I believe this moive 'Fist of Fury', is highlty related with the historical background of the era of China when it was forced by Japanese. At the time, China was suppressed by the Japanese military and suffered from many absurd discrimination. I guess the director of this movie wants to demonstrate people in China that they shouldn't keep silent like they are doing now. In the movie, I was able to feel producer's intention when captain said "Our inaction was a mistake." On the other hand, the main character, Chen can be a symbol of Chinese people's madness and anger. He doen't keep his anger insie and show it directly to the opponent. Actually I believe Chen's attitude is not an answer for that situation. His ruthless behavior caused many of his friend's death. It was very impressive movie that I can think different ways in different point of view.
Excessive and dramatic would probably be the key phrases for the cinematography of "Fist of Fury." I say this due to the repeated use of extreme close-ups, and gratuitous use of slow-motion scenes. These close-ups are usually of the characters eyes to enhance the dramatics and tension of the scene. During fight scenes slow motion was used to accentuate extreme martial arts moves. However, I say that these techniques were over done because of how many times they were repeated. Eventually they lost their dramatic edge and just became comical. I would also say that "Fist of Fury" had a political message as well, particularly that of anti-Japanese message. This is clearly shown through the villainy of the Japanese and their lack of justice or morals. This political message most likely draws inspiration from China's abuse under Japanese imperialism in the 20th century.
Fist of Fury is a Martial art film. That is a Chinese traditional film mode. In the film, from the main character Chen Zhen to show unique elements of martial art film, such as Wushu spirit, eliminate the evil and give peace to the society, patriotism. Those elements are the best to reflect national characteristics of Chinese cinema. The part which leaves me a deep impression is, Zhen’s Kungfu (Nunchaku) show. The performance is real and not using techniques like today’s movies. Zhen’s way to perform Kungfu brings a visual surging to the audience and arises the values of the film. In the movie, Zhen shows Flexible actions, moving brisk and energetic. Especially, he goes to Japanese karate Museum to fight with more than ten Japanese, and breaks the “sick man of Asia” board. He tries to tell Japanese even the world China is powerful not sick, which shows his great patriotism! In addition, the director Lo Wei uses wide angle, which to show the dangerous situation Zhen is fighting alone with enemies. Then, Lo also uses limited depth of field skill which focus on the facial expression, the audience can easily read the expression and feels of character at many spots. The film shows distinct characters like patriotism and collaborationists. From the main storyline, we can also get to some of background such as Chinese political government in a lower status, ethnic hatred and discrimination. Although Chen Zhen is not real just the man in the movie, he presents Chinese spirit heritage to Ho Yuanjia. Fist of Fury can be considered as ethical Kunfu art, it also globalizing to bring cinema culture to foreigners.
Bruce Lee's series of movies were always fun to watch especially when I was a kid. It is shown that Bruce as not a killing machine but a person who has to fight because people just won't leave him alone. Lee's performance was natural although people could say that he was just playing himself. The rest of the cast ranges from average to OK, with James Tien, Quin Lee and Malalene being the best among them. The action of the movie was pretty good. I enjoyed watching the movie.
Lo Wei’s Fists of Fury is a perfect example of how camera focus and sound effects in a film can amplify a character’s mentality and persona. Furthermore, I feel that the camera focus in this film sets a hallmark in which other films have similar ways of portraying a scene’s particular atmosphere through Lo Wei’s camera focus. When Lo Wei zooms in on Bruce Lee or Chen, his screen presence is startling in which almost every other element in the current shot orbits around him. Almost every scene that zooms up on Chen creates a short duration of suspense which in my opinion has a unique effect on the audience and the current atmosphere of the scene. The close up allows the audience to fully witness Chen’s anger and need for vengeance and the right sounds effects further amplifies this wanted effect. Not to mention, Bruce Lee’s death stare and facial expression makes the close up even more effective. In addition, during the many fight scenes, especially during intense one-on-one duals, the camera is shifting slowly from left to right, almost as if the camera is rotating in a circle. I feel that this particular camera direction shows the tension and suspense between the two fighters. When the actual fight starts, I like how the director puts Chen usually in the center of the shot to further put greater attention and focus on his main character. I feel that this film influenced many films after its time. The greatest influence is the zooming on the character’s face and the effects that come from it. An example is Oldboy where there are scenes that focus on Oh Daesu’s face that result in the audience to fully understand his current feelings and intended motives, similar to the effects that rose from zooming up on Chen’s face. There are many other films after Fists of Fury where the camera zooms up on the actor’s eyes which is a very effective way of setting a certain atmosphere depending on the character’s current mood. I feel this because when the whole screen is set upon a person’s eyes, the audience has no other choice then to accept and feel that actor’s current mood and thoughts. Lastly, I want to point out how this film displays cultural nationalism in China because of how this film repeatedly denounced the Japanese and continually put the Chinese above them. I feel this was a main theme throughout the film because during the time of the making of the film, there was a great suppression on China by Japanese military forces. I feel this is best portrayed in the scene where Chen is outside of the Japanese park that has a sign saying, “No dogs and Chinese allowed.” This particular scene where they let a dog in before Chen shows the absurd amount of discrimination that was currently happening during the making of this film. However, the way Lu Wei shows Chen conquering all Japanese against all odds shows how he feels the Chinese can withstand the Japanese’ tyrant rule.
The movie “Fist of Fury” by Lo Wei was a very successful film at the time it was released. Almost every young boy in Korea watched this film and tried to imitate Bruce Lee. People read books how to fight like the Chinese warrior, Bruce Lee and every elementary kids bought at least one nunchaku (Ssangjulgon). Almost every fight scene was filmed in wide-angle shots. The reason is that even though Bruce Lee is fighting alone, there are too many opponents that show up on the screen. Also, there are numerous number of close ups of the characters. I believe this was mainly to show the emotional expression of each character and especially that of Bruce Lee.
Unlike foreign fighters, the Asian fighters tend to scream or make loud noise during the fight which can be noticed in the film Yojimbo as well. There are variations of particular score in “Fist of Fury”. Even though this is an action film, scores and both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds were well used to evoke interest in the film. The only part that I didn’t like about this particular film is that the dialogues are dubbed. Some might say that dubbing can bring out more of 1970’s film feelings but I feel the dubbing make the film unauthenticated. During many of the fight scenes, whenever Chen (Bruce Lee) kicks or throws men and they fly out of the setting, there is a sudden change of the shot to exaggerate the detail of the motion. For instance, when Bruce Lee kicks Mushibo’s boss out through the doors, the scene right after he kicks is the boss flying over three meters in the air. Though it seems unreal, it does fine job at exaggerating power of the protagonist and his martial arts.
“Fist of Fury” has a historical background of suppressed Chinese in their country by foreigners. In the movie Chinese are treated worse than dogs and bullied and Chen was the heroic figure who stood up against such irrationality. He faced many obstacles at last he sacrifice his life to protect his school family. As the movie’s name is “Fist of Fury”, Chen pour his rage toward everything that violates Chinese right; such as Japanese who look down on Chinese, foreigners who treat Chinese as a dog, Chinese who became a dog. The violence and funny action sometimes showing is telling us this movie is meant to console Chinese from shameful history. In the beginning of the movie, when Japanese came after the teacher’s funeral to provoke Fist of Fury students, they were saying their martial art is for physical exercise not for fighting but as the story goes they regret that they should have fight earlier. I think this well describe Chinese history; China had a power to defeat growing Japan but they disregard them as the result Japan got powerful and started to attack China when they are in weak state. Action scene and sound effect were well made and certainly Bruce Lee’s facial expression made me immersed in the movie.
What I liked most about “Fist of Fury” was the humor through out the movie, despite the seriousness of the topic discussed in it. I am not quite sure if the humor was even always intentional. Nevertheless Lo Wei always seemed to find new ways of making the movie funny. Quite obviously one way in doing that was by amplifying the diegetic sounds. Probably everybody in the classroom started laughing the first time Bruce Lee did the “Karate Yell”. Additional to those yells, comes a whole list of amplified punches, kicks and other martial art sounds that not only make a scene humorous but also intensifies them. A punch would never seem so harmful or powerful without the overly dramatic thumps. On the other hand, in order for the sounds to be so effect full one has to consider the body language and facial expressions. Most of all I liked Bruce Lee’s acting in this movie. There is no comparison to his serious stare and his tense body movements. His priceless acting is so exaggerated one can only understand it under ironic terms, which once again adds to the wit. All the facial expressions and emotions are nicely underlined by the many close ups and zooms by the camera. Another point I would like to call attention to is the combat technique itself. Even for somebody with no knowledge whatsoever like me it was clear, that suddenly biting into somebodies leg isn’t an elegant martial arts move. I found those random unexpected movements some of the most funniest moments, as they mocked the most crucial subject in this film: the martial arts. I guess the main reason for all of these comicalities are to take the seriousness of the (political) situation in Shanghai and present it to the audience in an amusing art and way. Turning the whole situation into joke, the way Lo Wei did it, is maybe a reflection of how he thought about this political topic.
Bruce Lee's 'Fist of fury' has a simple story and its characters are easy to read. However, the movie is well-made martial art movie so that many Chinese martial art actors after Bruce Lee took remake of this movie. The reason is simple; this movie emphasized only the important things such as Bruce Lee's strong facial expression. To be honest, the movie felt like a long advertisement for Chinese martial art actor Bruce Lee. The camera intently show close-up scene of Bruce Lee as if they wanted to show how well Bruce Lee can express his feelings with his facial expression. The background music almost never interfere the battle between Japanese villains and Bruce Lee. The sound effect for the kick and punch for the Bruce Lee is much more louder and frequent than sound effects for other actors. Too much emphasizing on main actor could be harmful to movie's quality. But the simpleness of this movie embraced and harmonized with it so that Bruce Lee's Zhen can be interpreted as an individual who fights with injustice nation. As a result, the movie became simple but powerful enough to make martial art movie recognized in globe.
In the film “Fist of Fury” there is some very intriguing and unique cinematography when it comes to the filming of the fight scenes and how they build and release tension in the film. All the fights seem to alternate through intense action and lulls in combat where the opponents stare each other down. This helps to intensify and build suspense. Examples of unique camera techniques in these scenes would be the use of slow motion during the killing blows and shots of Bruce Lee and the other fighters attacking towards the camera. The slow motion just emphasizes and helps to articulate the gruesomeness of a particular move. When one of the fighters attacks into the camera it puts the audience in the receiving end of the punches or kicks. This achieves to create the sense of being overwhelmed and puts the audience right into the action of the scene. Other camera work that is notable in the film is the use of extreme zooms onto the characters eyes (or nipples in another example) to highlight resolve or bring out slightly comedic elements. Another notable feature in throughout the production of the film is the political and cultural overtones that are found with in the movie that to western eyes might seem absurd. For example the complete vilification of the Japanese in this movie is based upon a very real national sentiment of anger associated with the occupation of China during World War 2. While this is new for many western audiences, just think about the many Hollywood movies that feature Eastern Europeans as the villains which is similar holdover from the Cold War. This movie and time period definitely has many tropes associated with the genre that can be seen in modern movies such as Ip Man. For example in both Fist of Fury and Ip Man, there is a servile and weak Chinese man who helps the Japanese in their occupation; the main character can be seen as a representation of good Chinese morality and responsibility, that always harbors a strong sense of nationalism and is in active resistance to the Japanese. Bruce Lee most definitely represents this sentiment, especially with his love and respect for his teacher and the act of giving himself up for the greater good of his school.
