – ABC
1967 Batman 蝙蝠俠 Kato  U.S. – ABC Visiting hero
Episodes: "The Spell of Tut", "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction"
Ironside 無敵鐵探長 Leon Soo  U.S. – NBC Guest star
Episode: "Tagged for Murder"
1968 Blondie Mr. Yoto, Karate Instructor  U.S. – CBS Guest star
Episode: "Pick on a Bully Your Own Size"
1969 Here Come the Brides 新娘駕到 Lin  U.S. – ABC Guest star
Episode: "Marriage, Chinese Style"
1970 Enjoy Yourself Tonight 歡樂今宵 Himself  Hong Kong – TVB
1971 Longstreet 血灑長街 Li Tsung / Fight Choreographer  U.S. – ABC Appeared in four episodes: "The Way of the Intercepting Fist", "Spell Legacy Like Death", "Wednesday's Child" and "I See, Said the Blind Man"
The Pierre Berton Show Himself  Canada – Screen Gems
1993 Fame in the Twentieth Century Himself  U.K. – BBC
1999 Famous Families Himself  U.S. – FOX Episode: "The Lees: Action Speaks Louder"
2003 I Love the '70s Lee  U.S. – MTV
2007 La Rentadora Himself  Spain – TV3 Episode: "Be Water My Friend"
2008 Dragonland – L'urlo di Chen terrorizza ancora l'occidente Himself  Italy – Canale 21
2009 How Bruce Lee Changed the World Himself  U.S. – TVPG
2011 Bruce Lee Lives! Himself  U.S. – TVPG
2015 Too Young To Die Himself  Germany – Broadview TV "Bruce Lee: Die Faust Hollywoods"
2017 Autopsy: The Last Hours of... Bruce Lee Himself  U.S. – TV-14
2018 ITV Celebrities Interviews Himself  France – ITV "La Grand Émission 2018 Sur Bruce Lee"
2021 History's Greatest Mysteries Himself  U.S. – A&E Season 2, Episode 3: "The Death of Bruce Lee"

Note: all the series produced after Lee's death (1973) feature archival footage of Lee.

Documentaries

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Year Documentary title Chinese title Notes
1973 Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend 李小龍的生與死 Updated in 1984 and re-titled Bruce Lee: The Legend
The Real Bruce Lee
The Last Days of Bruce Lee
1974 Kung Fu Killers
1976 The Young Bruce Lee
1984 Bruce Lee: The Legend 李小龍的生與死(下) Golden Harvest tribute; focused on their films starring Lee. Featured on the Hong Kong Legends Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend DVD.
1990 The Best of the Martial Arts Films 金裝武術電影大全
Bruce Lee – Best of the Best
1992 Bruce Lee and Kung Fu Mania
Spirit of the Dragon
1993 Top Fighter
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon Included on Enter the Dragon DVDs and Blu-rays
Death by Misadventure
Martial Arts Master
1994 Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview
Cinema of Vengeance History of martial arts cinema with clips of Lee
Bruce Lee: The Immortal Dragon Biography episode; available on DVD
The Life of Bruce Lee
1997 Secrets of the Warrior's Power
1998 The Intercepting Fist
Bruce Lee: The Path of the Dragon
Bruce Lee: In His Own Words Featurette on Enter the Dragon DVDs and Blu-rays
Mystic Origins of the Martial Arts
The Immortal Masters
Jackie Chan: My Story 成龍的傳奇
1999 Century Hero
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2
2000 Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey 李小龍：死亡遊戲之旅 Found as a special feature on the 2004 DVD release of Enter the Dragon. Also on HD DVD and Blu-ray.
Bruce Lee in G.O.D.: Shibōteki Yūgi Bruce Lee in G.O.D. 死亡的遊戲
The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
2002 Bruce Lee: The Legend Lives On
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture 功夫片歲月
Jackie Chan: Fast, Funny and Furious
Modern Warriors
2003 Cinema Hong Kong: Kung Fu 電影香江：功夫世家
2004 Dragon: Since 1973 龍：一九七三以後
2008 The Legend of Bruce Lee 李小龍傳奇 It was aired in many parts of the world: China (CCTV), Iran (IRIB), Brazil (Rede CNT; Band), Italy (RAI 4), United States (KTSF), Vietnam (HTV2; DN1-RTV), South Korea (SBS), Japan (NTV), Canada (FTV), Hong Kong (ATV Home), Philippines (Q), Taiwan (TTV), Venezuela (Televen), United Kingdom (Netflix) and Indonesia (Hi Indo).
2009 Sebring
2010 Young Bruce Lee: The Birth of a Legend
Bruce Lee, My Brother
2012 I Am Bruce Lee It won Leo Awards in 2012.
2013 No Way as Way
Fighter of Death
2015 Ip Man 3
2016 Birth of the Dragon During the premiere of the film, director George Nolfi and star Philip Ng presented a commemorative plaque to the Chinese Hospital in San Francisco, where Bruce Lee was born. / The film won the Golden Angel Award at the 12th Chinese American Film Festival.
2019 Warrior
Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Ip Man 4: The Finale
2020 Be Water Part of ESPN Films' 30 for 30.

