Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

A major source for the film's screenplay, written by Edward Khmara, John Raffo and director Rob Cohen, was the biography Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew, written by Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce Lee's widow.[5] Other sources included Robert Clouse's book Bruce Lee: The Biography and original research by Khmara and Cohen.[6][7] Cadwell spoke highly of the film, and provided resources for its production. Scenes showing hand-written notes and drawings from Bruce's book, Tao of Jeet Kune Do, are his originals. Cadwell also provided access to Bruce's original clothing so replicas could be created for filming.[7]

Cohen stated the first problem he addressed in writing the screenplay was how to condense Bruce's life into less than two hours of film. It was decided to avoid a standard biographic film and instead incorporate "mystical and legendary aspects" from Bruce's life, telling Bruce's story "as if it were, in fact, a Bruce Lee movie". Cohen learned that Bruce's parents had dressed and passed him off as a girl for the first two years of his life, to protect him from a superstitious Chinese belief that demons target first-born sons. Influenced by this he decided to show Bruce being pursued by a supernatural demon in the film, seeing it as a metaphor for an inner demon that may have motivated and influenced him. When he first met Cadwell after giving her the screenplay, she asked how Cohen had learnt about Bruce's demon. Cohen said that he had dramatized the plot element after studying his life; Cadwell said Bruce told her he felt like a demon was trying to drag him away when he collapsed only 10 weeks before his death.[7] Cohen spent hours talking to both Cadwell and Brandon Lee in preparation for the film.[8]

While Brandon Lee was the right age and had appropriate training to portray his father, and was perceived by some as a likely choice for the role, producer Raffaella De Laurentiis noted he did not look Chinese enough, and stated she would have refused to work on the project if they had to resort to making Brandon appear more Asian. Jason Scott Lee was recommended early in pre-production.[6] He had auditioned for a role in The Last of the Mohicans, though was ultimately not given one as he did not appear Native American. The film's casting director, however, was impressed with him and recommended him to Cohen.[8] Jason said he was initially intimidated to be portraying Bruce, though overcame the fear after speaking to Brandon.[8] Jason had no martial arts training prior to the film, though was a gymnast and athlete. Cohen cast him as Bruce as he believed trying to teach a martial artist to act would not work, and instead decided to train an actor in martial arts.[7][9] To prepare for their roles, Jason and Lauren Holly trained in Bruce's martial arts style of Jeet Kune Do for months under former Lee student-turned-instructor Jerry Poteet.[8] Poteet praised Jason's newfound martial arts abilities, as did John Cheung, the actor who portrayed Johnny Sun, who also served as the film's fight and stunt coordinator. Cheung worked as a stuntman on Enter the Dragon,[6] and was chosen by Cohen as he believed it was important for the fight scenes to be choreographed in a Hong Kong style, rather than a U.S. one.[7]

Cohen cast Nancy Kwan as Gussie Yang, a restaurant owner and Lee's employer. Like Bruce, Kwan played a pivotal role in the acceptance of actors of Asian ancestry in major Hollywood film roles, and Cohen wanted audiences to be reminded of her achievement and the struggle of Asian actors in the US.[7] He cast Michael Learned as Vivian Emery as he loved her portrayal of Olivia on The Waltons, and wished to see Bruce's confrontation with the person recognizable as that character. Vivian Emery gave filmmakers permission to portray her as initially hostile and racist towards Lee, as she admitted she had treated him that way upon first meeting him.[6][7]

Van Williams, who played The Green Hornet in the 1960s TV series of the same name, was given a cameo appearance as the director of The Green Hornet.[10] Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, has a cameo as a singer in the party scene, at which Linda tells Bruce she is pregnant for the second time – carrying Shannon.[7] Sven-Ole Thorsen was cast as the demon due to his height and physique. Cohen states he did a "remarkable job" during the fight scenes considering he was unable to see out of the costume's headpiece. Cohen gave himself a cameo as the director of Enter the Dragon.[7]

Lo Pan Temple was used for the film's opening scene. The ceramic figures at the top drew Cohen's attention when he was scouting locations.[7]

