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With: Bruce Lee, Maria Yi, James Tien, Nora Miao, Lee Quinn, Han Ying-chieh, Lau Wing, Kam San, Ricky Chik, Li Hua Sze, Marilyn Bautista, Chan Chue, Billy Chan Wui-ngai, Lam Ching-ying, Tu Chia-Cheng, Peter Chan Lung
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Written by: Lo Wei
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Directed by: Lo Wei
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MPAA Rating: R
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Running Time: 100
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Date: 10/23/1971
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Cool As Ice
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
After paying his dues with The Green Hornet, Batman, Philip Marlowe, and Matt Helm, Bruce Lee finally landed his first starring role in a martial arts film. Released in America as Fists of Fury (and not to be confused with Lee's next film, Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection), The Big Boss casts Lee as Cheng Chao-an, who has made a vow to his mother not to fight. He moves to Thailand and gets a job in an ice factory, and eventually learns that it's really a drug-smuggling ring run by the malevolent Hsiao Mi (Han Ying-chieh), who likes to make troublemakers disappear. It takes a while and much plot to get Cheng to the point where he's ready to break his vow, but then: pow! It's an incredible showdown with a lean, lithe Lee at his best. Pure animal poetry, although unlike many martial arts entertainments, this one features very strong violence, sex and nudity, and an unexpectedly downbeat ending.
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