The Big Boss

"Fists of Fury" redirects here. For the 1972 film, see Fist of Fury.

This article is about the film starring Bruce Lee. For other uses, see Big Boss (disambiguation).

The Big Boss
Hong Kong film poster
Directed by	Lo Wei
Written by	Bruce Lee Lo Wei
Produced by	Raymond Chow
Starring	Bruce Lee Maria Yi James Tien Nora Miao
Cinematography	Chan Ching-kui
Edited by	Sung Ming
Music by	Wang Fu-ling
Distributed by	Golden Harvest
Release dates	23 October 1971 (1971-10-23) (Hong Kong) March 1973 (March 1973) (United States)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Hong Kong
Languages	Mandarin Cantonese Thai
Box office	US$16.2 million

The Big Boss (Chinese: 唐山大兄; alternately titled Fists of Fury) is a 1971 Hong Kong martial arts action film written and directed by Lo Wei, with assistance from Bruce Lee, and was Lee's first major film. It stars Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien and Tony Liu. Originally written for Tien, the leading role was given to Lee instead when the film's original director, Ng Kar-seung, was replaced by Lo. The film was a critical success and excelled at the box office. Lee's strong performance overshadowed Tien, already a star in Hong Kong, and made Bruce Lee famous across Asia.

Plot

Cheng Chao-an (Bruce Lee) is a Chinese man who moves to Pak Chong, Thailand, to live with his adopted family and work in an ice factory. He meets his cousins Hsu Chien (James Tien) and Hsu's younger brother by accident when Hsu Chien stands up to local street thugs. Cheng refrains from getting involved, as he swore to his mother to never participate in any fighting. He wears a jade amulet around his neck as a reminder of his pledge.

Cheng begins his work at the ice factory. When an ice block is accidentally broken, a bag of white powder falls out. Two of Cheng's cousins pick up the bag and are told to see the manager later that night. The factory is actually a front for a drug smuggling ring led by Hsiao Mi (a.k.a. the Big Boss). When Cheng's cousins refuse to join them, the manager sends his thugs to kill them and dispose of their bodies, thereby keeping the secret safe.

Hsu Chien and another cousin go to Hsiao's compound to find out what happened to the two cousins. Hsu doubts Hsiao's claims that he doesn't know anything and threatens to go to the police. Hsiao sets his gang on the duo as a result, and they are killed.

When the workers at the ice factory learn that Hsu is missing as well, they start a riot, which leads to a brawl with the hired thugs. During the chaos, one of the thugs accidentally rips off and breaks Cheng's amulet. Enraged, Cheng jumps into the brawl and beats some of the thugs, causing them to flee immediately.

To reduce tensions, the ice factory manager makes Cheng a foreman, inviting him to a dinner that night. This later causes much unease for Cheng's family and friends, who believe that Cheng is growing arrogant and spending more time reveling in his new position than helping to look for their brothers. They grow to resent him, all except Chiao Mei who stands up for him.

Cheng gets drunk at the dinner party and is seduced by Sun Wu Man, a prostitute who attended the dinner. She later warns Cheng that his life is in danger and reveals that Hsiao Mi is running a drug trafficking operation. Immediately after Cheng leaves, Hsiao's son, Hsiao Chiun, sneaks in and kills Sun by throwing a knife at her heart. Cheng breaks into the factory and first finds the drugs before discovering a hand, the head of Sun, and the head of Hsu Chien in the iceblocks. He is surrounded by Hsiao Chiun and a group of his men. Cheng fights his way out, killing Hsiao Chiun and many gangsters in the process.

He returns home to find that his remaining family members have been murdered, while Chiao Mei has gone missing. Mourning his loss by a river, he vows to exact his revenge at all costs, even if it means breaking his oath of non-violence. Cheng subsequently storms Hsiao Mi's mansion to fight him and his men. Meanwhile, one of Hsiao Mi's disgruntled slaves frees Chiao Mei, who was being held hostage by Hsiao Mi in a different compound. She runs away to get help from the Thai police. Cheng finally kills Hsiao Mi after a fierce fight. Once he knows that Chiao Mei is safe, he surrenders to the police when they arrive at the mansion.

