In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Denver Film is screening a series of films called Bruce Lee & Beyond. The series is designed to explore the impact that Bruce Lee had on the martial arts genre and cinema itself.
“He brought something to the screen that people have never really seen before in a martial arts film. Those were considered often like cheapies. You don’t spend a lot of money on them. You get a cast to come in, do an action movie and make some money and then you’re done. But he had something people wanted to see,” said Keith Garcia, Artistic Director of the Sie FilmCenter for Denver Film.
Bruce Lee was a Hong Kong-American martial arts master and actor. He was born in San Francisco, but then most of his childhood in Hong Kong. He started acting when he was a child in Hong Kong. He moved back to the United States to go to college, and started teaching martial arts. He got his break in Hollywood by playing Kato in The Green Hornet. Lee is considered to be the first global Chinese film star and one of the most influential martial artists in the history of cinema.
Lee made just four films before his death at age 32. The films are “The Big Boss,” “Fist of Fury,” “Way of the Dragon,” and “Enter the Dragon.” “Game of Death” was the movie he was working on when he died. It was released posthumously. All five of those movies will play as part of the series.
“Just within the context of those five films, his star power changed the box office at the time for martial arts film…brought them legitimacy and just changed the global film structure all together,” Garcia added.
In addition to Lee’s body of work, Denver Film has curated a selection of films that were directly inspired by Lee. This films include Berry Gordy’s “The Last Dragon,” Jackie Chan’s “Half a Loaf of Kung Fu” and “The Fearless Hyena,” and Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill Vol. I and Vol. II.” Total there are 13 films in the series.
Denver Film’s Bruce Lee & Beyond runs throughout the month of May. All the films will screen at the Sie FilmCenter.