Influenced by Western based films, Fists of Fury examines sociopolitical aspects that blends stylized violence with a tale of gritty vengeance. The protagonist, Chen, discovers his persona from embarking on a journey that forces him to battle his own demons. Director Lo Wei instills a historical perspective into the film, by portraying two rival factions based on their race. Set during the early 20th century, in a Japanese colonized nation of China, the distinct parameters focuses the segregation and inequality that infuriates the main character. In one example, Chen is entering a park yet denied entrance due to his racial identity. Although other foreigners are allowed entrance, Chen is flatly denied. This film symbolizes the theme of this time where discrimination is rampant and Wei justifiably utilizes this social aspect in portraying Chen’s ambiguity towards society. This facet explains Chen’s constant anger at the opposition, considering how his clan’s rival are of opposite race. As Chen’s academy consists of native Chinese students, their opposition is of Japanese, the conquering race. The plot line drives on this narrative, showing the oppression of one ethnicity towards another. Yet, the main focus of Fists of Fury is Bruce Lee’s intense portrayal of his character, commanding the audience’s sympathy for his plight. Against an entire class of dojo fighters, Bruce Lee’s character’s face is closed up, showing his fierce personality. Determined to avenge the disrespect against his former leader, he rapidly battles against each individual. A quick tone of sound effects punctuates the kicks and punches, dramatically piercing the audience’s ears. Alongside the audio, a mesmerizing score incorporates Chen’s fight scenes. Wei includes a technological component in explaining Chen’s emotions and brilliantly entertains the audience alongside the melodramatic plot line. Although a simple tale of revenge and redemption, there is a complex depth of personality within Chen that appeals to his compatriots and especially the martial artist’s cinematic fans.
Fist of Fury is a prime example of Chinese national cinema. The film promotes many Chinese arts and values, and the portrayal of foreigners in the film is negative. The Chinese have had a very rocky relationship with the Japanese especially, and this is played up enormously in the movie. However, no matter the political undertones and excessive nationalism, the film succeeds as one of the most well-known Bruce Lee and kung-fu movies. The film uses many of the techniques that are stereotypical of kung-fu movies, such as the extreme close-up zoom to a character who has just realized something, and the slow-motion sequences of a character undergoing a fatal knock-out. The film, in my personal view, is an unintentional comedy due to these cheesy devices, but the movie was nevertheless very entertaining. The dramatic sound effects made when a punch is thrown or a kick finds its target also contribute to the stereotypes of the kung-fu genre, but it is one of the key elements that make these movies enjoyable. Fist of Fury is a great representation of a typical kung-fu movie, and while it may be considered a "B" film, it is an enjoyable one.
The movie “Fist of Fury” was one that I got interested before watch it because it is one of Bruce Lee’s most popular movies that I heard. I never watched any of those Chinese martial art films but since I heard lots of things about Bruce Lee and I know how famous he is, I really enjoyed watching the film. Two most interesting elements that I found while watching it were the sound effects and camera focuses. Firstly, I thought the sound effects were really interesting and they played a huge role in this martial art film. Since this is a martial art film, there are lots of action and fighting scenes. In those scenes, I realized that the sounds of fighting were exaggerated. By exaggerating those sounds in action scenes, I felt audiences may feel more realistic with fighting that I personally was able to concentrate more with the film even though I do not like action movies. Secondly, I thought camera focuses made the film more enjoyable. I realized that the movie used lots of close-us or zooms to capture characters’ faces, especially their eyes. Even though the camera shows the whole image in fighting scenes, after the fighting ends or when Chen shows special skills in fighting, the camera captures close-ups of the character. Also, not only in fighting scenes, but also the shows Chen’s close-up faces lots of times. Especially, I realized there were many scenes capturing only his eyes. I thought those zooms show his emotions more clearly. I felt that the director wanted to emphasize his feelings and emotions of his anger. I always thought martial art films are just for action or fighting scenes that I never expected to enjoy those kinds of films, but I was wrong. The story itself was really interesting, showing Chinese’s angers of unfair treatments from foreigners, and also those fighting scenes were interesting. I liked how the camera showed not only those fighting, but also the characters’ emotions. It was more enjoyable to concentrate on the film since I was able to have sympathy toward the characters. It was really interesting martial art film.
The film “Fist of Fury” explicitly showed why Bruce Lee is a legend. Even though the plot was simple and predictable, the actions Bruce Lee showed were lively and energetic. The fighting scenes conveyed his anger and moderation so well that it gave me a big thrill when he overwhelmed the Japanese fighters. As a martial art film, it introduced Chinese Kungfu and Japanese Karate as well. Setting obvious good and evil, Chen’s vengeance for his master using Kungfu was merciless. The scene that Japanese people ignored Chinese people and Chinese culture including Kungfu amplified the thrill when Chen defeated Karate using Japanese. The highlight of the movie, Bruce Lee using nunchaku, was just fabulous. It was an iconic scene for Bruce Lee. There were some poor dubbings and exaggerated performances, but considering that the movie came out in 1972, I believe it is a well-made film. The last scene of Chen kicking at Japanese police as if he were a justice was very impressive. It clearly revealed the film’s patriotic message.
While watching "Fist of Fury", I noticed two main aspects of the movie that seemed hilarious to the viewers of the current century but may not have been back in the day when the movie first came out. The first would have to be the sound effects used. The amplification and somewhat distortion of the punch and kick sounds take away from the seriousness of the fight scene and give it a humorous side. I feel that because we are watching this movie, released in 1972, in 2013, we have seen better martial arts movies with better sound effects that this movie seem like a joke. Another aspect is all the close-up face shots of the characters, especially Chen (Bruce Lee). Before this movie, I never knew Bruce Lee had so many facial expressions. However, with the incorporation of these close-up shots, we were able to understand the emotions and the fury going through the characters. The facial expressions expressed the character's feelings very well and although they were funny to watch most of the time, they were helpful in understanding the characters better.
The movie "Fist of Fury" is like a comic book due to facial and a bit of artificial acting, the editing skills , camera movement, and some effects. It constantly shows emotions through the physical appearance, specially parts of body such as eyes and hands. They would zoom in and out quickly, especially, eyes are highlighted extraordinary through zooming, and they are supposed to tell emotions. Chen expresses his romance and anger with eyes and body. Also, his facial expressions were extreme. Furthermore, in the fighting scene there were slow motion to add intensity of pain and power of two people. Additionally, there are couple of silence to build more tension of those two. Moreover, sound plays a big role in this movie. Sounds are extremely emphasized on oral, movement and 'Ta-dah'. They were very interesting because it creates funny and comical sounds. For example, when Chen moves, there is always wind sound which shows he is fast like a lightning. This movie is not only about actions but also the historical post-emotion against Japanese because china was once conquered by Japan. Also, it appeals a man! with powerful figure and romantic, at least it is supposed to.
The "Fist of Fury" is one of the best film that represents Bruce Lee to the world. The historic era was 1970s of China and at that time China was neglected by Japan and a lot of different kinds of foreign countries. In the movie, Chen represents a hero of China that fights with Japanese and Western people. In the film, at the first scene, Chen bears to the best of his capacity from an intolerable insult by Japanese. Japanese uses their own martial arts in the movie. Their fighting style seems totally different from Chen's fighting. At the final, the boss of Japanese tries to use Japanese sword to against Chen. It seems to me symbolizes that kind of revenge to Japan from China. In addition, One Western guy does not have special martial arts, but strong power. It also kind of symbolizes the characteristic of Western people and Chen finally beat him too. For personally, I like the last scene of the movie most, which is Chen jumps to kick to Japanese and Western people through gun shots. It represents not only Chen but also Chinese's anger to suppression and disregard by foreign people. The sound is one of the most important elements in action movie. When they hits each other it adds realistic into the movie. The special point of Chen is that when he uses his martial art, sometimes he hits people and just shakes his body for a moment. It illustrates that Chen's strong anger to Japanese. Chen used to fights with many people and it seems unrealistic in the real world. However, it actually brings extremely delightful to audience and makes Chen little bit more special than normal people. Moreover, Chen has his lover in the movie like most of action movie.There are two opposite character in the film that who are interpreter and detector. Both of them are Chinese, but one of them are Japanese side and one of them are Chinese side. Eventually, interpreter gets killed by Chen and it shows a punitive justice and the punishing wrong and rewarding of right.
Fist of Fury Review Lo Wei’s 1972 film “The Fist of Fury” starring Bruce Lee is an influential cinema masterpiece of its time as it illustrates the historical background of China during the period of Japanese suppression in the 20th century through a martial arts film. The film greatly highlighted China’s patriotism and most likely begin the shift Hong Kong cinema to 1970 -1990s kung fu cinema. Films like “Once Upon a time in China” starring Jet Li and “Drunken Fist” starring Jackie Chan which focus more on hand to hand combat then Chinese sword plays. As the title “Fist of Fury” suggested, I felt that this film represents the anger and madness of the Chinese people during Japanese imperialism. In the film, Chen served as that release of anger that has been restrained. And through of some interesting and unique cinematography, director Wei allowed the audience to feel the anger of Chen. The camera focus and sound effects of the film amplifies the characters behavior and emotion and they can be easily read by the audience. For example, the repetitive use of zoom and close up of the characters’ faces during an intense moment gives the audience a stronger sense the character’s emotion. Having the camera focus only on the characters’ eyes made the audience inevitable to the intensive atmosphere created.
(My laptop was going to died and so I hurried and posted wha I could at the moment) Using varieties of angle shots and slow motion takes in action scenes, Wei well captured and portrayed beautifully the variety of Chinese and Japanese fighting style: no arm combat, arm vs no arm, and arm vs arm. One I like best is the high angle perspective is the first fight scene when Chen was center and surround by Japanese fighters .The camera at times rotated around Chen giving the audience a round perspective. Although now the cinematography seems a bit too dramatize to us, it inspired new cinematic innovations into action films and especially hong kong cinema.
Watching two east asian films largely focused on action, I couldn’t help but compare Yojimbo and Fist of Fury. As we learned in class that Mifune Toshiro’s stardom had a great impact on the film, Fist of Fury was also influenced by Bruce Lee’s fame and Lo Wei attempted to emphasize his presence in the film through different elements. In the opening scene of the movie, several images of Bruce Lee and his name appear on the screen followed by the title of the movie. Emphasizing the casting of Bruce Lee in this film, these images indicate the importance of his role in the film’s success. Moreover similar to Yojimbo, Fist of Fury consists of numerous tightly framed scenes of Bruce Lee’s face which capture his dramatic facial expressions. These somewhat interruptive scenes not only accentuate his presence but also shape the tension during fight scenes. Also, Lo Wei attempts to emphasize Bruce Lee’s existence in each scene through costumes. For instance, in the long shot of the group of students in Jingwu School, one can’t help but notice the presence of Bruce Lee in the scene since he is the only one in white while all the other students surrounding him are wearing black uniforms. While the impact of Bruce Lee’s fame on the film may be comparable to that of Mifune Toshiro, his character, Chen, is significantly different from Sanjuro. Though the process in which they constantly struggle and fight to achieve their goals may be similar throughout the film, their fundamental bases of cause are different. Full of compassion for humanity, Sanjuro attempts to bring peace and justice to the town though he has no direct relationship with the townspeople. This indicates that his involvement with the townspeople is triggered by his selflessness and altruism. On the contrary, Chen puts his people in danger to fulfill his goal of taking revenge on the Japanese for the sake of his master. Completely occupied with rage and hatred towards the Japanese, Chen turns into a kind of mass-destruction machine since the death of his master. Without getting fatigued or injured from fighting, he constantly attacks the Japanese, hoping to pacify his fury. Because their bases for conflicts are dissimilar, these two characters are portrayed differently. While we can see numerous humanistic behaviors in Sanjuro such as helping the husband to reunite with his wife and escape from the town, Chen is depicted as a cold, invincible hero who barely sheds blood or shows his true emotions throughout the film.
