Bruceploitation

Bruce Lee

The advent of Bruce Lee's death was rivaled for some only by that of Kennedy's. In fact, there is said to be a curse on the family - an Old Wives' Tale which foreshadowed the death of his son under eerily similar circumstances. Bruce Lee's cinematic career, however brief, forever changed kung-fu movies and his legacy outlived him. Directly following his death in 1973, his legacy overshadowed him and he became the Terry Schiavo of kung-fu cinema.

It was during this time that a slew of forgettable kung-fu films bearing his name, or one very similar (such as Bruce Li and Bruce Le), were made. These films came to comprise a sub-genre of exploitation known as Bruceploitation. This sub-genre also includes films that actually star Bruce Lee but were released after his death. Such was the world's appetite for Bruce Lee, who died tragically at the age of 32.
While none of the actors featured in these films could hold a candle to Bruce Lee's intensity, their kung-fu isn't bad. It's usually pretty good, in fact. But the best Bruceploitation films are the most shameless. They also tend to be pretty sleazy by any standard. Still, at least a few people pursued lucrative careers imitating Lee's signature fighting style and catcalls. His public funeral drew some 30,000 fans and admirers.

Bruceploitation persisted throughout the mid to late 70s before they finally laid the poor guy to rest.

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