Cast

• Bruce Lee as Cheng Chao-an (Chinese: 鄭潮安; Cantonese Yale: Zeng Ciu-On), a young man who, along with his uncle, travels from Guangdong, China to Pak Chong, Thailand to stay with his cousins. Before departing, he swore an oath to his mother to not get into any fights. This is made legitimate by Cheng wearing his mother's jade amulet necklace to serve as a reminder to that oath he swore.
• Maria Yi as Chiao Mei, a typical damsel in distress; Cheng's only female cousin
• James Tien as Cousin Hsu Chien, a martial artist who commonly fights with the local gangs
• Nora Miao as a local cold drinks vendor (guest star)
• Lee Kwan as Cousin Ah Kun
• Han Ying-chieh as Hsiao Mi ("The Big Boss") owner of an ice factory which is really a front for his drug trafficking operation
• Tony Liu as Hsiao Chiun, Hsiao Mi's son
• Kam San as Cousin Ah Shan
• Ricky Chik as Cousin Ah Chen (also assistant director)
• Li Hua Sze as Cousin Ah Wong
• Malarin Boonak as Miss Wu Man, a prostitute
• Chan Chue as the ice factory manager (also assistant director)
• Chom as the ice factory foreman
• Billy Chan Wui-ngai as Cousin Ah Pei
• Lam Ching-ying as Cousin Ah Yen (also assistant action director)
• Tu Chia-Cheng as Uncle Liu, Cheng's uncle (also unit manager)
• Peter Chan Lung as Hsiao Mi's henchman

Background and conception

The four years following the cancellation of The Green Hornet was a difficult and frustrating time for Bruce Lee. In 1970, he was incapacitated for several months after damaging a sacral nerve in his lower back while weightlifting. Money became tight as roles in Hollywood proved hard to come by, and wife Linda had to work evenings at an answering service to help pay the bills. Bruce was still keen to develop film and TV projects in Hollywood, but Warner Bros. was reluctant to accept a TV script project he had developed (the plotline of which was similar to, but not the same as, Kung Fu), and production on The Silent Flute had to be suspended indefinitely after a three-week trip to India with James Coburn and Stirling Silliphant to scout locations for the movie proved unproductive. In light of these recent events, Coburn suggested to Bruce that he try his luck in the increasingly growing Hong Kong film industry."

In spring 1970, Bruce paid a visit to Hong Kong with his young son Brandon. Unbeknownst to Bruce, he had become famous there due to reruns of The Green Hornet on TV, and the enthusiastic reception he received took him by surprise. He was invited to appear on popular HKTVB chat show Enjoy Yourself Tonight, where he was interviewed and gave a board-breaking demonstration.

Encouraged by the interest in Hong Kong, Bruce asked his childhood friend Unicorn Chan to pass on his CV to Shaw Brothers, Hong Kong's largest film production company. They offered Bruce a long-term contract but only US$2,000 per film, which Bruce declined. Another offer appeared unexpectedly from Raymond Chow, a film producer who had in 1970 left Shaw Brothers to form a new company, Golden Harvest. Chow, aware of the rejected offer from Shaw Brothers, had been impressed by Bruce's interviews on Hong Kong television and radio, and also by his confidence during a long-distance phone call. During that phone call, Lee determined the best action movie playing in Hong Kong and assured Chow that he could do much better.

In June 1971, Chow sent one of his producers Liu Liang-Hua (the wife of director Lo Wei) to Los Angeles to meet and negotiate with Bruce, who signed a contract to make two films for Golden Harvest for US$15,000 ($10,000 for The Big Boss and $5,000 on completion of a second film tentatively King of Chinese Boxers and which became Fist of Fury). This eased the Lees' financial worries and permitted Linda Lee to quit her job.