Steven "Seung Tae" Kim One of the lessons or themes that Bruce Lee sort of emphasized in Fist of Fury, is that you cannot solve problems or go against an aggressor with brutal violence. The entire film's problems seem to start when Chen goes to the Dojo and settles the dispute himself by beating everyone up. It seems to be highly against preemptive attacks, with its ending shot sort of symbolizing that the use of violence will end up with your demise and punishment. I guess what the film is trying to tell us is that one should always be above one's enemy, and should never stoop to that level. Another thing to note in Fist of Fury is the amount of colonists there are. There are the British, with the Sikh man at the park, and especially the Japanese. The film is very anti-imperialist and portrays the colonists in a very negative fashion. Chen's anger is sort of accentuated by the presence of the foreigners, and his desire for China to have its independence is in a way illustrated by Chen's viciousness and merciless way of handling things. Fist of Fury, starring Bruce Lee is an iconic film indeed. Its distinctive dojo like settings and one-versus-many type of fight scenes served as an inspiration for many future Martial Arts titles. Several of the movies that pay homage to the old Bruce Lee films include Donnie Yen's Ip Man (2008), The Matrix films, and many of Jet Li's and Jackie Chan's films.
Lo Wei directed the Hong Kong kung-fu film, Fists of Fury. The film is based on the story of two rival martial arts schools, Shingwu School and a Japanese dojo. The rival relationship between the martial arts schools can be expressed through the fighting scenes. The cinematography of this film was accurately coordinated to depict the tension between rivals. During the fighting scenes, there were many close ups on the main character. The close ups show the emotional expressions of the actor which presents the tension of the two rivals. Another filming affect that the Lo Wei used is slow motion. The slow motion of the fighting scenes gives the audience the time to analyze the complexity and difficulty of the martial art movements. Knowing the intricate fighting scenes helps the audience to understand the mastery and talent of the martial artists like Bruce Lee. The slow motion also gives the fighting scene a more intense and epic. The reoccurring themes that were shown in this film were revenge and honor. Honor and revenge can be tied together through this film. Chen had high respects for his master and the school. Since the Japanese dojo disgraced his master, Chen felt that he wanted to protect his master’s legacy, which was solved by violent vengeance. Like in Old Boy, revenge is a vicious cycle that ends when both parties are eliminated. The same concept goes for Fists of Fury. In the end both rivals are eliminated and Chen is left with the blame of murder of his comrades. With such strong honor and respect for his master and kung-fu, Chen was lead to revenge to punish those that disgraced either of them. Overall, this film teaches its audience that revenge and violence is not the solution to regain one's honor.
After watching the fist of fury, I understood why Bruce Lee is known as the legend of Chinese martial arts movie, and why this movie was so popular at the time of release. His presence was very strong and the overacting of his was sometimes very ridiculous yet surprisingly charming. Now, I feel that his act was too much, but by the time the movie was released, I am pretty sure that people would have exclaim at his acts. His acts were very straightforward and easy to read because he exaggerated, probably that was his way of acting, his facial expressions or shaking fists. It is said that this movie was quite sensation as in that there was no precedence of one fighting against so many. The scenes were taken as so the viewers can be absorbed in the movie scenes. For example, the action scenes were vivid and felt very close to me because of the sound effects from the action scenes. Also, the zoom ins and outs are frequently used in the movie to close up on the characters' faces and clenching fists. They all delivered how focused, mad, or any other feelings effectively. One funny thing about the movie was that it had a slow motion scene, but it seemed to me that it was the actors actually acting slowly rather than using overcrank to make the slowness. Talking about the background of the movie, it is said that this movie was based on a rumor that actually existed in China, about the cause of teacher's death. This teacher, the master of Chinese martial arts defeated the Russian and Japanese master. From that and the movie, we can read that China had a bad impression on those countries. Especially, Japanese were discriminating China, and after a little search, I found that Russia was considered as a threat by Chinese because Russia was trying to expand by force which Chinese were reluctant to. I could also see a radical ideology movement from the movie, that the peaceful way can never really work out to those who use forces. I believe that the last scene of Chen soaring in sky when all the rifles are headed at him was trying to tell that message. Nevertheless, that last scene was quite impressive that it gave me goosebumps.
In review of 'Fists of Fury', I believe this movie, in its entirety, is a political stance against the Japanese regime of Shanghai, an actual historical event following the Battle of Shanghai, one of the bloodiest battles of Second Sino-Japanese War. The political stance put forth one lone warrior, Chen, who almost psychopathically and single-handedly starts this horrific drama. But it would be so wrong to judge this character as a crazy man who goes around killing Japanese dignitaries; no, instilled in Chen is all the vengeance that all Chinese men have held under the oppression and the "racism" that they had to endure under Japanese regime over Shanghai. Also, the director and the casting team did a wonderful job of pulling off such hate-able crew of Japanese bushido gang members. Complete with the faux-hair and the stereotypical bucktooth, these cast members were almost exaggerated in their "Japaneseyness". Even the geisha dancing, a celebrated pinnacle of Japanese erotic art, was conveyed almost filthy, slut-like. All in all, in the historical and emotional context, I completely understand the motives of this film and I hope that at least through viewing this film, the anguished Chinese audience can find peace.
(My laptop was going to died and so I hurried and posted wha I could at the moment) Using varieties of angle shots and slow motion takes in action scenes, Wei well captured and portrayed beautifully the variety of Chinese and Japanese fighting style: no arm combat, arm vs no arm, and arm vs arm. One I like best is the high angle perspective is the first fight scene when Chen was center and surround by Japanese fighters .The camera at times rotated around Chen giving the audience a round perspective. Although now the cinematography seems a bit too dramatize to us, it inspired new cinematic innovations into action films and especially hong kong cinema.
In 1972, a film "The fist of Fury" was produced in Hong Kong in a short space of time and with little money. It became one of the greatest and frequently imitated martial arts movies of all time. The highlight of this film is racial harassment of the Chinese by the Japanese in Shanghai city, in a particular area. This film is a classic. It was innovative in terms of its fight choreography, taking giant leaps from The Big Boss in terms of displaying Bruce's powerful and cinematic Jeet Kune Do. The first fight scene in the Dojo is an all time classic. Also, unique one at the time was the introduction of an evil Western character as a final reel bad guy. In terms of direction and cohesiveness, "Fist of Fury" is the most superior of Bruce's films as it flows smoothly, at a good pace and brings the best out of Lee's underestimated acting ability. In all, this is the definitive martial arts movie.
The movie “Fist of Fury” is focused on action mainly rather than other sources. It was successful because of the famous action actor, Bruce Lee who worshiped by all the people in the world due to his remarkable action performances on films. The general summary of the movie is that Bruce Lee revenges against Japan for Chinese. This kind of storyline alleviated Chinese who undergone the era when Japan took the charge of Chinese in 1970s. This time was my second time watching this movie. When I watched this movie for the first time, I saw the Bruce Lee as a hero who fought and sacrificed his life for safe of Chinese. However, since I’ve watched same movie twice, I eventually could see the movie in different perspectives. I thought Bruce Lee was a psychopathic killer who can not control his feelings, especially anger. Because he decided to go and kill Japanese just because they derided his crew. Eventually Japanese revenged to Chinese due to his foolish hasty conclusion. Bruce Lee in this movie might be venerated by most of the Chinese; however, for people who live in 21century, I couldn’t praise Bruce Lee’s decision in the movie because ultimately his behavior led consecutive revenge between Chinese and Japan.
The underlying political connotations in Fist of Fury are hard to miss. The movie starts with the Japanese provoking the Japanese, who said they were different from the Chinese and were not afraid of them, then calling them "sick men of Asia". The highlight comes when Chen is forbidden entry to a place in Shanghai, where the Chinese were of equal status to dogs in the eyes of the Japanese. It is startling how the other Chinese in the movie are helpless and submissive, hence Chen is the sole hero representing vengeance and undying loyalty. The eventual victory of the Chinese martial arts came as no surprise as it was portrayed to be unbeatable throughout the movie.
For a martial arts movie in the 1970s, the use of a high angle shot to capture the action and the amplification of fighting sounds would have made Fist of Fury more outstanding than most martial arts movies of its time. Other camera techniques include slow motion and the use of zoom to intensify the scenes
I must admit, Fist of Fury is the first martial arts film I’ve ever seen. I am now a big fan of Bruce Lee. The movie, although obviously dated, successfully captured the tumultuous cultural changes the Chinese were experiencing at the time, along with their strong national pride and resilience in the face of adversaries. Bruce Lee, the iconic martial arts master, plays the hero and the man of the hour. He alone stands up to battle against racism, oppression, and corruption and soundly defeats scores of men using nothing but his bare fists and martial arts mastery. I was impressed with the underlying political message of the film. Being completely unfamiliar with the time frame and genre from the beginning of the film made me unprepared for what I initially perceived to be racism at the beginning of the film. Why were the Japanese portrayed as so malevolent, with no seeming motive? However, as the film progressed, I was reminded that former prejudices need to be viewed through a lens of history. I soon realized that the movie was merely a typical set-up of a lone hero against cruel oppressors. Historically, the Chinese and Japanese have had rocky relations and racial sensitivity, particularly in films, is a relatively modern phenomenon. Suddenly, a portion of our reading by David Desser made more sense. “The martial arts appeal to black youth audiences in the inner city and in the rural South, as well as to drive-in audiences was a major factor in keeping the kung fu craze alive….” The Kung Fu movies were released in the states in a brief period in the early 1970s, a time of tumult and questioning for young people, as they fought against the machines and the system and called for equality. The image of Bruce Lee, the lone man brave enough to stand for justice and turn the tide of the age, must have had vast appeal to the youth of the era. Additionally, after surviving the civil rights movement, the black youth must have appreciated Bruce Lee’s bold move of kicking down a sign that was blatant in it’s segregation of the Chinese people. Instead of meekly submitting to outright injustice, Bruce Lee responds with his greatest skill and asset, his tremendous physical talent. A swift kick in the face of his offender and a blow to the offending sign signals to the audience that Bruce Lee is a hero worth every ounce of admiration.
Fist of fury, directed by Lo Wei, is a material arts film and is one of the most popular movies that show Bruce Lee’s technical excellence. With a historical background, it shows china’s suffering in early twentieth century when Shanghai was occupied by Japan. There are some notable elements in the movie, and most two things were sound effects and camera focuses. To show Chen’s avenge for the death of his teacher who was poisoned, the movie contains many fight scenes, and those parts are where sound effects and camera techniques are exaggerated. Whenever Chen hits the opposite, the sounds of his kick and gesture are highlighted. This effect adds more clear and alive images, and helps the audiences to understand and feel the speed of Chen. It also creates some amusements to the audience as it comes out without expectation. Also, zooming technique and slow motion are used a lot in the movie. Like the sounds effect, these effects are mostly used in the fighting scenes. With the fighter’s faces closed-up, their emotions and anger toward the opposite are well expressed, and the audience could feel the presence as if they were actually in the movie. By zooming-in Chen’s anger face, the audience could easily feel his emotion and fury against foreigners’ unfair treatment and their occupation in Shanghai. Moreover, the movie not only represents the historical situation in the twenties, but it also illustrates China’s traditional male-dominated society. When Chen talks with his lover at the grave, he keeps ignoring her question rather than answering them. Instead of explaining his idea, he tells her to be quiet and wait for their future. Since it was the first time for me watching the movie, I really was impressed by Bruce Lee’s special skills and could realize the reason of Lee being a superstar at that time. As Korea also has an experience of being under pressure by Japan in the past, I could easily understand how people’s lives were like at that time.
Fists of Fury, directed by Lo Wei who is not only a director but an actor as well. Lo Wei has worked with famous and popular martial arts actors such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Firstly, throughout the movie, it was very interesting to see how 'Sing-ha hyung' ( the way Koreans call him) had the same face expression of madness. Story line of this film is based on Sing-Wu School and Japanese dojo fighting over justice and power. I thought the director was satirizing how Japanese discriminated and conquered power in China earlier in history. For example, when Japanese dojo comes to Sing-Wu School to insult Chinese Kung-fu school students, the master tells the students not to fight because the instructor who has been poisoned by Japanese people taught them not to fight with martial arts. In addition, an excessively strong and athletic Russian appears on Japanese side and the director seems like other countries try to ban and get rid of precious Chinese culture and tradition which in this case is Kung-Fu. As time goes by in film, it is easy to tell that the cinematography of the film is how the two rivalries make atmosphere tense. Also, close-ups of Chen (Bruce Lee) seems like very important details as the close-ups appeared numerous times. Chen's face expression of madness and anger seem to get more and more as Chen fights and eliminate all the Japanese students. When Bruce Lee's face was zoomed in with extremely mad face, I heard students in the class giggling and laughing but when I saw this film for the first times several years ago, it was not funny to people but we thought that Chen was very strong minded and cool looking. It is easy to tell that the satire or the true meaning of the film is that violence is not always the answer to solve problems but holding violence back could result great honor.
