(imdb)DRAGON FIST-1979-Ton Huo-wan (Jackie Chan) seeks retribution for the death of his master by the villainous Master Li. He travels with his master's widow and daughter. He gets caught in a war between a clan ran by a one-legged master and a band of “gangsters”. He joins the gangsters to get medicine for the widow.
Fairly entertaining early Chan outing is constricted by a low budget and usually pushed aside. Directed by Wei Lo (THE BIG BOSS; NEW FISTS OF FURY).
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(imdb)THE BIG BOSS-1971-Cheng Chao-An (Bruce Lee) and his uncle (Chia Chen-Tu) visit his cousins in Thailand. He had promised his mother he wouldn't fight so he lets cousin Hsu (James Tien) do most of the fighting when they come across bullies and gangsters. They all work at an ice factory. When two cousins discover that the icehouse is really pushing dope, the manager has them killed and dismembered. When Hsu accuses the factory boss (Ying Chien Han) of killing his friends, he's killed by the boss' son (Tony Liu) in a bloody fight. After Cheng is made the foreman, Mei (Maria Yi) and his other cousins think he's sold out. Nearly everyone dies before Cheng and The Boss have their bloody showdown.
This was Bruce Lee's first starring role and became one of the biggest hits in Hong Kong film history. Ironically, James Tien was originally cast in the Lee role but when the director left the project and writer Wei Lo became director, the actors' roles were reversed. In the US, it was confusingly called “Fists of Fury” (the title of Lee's next Hong Kong based movie).
Lo went on to make many more movies including early Jackie Chan productions. A Golden Harvest release, Raymond Chow was the executive producer.
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