Out of Competition
When Bruce Lee died in 1974 at the peak of his superstardom, he had completed only four feature films. But within hours of his funeral, Hong Kong movie studios began to produce hundreds of unauthorized biopics, sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and rip-offs starring a competing series of Lee lookalikes (Bruce Le, Bruce Lai, Bruce Liang, etc). Over the next decade, fueled by both deception and demand, “Bruceploitation” would become a staple of global cinema, feeding a martial arts appetite that was fueled by the legend of Bruce Lee and the rise of grindhouse theaters, genres like Blaxploitation, Giallo, and martial arts action. Director David Gregory – who explored cinema’s transgressive edges in his award-winning documentaries Lost Soul and Blood & Flesh – now examines this uniquely ‘70s phenomenon via interviews with the performers, producers, directors, and distributors – and with copious clips from the films themselves – that for the first time reveals one of the most bizarre genres in movie history.
Filled with incredible footage and interviews with the titular clones of the era – Ho Chung-tao (Bruce Li) and Moon Kyung-seok (Dragon Lee) – they share their own perceptions outside of their alter egos in fascinating interviews, along with infamous filmmakers (B-movie fans will get a kick out of Godfrey Ho’s appearance) and Bruceploitation scholars. Regardless of any participant’s skill set or their relationship with the real Lee, their stories beg the same question: what is the line between paying respect to an icon and exploiting their legacy? And how much fun can the audience have watching?