I'm not quite sure where this film fits among others of its genre, but of the films we've watched thus far, none have worked this carefully to be completely absurd. The storyline was plausible enough, at least compared to Ringu or The Host, but it seemed like everything from the lighting to the camera work to the timing of dialogue was designed toward some end of extreme exaggeration. It was as if the director lost an elaborate bet years ago, the winner stipulating that he construct the most awkward, misunderstood comedy he could imagine. And I don’t think my reaction can simply be chalked up to differences between 1970s Hong Kong and my own American culture—the strangeness of this film consisted primarily in its camera-work and acting, both done too deliberately to be accidental. An early example of strangness came in the funeral scene, when Bruce Lee claws at the dirt over his mentor’s casket beneath a heavy rain. Everything just seemed a little too bright in that scene, like there was a huge white light set up by the crew to make all of Bruce Lee’s awkward acting more visible. I don’t mean to criticize Lee, because the guy was a total beast, but as much as I tried to look past the shoddy subtitles, his acting lacked the nuance of someone like the samurai in Yojimbo. And much later, we see far too many examples of the extreme zoom, the prolonged dialogue, and the punching sound effect that just don’t seem intended to be taken seriously. That doesn’t have to be a fault, though. It’s just a bit jarring to watch, this being the first of these films to really convey absurdity or fantasy through the physical camera work, and not primarily through plot events or broader visual presentation. The whole thing is almost virtuosic, like a textbook presentation of the absurd action-comedy.
As I was watching this movie, one thing that made me frustrating was ridiculous dubbing. The lips and the speaking was terribly not matching. But what I found out was that most of the Chinese films had long history of dubbing films and drama into Mandarin Chinese. But besides this, the overall story line and movie was satisfying. Bruce Lee acted as a martial arts student who came back to his former school to find that his teacher has been killed. The set was in Shanghai in the 1930s and the Japanese were in control. Japanese Bushido schools that was responsible for this outrage. Knowing that the authorities will not attempt to bring justice to the killers, Lee seeks to restore honor to his institute and mentor with brutal revenge. General story line was interesting and fascinating. One thing I noticed as I was watching movie was that camera frequently zoomed in to Bruce Lee's face and eyes to emphasize his anger and frustration. His facial expression was astonishing. As camera only showed his face, audience were able to feel how he is so frustrated and angry. Also as an action movie, zooming in and out throughout the fighting scenes were also impressive. Wei Lo, the director of this movie left significant agenda to martial arts movie. This movie was surely entertaining and was able to see many features in typical martial arts movie.
“Fist of Fury” is one of the Asian traditional films, wearing the themes such as, Chinese nationalism, martial arts, and internal struggles. The film is composed of different amounts of actions and fight variety, which creates interests and tensions to the film. Moreover, these kinds of actions and riveting fights are more drawn to watch since those fighting scenes are carefully presented through different variety of camera movements. For an example, in the scene where Bruce Lee is fighting a bunch of Japanese guys, extreme fast movements are ornamented from side to side, briefly causing the image to blur into a set of horizontal streaks. During the action fighting scenes, however, the camera transition seems to hold a continuity style-where the camera is following the character every time. Since many human actions are involved in this film, the camera movements and transitions between the scenes are crucial.
Fist of Fury As a second time watching this movie, I felt comfortable when, at the very first scene, Bruce Lee wore a white suit, and others with black suits at the funeral. Because this scene explained who is the main and who are subordinate characters fairly easy. Also it is clearly shown that who are Japanese, Chinese, and foreigners because of the outfits (most importantly), hair styles, martial art schools or housing settings, practice environments, etc. I could see director’s delicate efforts on projecting close and yet distinctive cultures. Despite the storyline carries an invasion of Japan on China (Shanghai) and discriminated treatments of Chinese citizens, the outer appearances of the movie certainly proved to be equally different. Technique wise, I believe this movie has set a footstone of how martial arts movies should be look like. With drum-beat like or some kind of instruments used, the sound effect played a huge role in the fight scenes, because although it is unrealistic in actual fight, the sound helped to enlarge the effect of hitting timings. Also, really close zoom-in, far up to the eyes of characters, during fights motivated to show the anger, self-composure, seriousness, and slowness in the fast moving moments. This code led me to pay more attention to the fight scenes which in return went by so quickly drove me to be deeply-absorbed and yet no thought in mind. As well, an over exaggeration of facial expressions, a unique shouting of Bruce Lee, and him being hypothetically stronger than anyone in the movie, outstandingly expressed the weight of martial arts. What interested me the most is that there were couple scenes where the camera had the actors fighting on in itself. In other words, it was an unusual screening from scrolling two or more people fighting each other in one angle, but it actually put one person doing all action moves to show as if camera is being hit by him. Bruce Lee and one Russian guy were once in one angle one by one doing the moves, and camera facing directly to the bodies. I assume this clearly fascinated more. Also the slow motion in the fight scenes where they could be a crucial or a huge impact of the battle show the movie as very “martial artly” made. In terms of theme, the director carried sufficient amount of political issue and an issue of racism. The assembly of Chinese people as inferior status must have bought pity from many Chinese audiences.
One of the reasons why I felt somewhat disturbed at first watching this film was the seemingly blatant and meaningless racism of the Japanese towards the Chinese. Of course I later picked up that a historical lens was needed to fully view this film in full perspective. The film was created in 1972 and director Lo Wei uses the historical oppression of the Chinese by the Japanese in Shanghai as the basis for which this films plot develops. Living in the 21st century, it is extremely satisfying when Bruce Lee finally acquires sweet sweet revenge defeating not only the rival Japanese martial arts school master, but the Russian fighter guest as well. On the surface level, the film shows how good always prevails (as most films do). We want and hope for the oppressed to defeat their oppressors. However on a deeper more historical level, Bruce Lee's victory over the Japanese and Russian fighters symbolizes China's ability to stand up against not only the Japanese, but the imperial westerners as well. I also really enjoyed the sound effects of the film, both diegetic and non-diagetic. Bruce Lee's yells were quite humorous and added to the whole kung-fu movie atmosphere as did the impact sound effects of the flying punches and kicks in the fight scenes. In addition, the percussive music served to add tension to the intense portions of the film. For example, in the stand off between Bruce and the Russian fighter, the simple hits of the drums and other instruments were slow and steady, and extremely effective in building tension. It was as if I was watching a cobra hiding behind it's prey waiting ever so patiently before it's sudden strike.
Fist of Fury is one of the first "martial art" movies that I have seen so far. The film begins with the fight between the Japanese and the Chinese, when the Japanese dojo show up during the funeral of Chen Zhen's master who has passed away from an illness. This beginning scene shows some sort of tension between the two race; thus showing a direct racism. The film, set in 1970s, was based on the historical background when Shanghai was occupied by Japan. Apparently, the act of "racism" or oppression of the Chinese was meant to be, trying to actually make the film as if it was during the era of oppression.
From this film, I clearly understood why Bruce Lee became so popular and literally the "legend" as a martial arts actor. In doing so, the movie's simple and apparent plotline did help Bruce Lee stand out as an actor. His facial expressions are well underlined through numerous zoom-ins and zoom-outs that makes the expressions more emphasized. It can be shown that Bruce's acting can be a bit exaggerated, but I believe that this is one of the biggest reasons that makes Bruce Lee an actor who cannot be compared to other martial arts actors. Throughout the movie, Chen Zhen (Lee) is frequently angered by "racism" and constrictions, which also can be shown through his fist that is also zoomed in. This is a direct relationship to its title, "Fist of Fury". His fury, or anger, is shown through his constant revenge (somehow similar to "Old Boy") to the Japanese. Chen Zhen can be compared to Old Boy's Oh Dae Su, where Oh Dae Su in the film makes a unclear facial expression, where the audience cannot tell whether he is smiling or crying. In both movies, there are much emphasis towards the protagonist's expression and body.
Also, it does seem clear that there isn't much dialogue/conversation to this film. For myself, this was a factor that would actually aid me into focusing on the battle scenes; and due to the simple plot, I believe that much talking was unnecessary.
The movie Fist of Fury feels like a comic book because their facial and a bit of artificial acting, the editing skills , camera movement, and some effects. It constantly shows emotions through the physical appearance, specially parts of body such as eyes and hands. They would zoom in and out quickly, especially, eyes are highlighted extraordinary through zooming, and they are supposed to tell emotions. Chen expresses his romance and anger with eyes and body. While this is new for many western audiences, just think about the many Hollywood movies that feature Eastern Europeans as the villains which is similar holdover from the Cold War. There is a servile and weak Chinese man who helps the Japanese in their occupation; the main character can be seen as a representation of good Chinese morality and responsibility, that always harbors a strong sense of nationalism and is in active resistance to the Japanese. The greatest influence is the zooming on the character’s face and the effects that come from it. Similar to the effects that rose from zooming up on Chen’s face. There are many other films after Fists of Fury where the camera zooms up on the actor’s eyes which is a very effective way of setting a certain atmosphere depending on the character’s current mood. I feel this because when the whole screen is set upon a person’s eyes, the audience has no other choice then to accept and feel that actor’s current mood and thoughts. Lastly, I want to point out how this film displays cultural nationalism in China because of how this film repeatedly denounced the Japanese and continually put the Chinese above them. I would also say that "Fist of Fury" had a political message as well, particularly that of anti-Japanese message. This is clearly shown through the villainy of the Japanese and their lack of justice or morals. This political message most likely draws inspiration from China's abuse under Japanese imperialism in the 20th century.
This is the first time I have watched martial arts film. Even I haven’t had chance to watch martial arts film, I knew that Bruce Lee was an iconic representation of Hong Kong martial arts film. While I watched the movie, I felt how Japan was so powerful and could suppress China so easily. Japan expressed China as “sick man of Asia”. All Chinese people were mad about that but they had no action except for Chen. Chen was the only guy who fought against Japan. He really showed that the silence wasn’t the right way to protect China. On the other side, because of Chen’s action, so many Chinese people were sacrificed. I realized that without any sacrifices, the society wouldn’t ever change. I was so impressed of the last scene that when Chen showed flying kick in front of the Japanese policemen who took aim with their gun. I thought this scene represented as hero’s flying kick to the unfair world will never end. The technique of the movie wasn’t fancy because of so low budget, but I was so interested in sounds from the mouth when Chen was doing an action.
The movie ‘Fist of Fury’ is the movie that brought Bruce Lee to a legend of martial arts. The movie concentrated on martial arts with a relatively simple storyline. There were little too much of exaggeration in his actions and his facial expression was overly represented but I think this made Bruce Lee distinct from other actors. It was also easy to follow the characters emotion due to frequent use of close ups and the sound. For example, hitting sound when Bruce fight made the scene more realistic and more interesting and his exaggerated facial expression when camera is zoomed made the audience to feel his hatred against Japanese who were the dominant force in Hong Kong during those days in the film. It made us, the audience to feel good when Bruce Lee fights against Japanese forces even though the audience is not from China because it was the weak who fought for their country against the dominance.
I believe this moive 'Fist of Fury', is highlty related with the historical background of the era of China when it was forced by Japanese. At the time, China was suppressed by the Japanese military and suffered from many absurd discrimination. I guess the director of this movie wants to demonstrate people in China that they shouldn't keep silent like they are doing now. In the movie, I was able to feel producer's intention when captain said "Our inaction was a mistake."
