Essential Videos in blue.
This list is not exhaustive. I did not include Brucexploitation movies such as New Fist of Fury, Fist of Fury II, or Exit the Dragon which promotes a connection to Bruce Lee’s but does not include him as an actor.
1941
Golden Gate Girl (Chinese language), played an uncredited infant. Filmed in San Francisco, 1941. 1h 50m (IMDB).
1946
The Birth of Mankind (Chinese language), Bruce Lee is a street thief who gets hit by a truck. Bruce Le Cantonese drama who becomes a pickpocket. Co-stars Bruce’s father, 1946 (IMDB).
1948
Wealth is Like a Dream (Fu gui fu yun) (Chinese language). His father is also in the movie (Life, filmography), 1948 (IMDB)
1949
Xi Shi in a Dream (Meng li xi shi) (Chinese language). His stage name is Little Li Hoi Chuen named after his father (Life, filmography).
Lady Fan (Chinese language), 1949 (IMDB). His stage name is New Li Hoi Cheun named after his father (Life, filmography).
1950
Xi lu xiang (The Kid), (Chinese language), plays Lung Lee, 1950 (IMDB). His father is also in the movie. His stage name is Dragon Li (Life, filmography).
1951
The Beginning of Mankind (Ren zhi chu) (Chinese language), plays Ngau-tsai who is a poor boy who runs away. 1951, 2h 10m (IMDB). His stage name is Little Dragon Li (Life, filmography).
1953
The Guiding Light (Chinese language), plays San who goes to a foster home and his real parents return. 1953, 1h 51m (IMDB).
A Mother’s Tears (Ci mu lei) (Chinese language), plays child of a woman who struggles to provide for her family, 1953 (IMDB). He is Wang Guoliang (Life, filmography).
Sins of the Fathers aka It’s Father’s Fault, aka Blame it on Father (Fu zhi guo) (Chinese language), plays juvenile, 1953 (IMDB). Plays Big Mouth Doggy (Life, filmography). Alternate title names (mydramalist.com, May 12).
Ten-Million People (Qian wan ren jia) (Chinese language). 1953, 2h 6m (IMDB). English title (Life, filmography).
In the Face of Demolition (Chinese language). 1953, 2h 10m (IMDB).
1955
Love (Ai Shang ji) (Chinese language). 1955, 1h 53m (IMDB).
An Orphan’s Tragedy (Ai Via Ji) (Chinese language). A young man gets help from a convict. 1955, 1h 53m (IMDB). Based on Great Expectations (Life, filmography).
The Faithful Wife (Chinese language). (Life, filmography).
Orphan’s Song (Gu er xing) (Chinese language). 1955 (IMDB).
The More the Merrier aka We Owe it to Our Children aka Debt Between Mother and Son (Chinese language). Played Ah Cat in a family drama. 1955, 1h 56m (IMDB). Alternative title (Life, filmography).
1956
Sweet Time Together (Zha dian na fu) (Chinese language). Played Yeung Siu-lung a young boy in this comedy film. 1956, 1h 27m (IMDB). First comedy (Life, filmography).
Too Late for Divorce (Zao zhi dang cu wo bu jia) (Chinese language). Plays a son of a successful singer. 1956, 1h 37m (IMDB).
1957
Thunderstorm (Chinese language), played Chow Chung. Hong Kong drama film directed by Ng Wui based on the play Thunderstorm by Chinese dramatist Cao Yu. 1957, 2h 4m (IMDB).
Darling Girl (Chinese language). Danced the cha-cha with Margaret Leungm. 1957 (Life, filmography).
1960
The Orphan (Chinese language), played Ah Sam. A young criminal becomes friends with a school headmaster and gives up the crime life to go to school. 1960, 1h 44m (IMDB).
1964
Long Beach International Karate Championships, August 2, 1964, Bruce Lee Enterprises, LLC is the exclusive owner of the use of Bruce Lee’s name, image, archival footage, and writings.
1965
20th Century Fox Screen Test, February 4. L.A. screen test for a proposed show Charlie Chan’s Number One Son. Bruce Lee talks and demonstrates martial arts 1965 (TMDB). This can be found as a special feature on the excellent documentary, rucruce Lee.
1966
The Milton Berle Show; Season 1, Episode 2, played Kato. Adam West as Batman and Bruce Lee as Kato goes up against Milton Berle as the villain. 1966, 52m (IMDB).
Batman, The Spell of Tut; Season 2, Episode 7, aired September 28, played Kato (uncredited). The villian King Tut returns with Egyptian scarabs. 1966 (IMDB).
