ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE Review: An Integral Vertebra In The Backbone Of Kung Fu Cinema
It is my firm belief that every martial arts cinema fan eventually comes to a certain fork in the road. It’s at this fork that they must take one of two paths: the path to Bruceploitation or the path of Bruceploitation ignorance.
Many will take the path of ignorance. I did. All those years ago when I picked up a copy of Fist of Fury 2 thinking I was going to watch Bruce Lee once again display his magnificent physical prowess. Instead, I got Bruce Li. I was incredulous. It was there I faced my fork and I rapidly headed down the path that was as far away from Bruceploitation as one can be.
I lived peacefully with this decision for around twenty-five years. Until someone in the online kung fu cinema community convinced me to watch Bruce Li’s magnum opus, Dynamo. I was awakened. Enlightened, even.
Fast forward to two years ago where I challenged myself to watch fifty Bruceploitation films in two months. I succeeded, but many of the films were shoddy VHS rips. Grainy, full screen and peppered with moments of static. It was less than a stellar experience. Even if many of the films were, what I’d consider, kung fu classics.
Now I sit here, in the year 2024, one month away from the release of The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Vol. 1, an eight-disc collection of remastered Bruceploitation movies, released by the magnificent folks at Severin Films.
In the words of a spittle lipped Matthew Lillard in Scream: “But wait! There’s more!” Not only will we be able to watch these eight films static free and in their original aspect ratio, but we will also finally get to see the much talked about documentary, Enter the Clones of Bruce.
Last night I got to sit down and take in the film, and I can tell you, it’s something special. One of the highlights of David Gregory’s masterwork is that you don’t have to be a Bruceploitation fan to enjoy it. It doesn’t throw you into the sub-genre headfirst. Far from. It gently holds your hand and guides you into the zany world of Bruce Lee clones. It offers a true journey. It wants you to be fully informed by the time it’s all over.
Genre fans may be surprised to find that it starts with Shaw Brothers. “Shaw Brothers in my Bruceploitation documentary? No thanks!” you may yell and I’m with you. What does one have to do with the other? Well, it all starts there. After all, the opening of Enter the Clones is all about the journey of the titular legend himself. We learn about Bruce Lee’s early cinematic endeavors. Familiar faces like David Chiang (Blood Brothers, Shaolin Mantis), Lo Mang (Five Deadly Venoms, Ip Man 2) and Phillip Ko (Eight Diagram Pole Fighter, Shaolin Intruders) all spin yarns about Bruce’s career and it’s a genuine pleasure sitting down with these “old friends.” Phillip Ko also serves as a testament to just how long Gregory and the film’s producers, Michael Worth and Frank Djeng, have been working on this project, since he passed away in 2017.
Enter the Clones of Bruce could have made Bruce Lee an afterthought while focusing on the other infamous Bruces of kung fu cinema, but it doesn’t. It is wonderfully respectful and discusses his untimely death with a strong sense of admiration. It really is wonderful.
Sooner, rather than later, we find ourselves knee deep in the waters of Bruceploitation as we are treated to numerous interview segments with Bruce Li (Ho Chung Tao), Bruce Le and Dragon Lee. For this writer, this is where the magic of the documentary lies. The three Bruces (four if you include Bruce Leung, who also features) have always felt like liminal characters to me. As though they only existed in the movies and nowhere else. To see them tell stories about their families, their connections to Bruce, the hardships they faced in being in the business… It gives Enter the Clones of Bruce weight. An incredible sense of importance. And that’s the beauty of it all. We’re not invited to watch to make fun of Bruceploitation films. Yes, there are comedic moments. Plenty. But Enter the Clones of Bruce is a celebration through and through. We’re here to learn about the hard work and the blood, sweat and tears poured into these films. Yes, even The Dragon Lives Again, the film that famously features a Bruce Lee boner and, believe it or not, Popeye.
We get commentary from Godfrey Ho (director of the Dragon Lee film, The Dragon’s Snake Fist), famed stuntman and all-round legend, Mars, Roy Horan (Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow) and Lee Tso Nam (Shaolin vs Lama), to name but a few. None are here to tease and mock. They are here to inform and lament.
The documentary doesn’t stop at Bruceploitation either. It explores the culture of New York’s 42nd Street movie theaters and dips its toes into Jackie Chansploitation, as well. For a roughly ninety minute-long documentary it has a lot to say and does so succinctly and with pure reverence.
There are emotional moments too as both Bruce Li and Dragon Lee discuss how churning out these films took its toll on their families. At times, it genuinely feels as though Li will burst into tears. It’s surprisingly touching and something you don’t expect from a film of this ilk.
I left Enter the Clones of Bruce Lee a bigger fan of the sub-genre than I was. My only regret is taking the wrong path back when I faced my fork in the road.
There are moments where, in the documentary, the camera zooms in on the calloused knuckles of Bruce Leung and Dragon Lee. A metaphor, perhaps, of how these “clones” fought, tooth and nail, to get what very little recognition they have, but also how hard they fought to escape the weight of the Bruce Lee umbrella. Some did. Others didn’t. Either way, this magnificent documentary is their story.
Perhaps, one day, thanks to this film, there won’t be a fork in the road. Instead, there will be a single path where kung fu cinema embraces Bruceploitation as an integral part of the genre. An important piece in the puzzle. Where fans will put a Blu Ray in the player and not care which Bruce they get: Lee, Li, Le or Leung.
Enter the Clones of Bruce is currently touring North American theaters and The Game of Clones: Bruceploitation Vol. 1 will be released on June 25th.
UK born action cinema fanatic. Especially martial arts cinema. Currently residing in Marlyand. Avid physical media supporter. Host of the Fu for Thought podcast.