The Chinese Connection
by Wei Lo
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bruce Lee, James Tien, Maria Yi, Nora Miao, Robert BakerDirector: Wei Lo
Cinematographer: Ching-Chu Chen
Writer: Wei Lo
Editor: Yao Chung Chang
Producer: Liang Hua Liu
Producer: Raymond Chow
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of The Chinese Connection
Movie Review: Excellent. Analysis of his fighting style (read to learn)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of Bruce Lee's best films. His somewhat darkened film Fist of Fury was pretty good too. Interestingly people who talk about his skills truly dont understand his skills. I'm not sure he was the best but he was a pretty amazing martial artist and a rather charismatic actor. I beleive his style(s) would be different today because he was an ever changing person in his philosphy and improvement of skills. People who know anything about fighting know what I am talking about. There were elements of jui-jitsu where Bruce almost gets armbarred on the floor and bites the guy to break the hold or else his arm is broken. His actualy fighting look quite different than what he does on screen but there are aspects of what he does for real that is on screen. You can see him put it altogther going from fighting stlye to fighting style and that was his true point was to adapt to the situation. He was showing that there were no rules to fighting from eye gouge to biting (your standard street fight/dirty fighting showing that a street fighter has a right type of thinking in a fight and uses everything as a weapon), wing-chun (very strong at in close fighting and speed plus reflexes), to jui-jitsu (on the ground fighting), to American boxing (where he jabs the Russian in the face about 5 times without a single response from his opponent, he even jukes the fakes so nicely you wonder where he comes up with the stuff. He usually enters with a kick if you notice and then pops the guy (Russian again) with a mean 7 hit combo of punches to the body and face. But he shows that you dont stop smashing the guy even when he's out of range of a punch and finishes with a kick. Then he switches it up and jukes with a rushing lead right up high and nails the very confused Russian with a side kick to the body. Everytime the Russian comes in he pops him with something be it a kick (usually a side kick because it has the longest range for your various attacks, front kick has a long range but it's more of a push kick then a bludgeoning type kick like a side kick)or jab or hook. If you analyze it like this you begin to see what he is saying not with words but with what he's showing you with action and the audience has missed this. And what he's trying to say is that be creative and dont fall into a style but use the styles strengths and mix it up when you do fight.As for the story, there is one other movie that did a remake off of this one. It was done by the now famous Jet Li, called the Fist of Legend. The story is exactly the same and the actor names are completely the same. The only true difference in the films were action. Jet uses a much flashier action style and it is rather intense. The only difference is that Jet interestingly enough takes a completely different fight style which encompasses more kung fu philosophy than anything.
Really it sets in a time period where Japanese took over China during World War 2 I beleive. Where the Japs dominated some regions of China. The tale takes place where there existed a legend. Neither movie Connection or Jet Li's Fist of Legend explain the plot terrible well as is because it's an action film anyhow. But the Legend Hero Chan-Zen comes back because he hears of his masters death. Right off the bat the Japanese hate the Chinese by proving that they are better at everything including Kung-fu, except there is a problem Chan (Bruce Lee) is back and whips the Japs like he was just warming up. Then it escalates bigger problems by the Japs taking revenge and plotting to rid of the school because they fear Chan and noone comes close to having the skills to beat him. This leads to many deaths due to Chan's emotion running wild and kills some Japanese and of course they want revenge by putting him in jail or execution because they cant take care of him through martial arts. Of course Chan finds out that the Japs actually plotted against Chan's master and poisoned him to death and made him weak for the fight and died during a combat fight using kung fu and of course lost to a Japanese fighter. Chan goes crazy and starts mauling everyone in his way which leads to a surprise ending or different ending.
I loved this film and of course his many others. It's too bad when he started gaining fame and the love of the people with his brilliant on screen charisma that he then died so soon.
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