Bruce Lee filmography

This article details the filmography of actor and martial artist Bruce Lee.

Several of Lee's films premiered after his death, including Enter the Dragon, Game of Death and Circle of Iron.

Filmography

Year Title Chinese title Role Notes
1941Golden Gate Girl金門女As an infant
1946The Birth of Mankind人类的诞生
1948Wealth is Like a Dream富貴浮雲
1949Sai See in the Dream夢裡西施Yam Lee
1950The Kid細路祥Kid Cheunga.k.a. My Son, A Chung. Available on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch.
1951Infancy人之初Ngau
1953A Myriad Homes千萬人家
Blame it on Father父之過a.k.a. Father's Fault
The Guiding Light苦海明燈Son as teenagerAvailable on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch
A Mother's Tears慈母淚
In the Face of Demolition危樓春曉
1955An Orphan's Tragedy孤星血淚Frank Wong (child)Available on region 1 English-subtitled DVD from Cinema Epoch
Orphan's Song孤兒行
Love
Love Part 2愛(下集)
We Owe It to Our Children兒女債
1956The Wise Guys Who Fool Around詐痲納福
Too Late For Divorce早知當初我唔嫁
1957The Thunderstorm雷雨Chow ChungBased on the play Lei Yu by Cao Yu
1960The Orphan人海孤鴻Sam
1968The Wrecking Crew風流特務勇破迷魂陣Action director
1969Marlowe醜聞喋血Winslow WongAlso action director
1970A Walk in the Spring Rain春雨漫步Action DirectorLee, personal friend of producer Stirling Silliphant, is credited as the film's fight choreographer.
1971The Big Boss唐山大兄Cheng Chao-anAlso action director
a.k.a. Fists of Fury
1972Fist of Fury精武門Chen ZhenAlso action director
a.k.a. The Chinese Connection
Way of the Dragon猛龍過江Tang LungAlso director, action director, producer and screenwriter
The film was released in the U.S. after Enter the Dragon; hence the alternate title Return of the Dragon.

Note: The title The Chinese Connection (a play on the then-recently released The French Connection) was originally intended for The Big Boss due to the drugs theme of the story and Fists of Fury was intended for Fist of Fury. When it was exported, the titles somehow got switched.

Released posthumously

Year Title Chinese title Role Notes
1973Enter the Dragon龍爭虎鬥Mr. LeeAlso action director, writer and producer
Sent as a spy into a martial arts tournament hosted by a rogue-monk-turned-drug lord
Released six days after Lee's death
1974The Green Hornet青蜂侠KatoA compilation of episodes from the TV series edited together and released as a feature film
Released one year after Lee's death
1978Game of Death死亡遊戲Billy LoThere are two versions of this film, each one with a different plot (the original from an incomplete 1972 film and the 1978 build doing a "footage mashup")
Lee was shown in incomplete original footage from 1972, plus stock footage from Enter the Dragon and other films
The original was finally released as a short film in the year 2000
Circle of IronCo-writer
a.k.a. The Silent Flute
Film co-written by Bruce Lee, who was seeking to illustrate the differences between Eastern and Western philosophies
1981Game of Death II死亡塔Billy Lo/Lee Chen Chianga.k.a. Tower of Death
Unrelated to the first Game of Death, it was marketed as a sequel in the U.S.
Lee appears in stock footage from Enter the Dragon and other films

Box office performance

Year Title Worldwide gross revenue (est. US dollars) Budget
(US dollars)
Return on investment
(ROI)
Notes
Nominal value Inflation adjusted
1968 The Wrecking Crew $8,000,000 $59,000,000 ‹See Tfd›? ‹See Tfd›? [lower-alpha 1]
1971 The Big Boss (Fists of Fury) $50,000,000 $300,000,000 $100,000 50,000% [lower-alpha 2]
1972 Fist of Fury (The Chinese Connection) $100,000,000 $610,000,000 $100,000 100,000% [lower-alpha 3]
Way of the Dragon (Return of the Dragon) $130,000,000 $730,000,000 $130,000 100,000% [lower-alpha 4]
1973 Enter the Dragon $350,000,000 $1,200,000,000 $850,000 41,000% [lower-alpha 5]
1978 Game of Death $43,054,960 $170,000,000 $850,000 4,700% [lower-alpha 6]
Circle of Iron $2,600,000 $10,000,000 ‹See Tfd›? ‹See Tfd›? [lower-alpha 7]
1981 Game of Death II $349,181 $1,000,000 ‹See Tfd›? ‹See Tfd›? [lower-alpha 8]
Total $684,004,141 $3,080,000,000 $2,030,000 100,000%
Average $85,500,518 $385,000,000 $406,000 33,000%