With the contract signed, Chow hastily arranged a meeting with his Golden Harvest executives and an old friend called Ma Thien-Ek (Fatty Ma), a Thai businessman, film distributor and cinema owner. Inspired by the success of a recent Shaw Brothers film about Muay Thai boxing (Duel of Fists), they came up with the idea of shooting an action film on location in Thailand, which would also help to keep costs down. Fatty Ma, an expert in Thai affairs, offered to help with locations and expenses.

Veteran Chinese novelist and screenwriter Ni Kuang was commissioned to create a script based loosely on Cheng Chi-Yong, a prominent Chinese figure in Thai society in the early 20th century. Ni Kuang changed the name of the character to Cheng Chao-an, after Chao'an county in eastern China, the home of Cheng Chi-Yong's ancestors. He also developed the idea of Cheng being sent by his mother to live and work with fellow Chinese migrants in Thailand, after his father had been killed in a fight. She gave her son a jade necklace symbolising peace, protection and good fortune, as a reminder to avoid trouble.

Filming and behind the scenes

Bruce Lee flew from Los Angeles to Bangkok via Hong Kong on 12 July 1971. Raymond Chow, concerned about renewed interest from Shaw Brothers, had wanted him to fly directly to Bangkok, but Bruce refused, stopping in Hong Kong briefly to greet a friend and make a few phone calls. Bruce stayed in Bangkok for five nights, and it was here that he met most of the cast and crew and also Raymond Chow for the first time. Filming commenced on 22 July in Pak Chong, a small town situated some 90 miles (150 km) northeast of Bangkok, on the northern edge of the Khao Yai National Park, Thailand's oldest reserve; it also serves as the gateway to the northeast (Isan) of Thailand from the Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Pak Chong would be Bruce's home for about four weeks – from 18 July to 19 August – and he made no secret of his dislike for it in letters to wife Linda, describing it as a lawless, impoverished and undeveloped village. Due to the lack of fresh food, Bruce was losing weight due to a lack of proper diet, having to eat canned meat and supplement his diet with vitamins, which he had thankfully brought along. He occasionally lost his voice through trying to shout above the noise on set; mosquitoes and cockroaches were plentiful in the hotel, and the tap water was yellow.

When Bruce arrived in Pak Chong, rival film companies tried desperately to poach him away from Golden Harvest, including Shaw Brothers, with a new and improved offer. A film producer from Taiwan told Bruce to rip up his contract and promised to take care of any lawsuit. Bruce, a man of his word, had no intention of considering the offers, although it did add some extra tension on the film set.

Shooting did not go smoothly at first. After just a few days, the overbearing and aggressive original director, Wu Chia Hsiang, was replaced by Lo Wei (the husband of associate producer Liu Liang-Hua). Bruce was initially sceptical of Lo, describing him in letters to Linda as a fame lover and not particularly focused on being much of a director. Bruce sliced open the index finger of his right hand while washing a thin glass, the wound requiring ten stitches and a large plaster, which is very noticeable throughout the movie, especially the scenes filmed at the Thamrongthai ice factory, the first filming location used in Pak Chong. Fatty Ma had a contact who knew the owner of the ice factory, and arranged for Golden Harvest to film there for a few days.

Aside from the factory, other locations in Pak Chong used for filming include the Lam Ta Khong river (a tributary of the Mun River), and a local brothel (the Mitsumphun Hotel), which has since burnt down. The actual bedroom scenes however were filmed in a riverside bungalow owned by the nearby Rimtarninn Hotel (formerly New Wan Chai), where the film crew stayed during filming, due to the bedrooms in the brothel being smelly and unhygienic. The prostitutes charged only fifteen Baht in Thai money per client, but the film crew paid them one to two hundred Baht each to appear as extras in the film.

