The Chinese Connection
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Movie Reviews of The Chinese Connection
Movie Review: Bruce Lee: master of disguise
Summary: 5 Stars
The Chinese Connection may well be Bruce Lee's best film. It certainly showcases the full range of his acting and martial arts skills. His character displays a number of intense emotions as this story unfolds, but most importantly Bruce Lee gives us a number of impressive fight scenes. Lee's performance here is perhaps most memorable, though, for the disguises that Lee's character adopts in the second half of the film. His appearance as an old man selling newspapers is impressive, but who can ever forget his portrayal of a goofy, bespectacled telephone repairman? There are just all kinds of great and quite memorable aspects to this film.The story takes place in Shanghai around the beginning of the twentieth century, with plenty of tension to go around between the occupying Japanese authorities and the Chinese citizens. As the film opens, we learn that the venerated "Teacher" of a Chinese martial arts school has been poisoned. Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) arrives just in time to see Teacher's body laid to rest, and this throws Chen into such an emotional maelstrom of grief that he jumps onto the coffin and struggles to bring Teacher back. At the memorial service, a delegation of folks from the local Japanese martial arts school come to disrespect Teacher, his students, the school, and China in general. Chen, out of respect for Teacher, manages to hold himself back from giving these guys the beating they deserve, but he soon decides to make his way to the Japanese school and prove just how wrong their charges of cowardice were. A series of increasingly violent reprisals then takes place between the two schools. While Chen works to personally avenge the death of Teacher, the Japanese demand his arrest and threaten to shut down the Chinese school. With both parties resorting to increasingly extreme measures, no one comes out of this conflict unscathed.
The Chinese Connection really starts out like gangbusters. The emotional drama is intense from the very beginning, and it is quickly followed by two impressive panoramic fight scenes. The scene wherein Chen takes on the whole Japanese school single-handed is just incredible; Bruce breaks out the numchuks for this one, and he really puts on a show with them. The big fight between the students of both schools isn't quite as impressive, lacking Bruce's presence, but there's still something exhilarating about watching dozens of men and women going at it tooth and nail. Aside from a few murders, the martial arts action takes a backseat during the middle parts of the film, but of course no Bruce Lee movie can end without a conclusive fight between the big boys. Chen has to take on not only the Japanese ace but Russia's most capable martial artist as well. At times, decisive moments in the fights are shown in slow motion, which works effectively to make the action even more impressive. At one point toward the end, we see the classic shot of Lee's hands moving so quickly that he appears to have sprouted the extra appendages of a Buddhist icon.
As is the case with Fists of Fury, the conclusion of this film is not the stuff fairy tales are made of. Many tragic events take place in the latter half of the film, and the whole thing ends on a rather sad note, yet the conclusion strikes me as both noble and just. If you've never seen a Bruce Lee movie, I really think The Chinese Connection is the best place to start. The movie grabs you by the throat at the very beginning, showcases Lee's incredible talents for both martial arts and fight choreography early on, and sustains your abiding interest until the story ends.
