TRAILERS
New Trailer for That Controversial Bruce Lee Film 'Birth of the Dragon'
by Alex Billington
July 13, 2017
Source: YouTube
"Sooner or later, gunna have to fight him." BH Tilt has just unveiled a brand new trailer for Birth of the Dragon, a fictional feature based on the true story of the legendary Bruce Lee. This film is controversial because it's not an accurate depiction of the events or history of Bruce Lee, and had a white main character but this new edit is apparently much better. Starring Philip Ng as a cocky, young Bruce Lee living in San Francisco training and teaching his kung fu skills. He is confronted by a legendary Shaolin monk named Wong Jack Man, played by Yu Xia, who is upset that he is sullying the art and spirituality of kung fu. The main white guy is played by Billy Magnussen, with a cast including Jin Xing, Jingjing Qu, and Simon Yin. The publicist is keen to point out that this is a brand new cut of the film, not the version seen at TIFF.
Here's the first full, official trailer for George Nolfi's Birth of the Dragon, direct from YouTube:
You can still see the first promo trailer for Birth of the Dragon here, for a different take on this film.
Young, up-and-coming martial artist, Bruce Lee, challenges legendary kung fu master Wong Jack Man to a no-holds-barred fight in Northern California. Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural film chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man. Birth of the Dragon is directed by American writer-turned-filmmaker George Nolfi, director of The Adjustment Bureau, and writer of Ocean's Twelve, The Sentinel, The Bourne Ultimatum and the TV show "Allegiance" previously. The screenplay is written by Christopher Wilkinson & Stephen J. Rivele. This first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year. BH Tilt will release Birth of the Dragon in select theaters starting August 25th. So who still wants to see this?
17 Comments
1
The White must have been cut out or they are doing a great job at making Lee look like the star of the film.
DAVIDPD on Jul 13, 2017
2
I was just about to state that but you beat me to it. Purely based on my craving good action I will probably give this a chance. But as a fan of Bruce Lee even with the changes this take on him seems very disrespectful.
Chrichtonsworld on Jul 13, 2017
3
Well, Bruce Lee is something a lot of people had in their imagination through films and popular culture, but this looks like a very poor take on that idea ...
shiboleth on Jul 13, 2017
4
I can't believe the Bruce Lee estate green-lighted this... It could have been a good film with the character based on BL, but not using his name. Oh, and rap didn't exist at all back then...damn near ruined the trailer...
kitano0 on Jul 14, 2017
6
Actually there are a lot of things that made Bruce Lee unique.
Cyberdine on Jul 17, 2017
7
Of course. His fighting style and lifestyle. You can imitate them on screen, but you can't imitate charisma. You have it or you don't.
tarek on Jul 18, 2017
8
I was about to give it a chance until I saw the WWE studios logo. That tells me all I care to know about this production.
theslayer5150 on Jul 14, 2017
9
Aw, crap. I didn't notice the WWE logo (shakes head).
KLD on Jul 15, 2017
10
Why was this controversial? Bruce brought Kung Fu to the states in order to teach Americans the art. Guess what, there are white folks in America. So, again, why is this controversial? Also, was Bruce this arrogant? Guy playing him makes the man look like a dick.
KLD on Jul 15, 2017
11
One of the problems in Hollywood is the fact that the old guys in charge don't think Asian actors are bankable. Even when there is enough proof and evidence they are. In this case you are targeting a specific audience who most likely are fans and are dying to see a good movie about Bruce Lee. The fact that a white actor was going to be more prominent than Bruce is insulting. There are only a few times where we can overlook this like in the Ip Man series and No Retreat. No Surrender (Karate Tiger). Bruce had a certain attitude when he was younger which I think was mistaken for arrogance. But if you judge the man on how he was later in life he was far from it. Again the arrogance is a general notion. I doubt the filmmakers are very interested in how Bruce really was. And that is what makes this so aggravating. After all this time you would think someone would be able to make a movie that shows more than we already have seen.
Chrichtonsworld on Jul 23, 2017
12
Maybe he was. People can be talented and unpleasant.
Rob Okray on Aug 8, 2017
13
WWE studios doesn't care about paying justice to the most iconic martial artist ever. Everything advertised on this trailer about Bruce Lee is completely muddled up and incorrect. I doubt Bruce Lee's estate gave permission to make this movie, WWE studios has to have the following disclaimer somewhere: "This is a work of fiction; any similarity to actual events and people is used fictitiously or is unintentional."
Cyberdine on Jul 17, 2017
15
New edit, so who knows. Don't look at as documentary, treat it as entertainment.
Rob Okray on Aug 8, 2017
16
It's got the one inch punch, so I'm in.
Rob Okray on Aug 8, 2017
17
This film is terrible and doesn't represent the real Bruce Lee, this film is not supported by the Lee family its a disgraceful and disrespectful view of the master
Eric Charles Mokotoff on Dec 20, 2017
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