The Dragon Lives Again
The Dragon Lives Again | |
---|---|
Edited by | Chiang Kuo Chen |
Music by | Frankie Chan |
Production company | Goldig Films (H.K.) Ltd. |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
Country | Hong Kong |
Language | Cantonese |
The Dragon Lives Again (
The film begins with the announcement, "This film is dedicated to millions who love Bruce Lee."
Synopsis
After his untimely death,
Afterwards Bruce goes to a restaurant, where he meets and befriends
Bruce endures a series of victorious battles with the rest of the would-be usurpers, single-handedly putting an end the attempted coup, but is still angered by the King's abuse of power. Soon enough, Bruce decides to face the King head on. However, the King is assisted by the famous Chinese folk hero Zhong Kui, who summons a band of demons to combat Bruce. The battle proves difficult for Bruce and he almost meets his match until Caine, Fang Kang and Popeye arrive in the nick of time to assist him.
Eventually Bruce and company emerge triumphant, and the King is left pleading for mercy as the infuriated Underworld civilians also approach. The King offers Bruce anything in return for sparing his life, including the throne, but Bruce rejects the offer. Bruce allows the King to keep his throne on the condition that he lets him go back to Earth and be good to his people. The King grants the wish, and Bruce is levitated back to Earth as everyone watches.
Characters
Main Hero
- Bruce Lee
- A once-deceased famous martial artist who lives again.
Lee's Allies
- Kwai Chang Caine
- A character from a series.
- One-Armed Swordsman
- A character from a movie.
- Popeye the Sailor Man
- A character from a cartoonist.
Lee's Opponents
- Count Dracula
- Gothic-monster novel/movie character.
- Emmanuelle
- Erotic-fantasy novel/movie character.
- James Bond 007
- Action-spy novel/movie character.
- Man with No Name
- A famous spaghetti-western movie character.
- The Exorcist
- Supernatural-horror novel/movie character.
- The Godfather
- Mafia crime-drama novel/movie character.
- The King of the Underworld
- Based on Buddhistbeliefs.
- Based on
- Zatoichi
- roninnovel/movie character.
- Zombie Army (Skeletons)
- Underworld revenants from Jason and the Argonauts based on the Greek myth.
Unseen Opponents
- Alex DeLarge
- From the book and film A Clockwork Orange
- Carrie White
- From the book and film Carrie
- Erik the Phantom
- From the book and film The Phantom of the Opera
- Jay Gatsby
- From the book and film The Great Gatsby
- Norman Bates
- From the book and film Psycho
- Nurse Ratched
- From the book and film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- Paul Kersey
- From the book and film Death Wish
- Takuma Tsurugi
- From the martial-arts movie The Street Fighter
- Wicked Witch of the West
- From the book and film The Wizard of Oz
- From the book and film
Cast
Of the cast,
Alexander Grand, who plays James Bond, is billed as "Champion-boxer of Europe.", while the actress who plays Emmanuelle is only billed as "Jenny, Emmanuelle of N. Europe."
Reaction
Many contemporary critics have shown affection for The Dragon Lives Again. Nobody calls it great filmmaking, but most applaud it for its ridiculousness and surrealism. In his three-part essay about Bruceploitation for Impact Magazine, Dean Meadows said:
"The Dragon Lives Again was one of the greatest and craziest of all Bruce Lee exploitation movies. Featuring the lesser known Bruce Liang, this was tongue-in-cheek from start to finish with a synopsis that was and still is unbelievable. The Little Dragon has passed over and is in purgatory anticipating judgement from the gods. Whilst there he tangles with a vast array of fictionalised and popular characters, all awaiting their individual fate. Bond is there. That's right, James Bond, along with "prince of darkness" Dracula and erotic icon, Emmanuelle. Now if that wasn't wacky enough, Bruce teams up with his good friends, Kwai Chang Caine and wait for it ... Popeye to defeat the enemy! Of course the Little Dragon does have a secret weapon, known simply as "the third leg of Bruce" (ouch!). The movie was dedicated to all fans of the great master, but whilst hilarious today, audiences would fail to see the humour at the time of its release."[1]
In a review for Film Threat, Phil Hall awarded the film a generous four stars out of a possible five:
"What any of this has to do with Bruce Lee's legacy is never entirely clear. But when you have a scenario when Clint Eastwood and James Bond are trying to take over a Chinese purgatory and Bruce Lee calls on Popeye the Sailor to help save the day (not counting the interlude for the cast to talk about Bruce Lee's penis!), it would seem that cogent and coherent thought is not high on the priority list. The Dragon Lives Again will probably annoy enthusiasts of martial arts films and the diehard fans of Bruce Lee, but it will provide endless amusement for those who enjoy watching crazy films while filling their systems with endless mugs of beer or puffs of weed."[2]
See also
- List of James Bond parodies
References
External links
- The Dragon Lives Again at IMDb