Perhaps the most iconic location seen in the film is the titular big boss's mansion and gardens, which was a Buddhist temple situated on the main road called Wat Siri Samphan, built in 1963. Like the ice factory, it is still in Pak Chong today and remains largely unchanged, much to the delight of the dedicated fans who have made the pilgrimage to Thailand to view the filming locations.

There has been some speculation that Bruce was involved in a real fight on the set of The Big Boss, as depicted in the 1993 biopic Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Although no such fight actually took place, Bruce did interact extensively with a few of the Thai stuntmen (one of whom was a former Muay Thai bantamweight champion), and exchanged info and skills with them between takes. Bruce reportedly though seemed unimpressed and called their kicks "telegraphed", while the Hong Kong stunt team (Lam Ching-Ying, Billy Chan and his brother Peter Chan Lung) were initially unimpressed with Bruce, and doubted his abilities. Their opinion of him soon changed when Lam challenged Bruce in the hotel, and Bruce sidekicked him across the room.

After an eventful and at times chaotic first few days' filming in Pak Chong, by early August 1971 the filming had picked up speed, and was progressing well. Bruce and Lo Wei were collaborating, but they still clashed over a few of the scenes, in particular the use of trampolines and mattresses to propel people through the air, and also the scene where Bruce punches a man through a wooden wall, leaving a cartoonish outline in the wood. Bruce was also hesitant to go along with Lo Wei's ideas of filming risky scenes of his character getting in bed with Thai ladies portraying prostitutes, although he eventually agreed to do them as Lo insisted it would add to his character's newfound image as a revenge-driven warrior. In both cases the director stuck to his guns.

The final scene filmed in Pak Chong was the climatic fight between Bruce and the boss (played by Han Ying Chieh, who also served as the fight choreographer), which proved to be problematic: Bruce endured "two days of hell" when he sprained his ankle from a high jump on a slipped mattress, and had to be driven to Bangkok to see a doctor, where he caught a virus in the hot and stuffy conditions. Close-ups were used to finish the fight, as Bruce struggled and had to drag his leg, which contributed to his character's worn out, exhausted appearance.

The cast and crew spent the last twelve days in August filming further scenes in Bangkok, where Bruce enjoyed breakfast in bed at the Thai Hotel, a luxury he never had in Pak Chong. At times filming had to be delayed by heavy rain. One of the main locations used for filming in Bangkok was the Chao Phraya River in Phra Pradaeng District, for the opening scene in the film where Bruce and his uncle step off the ferry boat and walk through the busy pier. The dinner party scene was filmed in the back room of the Poonsin Chinese Restaurant, close to the Thai Hotel. An old teak house in the east side of Phra Pradaeng district was used as the family home, while Nora Miao's scenes (and part of the opening fight sequence) were filmed on the quieter west side, which resembled rural Pak Chong.

The Big Boss film crew finally returned to Hong Kong on 3 September, where there would be a further day of filming for insert shots including close-ups of Bruce avoiding the dogs and the "leg-grappling" scene during the fight with the boss (these were filmed at the Royal Hong Kong Golf Club). The final scene filmed was the now deleted "pushcart attack" in the alleyway, at Wader Studio in Hong Kong, as Golden Harvest had not as yet moved into their famous studios on Hammer Hill Road. Bruce viewed the raw, unedited three-hour footage on 5 September, before flying to the US the next day to film further episodes of Longstreet; he would return to Hong Kong on 16 October to promote the release of The Big Boss and begin pre-production work on his second film for Golden Harvest, Fist of Fury.

Bruce Lee and JKD short film

While in Thailand, Bruce wrote to Linda regularly, telling her he missed her and the children, and was looking forward to seeing them in Hong Kong once filming had been completed. In return for their air fare (from their home in Los Angeles to Hong Kong), Golden Harvest wanted Bruce to make a short film for them called Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do, which would run for approximately 15 minutes and be narrated by actress Nora Miao. According to Hong Kong press reports, Golden Harvest had originally planned for the short film to accompany the release of another upcoming film of theirs called The Hurricane (a.k.a. Gold Cyclone Whirlwind), starring Nora and written and directed by Lo Wei. This would promote Nora and introduce Lee's skills to the Hong Kong public prior to the release of The Big Boss. Nora joined the film crew in Bangkok in late August 1971 to make the short film with Lee but sadly it never happened, presumably because there was not enough time; she did however film a few brief scenes for The Big Boss in a cameo role as a roadside drinks vendor.