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the main character, Chen can be a symbol of Chinese people's madness and anger. He doen't keep his anger insie and show it directly to the opponent. Actually I believe Chen's attitude is not an answer for that situation. His ruthless behavior caused many of his friend's death. It was very impressive movie that I can think different ways in different point of view.
Excessive and dramatic would probably be the key phrases for the cinematography of "Fist of Fury." I say this due to the repeated use of extreme close-ups, and gratuitous use of slow-motion scenes. These close-ups are usually of the characters eyes to enhance the dramatics and tension of the scene. During fight scenes slow motion was used to accentuate extreme martial arts moves. However, I say that these techniques were over done because of how many times they were repeated. Eventually they lost their dramatic edge and just became comical.
ReplyDeleteI would also say that "Fist of Fury" had a political message as well, particularly that of anti-Japanese message. This is clearly shown through the villainy of the Japanese and their lack of justice or morals. This political message most likely draws inspiration from China's abuse under Japanese imperialism in the 20th century.
Qiutong Meng
ReplyDeleteFist of Fury response
Fist of Fury is a Martial art film. That is a Chinese traditional film mode. In the film, from the main character Chen Zhen to show unique elements of martial art film, such as Wushu spirit, eliminate the evil and give peace to the society, patriotism. Those elements are the best to reflect national characteristics of Chinese cinema.
The part which leaves me a deep impression is, Zhen’s Kungfu (Nunchaku) show. The performance is real and not using techniques like today’s movies. Zhen’s way to perform Kungfu brings a visual surging to the audience and arises the values of the film. In the movie, Zhen shows Flexible actions, moving brisk and energetic. Especially, he goes to Japanese karate Museum to fight with more than ten Japanese, and breaks the “sick man of Asia” board. He tries to tell Japanese even the world China is powerful not sick, which shows his great patriotism!
In addition, the director Lo Wei uses wide angle, which to show the dangerous situation Zhen is fighting alone with enemies. Then, Lo also uses limited depth of field skill which focus on the facial expression, the audience can easily read the expression and feels of character at many spots. The film shows distinct characters like patriotism and collaborationists. From the main storyline, we can also get to some of background such as Chinese political government in a lower status, ethnic hatred and discrimination.
Although Chen Zhen is not real just the man in the movie, he presents Chinese spirit heritage to Ho Yuanjia. Fist of Fury can be considered as ethical Kunfu art, it also globalizing to bring cinema culture to foreigners.
Bruce Lee's series of movies were always fun to watch especially when I was a kid. It is shown that Bruce as not a killing machine but a person who has to fight because people just won't leave him alone. Lee's performance was natural although people could say that he was just playing himself. The rest of the cast ranges from average to OK, with James Tien, Quin Lee and Malalene being the best among them. The action of the movie was pretty good. I enjoyed watching the movie.
ReplyDeleteLo Wei’s Fists of Fury is a perfect example of how camera focus and sound effects in a film can amplify a character’s mentality and persona. Furthermore, I feel that the camera focus in this film sets a hallmark in which other films have similar ways of portraying a scene’s particular atmosphere through Lo Wei’s camera focus. When Lo Wei zooms in on Bruce Lee or Chen, his screen presence is startling in which almost every other element in the current shot orbits around him. Almost every scene that zooms up on Chen creates a short duration of suspense which in my opinion has a unique effect on the audience and the current atmosphere of the scene. The close up allows the audience to fully witness Chen’s anger and need for vengeance and the right sounds effects further amplifies this wanted effect. Not to mention, Bruce Lee’s death stare and facial expression makes the close up even more effective. In addition, during the many fight scenes, especially during intense one-on-one duals, the camera is shifting slowly from left to right, almost as if the camera is rotating in a circle. I feel that this particular camera direction shows the tension and suspense between the two fighters. When the actual fight starts, I like how the director puts Chen usually in the center of the shot to further put greater attention and focus on his main character.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this film influenced many films after its time. The greatest influence is the zooming on the character’s face and the effects that come from it. An example is Oldboy where there are scenes that focus on Oh Daesu’s face that result in the audience to fully understand his current feelings and intended motives, similar to the effects that rose from zooming up on Chen’s face. There are many other films after Fists of Fury where the camera zooms up on the actor’s eyes which is a very effective way of setting a certain atmosphere depending on the character’s current mood. I feel this because when the whole screen is set upon a person’s eyes, the audience has no other choice then to accept and feel that actor’s current mood and thoughts. Lastly, I want to point out how this film displays cultural nationalism in China because of how this film repeatedly denounced the Japanese and continually put the Chinese above them. I feel this was a main theme throughout the film because during the time of the making of the film, there was a great suppression on China by Japanese military forces. I feel this is best portrayed in the scene where Chen is outside of the Japanese park that has a sign saying, “No dogs and Chinese allowed.” This particular scene where they let a dog in before Chen shows the absurd amount of discrimination that was currently happening during the making of this film. However, the way Lu Wei shows Chen conquering all Japanese against all odds shows how he feels the Chinese can withstand the Japanese’ tyrant rule.
The movie “Fist of Fury” by Lo Wei was a very successful film at the time it was released. Almost every young boy in Korea watched this film and tried to imitate Bruce Lee. People read books how to fight like the Chinese warrior, Bruce Lee and every elementary kids bought at least one nunchaku (Ssangjulgon). Almost every fight scene was filmed in wide-angle shots. The reason is that even though Bruce Lee is fighting alone, there are too many opponents that show up on the screen. Also, there are numerous number of close ups of the characters. I believe this was mainly to show the emotional expression of each character and especially that of Bruce Lee.
ReplyDeleteUnlike foreign fighters, the Asian fighters tend to scream or make loud noise during the fight which can be noticed in the film Yojimbo as well. There are variations of particular score in “Fist of Fury”. Even though this is an action film, scores and both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds were well used to evoke interest in the film. The only part that I didn’t like about this particular film is that the dialogues are dubbed. Some might say that dubbing can bring out more of 1970’s film feelings but I feel the dubbing make the film unauthenticated. During many of the fight scenes, whenever Chen (Bruce Lee) kicks or throws men and they fly out of the setting, there is a sudden change of the shot to exaggerate the detail of the motion. For instance, when Bruce Lee kicks Mushibo’s boss out through the doors, the scene right after he kicks is the boss flying over three meters in the air. Though it seems unreal, it does fine job at exaggerating power of the protagonist and his martial arts.
“Fist of Fury” has a historical background of suppressed Chinese in their country by foreigners. In the movie Chinese are treated worse than dogs and bullied and Chen was the heroic figure who stood up against such irrationality. He faced many obstacles at last he sacrifice his life to protect his school family. As the movie’s name is “Fist of Fury”, Chen pour his rage toward everything that violates Chinese right; such as Japanese who look down on Chinese, foreigners who treat Chinese as a dog, Chinese who became a dog. The violence and funny action sometimes showing is telling us this movie is meant to console Chinese from shameful history. In the beginning of the movie, when Japanese came after the teacher’s funeral to provoke Fist of Fury students, they were saying their martial art is for physical exercise not for fighting but as the story goes they regret that they should have fight earlier. I think this well describe Chinese history; China had a power to defeat growing Japan but they disregard them as the result Japan got powerful and started to attack China when they are in weak state.
ReplyDeleteAction scene and sound effect were well made and certainly Bruce Lee’s facial expression made me immersed in the movie.
What I liked most about “Fist of Fury” was the humor through out the movie, despite the seriousness of the topic discussed in it. I am not quite sure if the humor was even always intentional. Nevertheless Lo Wei always seemed to find new ways of making the movie funny. Quite obviously one way in doing that was by amplifying the diegetic sounds. Probably everybody in the classroom started laughing the first time Bruce Lee did the “Karate Yell”. Additional to those yells, comes a whole list of amplified punches, kicks and other martial art sounds that not only make a scene humorous but also intensifies them. A punch would never seem so harmful or powerful without the overly dramatic thumps.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, in order for the sounds to be so effect full one has to consider the body language and facial expressions. Most of all I liked Bruce Lee’s acting in this movie. There is no comparison to his serious stare and his tense body movements. His priceless acting is so exaggerated one can only understand it under ironic terms, which once again adds to the wit. All the facial expressions and emotions are nicely underlined by the many close ups and zooms by the camera.
Another point I would like to call attention to is the combat technique itself. Even for somebody with no knowledge whatsoever like me it was clear, that suddenly biting into somebodies leg isn’t an elegant martial arts move. I found those random unexpected movements some of the most funniest moments, as they mocked the most crucial subject in this film: the martial arts. I guess the main reason for all of these comicalities are to take the seriousness of the (political) situation in Shanghai and present it to the audience in an amusing art and way. Turning the whole situation into joke, the way Lo Wei did it, is maybe a reflection of how he thought about this political topic.
Bruce Lee's 'Fist of fury' has a simple story and its characters are easy to read. However, the movie is well-made martial art movie so that many Chinese martial art actors after Bruce Lee took remake of this movie. The reason is simple; this movie emphasized only the important things such as Bruce Lee's strong facial expression.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, the movie felt like a long advertisement for Chinese martial art actor Bruce Lee. The camera intently show close-up scene of Bruce Lee as if they wanted to show how well Bruce Lee can express his feelings with his facial expression. The background music almost never interfere the battle between Japanese villains and Bruce Lee. The sound effect for the kick and punch for the Bruce Lee is much more louder and frequent than sound effects for other actors.
Too much emphasizing on main actor could be harmful to movie's quality. But the simpleness of this movie embraced and harmonized with it so that Bruce Lee's Zhen can be interpreted as an individual who fights with injustice nation. As a result, the movie became simple but powerful enough to make martial art movie recognized in globe.
In the film “Fist of Fury” there is some very intriguing and unique cinematography when it comes to the filming of the fight scenes and how they build and release tension in the film. All the fights seem to alternate through intense action and lulls in combat where the opponents stare each other down. This helps to intensify and build suspense. Examples of unique camera techniques in these scenes would be the use of slow motion during the killing blows and shots of Bruce Lee and the other fighters attacking towards the camera. The slow motion just emphasizes and helps to articulate the gruesomeness of a particular move. When one of the fighters attacks into the camera it puts the audience in the receiving end of the punches or kicks. This achieves to create the sense of being overwhelmed and puts the audience right into the action of the scene. Other camera work that is notable in the film is the use of extreme zooms onto the characters eyes (or nipples in another example) to highlight resolve or bring out slightly comedic elements.
ReplyDeleteAnother notable feature in throughout the production of the film is the political and cultural overtones that are found with in the movie that to western eyes might seem absurd. For example the complete vilification of the Japanese in this movie is based upon a very real national sentiment of anger associated with the occupation of China during World War 2. While this is new for many western audiences, just think about the many Hollywood movies that feature Eastern Europeans as the villains which is similar holdover from the Cold War. This movie and time period definitely has many tropes associated with the genre that can be seen in modern movies such as Ip Man. For example in both Fist of Fury and Ip Man, there is a servile and weak Chinese man who helps the Japanese in their occupation; the main character can be seen as a representation of good Chinese morality and responsibility, that always harbors a strong sense of nationalism and is in active resistance to the Japanese. Bruce Lee most definitely represents this sentiment, especially with his love and respect for his teacher and the act of giving himself up for the greater good of his school.
Influenced by Western based films, Fists of Fury examines sociopolitical aspects that blends stylized violence with a tale of gritty vengeance. The protagonist, Chen, discovers his persona from embarking on a journey that forces him to battle his own demons. Director Lo Wei instills a historical perspective into the film, by portraying two rival factions based on their race. Set during the early 20th century, in a Japanese colonized nation of China, the distinct parameters focuses the segregation and inequality that infuriates the main character. In one example, Chen is entering a park yet denied entrance due to his racial identity. Although other foreigners are allowed entrance, Chen is flatly denied. This film symbolizes the theme of this time where discrimination is rampant and Wei justifiably utilizes this social aspect in portraying Chen’s ambiguity towards society. This facet explains Chen’s constant anger at the opposition, considering how his clan’s rival are of opposite race. As Chen’s academy consists of native Chinese students, their opposition is of Japanese, the conquering race. The plot line drives on this narrative, showing the oppression of one ethnicity towards another. Yet, the main focus of Fists of Fury is Bruce Lee’s intense portrayal of his character, commanding the audience’s sympathy for his plight.