Television appearances

Year Title Chinese title Role Country and channel Notes
1966The Green Hornet青蜂侠"Kato" U.S. - ABCa.k.a. The Kato Show (Hong Kong title)
1966-1967
Where the Action IsHimself U.S. - ABC
1967Batman蝙蝠俠"Kato" U.S. - ABCVisiting hero
Episodes: "The Spell of Tut", "A Piece of the Action" and "Batman's Satisfaction"
Ironside無敵鐵探長"Leon Soo" U.S. - NBCGuest star
Episode: "Tagged for Murder"
1968Blondie"Mr. Yoto, Karate Instructor" U.S. - CBSGuest star
Episode: "Pick on a Bully Your Own Size"
1969Here Come the Brides新娘駕到"Lin" U.S. - ABCGuest star
Episode: "Marriage, Chinese Style"
1970Enjoy Yourself Tonight歡樂今宵Himself Hong Kong - TVB
1971Longstreet血灑長街"Li Tsung"
Fight choreographer
 U.S. - ABCAppeared in four episodes: "The Way of the Intercepting Fist", "Spell Legacy Like Death", "Wednesday's Child" and "I See, Said the Blind Man"
The Pierre Berton ShowHimself Canada - Screen Gems
1972Enjoy Yourself Tonight歡樂今宵Himself Hong Kong - TVB
1993Fame in the Twentieth CenturyHimself U.K. - BBC
1999Famous FamiliesHimself U.S. - FOXEpisode: "The Lees: Action Speaks Louder"
2003I Love the '70s"Lee" U.S. - MTV
2007La RentadoraHimself Spain - TV3Episode: "Be Water My Friend"

Note: all the series produced after Lee's death (1973) feature archival footage of Lee.

Documentaries

Year Documentary title Chinese title Notes
1973Bruce Lee, the Man and the Legend李小龍的生與死Updated in 1984 and re-titled Bruce Lee, the Legend
The Real Bruce Lee
The Last Days of Bruce Lee
1974Kung Fu Killers
1976Bruce Lee, the Legend李小龍的生與死(下)Golden Harvest tribute; focused on their films starring Lee. Featured on the Hong Kong Legends Bruce Lee, the Man and the Legend DVD.
1990The Best of the Martial Arts Films金裝武術電影大全
Bruce Lee - Best of the Best
1992Bruce Lee and Kung Fu Mania
1993Top Fighter
The Life of Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee: The Curse of the DragonIncluded on Enter the Dragon DVDs and Blu-rays
Death by Misadventure
1994Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview
Cinema of VengeanceHistory of martial arts cinema with clips of Lee
Bruce Lee: The Immortal DragonBiography episode; available on DVD
1998Bruce Lee: The Path of the Dragon
Bruce Lee: In His Own WordsFeaturette on Enter the Dragon DVDs and Blu-rays
Mystic Origins of the Martial Arts
The Immortal Masters
Jackie Chan: My Story成龍的傳奇
1999Century Hero
Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 2
2000Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey李小龍:死亡遊戲之旅Found as a special feature on the 2004 DVD release of Enter the Dragon. Also on HD DVD and Blu-ray.
Bruce Lee in G.O.D.: Shibōteki YūgiBruce Lee in G.O.D 死亡的遊戲
2001The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
2002Bruce Lee: The Legend Lives On
The Art of Action: Martial Arts in Motion Picture功夫片歲月
Jackie Chan: Fast, Funny and Furious
Modern Warriors
2003Cinema Hong Kong: Kung Fu電影香江:功夫世家
2004Dragon: Since 1973龍:一九七三以後
2009Sebring
2011I Am Bruce Lee
2013Fighter of Death
2020Be Waterpart of ESPN Films' 30 for 30

Note: all the documentaries listed here were produced after Lee's death; therefore, all the Lee footage is composed of archive footage and some never-before-seen footage.

Video games

Year Video game title Role Notes
1984 Bruce LeeHimself
Kung-Fu MasterThomasOriginally based on Game of Death
1989Bruce Lee LivesHimself
1993Dragon: The Bruce Lee StoryHimself
2002Bruce Lee: Quest of the DragonHimself
2003Bruce Lee: Return of the LegendHimself
2010Bruce Lee: Dragon WarriorHimselfSmartphone game
Limited release
2011Kung Fu WarriorHimselfSmartphone game
2014EA Sports UFCHimselfPS4 and Xbox One game
2014Bruce Lee: Enter the GameHimselfSmartphone game
2018Bruce Lee Dragon RunHimselfSmartphone game

Notes

  1. In the United States and Canada, the film earned $2.4 million in theatrical rentals.[1] This was equivalent to estimated box office gross receipts of approximately $8 million.[2]
  2. See The Big Boss § Box office
  3. See Fist of Fury § Box office
  4. See The Way of the Dragon § Box office
  5. See Enter the Dragon § Box office
  6. See Game of Death § Box office
  7. See Circle of Iron § Box office
  8. See Game of Death II § Box office

References

  1. "Big Rental Films of 1969", Variety, 7 January 1970 p 15
  2. Vogel, Harold L. (2010). "Table 3.4. Motion picture theater industry statistics, 1965-2009". Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis. Cambridge University Press. pp. 88–9. ISBN 978-1-139-49732-9. 1965 (...) MPAA U.S. + Canadian rentals % of BO (...) 29.8
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