Release and box office

On 23 October 1971 the film premiered at the Queen's Theatre in Hong Kong's Central district for a now legendary midnight screening. Linda recalled in her 1975 book Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew: "Every dream that Bruce had ever possessed came true that night. The audience rose to its feet, yelling, clapping, cheering. It was almost impossible to leave the theatre; we were absolutely mobbed." The Lees also attended the official gala premiere on 3 November, which was a charity screening for the Scout Association of Hong Kong. The film was an instant success, taking just 3 days to reach HK$1 million, and a week to reach HK$2 million. By the end of its relatively brief run (ending on 18 November), The Big Boss had made HK$3.2 million, shattering the previous record held by The Sound of Music by more than HK$800,000. Its Hong Kong gross was equivalent to US$540,000.

Shortly after the Hong Kong run, The Big Boss was released in Singapore, and enjoyed similar success there, where it played for a total of 45 days at five theatres. There was chaos at a midnight preview screening (27 November 1971) at Cathay's Jurong Drive-in cinema; police were called as hundreds of cars caused huge jams, and the film had to be delayed for 45 minutes. It went on general release on 8 December, and by the end of its run on 21 January 1972, it had broken box office records with just over S$700,000 (US$556,538), about S$240,000 more than previous record-holder The Ten Commandments. The film also played to packed cinemas in Malaysia, the third territory to show the film.

Despite the enormous success of The Big Boss in the Far East, overseas distributors were initially reluctant as they didn't think it had potential outside Asia. It was only when the film suddenly became a surprise hit in Beirut in 1972 that they began to take notice. Suddenly buyers from all over the world were arriving in Hong Kong to buy the film, which was soon opening in new markets for Chinese films such as South America, Africa and southern Europe. In the UK however, the release of the English-dubbed version was delayed as distributors Crest Films withdrew their application for a BBFC certificate, while they waited for the current storm surrounding film censorship in Britain to pass (the Mandarin version was shown in Chinese cinema clubs in Britain in June 1972). There was also a delay in the US, as distributors National General Pictures disliked the dubbing, and spent a lot of money on a new soundtrack featuring new music and rewritten, redubbed English dialogue. This new version was eventually released in the US in April 1973 with the title Fists of Fury, about 18 months after the Hong Kong premiere and after Fist of Fury (retitled The Chinese Connection in the U.S.), Lee's second major role, had been released in the U.S. It was an instant hit, surprising given that the film was only originally intended for the Mandarin circuit. The film earned US$2.8 million in rentals at the American and Canadian box office.

In France, the film became one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1973, with 2,519,063 box office admissions. At an average ticket price of 12.22 F, it grossed approximately 30.78 million F (US$6.92 million) in France. The UK and Japan were among the last countries to release the film, in April 1974. In Japan, it was the year's seventh highest-grossing film, with ¥600 million (US$5.47 million) in distribution income. Combined, the film grossed a total worldwide revenue of approximately US$16.2 million, equivalent to US$122 million adjusted for inflation in 2017.

Censorship and missing scenes

The Big Boss has quite a long and complicated history of censorship and editing, with many scenes being trimmed or removed completely for various reasons, for different markets. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly what was cut and when, as the editing took place over a span of several decades. The notorious "handsaw in the split head" shot was cut by the censors in Hong Kong shortly before the film was released there in October 1971. It was only shown in a private screening at Golden Harvest for the press, cinema owners and prospective buyers on 17 October, but has not been seen since; all that survives are a few stills.

