Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984)

James B. Nicholson: Self - Narrator

Quotes 

• Self - Narrator : Kung Fu was not Bruce's only interest outside of movies at that time. He was quite a snappy dancer and in 1958 won a Hong Kong Cha-Cha Championship.

• Self - Narrator : For the ambitious Bruce Lee, it was not enough to be a good martial artist, he had to be the best.

• Self - Narrator : According to the Chinese astrological calendar, 1940 was the Year of the Dragon. Bruce Lee was born on the 27th of November of that year.

• Self - Narrator : Bruce Lee's overriding ambition was Hollywood. But, Hollywood was not responding. The movie roles were not forthcoming and it was a bitter disappointment when he was passed up for the lead in the TV series "Kung Fu." He returned, once again, to Hong Kong.

• Self - Narrator : Bruce Lee's "Jeet Kune Do" classes were so famous, he could charge $275 an hour. And even then, he could pick and choose his students - students like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Steve McQueen, and James Coburn.

• Self - Narrator : He taught Kung Fu to a group of fellow students. One of whom was a 19 year old girl called Linda Emery. They were married and moved into the small but comfortable house. The former bully and man-about-town became the ideal husband and father to Brandon and, later, Shannon.

• Self - Narrator : Here, suddenly, was a whole new style of martial arts choreography: rich, red-blooded, extravagant, and bursting with power and energy. And the public loved it.

• Self - Narrator : [referring to "The Big Boss']  The public loved it. In Hong Kong, it broke all previous box office records. Bruce Lee was a star.

• Self - Narrator : In all of Bruce's films the enemy were always foreigners, non-Chinese. Even when he was pounding the life out of his compatriots, it was made abundantly clear that they were misguided pawns of the foreign boss.

• Self - Narrator : Invariably, these foreigner assaults on Bruce and those he championed, were not just personal or physical, but strongly racial, leaving Bruce no other alternative but to demonstrate the effectiveness of Chinese martial arts.

• Self - Narrator : In his films, Bruce Lee was at his best as a fighter, rather than a lover. But, he was very concerned that he would be typecast as a one character performer.

• Self - Narrator : In his movies, his relationship with women is usually shy and awkward, often coy and invariably wholesome.

• Self - Narrator : When there are occasional hints of romantic feelings, Bruce's leading ladies are usually treated more like one of the boys. Overt sexuality is only alluded to when he encounters with a prostitute - and then only when Bruce's lacking sophistication allows it to happen.

• Self - Narrator : His fame and following grew and grew. Whole magazines were devoted to one aspect or another of his life and career. In the world of martial arts and action movies, Bruce Lee was king.

• Self - Narrator : There will never be a new Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is gone, but his spirit lives on. This is Bruce Lee, the Legend.

• Self - Narrator : Bruce's emphasis on physical fitness opened up a new path for modern martial arts students. They followed his advice of applying modern exercising techniques to the field of martial arts. They learned to appreciate Bruce's outlook. One may know all the fighting techniques in the world, but if one is not fit, one does not stand a chance in a real fight.