TRAILERS
Learn the Complete Story of Bruce Lee in Doc Film 'Be Water' Trailer
by Alex Billington
May 29, 2020
Source: YouTube
"Be formless. Shapeless." ESPN has unveiled an official trailer for the documentary Be Water, an extensive look at the life of Bruce Lee, which will air on ESPN first in early June then moves onto streaming. Made by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Bao Nguyen, the film initially premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Rejected by Hollywood, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong in 1971 to make four iconic films. Charting his struggles in two worlds, Nguyen's Be Water explores questions of identity and representation through rare archive, intimate interviews, and his writings. Described as "a 30 for 30 film that intimately chronicles Bruce Lee's life and complex journey." The focus on this is more than just one segment of his life, but rather all of his life, starting out with his youth growing up in America before going back to Hong Kong.
Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Bao Nguyen's documentary Be Water, direct from YouTube:
Description from Sundance: "In 1971, before his superstardom, Bruce Lee returned to Hong Kong to get the opportunities to be a lead actor that eluded him in America. In the two years before his untimely death, Lee completed four films, which changed the history of film and made him a household name. Through rare archival footage, memories of family and friends, and his own words, the story of that time and Lee’s prior experiences are told with an intimacy and immediacy that have infrequently been used in earlier tellings of his legend." Be Water is directed by Vietnamese-American filmmaker Bao Nguyen, director of the doc Live from New York! previously, as well as a few shorts and TV work; he's also a cinematographer and producer. This first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. ESPN will release Nguyen's Be Water streaming starting on June 7th this summer. For more info, visit their website. Who wants to watch this?
8 Comments
1
Still waiting on a documentary that focuses on the person and not their ethnicity.These trailer always start off good and then take a sharp left. Bruce less was a unique man in a unique time and that should be all that matters. him being Asian Should be an after though.He even says it in the trailer ,he is just human.
Warpcore1701 on May 29, 2020
2
This one starts out with him going to Hong Kong, and explaining (literally in his own words in recordings) how he was tired of racism in Hollywood and in America. So it's an important part of Bruce's story whether you like it or not, he expressed this frustration himself. Then the film continues and cycles back through his entire life - what got him there, his four HK films, his friends, his success, and his death. It's worth a watch.
Alex Billington on May 29, 2020
3
Not sure how being Asian can be an afterthought since it played a huge part in his story. Being Asian is the literal reason why David Carradine, a white man with no martial arts background, was casted in Kung Fu as a Chinese monk. And why Bruce moved back to Hong Kong. Being Asian opened the door to people watching TVB films to get their martial arts fix. In fact, it wasn't technically legal for him to marry Linda in 1964 because he was Asian and interracial marriages were legal until 1967. More than anything, as an Asian American, focusing on his Asian heritage and how it affected him helps with representation for our community and shows that the stuff Bruce dealt with in this "unique time" is still prevalent today for Asians.
Hien Lam on May 29, 2020
4
bizarre thoughts. if anything, the focus has always been his brilliance in martial arts. when BL name is mentioned, that's what i always think of first. it sounds like YOU are the one who's focusing on his ethnicity.
dan on May 31, 2020
5
He was something and someone unique and he has opened doors for so many others. That's a lot ...
shiboleth on May 29, 2020
6
Bruce Lee was one of modern history's most important subjects. He has influenced popular culture, sports culture, entertainment, physical fitness and helped popularize Eastern philosophy. He will be revered for decades to come, if not forever. I'm not a martial artist, but he's still a major hero of mine.
kitano0 on May 29, 2020
7
Damn, I miss Bruce Lee. His influence is everywhere.
Mark on May 30, 2020
8
His "water quote" is some of the best advice a celebrity has ever uttered.
DAVIDPD on Jun 1, 2020
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