Further scenes were cut by the studio and/or the distributors for the first overseas prints released in some territories in late 1971 and early 1972. The nudity and bloodshed was toned down, along with a few seemingly innocuous scenes, including the final one filmed (in a studio in Hong Kong), where Cheng Chao-An (Bruce Lee) and Hsiu Chien (James Tien) are walking home after the fight near the gambling den; they enter a narrow alleyway and have to grab hands and leap onto a wall to avoid a cart which is hurled towards them by one of the villains from the gambling den. The only logical explanation for the cutting of this scene was that it was done to increase the pacing of the early part of the film, which placed more emphasis on James Tien's character than on Bruce Lee.

There was a reduction to the gruesome sequence in which the body of cousin Ah Wong is cut apart by the electric saw, and body parts are placed into the ice container.

A small edit was made to the dinner party scene, where a drunken Cheng approaches the prostitute Wu Man (played by Malarin Boonak), and imagines her topless.

The next cut is another entirely deleted scene, and another popular one alongside of the "saw-in-the-head" scene. After Cheng runs down the road from the creek, rather than cutting to him arriving at the Big Boss' mansion like the mainstream cuts, he returns to the Thai brothel for a third time. Here, he picks up the prostitute in a red sweater-type dress (seen in the background the second time Cheng visits the brothel). Cheng and the prostitute go to her room; Cheng pushes her onto the bed, and the two begin to strip. Cheng stands in front of the bed, completely nude, but also completely emotionless. The woman lies on the bed and Cheng walks (waist-high shot) towards the camera, blurring out the scene. Next, Cheng is shown putting on his shirt, while the woman remains in bed. He lays his remaining money on her stomach, even though he already paid to be with her. He then picks up a bag of crisps from the bedside table; he tries one, then leaves. This scene is symbolic and quite important, as in the previous scene Cheng discards his belongings in the river, and here he gives away his money and enjoys his final pleasures and one last meal before either being killed or arrested, a message which is now lost. A few seconds of this scene (including a shot of an apparently naked Bruce standing behind the bed) can be seen in the original trailer.

Other missing scenes briefly visible in the same trailer show Hsiu Chien re-enacting a fight for his co-workers in the family home; Cheng walking towards the Drinkstand Girl's (Nora Miao) roadside refreshment stall (the camera zooms in to show her smiling at him); a different head visible in the block of ice when Cheng is investigating the ice house; blood pouring from Hsiu Chien's head after being stabbed by the boss's son. It is not known if these four scenes were in any print of the film.

Further quick shots of violence – mostly involving weapons such as iron chains, sticks, knives and an ice pick – were cut from the prints in the UK and a few other European countries. These cuts were inexplicably maintained for the "pan and scan" videos released in the 1980s and 1990s but thankfully waived for the UK DVD release by Hong Kong Legends in late 2000. Also restored, surprisingly, was the bloodier death scene of the big boss. Sadly however, the material cut in 1971 in Hong Kong has never been restored, and remains missing. It was last seen in December 1979 at a Bruce Lee film festival in Kilburn, London, organised by Kung-Fu Monthly poster magazine. The Mandarin print screened for over 1,700 lucky fans came from Golden Harvest's London office, and was complete with the exception of the censored "saw in the head" shot.

An early Mandarin print containing some extra footage is rumoured to still exist, and is thought to be in the hands of a private collector. A DVD was to be released in 2004 called "The Big Boss": "The Version You've Never Seen" but release was cancelled due to copyright issues. Hopefully in the future it will see the light of day and the fans will finally be able to see the original, longer version. Until then, all that remains of the missing scenes are a handful of photos and a few brief trailer clips.

Alternative title confusion

When The Big Boss was being prepared for American distribution, the U.S. release was to be re-titled The Chinese Connection, a play on the popular The French Connection, since both dealt with drug trafficking. The U.S. title of Lee's second film, Fist of Fury, was to be kept nearly the same, except using the plural Fists. However, the titles were accidentally reversed. The Big Boss was released as Fists of Fury and Fist of Fury became The Chinese Connection. Film purists refer to the films by their original titles. Recent American TV showings and the official US DVD release from 20th Century Fox have restored the original titles of all Bruce Lee films.

