It%27s%20been%20nearly%2050%20years%20since%20Bruce%20Lee%20died%20suddenly%20in%20the%20prime%20of%20his%20life%20and%20career%20at%20the%20age%20of%20just%2032%2C%20but%20his%20legend%20lives%20on%20in%20ways%20that%20even%20he%20never%20could%20have%20imagined%2C%20as%20a%20martial%20artist%2C%20as%20an%20actor%20and%20a%20director.
Bruce%20Lee%2C%20born%20on%20November%2027%2C%201940%2C%20he%20started%20his%20career%20in%20the%20film%20industry%20from%20a%20small%20age%20in%20the%20Hong%20Kong%20film%20industry.%20His%20incredibly%20swift%20and%20accurate%20punches%20and%20kicks%20continue%20to%20be%20revered%20by%20many.%20His%20films%20remain%20classics%20in%20their%20genre%2C%20and%20tales%20of%20his%20ability%20to%20deliver%20one-inch%20punches%20that%20would%20knock%20a%20man%20across%20the%20room%20or%20do%20push-ups%20with%20only%20a%20couple%20of%20fingers%20are%20still%20the%20stuff%20of%20modern%20legend.%26nbsp%3B
On%20his%2080th%20birth%20anniversary%2C%20let%27s%20revisit%20some%20of%20his%20finest%20works%2C%20which%20are%20a%20form%20of%20art%20in%20its%20own%20right%3A
1.%3Cstrong%3E%20The%20Big%20Boss%26nbsp%3B%3C/strong%3E
In%201971%20Bruce%20Lee%20entered%20the%20Hong%20Kong%20film%20industry%20with%20an%20action-packed%20martial%20arts%20film%20called%20The%20Big%20Boss.
While%20definitely%20not%20his%20best%20work%2C%20it%20is%20the%20first%20glance%20of%20the%20explosive%20power%20Bruce%20Lee%20brought%20to%20the%20screen.%20%26nbsp%3BA%20must%20watch%20without%20a%20doubt%21%20It%20did%20shatter%20Hong%20Kong%27s%20box%20office%20records.
2.%20%3Cstrong%3EThe%20Orphan%3C/strong%3E
%27The%20Orphan%27%20is%20perhaps%20the%20best%20film%20in%20which%20Lee%20acted%20as%20a%20child%20and%20young%20man%20in%20Hong%20Kong.%26nbsp%3B
It%27s%20basically%20Lee%27s%20version%20of%20%u2018Rebel%20Without%20a%20Cause%u2019.%20He%20stars%20as%20Sam%2C%20an%20orphan%20juvenile%20delinquent%20who%27s%20taken%20in%20by%20a%20kind%20headmaster%20as%20he%20struggles%20against%20a%20local%20Triad%20leader%20and%20his%20own%20poor%20judgement%20after%20years%20of%20life%20without%20a%20father%20or%20mother%20figure%20in%20his%20life.%20Lee%20is%20fantastic%20in%20the%20film%2C%20and%20you%20can%20see%20the%20tremendous%20energy%20he%27d%20bring%20to%20his%20later%20work%20pouring%20out%20of%20him%20even%20as%20a%20teenager.
3.%20%3Cstrong%3EFist%20of%20Fury%3C/strong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EBruce%20Lee%27s%20second%20major%20Hong%20Kong%20effort%2C%20after%20%u2018The%20Big%20Boss%u2019%2C%20re-teamed%20him%20with%20director%20Lo%20Wei%20for%20the%20story%20of%20a%20martial%20artist%20who%20returns%20to%20his%20school%20to%20find%20that%20his%20master%20has%20been%20murdered.%26nbsp%3B
%26nbsp%3BIt%20tackled%20the%20oppression%20felt%20by%20the%20Chinese%20by%20the%20occupying%20Japanese%20forces%20in%20the%20early%2020th%20century
%27Fist%20of%20Fury%27%20is%20the%20film%20that%20features%20the%20legendary%20moment%20when%20Lee%20flexes%20his%20back%20and%20his%20lats%20spread%20out%20like%20the%20head%20of%20a%20cobra.%20Lee%20was%20oozing%20in%20confidence%20throughout%20the%20entire%20film%20and%20it%27s%20exemplified%20by%20that%20final%2C%20defiant%20kick.%26nbsp%3B
4.%20%3Cstrong%3EThe%20way%20of%20the%20Dragon%3C/strong%3E
%27The%20Way%20of%20the%20Dragon%27%20is%20the%20first%20film%20in%20which%20Bruce%20Lee%20officially%20stepped%20into%20the%20role%20of%20both%20director%20and%20screenwriter%20on%20his%20films.%26nbsp%3B
Hence%20the%20film%20is%20infused%20with%20Lee%27s%20personality%2C%20sense%20of%20humour%2C%20and%20sense%20of%20pacing.%26nbsp%3B
Most%20famously%2C%20though%2C%20this%20is%20the%20film%20in%20which%20Bruce%20Lee%20fights%20Chuck%20Norris%2C%20who%20made%20his%20big-screen%20debut%20with%20Way%20of%20the%20Dragon.%20That%20fight%2C%20which%20is%20set%20at%20Rome%27s%20Colosseum%2C%20seems%20like%20the%20kind%20of%20thing%20you%27d%20build%20up%20in%20your%20mind%20to%20be%20better%20than%20it%20could%20ever%20actually%20be%20onscreen.%20And%20yet%2C%20somehow%2C%20it%20still%20holds%20up%20as%20one%20of%20the%20coolest%20things%20in%20martial%20arts%20cinema.
5.%20%3Cstrong%3EEnter%20the%20Dragon%3C/strong%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EJust%20weeks%20before%20the%20release%20of%20the%20film%2C%20Lee%20breathed%20his%20last.%20%27Enter%20the%20Dragon%27%20remains%20one%20of%20the%20most%20culturally%20significant%20films%20of%20the%201970s%2C%20a%20watershed%20moment%20that%20informed%20and%20influenced%20countless%20martial%20arts%20films%20that%20came%20after%2C%20as%20well%20as%20action%20cinema%20in%20general.%26nbsp%3B
It%20remains%20a%20riveting%20film%2C%20from%20Lee%27s%20%22emotional%20content%22%20speech%20near%20the%20beginning%20all%20the%20way%20to%20that%20legendary%20mirrored%20room%20fight%20scene%20at%20the%20end.
%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23BruceLee%22%20data-user-id%3D%226jXo6jDCWB4C%22%20href%3D%22/topic/brucelee%22%3E%23BruceLee%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23%23Hollywood%22%20data-user-id%3D%220AW1mob8zZG4%22%20href%3D%22/topic/hollywood%22%3E%23%23Hollywood%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23HongKong%22%20data-user-id%3D%22KCX8ZILgbgaD%22%20href%3D%22/topic/hong-kong%22%3E%23HongKong%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Films%22%20data-user-id%3D%22GjcgBeMvr6MH%22%20href%3D%22/topic/films%22%3E%23Films%3C/a%3E%20%3Ca%20class%3D%22mention%22%20data-mention%3D%22%23Martialart%22%20data-user-id%3D%22KbLkMH55TpGt%22%20href%3D%22/topic/martial-art%22%3E%23Martialart%3C/a%3E%26nbsp%3B