ReplyDeleteAgainst an entire class of dojo fighters, Bruce Lee’s character’s face is closed up, showing his fierce personality. Determined to avenge the disrespect against his former leader, he rapidly battles against each individual. A quick tone of sound effects punctuates the kicks and punches, dramatically piercing the audience’s ears. Alongside the audio, a mesmerizing score incorporates Chen’s fight scenes. Wei includes a technological component in explaining Chen’s emotions and brilliantly entertains the audience alongside the melodramatic plot line. Although a simple tale of revenge and redemption, there is a complex depth of personality within Chen that appeals to his compatriots and especially the martial artist’s cinematic fans.
Ryan Chang
ReplyDeleteFist of Fury is a prime example of Chinese national cinema. The film promotes many Chinese arts and values, and the portrayal of foreigners in the film is negative. The Chinese have had a very rocky relationship with the Japanese especially, and this is played up enormously in the movie. However, no matter the political undertones and excessive nationalism, the film succeeds as one of the most well-known Bruce Lee and kung-fu movies. The film uses many of the techniques that are stereotypical of kung-fu movies, such as the extreme close-up zoom to a character who has just realized something, and the slow-motion sequences of a character undergoing a fatal knock-out. The film, in my personal view, is an unintentional comedy due to these cheesy devices, but the movie was nevertheless very entertaining. The dramatic sound effects made when a punch is thrown or a kick finds its target also contribute to the stereotypes of the kung-fu genre, but it is one of the key elements that make these movies enjoyable. Fist of Fury is a great representation of a typical kung-fu movie, and while it may be considered a "B" film, it is an enjoyable one.
The movie “Fist of Fury” was one that I got interested before watch it because it is one of Bruce Lee’s most popular movies that I heard. I never watched any of those Chinese martial art films but since I heard lots of things about Bruce Lee and I know how famous he is, I really enjoyed watching the film. Two most interesting elements that I found while watching it were the sound effects and camera focuses.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I thought the sound effects were really interesting and they played a huge role in this martial art film. Since this is a martial art film, there are lots of action and fighting scenes. In those scenes, I realized that the sounds of fighting were exaggerated. By exaggerating those sounds in action scenes, I felt audiences may feel more realistic with fighting that I personally was able to concentrate more with the film even though I do not like action movies.
Secondly, I thought camera focuses made the film more enjoyable. I realized that the movie used lots of close-us or zooms to capture characters’ faces, especially their eyes. Even though the camera shows the whole image in fighting scenes, after the fighting ends or when Chen shows special skills in fighting, the camera captures close-ups of the character. Also, not only in fighting scenes, but also the shows Chen’s close-up faces lots of times. Especially, I realized there were many scenes capturing only his eyes. I thought those zooms show his emotions more clearly. I felt that the director wanted to emphasize his feelings and emotions of his anger.
I always thought martial art films are just for action or fighting scenes that I never expected to enjoy those kinds of films, but I was wrong. The story itself was really interesting, showing Chinese’s angers of unfair treatments from foreigners, and also those fighting scenes were interesting. I liked how the camera showed not only those fighting, but also the characters’ emotions. It was more enjoyable to concentrate on the film since I was able to have sympathy toward the characters. It was really interesting martial art film.
The film “Fist of Fury” explicitly showed why Bruce Lee is a legend. Even though the plot was simple and predictable, the actions Bruce Lee showed were lively and energetic. The fighting scenes conveyed his anger and moderation so well that it gave me a big thrill when he overwhelmed the Japanese fighters. As a martial art film, it introduced Chinese Kungfu and Japanese Karate as well. Setting obvious good and evil, Chen’s vengeance for his master using Kungfu was merciless. The scene that Japanese people ignored Chinese people and Chinese culture including Kungfu amplified the thrill when Chen defeated Karate using Japanese. The highlight of the movie, Bruce Lee using nunchaku, was just fabulous. It was an iconic scene for Bruce Lee. There were some poor dubbings and exaggerated performances, but considering that the movie came out in 1972, I believe it is a well-made film. The last scene of Chen kicking at Japanese police as if he were a justice was very impressive. It clearly revealed the film’s patriotic message.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching "Fist of Fury", I noticed two main aspects of the movie that seemed hilarious to the viewers of the current century but may not have been back in the day when the movie first came out. The first would have to be the sound effects used. The amplification and somewhat distortion of the punch and kick sounds take away from the seriousness of the fight scene and give it a humorous side. I feel that because we are watching this movie, released in 1972, in 2013, we have seen better martial arts movies with better sound effects that this movie seem like a joke.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect is all the close-up face shots of the characters, especially Chen (Bruce Lee). Before this movie, I never knew Bruce Lee had so many facial expressions. However, with the incorporation of these close-up shots, we were able to understand the emotions and the fury going through the characters. The facial expressions expressed the character's feelings very well and although they were funny to watch most of the time, they were helpful in understanding the characters better.
The movie "Fist of Fury" is like a comic book due to facial and a bit of artificial acting, the editing skills , camera movement, and some effects. It constantly shows emotions through the physical appearance, specially parts of body such as eyes and hands. They would zoom in and out quickly, especially, eyes are highlighted extraordinary through zooming, and they are supposed to tell emotions. Chen expresses his romance and anger with eyes and body. Also, his facial expressions were extreme. Furthermore, in the fighting scene there were slow motion to add intensity of pain and power of two people. Additionally, there are couple of silence to build more tension of those two. Moreover, sound plays a big role in this movie. Sounds are extremely emphasized on oral, movement and 'Ta-dah'. They were very interesting because it creates funny and comical sounds. For example, when Chen moves, there is always wind sound which shows he is fast like a lightning.
ReplyDeleteThis movie is not only about actions but also the historical post-emotion against Japanese because china was once conquered by Japan. Also, it appeals a man! with powerful figure and romantic, at least it is supposed to.
The "Fist of Fury" is one of the best film that represents Bruce Lee to the world. The historic era was 1970s of China and at that time China was neglected by Japan and a lot of different kinds of foreign countries. In the movie, Chen represents a hero of China that fights with Japanese and Western people. In the film, at the first scene, Chen bears to the best of his capacity from an intolerable insult by Japanese. Japanese uses their own martial arts in the movie. Their fighting style seems totally different from Chen's fighting. At the final, the boss of Japanese tries to use Japanese sword to against Chen. It seems to me symbolizes that kind of revenge to Japan from China. In addition, One Western guy does not have special martial arts, but strong power. It also kind of symbolizes the characteristic of Western people and Chen finally beat him too. For personally, I like the last scene of the movie most, which is Chen jumps to kick to Japanese and Western people through gun shots. It represents not only Chen but also Chinese's anger to suppression and disregard by foreign people.
ReplyDeleteThe sound is one of the most important elements in action movie. When they hits each other it adds realistic into the movie. The special point of Chen is that when he uses his martial art, sometimes he hits people and just shakes his body for a moment. It illustrates that Chen's strong anger to Japanese. Chen used to fights with many people and it seems unrealistic in the real world. However, it actually brings extremely delightful to audience and makes Chen little bit more special than normal people. Moreover, Chen has his lover in the movie like most of action movie.There are two opposite character in the film that who are interpreter and detector. Both of them are Chinese, but one of them are Japanese side and one of them are Chinese side. Eventually, interpreter gets killed by Chen and it shows a punitive justice and the punishing wrong and rewarding of right.
Fist of Fury Review
ReplyDeleteLo Wei’s 1972 film “The Fist of Fury” starring Bruce Lee is an influential cinema masterpiece of its time as it illustrates the historical background of China during the period of Japanese suppression in the 20th century through a martial arts film. The film greatly highlighted China’s patriotism and most likely begin the shift Hong Kong cinema to 1970 -1990s kung fu cinema. Films like “Once Upon a time in China” starring Jet Li and “Drunken Fist” starring Jackie Chan which focus more on hand to hand combat then Chinese sword plays. As the title “Fist of Fury” suggested, I felt that this film represents the anger and madness of the Chinese people during Japanese imperialism. In the film, Chen served as that release of anger that has been restrained. And through of some interesting and unique cinematography, director Wei allowed the audience to feel the anger of Chen. The camera focus and sound effects of the film amplifies the characters behavior and emotion and they can be easily read by the audience. For example, the repetitive use of zoom and close up of the characters’ faces during an intense moment gives the audience a stronger sense the character’s emotion. Having the camera focus only on the characters’ eyes made the audience inevitable to the intensive atmosphere created.
(My laptop was going to died and so I hurried and posted wha I could at the moment) Using varieties of angle shots and slow motion takes in action scenes, Wei well captured and portrayed beautifully the variety of Chinese and Japanese fighting style: no arm combat, arm vs no arm, and arm vs arm. One I like best is the high angle perspective is the first fight scene when Chen was center and surround by Japanese fighters .The camera at times rotated around Chen giving the audience a round perspective. Although now the cinematography seems a bit too dramatize to us, it inspired new cinematic innovations into action films and especially hong kong cinema.
DeleteWatching two east asian films largely focused on action, I couldn’t help but compare Yojimbo and Fist of Fury. As we learned in class that Mifune Toshiro’s stardom had a great impact on the film, Fist of Fury was also influenced by Bruce Lee’s fame and Lo Wei attempted to emphasize his presence in the film through different elements. In the opening scene of the movie, several images of Bruce Lee and his name appear on the screen followed by the title of the movie. Emphasizing the casting of Bruce Lee in this film, these images indicate the importance of his role in the film’s success. Moreover similar to Yojimbo, Fist of Fury consists of numerous tightly framed scenes of Bruce Lee’s face which capture his dramatic facial expressions. These somewhat interruptive scenes not only accentuate his presence but also shape the tension during fight scenes. Also, Lo Wei attempts to emphasize Bruce Lee’s existence in each scene through costumes. For instance, in the long shot of the group of students in Jingwu School, one can’t help but notice the presence of Bruce Lee in the scene since he is the only one in white while all the other students surrounding him are wearing black uniforms.
ReplyDeleteWhile the impact of Bruce Lee’s fame on the film may be comparable to that of Mifune Toshiro, his character, Chen, is significantly different from Sanjuro. Though the process in which they constantly struggle and fight to achieve their goals may be similar throughout the film, their fundamental bases of cause are different. Full of compassion for humanity, Sanjuro attempts to bring peace and justice to the town though he has no direct relationship with the townspeople. This indicates that his involvement with the townspeople is triggered by his selflessness and altruism. On the contrary, Chen puts his people in danger to fulfill his goal of taking revenge on the Japanese for the sake of his master. Completely occupied with rage and hatred towards the Japanese, Chen turns into a kind of mass-destruction machine since the death of his master. Without getting fatigued or injured from fighting, he constantly attacks the Japanese, hoping to pacify his fury. Because their bases for conflicts are dissimilar, these two characters are portrayed differently. While we can see numerous humanistic behaviors in Sanjuro such as helping the husband to reunite with his wife and escape from the town, Chen is depicted as a cold, invincible hero who barely sheds blood or shows his true emotions throughout the film.
Steven "Seung Tae" Kim
ReplyDeleteOne of the lessons or themes that Bruce Lee sort of emphasized in Fist of Fury, is that you cannot solve problems or go against an aggressor with brutal violence. The entire film's problems seem to start when Chen goes to the Dojo and settles the dispute himself by beating everyone up. It seems to be highly against preemptive attacks, with its ending shot sort of symbolizing that the use of violence will end up with your demise and punishment. I guess what the film is trying to tell us is that one should always be above one's enemy, and should never stoop to that level.