Dragon was filmed primarily in Hong Kong, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The opening scene was filmed at an 18th-century temple in Hong Kong which Cohen found while scouting potential locations, and incorporated the theme of a demon chasing Bruce, as Cohen wanted the audience to understand from the beginning that the film would not be a traditional biopic. Cohen wanted to film in Seattle, but found little cooperation from local authorities and was denied permission to film at the University of Washington, which Lee had attended. It was subsequently decided to merge the events of Bruce's life that occurred in Seattle with those that occurred when he later moved to California, where much of the filming took place.[7]

Filming was delayed multiple times; Cohen had a heart attack on 6 February 1992, delaying production for a month;[3] a separate delay was caused when Jason became ill.[2] Filming was also affected by a monsoon, featuring the heaviest rainfall Hong Kong had seen in decades,[2][7] as well as an extortion attempt by triads,[2] who threatened Cohen and other individuals as the crew were apparently operating on the gang's territory. Cohen sped up production so that the cast and crew could vacate the area earlier than planned.[7] The various setbacks used up the film's entire $1.3 million contingency budget.[3]

The fight between Bruce and the chefs was set in San Francisco, but filmed on a set in Hong Kong. Conversely, some scenes set in Hong Kong were filmed in California.[7] The scene where Bruce teaches martial arts to the football team outdoors was shot at a college in Los Angeles, although the columns are exact replicas of the ones he taught in front of at the University of Washington. The crowd scenes during the premiere of The Big Boss were shot in Macao, as permission to close roads and shoot scenes involving hundreds of extras could not be obtained in Hong Kong where the scene was set.[7] The scene showing Bruce's final confrontation with the demon was filmed on a set in Santa Clarita, California; Bruce's tombstone is a replica of his actual one, albeit with a picture of Jason instead of Bruce.[7]

Over 1,600 shots were taken for the film, with over 1,000 of them being just for the film's eight fight scenes. One stuntman received a minor cut during the hall of mirrors scene, although there were no other injuries. The hall of mirrors scene was filmed with the camera and the crew hiding inside of mirrored boxes, so that they wouldn't be visible in reflections. Cohen inserted several references to Bruce's actual films; the extended warm-up routine by Bruce and Johnny before their fight is a reference to the extended warm-up routine by Bruce and Chuck Norris before their fight in The Way of the Dragon.[7]

Dragon's original budget had been about $14 million.[6] Despite exhausting the contingency budget, Universal Pictures agreed to spend a further $1 million on Dolby Digital fight-scene effects and the soundtrack after viewing the film's rough cut, bringing the final cost to $16 million.[3] No sound effect in the fight scenes was used twice; each one being custom made.[7]

Cohen decided to expand the theme of Bruce's father believing a demon was after his son, by showing the demon later coming for Bruce's own son, Brandon. Filming was completed and Dragon was less than two months away from opening when Brandon died in a shooting accident while filming The Crow in March 1993.[6] Cohen stated the scene is now one of the "eeriest moments" in the film for him, adding that after Brandon's death it "gave [him] great pause to think and still haunts [him]."[7] Cohen asked Cadwell if she wanted to postpone the release following Brandon's death or modify the film in any way, but she declined, only asking that the film be dedicated to his memory with an appropriate quote. With Cadwell's approval, Cohen chose a Saint Augustine quote he originally had on the front of the script: "The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering", as he felt it applied to both Bruce and Brandon.[8]

Marketing for Dragon focused on promoting the romance between Bruce and Cadwell, with ad campaigns targeting soft-rock radio stations. Universal Chairman Tom Pollock said they were trying to appeal to women in a bid to move beyond Bruce's core audience.[11] The marketing campaign was not modified at all following Brandon's death.[3]

The soundtrack for Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story was composed by Randy Edelman, who used a 90-piece orchestra and made use of traditional Chinese instruments. Cohen praised the soundtrack for acting as a kind of "emotional through line" for his film,[7] and Ray Apello from Entertainment Weekly praised its romantic tracks.[3] Conversely, Jason Ankeny from AllMusic gave the soundtrack two stars out of five, saying the "oddly patriotic, even stereotypically Americanized score" was too generic for the subject matter, adding "per usual, Edelman operates in broad, simple strokes, crafting saccharine melodies that are pure function and no form."[12] Edelman's soundtrack has been licensed for use in several other film trailers.[13]

