After Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong from the US and shot to superstardom with The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972), he formed a company with Raymond Chow. The debut film for this company was The Way of the Dragon. Filmed on location in Rome, it is the only film in which Lee was writer, director, lead actor, and action instructor (his best friend Unicorn Chan was co-action instructor). Lee incorporated his own martial arts philosophy into the film, which tells the story of Tang Lung (Bruce Lee), who helps restaurant owner Chen Ching-hua (Nora Miao) fend off local thugs threatening to evict her. Lee illustrates the hardships faced by the overseas Chinese diaspora, including the abuses they have to tolerate and the ways they need to defend themselves. Though Lee’s character is very much a continuation his folk hero image from his previous works, Tang Lung is at the same time a country bumpkin—the humourous cultural clashes in the film make it a decidedly more comical offering than its predecessors. In addition to showing off his spectacular nunchaku techniques, Lee also directs himself in fight scenes with international martial arts experts such as Chuck Norris and Whang Ing Sik, including the now-classic showdown at the Coliseum. In addition to the its tight editing and brisk rhythm, the scene also takes care to show how Lee picks up his defeated rival’s robe and puts it back on him—a touching demonstration of the martial spirit of honouring one’s opponent.

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