Another thing to note in Fist of Fury is the amount of colonists there are. There are the British, with the Sikh man at the park, and especially the Japanese. The film is very anti-imperialist and portrays the colonists in a very negative fashion. Chen's anger is sort of accentuated by the presence of the foreigners, and his desire for China to have its independence is in a way illustrated by Chen's viciousness and merciless way of handling things.
Fist of Fury, starring Bruce Lee is an iconic film indeed. Its distinctive dojo like settings and one-versus-many type of fight scenes served as an inspiration for many future Martial Arts titles. Several of the movies that pay homage to the old Bruce Lee films include Donnie Yen's Ip Man (2008), The Matrix films, and many of Jet Li's and Jackie Chan's films.
Lo Wei directed the Hong Kong kung-fu film, Fists of Fury. The film is based on the story of two rival martial arts schools, Shingwu School and a Japanese dojo. The rival relationship between the martial arts schools can be expressed through the fighting scenes. The cinematography of this film was accurately coordinated to depict the tension between rivals. During the fighting scenes, there were many close ups on the main character. The close ups show the emotional expressions of the actor which presents the tension of the two rivals. Another filming affect that the Lo Wei used is slow motion. The slow motion of the fighting scenes gives the audience the time to analyze the complexity and difficulty of the martial art movements. Knowing the intricate fighting scenes helps the audience to understand the mastery and talent of the martial artists like Bruce Lee. The slow motion also gives the fighting scene a more intense and epic.
ReplyDeleteThe reoccurring themes that were shown in this film were revenge and honor. Honor and revenge can be tied together through this film. Chen had high respects for his master and the school. Since the Japanese dojo disgraced his master, Chen felt that he wanted to protect his master’s legacy, which was solved by violent vengeance. Like in Old Boy, revenge is a vicious cycle that ends when both parties are eliminated. The same concept goes for Fists of Fury. In the end both rivals are eliminated and Chen is left with the blame of murder of his comrades. With such strong honor and respect for his master and kung-fu, Chen was lead to revenge to punish those that disgraced either of them. Overall, this film teaches its audience that revenge and violence is not the solution to regain one's honor.
After watching the fist of fury, I understood why Bruce Lee is known as the legend of Chinese martial arts movie, and why this movie was so popular at the time of release. His presence was very strong and the overacting of his was sometimes very ridiculous yet surprisingly charming. Now, I feel that his act was too much, but by the time the movie was released, I am pretty sure that people would have exclaim at his acts. His acts were very straightforward and easy to read because he exaggerated, probably that was his way of acting, his facial expressions or shaking fists. It is said that this movie was quite sensation as in that there was no precedence of one fighting against so many. The scenes were taken as so the viewers can be absorbed in the movie scenes. For example, the action scenes were vivid and felt very close to me because of the sound effects from the action scenes. Also, the zoom ins and outs are frequently used in the movie to close up on the characters' faces and clenching fists. They all delivered how focused, mad, or any other feelings effectively. One funny thing about the movie was that it had a slow motion scene, but it seemed to me that it was the actors actually acting slowly rather than using overcrank to make the slowness.
ReplyDeleteTalking about the background of the movie, it is said that this movie was based on a rumor that actually existed in China, about the cause of teacher's death. This teacher, the master of Chinese martial arts defeated the Russian and Japanese master. From that and the movie, we can read that China had a bad impression on those countries. Especially, Japanese were discriminating China, and after a little search, I found that Russia was considered as a threat by Chinese because Russia was trying to expand by force which Chinese were reluctant to. I could also see a radical ideology movement from the movie, that the peaceful way can never really work out to those who use forces. I believe that the last scene of Chen soaring in sky when all the rifles are headed at him was trying to tell that message. Nevertheless, that last scene was quite impressive that it gave me goosebumps.
In review of 'Fists of Fury', I believe this movie, in its entirety, is a political stance against the Japanese regime of Shanghai, an actual historical event following the Battle of Shanghai, one of the bloodiest battles of Second Sino-Japanese War. The political stance put forth one lone warrior, Chen, who almost psychopathically and single-handedly starts this horrific drama. But it would be so wrong to judge this character as a crazy man who goes around killing Japanese dignitaries; no, instilled in Chen is all the vengeance that all Chinese men have held under the oppression and the "racism" that they had to endure under Japanese regime over Shanghai.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the director and the casting team did a wonderful job of pulling off such hate-able crew of Japanese bushido gang members. Complete with the faux-hair and the stereotypical bucktooth, these cast members were almost exaggerated in their "Japaneseyness". Even the geisha dancing, a celebrated pinnacle of Japanese erotic art, was conveyed almost filthy, slut-like. All in all, in the historical and emotional context, I completely understand the motives of this film and I hope that at least through viewing this film, the anguished Chinese audience can find peace.
(My laptop was going to died and so I hurried and posted wha I could at the moment) Using varieties of angle shots and slow motion takes in action scenes, Wei well captured and portrayed beautifully the variety of Chinese and Japanese fighting style: no arm combat, arm vs no arm, and arm vs arm. One I like best is the high angle perspective is the first fight scene when Chen was center and surround by Japanese fighters .The camera at times rotated around Chen giving the audience a round perspective. Although now the cinematography seems a bit too dramatize to us, it inspired new cinematic innovations into action films and especially hong kong cinema.
ReplyDeletedisregard this...and refer to the one I have above. I don't know how to delete this comment.
DeleteIn 1972, a film "The fist of Fury" was produced in Hong Kong in a short space of time and with little money. It became one of the greatest and frequently imitated martial arts movies of all time. The highlight of this film is racial harassment of the Chinese by the Japanese in Shanghai city, in a particular area. This film is a classic. It was innovative in terms of its fight choreography, taking giant leaps from The Big Boss in terms of displaying Bruce's powerful and cinematic Jeet Kune Do. The first fight scene in the Dojo is an all time classic. Also, unique one at the time was the introduction of an evil Western character as a final reel bad guy. In terms of direction and cohesiveness, "Fist of Fury" is the most superior of Bruce's films as it flows smoothly, at a good pace and brings the best out of Lee's underestimated acting ability.
ReplyDeleteIn all, this is the definitive martial arts movie.
The movie “Fist of Fury” is focused on action mainly rather than other sources. It was successful because of the famous action actor, Bruce Lee who worshiped by all the people in the world due to his remarkable action performances on films. The general summary of the movie is that Bruce Lee revenges against Japan for Chinese. This kind of storyline alleviated Chinese who undergone the era when Japan took the charge of Chinese in 1970s.
ReplyDeleteThis time was my second time watching this movie. When I watched this movie for the first time, I saw the Bruce Lee as a hero who fought and sacrificed his life for safe of Chinese. However, since I’ve watched same movie twice, I eventually could see the movie in different perspectives. I thought Bruce Lee was a psychopathic killer who can not control his feelings, especially anger. Because he decided to go and kill Japanese just because they derided his crew. Eventually Japanese revenged to Chinese due to his foolish hasty conclusion.
Bruce Lee in this movie might be venerated by most of the Chinese; however, for people who live in 21century, I couldn’t praise Bruce Lee’s decision in the movie because ultimately his behavior led consecutive revenge between Chinese and Japan.
The underlying political connotations in Fist of Fury are hard to miss. The movie starts with the Japanese provoking the Japanese, who said they were different from the Chinese and were not afraid of them, then calling them "sick men of Asia". The highlight comes when Chen is forbidden entry to a place in Shanghai, where the Chinese were of equal status to dogs in the eyes of the Japanese. It is startling how the other Chinese in the movie are helpless and submissive, hence Chen is the sole hero representing vengeance and undying loyalty. The eventual victory of the Chinese martial arts came as no surprise as it was portrayed to be unbeatable throughout the movie.
ReplyDeleteFor a martial arts movie in the 1970s, the use of a high angle shot to capture the action and the amplification of fighting sounds would have made Fist of Fury more outstanding than most martial arts movies of its time. Other camera techniques include slow motion and the use of zoom to intensify the scenes
I must admit, Fist of Fury is the first martial arts film I’ve ever seen. I am now a big fan of Bruce Lee. The movie, although obviously dated, successfully captured the tumultuous cultural changes the Chinese were experiencing at the time, along with their strong national pride and resilience in the face of adversaries. Bruce Lee, the iconic martial arts master, plays the hero and the man of the hour. He alone stands up to battle against racism, oppression, and corruption and soundly defeats scores of men using nothing but his bare fists and martial arts mastery. I was impressed with the underlying political message of the film.
ReplyDeleteBeing completely unfamiliar with the time frame and genre from the beginning of the film made me unprepared for what I initially perceived to be racism at the beginning of the film. Why were the Japanese portrayed as so malevolent, with no seeming motive? However, as the film progressed, I was reminded that former prejudices need to be viewed through a lens of history. I soon realized that the movie was merely a typical set-up of a lone hero against cruel oppressors. Historically, the Chinese and Japanese have had rocky relations and racial sensitivity, particularly in films, is a relatively modern phenomenon. Suddenly, a portion of our reading by David Desser made more sense. “The martial arts appeal to black youth audiences in the inner city and in the rural South, as well as to drive-in audiences was a major factor in keeping the kung fu craze alive….” The Kung Fu movies were released in the states in a brief period in the early 1970s, a time of tumult and questioning for young people, as they fought against the machines and the system and called for equality. The image of Bruce Lee, the lone man brave enough to stand for justice and turn the tide of the age, must have had vast appeal to the youth of the era. Additionally, after surviving the civil rights movement, the black youth must have appreciated Bruce Lee’s bold move of kicking down a sign that was blatant in it’s segregation of the Chinese people. Instead of meekly submitting to outright injustice, Bruce Lee responds with his greatest skill and asset, his tremendous physical talent. A swift kick in the face of his offender and a blow to the offending sign signals to the audience that Bruce Lee is a hero worth every ounce of admiration.
Fist of fury, directed by Lo Wei, is a material arts film and is one of the most popular movies that show Bruce Lee’s technical excellence. With a historical background, it shows china’s suffering in early twentieth century when Shanghai was occupied by Japan. There are some notable elements in the movie, and most two things were sound effects and camera focuses. To show Chen’s avenge for the death of his teacher who was poisoned, the movie contains many fight scenes, and those parts are where sound effects and camera techniques are exaggerated. Whenever Chen hits the opposite, the sounds of his kick and gesture are highlighted. This effect adds more clear and alive images, and helps the audiences to understand and feel the speed of Chen. It also creates some amusements to the audience as it comes out without expectation. Also, zooming technique and slow motion are used a lot in the movie. Like the sounds effect, these effects are mostly used in the fighting scenes. With the fighter’s faces closed-up, their emotions and anger toward the opposite are well expressed, and the audience could feel the presence as if they were actually in the movie. By zooming-in Chen’s anger face, the audience could easily feel his emotion and fury against foreigners’ unfair treatment and their occupation in Shanghai. Moreover, the movie not only represents the historical situation in the twenties, but it also illustrates China’s traditional male-dominated society. When Chen talks with his lover at the grave, he keeps ignoring her question rather than answering them. Instead of explaining his idea, he tells her to be quiet and wait for their future. Since it was the first time for me watching the movie, I really was impressed by Bruce Lee’s special skills and could realize the reason of Lee being a superstar at that time. As Korea also has an experience of being under pressure by Japan in the past, I could easily understand how people’s lives were like at that time.
ReplyDeleteChansong Son
ReplyDeleteFists of Fury, directed by Lo Wei who is not only a director but an actor as well. Lo Wei has worked with famous and popular martial arts actors such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Firstly, throughout the movie, it was very interesting to see how 'Sing-ha hyung' ( the way Koreans call him) had the same face expression of madness. Story line of this film is based on Sing-Wu School and Japanese dojo fighting over justice and power. I thought the director was satirizing how Japanese discriminated and conquered power in China earlier in history. For example, when Japanese dojo comes to Sing-Wu School to insult Chinese Kung-fu school students, the master tells the students not to fight because the instructor who has been poisoned by Japanese people taught them not to fight with martial arts. In addition, an excessively strong and athletic Russian appears on Japanese side and the director seems like other countries try to ban and get rid of precious Chinese culture and tradition which in this case is Kung-Fu. As time goes by in film, it is easy to tell that the cinematography of the film is how the two rivalries make atmosphere tense. Also, close-ups of Chen (Bruce Lee) seems like very important details as the close-ups appeared numerous times. Chen's face expression of madness and anger seem to get more and more as Chen fights and eliminate all the Japanese students.