The film received positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 71% based on 21 reviews, where the site's critical consensus reads, "While its impact is blunted by an overly reverential approach to its subject, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story remains a reasonably entertaining biopic of the martial arts legend."[1]

Richard Harrington of The Washington Post praised the film's pace, fight scenes and the film's portrayal of Bruce and Cadwell's relationship, stating it would appeal to more than just Bruce Lee and martial arts fans.[14] Vincent Canby described the film as "an enjoyably hokey, big-budget theatrical film with a lot of kicks and the soul of a television movie," also commending the script, screenplay and action.[15] Roger Ebert gave the film 2.5 out of 4, saying the martial arts sequences defy "gravity and logic ... but what the heck: It's fun to watch."[16] Peter Rainer from the Los Angeles Times opined the film was "hero-worshiping" Bruce, though gave a favorable review saying "You can enjoy all the cornball confrontations and pumped-up melodramatics, you can forgive the way the film concocts and inflates incidents in Lee's life, because ... That's the way it is with larger-than-life actors: They prime you for larger-than-life stories.[17] Conversely, Sheila Johnston from The Independent gave a negative review. While praising Jason's performance, she said the film "leaps about more wildly than a kung fu fighter in a thieves' kitchen" and concluding it "tries to court too many different audiences, with lethal results."[18]

Jason's performance as Bruce was widely praised.[14][15][16][17] Both Donald Chase and Lawrence Christon of the Los Angeles Times spoke highly, with Chase opining he seemed to be Bruce's reincarnation, and Christon saying he brought intelligence and charm to the role.[2][6] Rainer stated the exciting thing about Dragon was how, in Jason, it was creating a new star from the story of an old one.[17] Cadwell also praised the performance, saying "I almost feel it was worth waiting all this time for Jason to grow old enough to play Bruce.[7]

Bruce's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was dedicated the same day that Dragon premiered

Dragon premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on 28 April 1993; Bruce's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was dedicated earlier that day, just a few feet from the theatre. A post-screening after-party was held in a nearby parking lot under a 15,000-square-foot tent, decorated with Chinese themes. Over 1,200 guests attended, including Demi Moore, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Sheila E., Mike Myers, Linda Cadwell and Shannon Lee, as well as the film’s co-stars Lauren Holly, Robert Wagner, Nancy Kwan, Van Williams and producer Raffaella De Laurentiis.[5][10] The Los Angeles Times reported the word 'bittersweet' was mentioned many times due to the recent death of Brandon. Cadwell stated she attended as the film "is a tribute to our family’s life and for that reason I thought I should be here. I feel the film is a tribute to Bruce as a father and to Brandon as a son."[5]

The film debuted at No. 1 at the box office in the U.S., grossing just over $10 million in its opening weekend.[4] The film outperformed expectations for a biography, which was largely attributed to the number of women who attended screenings; 45% of the film's watchers were women, a stark contrast from the fans of Bruce's actual films, which were overwhelmingly male. The success of the film and also the political satire Dave, were credited with raising cinema audiences 65% from the same weekend period the previous year.[11] While the earnings were considerably lower than busier times of the year, the film still set a record for takings in early May.[19] Dragon had a domestic gross of $35,113,743, and an additional $28.4 million earned in other territories, for a total gross of $63,513,743 worldwide.[4]

A video game of the same name was created by Virgin Interactive and first released on Sega Genesis in Europe in June 1994;[20] it was later released in other continents and ported to other platforms. It is a fighting game, where players assume the role of Bruce and fight his opponents in the film, such as the English sailor and the chefs; the game's final boss is The Demon. The game omits plot elements from the film, such as the romance between Bruce and Cadwell. The game was met with mixed reviews.[21][22] Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Atari Jaguar version 4.4/10, calling it "more or less your run-of-the-mill action fighter game", and commenting that the game was released too long after the film to benefit from the license.[23]