Alternative music scores

Unlike other Lee films, The Big Boss is unique in having not only two, but three completely different music scores. Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, and Game of Death all only feature one score with minor alterations.

The first music score for it was composed by Wang Fu-ling, who worked on films such as The Chinese Boxer and One-Armed Swordsman. This was made for the Mandarin language version, and was also used in the English export version, in addition to the theatrical French and Turkish versions. It is similar to other martial arts film scores, especially the Shaw Brothers films. Wang was the only one to receive credit, but it is also believed composer Chen Yung-yu assisted with the score. At least one cue from Japanese composer Akira Ifukube's scores for the Daimajin trilogy of films was also utilised as stock music.

The second and most popular of the music scores was by German composer Peter Thomas. This did not become widely known until 2005, when most of the music he composed for the film appeared on iTunes in a Big Boss collection. Thomas's involvement stems from a complete reworking of the English version of the film. The early version featured the British voice actors who worked on all Shaw Brothers films and used Wang Fu-ling's score. It was decided to make a new English version that would stand out from the other martial arts films. New actors were brought in to voice the film in English, and Thomas re-scored the film, abandoning Wang Fu-ling's music. The German dubbed version features his score, especially in the German title of the film in the iTunes compilation.

The third score is the 1982 Cantonese release score, which primarily features music from Golden Harvest composer Joseph Koo. However, a good portion of Koo's music in the Cantonese version was originally created in 1974 for the Japanese theatrical release of The Big Boss, which was half Koo's music and half Peter Thomas'. Golden Harvest simply took Koo's music from the Japanese version and added it to the Cantonese version. Aside from this, this version is most infamous for its use of the Pink Floyd music cues from "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party, Part 2", "Time" and "Obscured by Clouds", as well as King Crimson's "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two".

Other actors as Bruce Lee playing Cheng Chao-an

Various Bruce Lee biopics have been filmed over the years, with the two most famous being Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Both of these films feature their respective actors, Bruce Li and Jason Scott Lee, at one point acting as Lee on the set of The Big Boss. Both films feature a variation of the rumour that Lee was challenged on the set by a Thai boxer. In Myth, Lee was challenged on set and was caught in the middle of an ambush later on off the set. In Dragon, Lee is challenged during an actual take during filming of The Big Boss, wearing the trademark rolled up long sleeve white T-shirt, white sash, and black pants. Both of these are highly exaggerated accounts (not to mention that Dragon makes the mistake of saying that filming for The Big Boss began in July 1970 rather than in July 1971), as the story told is that Lee merely discusses martial arts with a Thai fighter on the set. Besides these two examples, a third Bruce Lee biopic, The Legend of Bruce Lee, this time with Danny Chan Kwok-kwan as Lee and filmed in mini-series form, was shown in Hong Kong in 2008 as part of China's hosting of the summer Olympics. Once again, this biopic shows Lee encountering a Thai boxer on the set of The Big Boss, this time with the challenger being played by martial arts film veteran Mark Dacascos. Photos and behind-the-scenes video of this scene have appeared on various websites, including Dacascos's official site.

Critical Response

On Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 64% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 5.59/10.[1]

Release

Upon its release The Big Boss became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hong Kong and remained unsurpassed until Bruce Lee's second film, Fist of Fury.

When the film was released in the United States, the death of Hsiao Mi, "The Boss", was cut down to him simply being stabbed in the chest with a knife in order to receive an "R" rating. The original version of his death, which not only shows an explicit close-up of the knife in his chest but Cheng Chao-an's fingers piercing his rib cage and blood flowing from under his shirt, would have given the film an "X" rating. The first time this scene was shown in the US was when it played on cable channel AMC in July 2004.