When Bruce Lee's face was zoomed in with extremely mad face, I heard students in the class giggling and laughing but when I saw this film for the first times several years ago, it was not funny to people but we thought that Chen was very strong minded and cool looking.
It is easy to tell that the satire or the true meaning of the film is that violence is not always the answer to solve problems but holding violence back could result great honor.
I'm not quite sure where this film fits among others of its genre, but of the films we've watched thus far, none have worked this carefully to be completely absurd. The storyline was plausible enough, at least compared to Ringu or The Host, but it seemed like everything from the lighting to the camera work to the timing of dialogue was designed toward some end of extreme exaggeration. It was as if the director lost an elaborate bet years ago, the winner stipulating that he construct the most awkward, misunderstood comedy he could imagine. And I don’t think my reaction can simply be chalked up to differences between 1970s Hong Kong and my own American culture—the strangeness of this film consisted primarily in its camera-work and acting, both done too deliberately to be accidental.
ReplyDeleteAn early example of strangness came in the funeral scene, when Bruce Lee claws at the dirt over his mentor’s casket beneath a heavy rain. Everything just seemed a little too bright in that scene, like there was a huge white light set up by the crew to make all of Bruce Lee’s awkward acting more visible. I don’t mean to criticize Lee, because the guy was a total beast, but as much as I tried to look past the shoddy subtitles, his acting lacked the nuance of someone like the samurai in Yojimbo. And much later, we see far too many examples of the extreme zoom, the prolonged dialogue, and the punching sound effect that just don’t seem intended to be taken seriously. That doesn’t have to be a fault, though. It’s just a bit jarring to watch, this being the first of these films to really convey absurdity or fantasy through the physical camera work, and not primarily through plot events or broader visual presentation. The whole thing is almost virtuosic, like a textbook presentation of the absurd action-comedy.
As I was watching this movie, one thing that made me frustrating was ridiculous dubbing. The lips and the speaking was terribly not matching. But what I found out was that most of the Chinese films had long history of dubbing films and drama into Mandarin Chinese. But besides this, the overall story line and movie was satisfying.
ReplyDeleteBruce Lee acted as a martial arts student who came back to his former school to find that his teacher has been killed. The set was in Shanghai in the 1930s and the Japanese were in control. Japanese Bushido schools that was responsible for this outrage. Knowing that the authorities will not attempt to bring justice to the killers, Lee seeks to restore honor to his institute and mentor with brutal revenge.
General story line was interesting and fascinating. One thing I noticed as I was watching movie was that camera frequently zoomed in to Bruce Lee's face and eyes to emphasize his anger and frustration. His facial expression was astonishing. As camera only showed his face, audience were able to feel how he is so frustrated and angry. Also as an action movie, zooming in and out throughout the fighting scenes were also impressive.
Wei Lo, the director of this movie left significant agenda to martial arts movie.
This movie was surely entertaining and was able to see many features in typical martial arts movie.
“Fist of Fury” is one of the Asian traditional films, wearing the themes such as, Chinese nationalism, martial arts, and internal struggles. The film is composed of different amounts of actions and fight variety, which creates interests and tensions to the film. Moreover, these kinds of actions and riveting fights are more drawn to watch since those fighting scenes are carefully presented through different variety of camera movements.
ReplyDeleteFor an example, in the scene where Bruce Lee is fighting a bunch of Japanese guys, extreme fast movements are ornamented from side to side, briefly causing the image to blur into a set of horizontal streaks. During the action fighting scenes, however, the camera transition seems to hold a continuity style-where the camera is following the character every time. Since many human actions are involved in this film, the camera movements and transitions between the scenes are crucial.
Eunice Won
Fist of Fury
ReplyDeleteAs a second time watching this movie, I felt comfortable when, at the very first scene, Bruce Lee wore a white suit, and others with black suits at the funeral. Because this scene explained who is the main and who are subordinate characters fairly easy. Also it is clearly shown that who are Japanese, Chinese, and foreigners because of the outfits (most importantly), hair styles, martial art schools or housing settings, practice environments, etc. I could see director’s delicate efforts on projecting close and yet distinctive cultures. Despite the storyline carries an invasion of Japan on China (Shanghai) and discriminated treatments of Chinese citizens, the outer appearances of the movie certainly proved to be equally different.
Technique wise, I believe this movie has set a footstone of how martial arts movies should be look like. With drum-beat like or some kind of instruments used, the sound effect played a huge role in the fight scenes, because although it is unrealistic in actual fight, the sound helped to enlarge the effect of hitting timings. Also, really close zoom-in, far up to the eyes of characters, during fights motivated to show the anger, self-composure, seriousness, and slowness in the fast moving moments. This code led me to pay more attention to the fight scenes which in return went by so quickly drove me to be deeply-absorbed and yet no thought in mind. As well, an over exaggeration of facial expressions, a unique shouting of Bruce Lee, and him being hypothetically stronger than anyone in the movie, outstandingly expressed the weight of martial arts.
What interested me the most is that there were couple scenes where the camera had the actors fighting on in itself. In other words, it was an unusual screening from scrolling two or more people fighting each other in one angle, but it actually put one person doing all action moves to show as if camera is being hit by him. Bruce Lee and one Russian guy were once in one angle one by one doing the moves, and camera facing directly to the bodies. I assume this clearly fascinated more. Also the slow motion in the fight scenes where they could be a crucial or a huge impact of the battle show the movie as very “martial artly” made.
In terms of theme, the director carried sufficient amount of political issue and an issue of racism. The assembly of Chinese people as inferior status must have bought pity from many Chinese audiences.
One of the reasons why I felt somewhat disturbed at first watching this film was the seemingly blatant and meaningless racism of the Japanese towards the Chinese. Of course I later picked up that a historical lens was needed to fully view this film in full perspective. The film was created in 1972 and director Lo Wei uses the historical oppression of the Chinese by the Japanese in Shanghai as the basis for which this films plot develops. Living in the 21st century, it is extremely satisfying when Bruce Lee finally acquires sweet sweet revenge defeating not only the rival Japanese martial arts school master, but the Russian fighter guest as well. On the surface level, the film shows how good always prevails (as most films do). We want and hope for the oppressed to defeat their oppressors. However on a deeper more historical level, Bruce Lee's victory over the Japanese and Russian fighters symbolizes China's ability to stand up against not only the Japanese, but the imperial westerners as well.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed the sound effects of the film, both diegetic and non-diagetic. Bruce Lee's yells were quite humorous and added to the whole kung-fu movie atmosphere as did the impact sound effects of the flying punches and kicks in the fight scenes. In addition, the percussive music served to add tension to the intense portions of the film. For example, in the stand off between Bruce and the Russian fighter, the simple hits of the drums and other instruments were slow and steady, and extremely effective in building tension. It was as if I was watching a cobra hiding behind it's prey waiting ever so patiently before it's sudden strike.
Fist of Fury is one of the first "martial art" movies that I have seen so far. The film begins with the fight between the Japanese and the Chinese, when the Japanese dojo show up during the funeral of Chen Zhen's master who has passed away from an illness. This beginning scene shows some sort of tension between the two race; thus showing a direct racism. The film, set in 1970s, was based on the historical background when Shanghai was occupied by Japan. Apparently, the act of "racism" or oppression of the Chinese was meant to be, trying to actually make the film as if it was during the era of oppression.
ReplyDeleteFrom this film, I clearly understood why Bruce Lee became so popular and literally the "legend" as a martial arts actor. In doing so, the movie's simple and apparent plotline did help Bruce Lee stand out as an actor. His facial expressions are well underlined through numerous zoom-ins and zoom-outs that makes the expressions more emphasized. It can be shown that Bruce's acting can be a bit exaggerated, but I believe that this is one of the biggest reasons that makes Bruce Lee an actor who cannot be compared to other martial arts actors. Throughout the movie, Chen Zhen (Lee) is frequently angered by "racism" and constrictions, which also can be shown through his fist that is also zoomed in. This is a direct relationship to its title, "Fist of Fury". His fury, or anger, is shown through his constant revenge (somehow similar to "Old Boy") to the Japanese. Chen Zhen can be compared to Old Boy's Oh Dae Su, where Oh Dae Su in the film makes a unclear facial expression, where the audience cannot tell whether he is smiling or crying. In both movies, there are much emphasis towards the protagonist's expression and body.
Also, it does seem clear that there isn't much dialogue/conversation to this film. For myself, this was a factor that would actually aid me into focusing on the battle scenes; and due to the simple plot, I believe that much talking was unnecessary.
The movie Fist of Fury feels like a comic book because their facial and a bit of artificial acting, the editing skills , camera movement, and some effects. It constantly shows emotions through the physical appearance, specially parts of body such as eyes and hands. They would zoom in and out quickly, especially, eyes are highlighted extraordinary through zooming, and they are supposed to tell emotions. Chen expresses his romance and anger with eyes and body.
ReplyDeleteWhile this is new for many western audiences, just think about the many Hollywood movies that feature Eastern Europeans as the villains which is similar holdover from the Cold War. There is a servile and weak Chinese man who helps the Japanese in their occupation; the main character can be seen as a representation of good Chinese morality and responsibility, that always harbors a strong sense of nationalism and is in active resistance to the Japanese. The greatest influence is the zooming on the character’s face and the effects that come from it. Similar to the effects that rose from zooming up on Chen’s face. There are many other films after Fists of Fury where the camera zooms up on the actor’s eyes which is a very effective way of setting a certain atmosphere depending on the character’s current mood. I feel this because when the whole screen is set upon a person’s eyes, the audience has no other choice then to accept and feel that actor’s current mood and thoughts. Lastly, I want to point out how this film displays cultural nationalism in China because of how this film repeatedly denounced the Japanese and continually put the Chinese above them.
I would also say that "Fist of Fury" had a political message as well, particularly that of anti-Japanese message. This is clearly shown through the villainy of the Japanese and their lack of justice or morals. This political message most likely draws inspiration from China's abuse under Japanese imperialism in the 20th century.
This is the first time I have watched martial arts film. Even I haven’t had chance to watch martial arts film, I knew that Bruce Lee was an iconic representation of Hong Kong martial arts film. While I watched the movie, I felt how Japan was so powerful and could suppress China so easily. Japan expressed China as “sick man of Asia”. All Chinese people were mad about that but they had no action except for Chen. Chen was the only guy who fought against Japan. He really showed that the silence wasn’t the right way to protect China. On the other side, because of Chen’s action, so many Chinese people were sacrificed. I realized that without any sacrifices, the society wouldn’t ever change. I was so impressed of the last scene that when Chen showed flying kick in front of the Japanese policemen who took aim with their gun. I thought this scene represented as hero’s flying kick to the unfair world will never end. The technique of the movie wasn’t fancy because of so low budget, but I was so interested in sounds from the mouth when Chen was doing an action.
ReplyDeleteThe movie ‘Fist of Fury’ is the movie that brought Bruce Lee to a legend of martial arts. The movie concentrated on martial arts with a relatively simple storyline. There were little too much of exaggeration in his actions and his facial expression was overly represented but I think this made Bruce Lee distinct from other actors. It was also easy to follow the characters emotion due to frequent use of close ups and the sound. For example, hitting sound when Bruce fight made the scene more realistic and more interesting and his exaggerated facial expression when camera is zoomed made the audience to feel his hatred against Japanese who were the dominant force in Hong Kong during those days in the film. It made us, the audience to feel good when Bruce Lee fights against Japanese forces even though the audience is not from China because it was the weak who fought for their country against the dominance.
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