Movie Review: a classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Bruce Lee was able to portray male rage better than anyone, and in this movie he delivers! Fox does a good job (except for the sound and the dubbing) transferring this movie to DVD (unlike 'Return' the image is clearly distorted in some scenes (squished) so people look too thin and they deleted the Italian prostitute scene, the Bruce going to the washroom scene, and in Big Boss more deleted scenes:the prostitute scene where Bruce shoves the prostitute onto the bed and then before he leaves he picks up a bag of chips from the room (I always wondered why Bruce had those chips with him on the way to the house of the big boss), the cart into Bruce and friend after the busted crooked dice game, and the fingers into the sides of Mr Big Boss himself at the end. Well, in this version the picture in not distored, the color is good and from what I can tell there are no deleted scenes. The only down side is the sound is in mono, the English dubbing is a bit off from the actual translation, and there are spots on some of the scenes. This has the highest kill ratio for Bruce as he dispatches of tons of dudes one on one and in screaming style. I count this as a personal favorite. Did you see the scene where he takes out his teachers killers? Fantastic one on one. And one of the classic male rage scenes where the scene slows down and his fist and screaming become more intense. A more detailed note on the screaming: I think it may be dubbed screaming not by Bruce in the American version (although very close to his actual voice and also excellent) but if you get the Chinese version or The fantastic Hong Kong Legends version, you hear him in Chinese and I think his actual screaming. Note the second bad dude he wastes he does so while asking 'Why did you kill me teacher?! Why why why why...' in chinese it's even better than in English because it's probably his actual voice and he makes some additional screaming noises as he's speaking that are pretty hard to describe, but it's beautifully done and is probably one of my favorite male rage Bruce scenes. so i guess what I'm trying to say is it's worth getting the chinese versions and putting the audio language to Chinese (Cantonese) just to hear his screaming in Chinese. Another kind of funny detail lost in the English audio is when he finally corners the thin little guy and he pleads for Bruce to let him go saying something like 'I'm just a dog', but what you may not realize is in the Chinese audio you can actually hear him wimpering like a dog! I can't believe they didn't include that or try to imitate it in the English version! When Bruce is in the cemetary and his girlfriend meets him there in the English version she says something like 'you're being stubborn', but that's not the way Hong Kong Legends or any Chinese version or the movie translated that scene. In the other versions she says something less scolding more like 'I don't want you to leave'. So a lot of the US audio is off. There are a lot of details like this I have noticed. Another is that the Russion dude is a Russian KGB man who is on the run from Russia for some reason. I don't think the English dubbed (audio) make that as clear as the Chinese verison.Another note is that all the Bruce Lee movies included scenes with prostitues ! They tried to hide that by deleting some of the prostitute scenes in the Big Boss and they cut out the only one in Return of the Dragon. Don't they realize if those scenes had any Bruce in them we want to see them! Even if Bruce isn't in them leave the orignal work alone.
Movie Review: A True Classic of the Genre!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Chinese Connection" starting the legendary Bruce Lee also known as "Fist of Fury" has led some to confuse it with Lee's debut film of the same title. It appears that the films were mixed up and placed in wrong containers when they were originally shipped to the U.S. for distribution. Make no mistake about it because that's where the similarities end as "The Chinese Connection" is a far superior production in comparison to Lee's first film (originally titled "The Big Boss"). In "The Chinese Connection" Lee plays Chen Jeh a fictional student to real life martial arts hero Fok Yuen Gaap who was poisoned by Japanese in Shanghai during the 1930's. Using this basic premise the film follows the super human exploits of Chen Jeh who seeks revenge for the murder of his beloved teacher.
"The Chinese Connection" in many ways is the best of Lee's five films. It is the film that really established him as a martial arts superstar but it is also the film that set him up as an iconic image in representing equality between the Chinese and Japanese people. In undoubtedly one of the seminal events in Hong Kong cinema Lee proclaims "we (Chinese) are not sick men (of Asia)." This comment is made in reference to a sign that was given to Chen Jeh's school by some Japanese martial artists as a challenge to fight. After this declaration Lee's character Chen Jeh proceeds to force his Japanese discriminators to literally eat their words making them ingest that sign with the offensive message. This scene was perhaps the first time on film that an actor of Chinese decent proclaimed an equal standing with the Japanese and certainly was not lost with his adoring countrymen.
After gaining a great deal of clout with the success of his first film Lee was able to demand more creative control with "The Chinese Connection" and he put this power to good use. While Lo Wei receives an on screen credit for directing, it is Lee who is responsible for the direction of all of the fight scenes that he participated in. In this role Lee introduces some groundbreaking techniques as it relates to camera angles and shot selection. The centerpiece of this innovation takes place in a scene shot in a Japanese Dojo where Lee is surrounded by angry students. As the action commences Lee kicks nine of them without pause or edit in spectacular fashion rendering them helpless. The scene is shot overhead which was a technique rarely used in Hong Kong films of this period but it gave a drama and tension that is palpable even after 30 years.