Columbia Pictures released the film as a re-issue in 1978 and again re-issued it with Fist of Fury as a studio sanctioned double feature in February 1981. Miramax distributed The Big Boss on television & streaming (Hulu & Netflix) along with Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984), Game of Death, Way of the Dragon and Fist of Fury.

VHS releases

4 Front (United Kingdom)

• Released: 17 March 1997
• Classification: 18

4 Front(United Kingdom)

• Released: 1 October 2001
• Part of a boxset
• Classification: 18

20th Century Fox (America)

• Released: 21 May 2002
• Named Fists of Fury
• Classification: R, X (known in some video releases)
• Color: NTSC
• Run time: 99 minutes

DVD releases

Universe (Hong Kong)

• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) letterboxed
• Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese
• Supplements: Trailer, trailers for Way of the Dragon, Enter the Dragon, Game of Death, Legacy of Rage, star files
• All regions, NTSC

Mega Star (Hong Kong)

• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:29:1)
• Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono)
• Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean
• Supplements: Trailer, synopsis, cast and Crew biographies
• All regions, NTSC

Fortune Star – Bruce Lee Ultimate DVD Collection (Hong Kong)

• Released: 29 April 2004
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Cantonese (DTS 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 5.1), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Mandarin (DTS 5.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: Traditional, Simplified Chinese, English
• Supplements: Original trailer, new trailer, still photos, slideshow of photos, celebrity interviews, unseen footage, Game of Death outtakes, Enter the Dragon alternate opening, 32-page booklet
• Region 3, NTSC

Fox (America)

• Released: 21 May 2002
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:27:1) letterboxed
• Sound: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: English
• Supplements: None
• Region 1, NTSC

Fox – Bruce Lee Ultimate Collection (America)

• Released: 18 October 2005
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), Manadarin (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Supplements: Original trailer, new trailer, still photos, slideshow of photos, interview with Tung Wai, bonus trailers
• Region 1, NTSC

Hong Kong Legends – Special Collector's Edition (United Kingdom)

• Released: 6 November 2000
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Dutch
• Supplements: Commentary by Bey Logan, production photo gallery, animated biography showcase of Bruce Lee with voice over, original Mandarin trailer, Hong Kong promotional trailer, UK promotional trailer, bonus trailers
• Region 2, PAL

Hong Kong Legends – Platinum Edition (United Kingdom)

• Released: 23 October 2006
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1) anamorphic
• Sound: Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Cantonese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Dual Mono), English (2.0 Dual Mono)
• Subtitles: English, Dutch
• Supplements: Disc 1: Commentary by Andrew Staton and Will Johnston, bonus trailers; Disc 2: UK platinum trailer, UK promotional trailer, original Mandarin trailer, Hong Kong promotional trailer, rare uncut 8mm UK trailer, original 35mm UK title sequence, textless 35mm title sequence, original lobby cards, "Paul Weller: Breaking the West", "Fred Weintraub: A Rising Star", "Tom Kuhn: What Might Have Been", "The History of The Big Boss: A Photographic Retrospective", "Deleted Scenes Examined: The Story of the Elusive Original Uncut Print", animated biography showcase of Bruce Lee with voice over, DVD credits
• Region 2, PAL

Blu-ray Disc release

Kam & Ronson (Hong Kong)

• Released: 6 August 2009
• Aspect ratio: Widescreen (2:35:1)
• Sound: Cantonese (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1), Cantonese (Dolby True HD 7.1), Mandarin (Dolby Digital EX 6.1), Thai (Dolby Digital EX 6.1)
• Subtitles: Traditional Chinese, English, Thai
• Supplements: Tung Wai interview
• Region A

External links

• The Big Boss at IMDb
• The Big Boss at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Big Boss at the Hong Kong Movie DataBase
• The Big Boss at AllMovie
• A gallery of still shots from The Big Boss
• An in-depth article on the missing scenes featuring rare publicity shots and screenshots