A Bruce Lee And Jackie Chan Martial Arts Masterpiece Is Streaming For Free

Jackie Chan was all of 18 years old when, while attempting to establish himself as a motion picture martial arts performer, he landed a brief but pivotal gig as the stunt double of Chikara Hashimoto on the set of Bruce Lee's second (and best) kung-fu film "Fist of Fury" (though /Film opinions vary). Chan was an extra in the film as well, but he made his most memorable impact by taking one helluva kick from the film's star as the physically punishable version of Hashimoto's hissable villain Hiroshi Suzuki, who unwisely killed the mentor of kung-fu whirling dervish Chen Zhen (Lee). If you've seen the film, you'll never forget the moment when Zhen boots Suzuki several feet through a window. This was real stuff, and future global movie star Chan was the man who survived the blow.

If you've never had the pleasure of watching Lee's "Fist of Fury" (which features his most exhilarating set piece wherein he beats the tar out of an entire dojo of students), Pluto is currently streaming the movie (which was once accidentally titled "The Chinese Connection" in the U.S.) for free (with ads). If you care a whit about action movies, it is essential viewing. It flies by as a revenge flick and probably served as an introduction to nunchuk combat for most of the Western world. This is one of the film's most enduring legacies: how many kids concussed themselves while haphazardly whipping the weaponry around like they were Chen Zhen?

As for whether "Fist of Fury" is an ideal introduction to the filmographies of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, I have some thoughts on that.

The wild thing about Lee is that he died at the moment he became a global superstar. "Enter the Dragon" premiered in the United States one month after he succumbed to complications from a cerebral edema at the age of 32. Lee was hugely ambitious, and, after the presumed box office success of his Warner Bros.-financed film, had plans to broaden the appeal of Eastern martial arts and his wide-ranging Jeet Kune Do discipline. His influence was spreading like wildfire before the release of "Enter the Dragon," but we'll never know how movies like "Game of Death" (left unfinished due to his death) and "Circle of Iron" (the story for which he co-conceived with James Coburn and Sterling Silliphant). 

There are so many unanswered questions about Lee, but I think he would've been one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and might've altered the arc of action filmmaking in Hollywood. What would you rather watch? Heavily armed white dudes raining vigilante fire down on the ghetto, or a righteous, unarmed Lee whupping the backends of bad guys? I say start with the polished "Enter the Dragon," and work your way backwards.

Chan is easy. He's got a litany of classics in his filmography, but there's only one "Drunken Master II." It's one of the greatest action films ever made, and, really, a Top 100 movie of all time. The ax-gang fight alone wipes the floor with any hand-to-hand sequence shot for an American studio. From there, you can go anywhere, but I'd highly recommend hitting the classics ("Wheels on Meals," "Project A," "Police Story," "Police Story 3: Supercop," and "Armour of God 2: Operation Condor"). Just do yourself a favor and pretend "The Tuxedo" doesn't exist.