He appeared in one failed TV series, starred in only four finished films and lived to the age of just 32, but it was enough. The late martial arts movie legend Bruce Lee is now safely enshrined in the pantheon of modern mythology.
Though the man may be long gone, his image lingers in a digitally-defined golden twilight. The UK-based Hong Kong Legends label is producing the definitive Bruce Lee DVD series, and the newly-restored films pay a glowing tribute to his genius. The various Bruce Lee chat rooms see fans with infinitely too much time on their hands pore over the surviving footage from Lee鈥檚 unfinished masterpiece, "Game of Death". (The Turin Shroud has not been examined in greater detail.)
It would be easy to dismiss Lee as a quirky cultural phenomenon, ten steps above Ed Wood and two below Elvis, but his influence is more pervasive than it appears. As an evangelist for the martial arts, Lee pioneered the now popular 'no holds barred' competitions. His opening bout in "Enter The Dragon", clad in shorts and gloves, is a prototype Ultimate Fighting Championship match. Lee's philosophy of transcending any fixed 'way' or method has inspired artists like Carlos Santana, who, on a trip to perform in Hong Kong, cited him as an influence. More profoundly, he redefined the nature of on-screen combat, and his long shadow can be seen in films as diverse as "The Matrix", "Fight Club", and "The Musketeer".
32 years, four movies, and a TV show seem a somewhat scant legacy for a legend. The work that outlived Lee is treasured, like jade fossils, reminding our jaded souls that once were dragons...
