Tang shan da xiong (Fists of Fury)

As the Sixties were rolling into the Seventies a young Bruce Lee was fed up with trying to break into the North American acting pool. Because of this Lee returned to Hong Kong and made not only his bloodiest film ever but the one that would turn him into a world wide phenomena. Released in 1971, it was severely cut, in part due to the graphic nature of the martial arts displayed, but also so wonderful gratuitous gore, such as a wonderful yet rarely seen head splitting shot. Even though this is not one of Lee's better films (he doesn't fight til half way through) FISTS OF FURY or BIG BOSS as it is also known, is still required viewing for students of the martial arts genre, in particular, if for no other reason, to see why they dropped the erotica aspect from so many subsequent productions. Somehow they could get the fighting right, the loving part, that needed work!