The Green Hornet, 20th Century Fox Television. Season 1, Episodes 1 – 26, aired September 9, 1966 – March 24, 1967. A series where Bruce Lee plays a newspaper publisher’s valet and crime fighting sidekick. Bruce Lee gained much attention with his realistic martial arts. 1966-1967 (IMDB).
1967
Batman, A Piece of the Action; Season 2, Episode 51, aired March 1, played Kato. The Green Hornet and Kato visit Gotham City but through a misunderstanding under up fighting Batman and Robin. 1967, 25m (IMDB).
Batman, Batman’s Satisfaction; Season 2, Episode 52, played Kato. Aired March 2. Another conflict between Batman and The Green Hornet at a stamp exhibition. 1967, 25m (IMDB).
Ironside, Tagged for Murder; Season 1, Episode 7, aired October 26, played Leon Soo an electrician that Irsonside suspects in a murder. 1967, 1h (IMDB).
1969
Blondie, Pick on Someone Your Own Size, Season 1, Episode 13, aired January 9, played karate instructor. Dagwood takes karate classes to defend him from a bully. 1969, 30m (IMDB).
Here Come the Brides, Marriage, Chinese Style; Season 1, Episode 25, April 9, 1969, played Lin. Jeremy rescues a Chinese woman who now says she belongs to him. 1969, 1h (IMDB).
Marlowe, MGM Studios, played Winslow Wong. Marlowe is a private detective in L.A. hired to find a missing brother. Bruce Lee has a small part playing a criminal martial artist. 1969, 1h 36m (IMDB).
1971
Longstreet, The Way of the Intercepting Fist, Season 1, Episode 1, aired September 16 1971, played Li Tsung. Bruce Lee teaches the blind Mike Longstreet to defend himself. The first of four episodes on Longstreet. Bruce Lee received much positive attention and made important statements about his martial arts philosophy. 1971, 48m (IMDB).
Longstreet, Spell Legacy Like Death, Season 1, Episode 6, aired October 21, 1971, played Li Tsung. Mike Longstreet must discover who is setting off bombs in the city. 1971, 49m (IMDB).
Longstreet, Wednesday’s Child, Season 1, Episode 9, aired November 11, 1971, played Li Tsung. Bruce Lee helps Mike Longstreet to rescue the kidnapped Nikki. 1971, 49m (IMDB).
Longstreet, I See, Said the Blind Man, Season 1, Episode 10, aired November 18, 1971, played Li Tsung. Mike Longstreet must find out the identity of a murderer. 1971, 49m (IMDB).
The Big Boss, Golden Harvest, played Cheng Chao-an. Bruce Lee plays a non-violent man who works in an ice factory. His family members start to disappear. First breakout movie. 1971, 1 h 39m (IMDB).
The Pierre Berton Show (aka The Lost Interview), aired December 9, 1971. Very important interview of Bruce Lee in Hong Kong. Lee talks about his life, philosophy, and martial arts. This episode was thought lost but was later found. 1971, 25m (IMDB). This is difficult to get in its entirety. It was released on VHS tape and is available on DVD from Australia. Parts can be found on the excellent documentary, I am Bruce Lee.
1972
Fist of Fury, Golden Harvest, played Chen Zhen. Bruce Lee plays a Chinese martial artist who fights the Japanese occupation of China. Second major martial arts movie by Bruce Lee. 1972, 1h 47m (IMDB).
The Way of the Dragon, Golden Harvest, played Tang Lung. Bruce Lee visits Italy and defends a restaurant against criminals. Third major martial arts movie. Iconic fight scene at the end of the movie between Bruce Lee and karate champ Chuck Norris. 1972, 1h 30m (IMDB).
Game of Death, Concord, Columbia Pictures, Golden Harvest, played Hai Tien. Bruce Lee is a martial artist that must fight his way to the top of a Dojo to find an unknown treasure at the top. Unfinished but filmed approximately 2 hours of raw footage in 1972 including multiple takes of the same scenes. Movie was put on hold to film Enter the Dragon but was never completed due to Lee’s death. In 1978 a film called Game of Death was released which only used 11 minutes of original footage. 1978, 1 h 40m (IMDB). In 1990 A Warrior’s Journey documentary used approximately 30 minutes to make a cut of the film. In 2019 Game of Death Redux was released which used approximately 30 minutes. 2019 (IMDB). In 2023, Final Game of Death was released which includes all 2 hours of raw footage and a 30 minutes special cut of the film. 2023, 3h 43m (IMDB).
