MovieChat Forums > Xin jing wu men (1976) Discussion > What's with the flashing Bruce Lee?

What's with the flashing Bruce Lee?

posted 21 years ago by mrplaid2001
16 replies | jump to latest

I've had the displeasure of seeing this film twice now, and I've been wondering about the scene where Jackie is carrying the sign and two shots from Enter the Dragon featuring Bruce Lee's visage flash across the screen. Bascially, my question is: What the hell? Am I the only one who noticed this? I've never seen it mentioned in any reviews or anything. I know Lo Wei directed the Chinese Connection, to which New Fist of Fury is supposed to be an unofficial successor, but come on! How ham-fisted can you get? I think I remember Jackie Chan saying in his autobiography that Lo Wei was pretty incompetent, and that every martial arts director was in a race to find the 'new' Bruce Lee... Well, I guess I just answered my own question. Unless someone else has another theory. I guess it really isn't worth thinking about, though.

[–] worldstage2003-1 20 years ago

When I first saw this movie, I was confused as well, but then I realized the storyline and the Bruce Lee image had to do with Chinese Connection, and that the Bruce Lee image is from Chinese Connection, NOT Enter the Dragon. This movie is the sequel to Chinese Connection, and I later looked it up and found that same information out, that it is a sequel. It is not as good as Connection, and I think it is one of Chans worst movies, but it is worth watching if you want to see the big brawl towards the end.

[–] darkconan2000 18 years ago

This movie is NOT the sequel to Chinese Connection. It the sequel/remake of Fist of Fury. The flashing Bruce Lee is because Bruce Lee was the star of Fist of Fury and does pretty much the same thing Jackie Chan does in this movie.

[–] ffsepheroth 18 years ago

You... do realize The Chinese Connection is the same movie as Fist of Fury, dont you?

[–] punisher5150 18 years ago

The story is that prints of both The Big Boss aka Fists of Fury, and Chinese Connection, were sent to the US at approximately the same time. Somehow the titles got mixed up and were released backwards. Chinese Connection was released as Fists of Fury and The Big Boss (Fists of Fury) was released as Chinese Connection, hence the confusion over titles.

[–] hamhamhamham 17 years ago

maybe when nora miao is watching jackie carry the sign, the flashes show that she sees bruce's characteristics in jackie... just a thought.

[–] zee944 17 years ago

And THAT's the right thought. It does try to indicate that for Nora Miao Jackie's character is similar to Bruce's.

[–] jsblakemore 17 years ago

I agree, too. Jackie's character isn't a hero initially in this film, he BECOMES a hero (thus making him "worthy" of the reference to Bruce Lee in the original in her eyes). And the title "New Fist of Fury" should be a dead give-away that this is a sequel. I mean they even use the "survivors" of the first film in the same roles.

The one thing I'll disagree with most people on is I LIKED this film, but then again, I didn't watch it with any expectations of seeing Jackie doing comedy. About 10 minutes into it I fully accepted it as a sequel to a film that dealt with a serious period in Chinese history and comedy would have been as inappropriate here as a light musical about Vietnam or a sit-com about the American Civil War.

I think this is the perfect film for Jackie fans because we get to see him do something most of us haven't seen before: drama. And he does it well. I think those who hate this film are the same types who wanted Adam Sandler to be "funnier" in "Punch Drunk Love" or think all Robin Williams dramas "suck". They typecast an actor and resent him if he does anything else.

[–] hamhamhamham 16 years ago

yeah & we get to see him use nunchaku!!!! Has he done that since?

[–] zee944 14 years ago

He showed a few nunchacku moves in Half a Loaf of Kung Fu, Drunken Master and Twin Dragons, but never used an actual nunchaku for those.

[–] jayanxiety 14 years ago

This was back when Jackie was being hyped up as 'the new Bruce Lee', though in looking at these early roles, it was quite apparent that this wasn't the right fit for Jackie. He was a different kind of action star than Bruce Lee. Eventually Jackie would become a legend in his own right.

[–] taylor-bigg 12 years ago

I have seen most of his films and unless there was a scene censored or edited out I can`t recall him using nanchuka again, but I do recall something similar in "Drunken Master"

[–] zee944 14 years ago

You're so wrong on so many levels...

The dislike of this movie is not for the drama, but for the fact it's poorly done. And Jackie doesn't do it well. His performance is pathetic. His facial expressions often seem incongruous, let alone convincing. A good early dramatic performance from Jackie is Dragon Fist.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] taylor-bigg 12 years ago

yeah "Dragon Fist" was alright and all the better for not playing it for laughs

[–] cwillis_m 10 years ago

Actually I think it was that The Big Boss was released as Fists of Fury, and Fist of Fury was released as The Chinese Connection.

[–] bj_arni 9 years ago

The flashing image is suppose to indicate that Chan's character has now replaced Lee's character in the movie - and also to indicate that Chan is Lee's replacement in real life.

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