Lee's fighting style is direct and precise. There is no wasted movement in his approach to neutralizing an attack. It is this economical approach to martial arts (honest expression of self) that has allowed Lee to remain relevant even today's martial arts world that is heavily reliant on wires and special effects. He is unequaled in every match up but brings so much intensity to his performance that it is impossible to take your eyes off of him even though there is little doubt as to how each encounter will end. Watching "The Chinese Connection" is bitter sweet because while you can still marvel at Lee's unquestioned brilliance there is a sense of what might have been had he not died so tragically at the age of 32.
Movie Review: Awesome movie, but GET THE ORIGINAL!!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I'll be one of many to say it...the sound for this version of Bruce's timeless classic truly [stinks]!! Wow, Fox sure does not know how to remaster a great film. Anyways, the original name for this film is Fist of Fury (not Fists of Fury, which is the replacement name for The Big Boss). Now that the confusion is out of the way hopefully, this is about Chen (Bruce) who comes back to his martial arts school to find his master suspiciously dead. Japanese own the territory, and Chen suspects a murder. He finds out that a Japanese official was behind it, and fights his way to confront him. Thin plot, but the fighting was way ahead of its time. This is the beginning of what everyone remembers of Bruce. His amazing technique and the power that he puts in all of his attacks are mindblowing. Hands down, he is the best realistic fighter to be caught on film. What version to get?? Definitely not this one for the sound is completely mono and only an English dub is available. If you can play Region 2 PAL dvds, then the Hong Kong Legends version entitled Fist of Fury is the one to own. Awesome remastered sound (5.1 dbd Chinese and English) and video (shockingly clear) and uncut. There is also a DTS version which is pretty hard to find, but plays on any dvd player. I can't say much for this one, but DTS for an early 70's film can't be too much better than dbd 5.1. There is also a standard HK version of this film as well, which is still way better than this Chinese Connection release. Just look for the film titled Fist(not Fists) of Fury and you got yourself a classic. This film is such a classic that Jet Li did the infamous remake of it called Fist of Legend, which is probably my favorite martial arts movie of all time. This film is essential for any martial arts collection, and I urge all of you to own it. Actually, all of Bruce's films are a must own...Big Boss (Fists of Fury here in US), Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon here), Enter the Dragon, and Game of Death...Way of the Dragon (or Return) was my favorite, check out my review on that and check my other HK reviews too...Hope this was helpful.Movie Review: Fist of Fury is the best of non-stop Bruce Lee action.
Summary: 5 Stars
[Note: The UK DVD version from Hong Kong Legends has (1)The best DVD quality. (2)The best DVD extras. (3)The proper TITLES for Bruce Lee films (The US titles are very muddled around).]Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection US title) is the best Bruce Lee action movie because it is virtually non-stop action but is one of his early works and so looks a little aged but this certainly does not distract from some of the most awesome martial arts ever committed to celluloid.
The plot in this early Lee movie is actually coherent and is based on an old Chinese story about a martial arts student who avenges his masters murder by poisoning during the Japanese occupation of China. Cue various set pieces involving a furious Bruce Lee who sets out to do away with anything that stands in his way... and he does. Fight scenes involve Bruce Lee tearing apart two Samurai training schools - with a great nunchaku fight scene, a massive sixty-plus martial artists battle sequence inside another school (you have to see that! - they are fights going on everywhere!) and the end showdown with a Russian fighter and Japanese warlord which has some fantastic technique switching from Bruce Lee and by far the best kick and follow up punch move you will likely ever see anywhere again.
Even though Bruce Lee is not anywhere near his peak with his technique this is the Lee movie that you should be seeing in order to understand why America wanted this guy for future films like Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon US title) or Enter the Dragon. You will also love the animal sounds he makes to distract his opponents (chickens of all things!).
It was recently remade starring Jet Lee in Fist of Legend which is another must see version of this story. If you are looking for lots of Bruce Lee action then get this flick at all costs. You will not be disappointed because he kicks around bad guys from start to finish.