1973
Enter the Dragon. Warner Brothers, Concord, Sequoia. Bruce Lee plays a martial artist who competes in a tournament on a criminal’s island. This movie made Bruce Lee a world superstar. Unfortunately, it was released after Bruce Lee’s death. 1973, 1h 42m (IMDB).
Post Death Releases
1973
Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend. A documentary released by Raymond Chow of Golden Harvest who had produced three films with Bruce Lee. Includes scenes of Bruce Lee’s home and funeral in Hong Kong. 1973, 1h 25m (IMDB).
1978
Game of Death. A movie star fakes his death to investigate who is trying to kill him. Includes only 11 minutes of original footage from 1972 Game of Death footage. Uses a stand in actor, bandage coverings, and a cardboard cutout to represent Bruce Lee. I suggest you watch one of the other versions instead! 1978, 1h 40m (IMDB).
1984
Bruce Lee, the Legend. An updated documentary based on Bruce Lee: The Man and the Legend done by Golden Harvest. 1984, 1h 28m (IMDB).
1992
Bruce Lee’s Fighting Method: Basic Training & Self-Defense Techniques, Ted Wong and Richard Bustillo. 1992. Instructional video by two students of Bruce Lee which covers the JKD stance, footwork, power punching, and self defense. 1992, 52m (IMDB).
1993
Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. A dramatized story of Bruce Lee’s life. 1993, 2h (IMDB).
The Curse of the Dragon. Documentary narrated by George Takei. of the life of actor Bruce Lee, with interviews with cast members and crews who worked with him. 1993, 1h 30m (IMDB).
1998
Bruce Lee: In His Own Words. Documentary by John Little, Bruce Lee historian. A special feature on the two disc and special edition Enter the Dragon dvd. Includes clips of Bruce Lee interview. Done by John Little Bruce Lee historian. 20m (IMDB).
2000
Bruce Lee: A Warrior’s Journey. An excellent documentary produced by Bruce Lee expert John Little author of the Bruce Lee Library books. Includes a 30 minute special cut of the original footage of Game of Death. Excellent editing of footage but uses poor source video. 2000, 1h 40m (IMDB).
2004
Blood and Steel: Making ‘Enter the Dragon’. A documentary on making Enter the Dragon. 2004, 30m (IMDB).
2009
How Bruce Lee changed the world. Documentary on Bruce Lee’s impact on the world including movies, martial arts, games, and philosophy. 2009, 2h (IMDB).
The Grandmaster & the Dragon: William Cheung & Bruce Lee. William Cheung discusses his friend and training partner Bruce Lee. 2009, 54m (IMDB).
The Legend of Bruce Lee. Biographic film on Bruce Lee staring Kwok-Kwan Chan. Edited from a Chinese tv show. 2009, 3h, 3m (IMDB).
2012
I Am Bruce Lee. LeeWay Media and Network Entertainment. Excellent Bruce Lee documentary including his family, friends, and training partners. Includes much footage of Bruce Lee talking in interviews. 2012, 1h 34m (IMDB).
2019
Game of Death Redux. An edit of Game of Death using unreleased footage. Excellent video, but poor sound dubbing. 2019, 39m (TMDB).
2021
Histories Greatest Mysteries: The Death of Bruce Lee, aired September 21, 2021. A documentary on the death of Bruce Lee. Starring Bruce Lee’s brother Robert and Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly. 2021, 1h 25m (IMDB).
2023
Enter the Dragon. 4k Ultra HD version released by Warner Brothers. 1973, 2023, 1h 42m (IMDB).
The Final Game of Death. Documentary on the original Game of Death movie. Includes all 2 hours of raw footage and a 30 minute special cut of the film. Added a new introduction to the film showing that Bruce Lee’s family was kidnapped. 2023, 3h 43m (IMDB).
Bruce Lee at Golden Harvest. 4k restorations of The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, and Game of Death. Includes 1080p version of Enter the Dragon and documentary Final Game of Death with ALL the raw footage filmed for Game of Death. Includes special cut of the Game of Death footage with new prologue. Includes 200 page hardbound book documenting the making of the Golden Harvest films. Released in the U.K.
His Greatest Hits Criterion Collection 4k restorations of The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, Game of Death, Game of Death, and The Way of the Dragon movies. 2k version of Enter the Dragon. Includes the Game of Death Redux special cut of Game of Death with excellent quality. Released in the U.S.
Resources:
Bruce Lee: A Life, Matthew Polly, Author, Simon & Schuster Publishing, 2019. Highly rated biography of Bruce Lee.
My Drama List, It’s Father’s Fault, retrieved May 12, 2024.