Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee may have made very different movies, but they share a similar degree of global impact, each having been the face of Hong Kong cinema for stretches of time. It was Lee's few movies in Hong Kong, and tragic early death in 1973, that set the direction of the region's '70's action film output, and Chan's emergence as a star at the decade's tail end would mark a major change towards physical comedy. Despite their differences in approach, they shared a significant relationship: early in Chan's film career, he worked as a stunt double for Lee. He would use that experience as inspiration
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Lee's taciturn precision and elegance is a far cry from the loose, comical drunken master style of Chan. Lee derived his art from the styles of Ip Man, while Chan's descended from Buster Keaton. Even their movies' stories come from different worlds, as Lee used his work to emphasize a kind of warrior philosophy. The movies that Lee made in Hong Kong, the ones that made him a worldwide phenomenon, followed years of difficulty in Hollywood, where opportunities dried up quicker than they were offered
the '60's, Lee's time in the United States saw him teaching martial arts to celebrities like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Steve McQueen. The connections forged by those lessons got Lee attention from film and television producers like Fred Weintraub, one of many looking to capitalize on the Kung Fu movies coming out of China.
Lee's sidekick role as Kato on television's "The Green Hornet" proved immensely popular in the U.S. and Hong Kong. With a number of sturdy business relationships, he anticipated a vehicle of his own. He needed work, but the industry in the late '60's was unwilling to commit to an Asian lead. Most of his roles came from television shows in need of a guest martial artist. Weintraub urged Lee to take the roles offered to him for movies in Asia, believing they could convince the American film industry to take a chance on him. Lee signed on to star in Lo Wei's "The Big Boss," to be filmed in Thailand. It was the first movie to emphasize his star power, charisma, and grace in full force.
Low-budget as they were, "The Big Boss" and its follow-up, "Fist of Fury," also directed by Lo Wei, ended up becoming major box office hits, the most successful to ever come out of Hong Kong at that point. The greatness came from tension on-set, with Lee picking fights with unimpressed stuntmen and his director. Jackie Chan, unknown stunt double, even saw Lo Wei cower behind his wife as Lee's temper flared up
Read More: How Bruce Lee Helped Jumpstart Jackie Chan's Career
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Lee's taciturn precision and elegance is a far cry from the loose, comical drunken master style of Chan. Lee derived his art from the styles of Ip Man, while Chan's descended from Buster Keaton. Even their movies' stories come from different worlds, as Lee used his work to emphasize a kind of warrior philosophy. The movies that Lee made in Hong Kong, the ones that made him a worldwide phenomenon, followed years of difficulty in Hollywood, where opportunities dried up quicker than they were offered
the '60's, Lee's time in the United States saw him teaching martial arts to celebrities like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Steve McQueen. The connections forged by those lessons got Lee attention from film and television producers like Fred Weintraub, one of many looking to capitalize on the Kung Fu movies coming out of China.
Lee's sidekick role as Kato on television's "The Green Hornet" proved immensely popular in the U.S. and Hong Kong. With a number of sturdy business relationships, he anticipated a vehicle of his own. He needed work, but the industry in the late '60's was unwilling to commit to an Asian lead. Most of his roles came from television shows in need of a guest martial artist. Weintraub urged Lee to take the roles offered to him for movies in Asia, believing they could convince the American film industry to take a chance on him. Lee signed on to star in Lo Wei's "The Big Boss," to be filmed in Thailand. It was the first movie to emphasize his star power, charisma, and grace in full force.
Low-budget as they were, "The Big Boss" and its follow-up, "Fist of Fury," also directed by Lo Wei, ended up becoming major box office hits, the most successful to ever come out of Hong Kong at that point. The greatness came from tension on-set, with Lee picking fights with unimpressed stuntmen and his director. Jackie Chan, unknown stunt double, even saw Lo Wei cower behind his wife as Lee's temper flared up
Read More: How Bruce Lee Helped Jumpstart Jackie Chan's Career