It won the Gold List Award in 2021.

2022 Bruce Lee: The Way of the Warrior
2023 The Final Game of Death Also on Blu-ray.

Note: all the documentaries listed here were produced after Lee's death; therefore, all the Lee footage is composed of archive footage and some never-before-seen footage.

Video games

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Year Video game title Role Notes
1984 Bruce Lee Himself
Kung-Fu Master Thomas Originally based on Game of Death
1985 Yie Ar Kung-Fu Oolong (Lee in MSX version)
1987 China Warrior Wang Mobile phones and PS2
1989 Bruce Lee Lives Himself
1993 Super Street Fighter II Fei Long Inspired by Enter the Dragon
1993 Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story Himself
2002 Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon Himself
2003 Bruce Lee: Return of the Legend Himself/Hai Feng
2008 Ultimate Bruce Lee Himself
2010 Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior Himself Smartphone game
Limited release
2011 Kung Fu Warrior Himself Smartphone game
2013 Broforce Bro Lee
2014 EA Sports UFC Himself PS4 and Xbox One game
2014 Bruce Lee: Enter The Game Himself Smartphone game
2016 EA Sports UFC 2 — Bruce Lee Bundle Himself PS4 and Xbox One game
2018 Bruce Lee Dragon Run Himself Smartphone game
2018 EA Sports UFC 3 — Bruce Lee Bundle Himself PS4 and Xbox One game
2019 Kung-fu Bruce: The Legend Continues Himself Smartphone game
Circa 2020 I Am Fighter Lee Smartphone game
Circa 2020 Kung Fu Attack: Final Fight Lee Smartphone game
Circa 2020 King of KungFu Lee Smartphone game
2020 EA Sports UFC 4 — Bruce Lee Bundle Himself PS4 and Xbox One game
2020 Street Kungfu: King Fighter Lee Smartphone game
2021 Superhero Captain X vs Kungfu Lee Lee Smartphone game
2022 KungFu Superstar: Call Me Sifu Himself Smartphone game
2022 KungFu Fighting Warrior Himself Smartphone game

Note 1: In Super Mario RPG, when Mario is about to fight a boss, his comrade Mallow stops him and says "Who do you think you are? Bruce Lee? You can't go in there with your fists flying!"

Note 2: Check Kim Dragon in World Heroes (1992), World Heroes 2 (1993), World Heroes Jet (1994) and World Heroes Perfect (1995).

Note 3: Check Marshall Law in Tekken (1994), Tekken 2 (1995), Tekken 3 (1996), Tekken 4 (2002), Tekken 5 (2005), Tekken 6 (2007) and Tekken 7 (2016) as well as Forest Law in Tekken Tag Tournament (1999), Marshall Law and Forest Law in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2011).

Music videos

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1975 Robert Lee Bruce Lee's brother released an album entitled "The Ballad of Bruce Lee".[4]
2001 LMF Hip-hop band from Hong Kong released a song with videoclip called "1127".[5]

Bruceploitation films

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b When The Big Boss was being prepared for American distribution, the U.S. release was to be re-titled The Chinese Connection, a play on the popular The French Connection, since both dealt with drug trafficking. The U.S. title of Lee's second film, Fist of Fury, was to be kept nearly the same, except using the plural Fists. However, the titles were accidentally reversed. The Big Boss was released as Fists of Fury and Fist of Fury became The Chinese Connection.[1]
  2. ^ In the United States and Canada, the film earned $2.4 million in theatrical rentals.[2] This was equivalent to estimated box office gross receipts of approximately $8 million.[3]
  3. ^ See The Big Boss § Box office
  4. ^ See Fist of Fury § Box office
  5. ^ See The Way of the Dragon § Box office
  6. ^ See Enter the Dragon § Box office
  7. ^ See Game of Death § Box office
  8. ^ See Circle of Iron § Box office
  9. ^ See Game of Death II § Box office

References

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  1. ^ "The Big Boss – Chinese Kungfu Kaleidoscope". Cultural China. 1972. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  2. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, January 7, 1970, p 15
  3. ^ Vogel, Harold L. (2010). "Table 3.4. Motion picture theater industry statistics, 1965-2009". Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 88–9. ISBN 978-1-139-49732-9. 1965 (...) MPAA U.S. + Canadian rentals % of BO (...) 29.8
  4. ^ "Robert Lee — The Ballad of Bruce Lee". YouTube.
  5. ^ "LMF — 1127 Official Music Video". YouTube.
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