User reviews

... then movies like this would never have been made.

If you've ever seen a Bruce Li/Le/Lai/ or Dragon Lee movie, then you should know what Bruce-ploitation is all about. "Fist of Fear, Touch of Death" takes Bruce-ploitation several steps further, and to a new low. The basic plot of the movie is apparently centered around a martial arts bout to determine Bruce Lee's successor.

Most of the movie follows interviews with Bruce Lee, dubbed and spliced with Aaron Banks and Adolph Caesar. Fictional scenes of his family depict Bruce Lee as a martial arts-obsessed teenager ("Mother, I can kill a man with my bare hands - you don't understand me!", yet later calling someone else crazy...), randomly spliced with scenes from an old chopsocky movie supposedly depicting Bruce Lee's great-grandfather as "19th century China's greatest samurai" - can't have been too hard, I don't think there were many. These scenes take up most of the movie - I nearly forgot about the whole determining Bruce Lee's successor thing, and when they finished, I was so happy thinking that the movie was over, only to realize there were another twenty minutes. Damn. It seems as though the writers (if any) forgot what the basic plot was about and went off on same bizarre rant about Bruce Lee's heritage (the one they made up, not his real heritage).

This movie does not have cult-status in any way, nor does it give the cheesy-laughs you'd expect from a regular chopsocky movie. The only thing it manages to do is insult Bruce Lee and his legacy (even Fred Williamson says the same thing in this sad excuse for a movie). Avoid at all costs.

1/10

Unfortunately, this film neither features real martial arts, nor is it a classic. It hardly even features Bruce Lee, except for some old footage that has been re-dubbed to make it look like Lee actually agreed to this film being made. I hope somebody got sued for this one.

This could have been a good documentary about the "1979 Karate Championship" but most of the footage from the karate matches is obviously staged, and has little to do with Chinese martial arts. Some interesting "facts" were revealed by this film however. For instance, prior to watching "Fist of Fear", I had no idea that Lee's great grandfather was the greatest Chinese samurai warrior.

There are a few funny moments in the film (the Bill Louie Kato scene, or when Fred Williamson is introduced for example) but if you have any respect for Bruce Lee or film-making in general, I would highly recommend avoiding this film.

• Lex

FIST OF FEAR, TOUCH OF DEATH is to the martial-arts genre what KILLER CLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE is to the horror genre; it is pure and utter exploitational shlock...and yet it is hysterically, unintentionally funny.

Despite what others have said about this film being a "disgrace" to the name of Bruce Lee, I found it as more of a tribute, despite its numerous references to "Bruce Lee's successor." The general story is that the Madison Square Gardens is hosting a tournament to determine the aforementioned "successor," with Oscar-winner (not for THIS film!) Adolph Caesar as the hokey announcer. Also along for the ride is Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, determined to make his mark upon the blaxploitation world!! Through a series of poor flashbacks, the pair relate Bruce's (purely fictional) story.

The writer of this film certainly has a talent for penning crap, and yet my friends and I couldn't help but laugh so hard we cried. Clips from an old Chinese soap opera are re-dubbed to make Bruce's "biography," which then introduce a flashback-IN-a-flashback (got that?) about Bruce's great-grandfather, who was apparently a samurai. The footage for this segment is taken from INVINCIBLE SUPER CHAN, a cult classic in its own right due to a numerous wire tricks, a midget, and some guy with an abacus. Who knows what the writer of FIST OF FEAR was thinking when he wrote this...however, who cares??

The laughs that FIST OF FEAR will cause are practically nonstop, from Williamson's white beeyotch who insists on "making it a six-pack", to his being mistaken for Harry Belafonte, to Bill Louie's cameo as "Green Hornet"'s Kato (he kills a would-be rapist with shurikens!). The actual tournament footage is poor, and yet as a viewer you probably won't even care. After all, Adolph Caesar's final words about there being "no true successor to such a master" seem to make the whole movie alright.

Overall, FIST OF FEAR is a keeper. Show it to your friends, bring lots of snacks, and sit back to have a good long laugh. My rating: 8/10

In the hype for a big karate championship bout between Louis Neglia and John "Cyclone" Flood at Madison Square Garden, a TV Anchorman named Adolph Caesar tries to tie the match into the controversy stirred up with regards to the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Bruce Lee and whether or not this karate match-up will crown his successor.

I gave this a rating of 4, one point each for the ways in which this succeeded in entertaining me. Point # 1 was awarded for the karate championship match itself which was exciting if a little too short-lived. Point # 2 was for the archival footage featuring Bruce Lee which was cool to see even if it was horrendously dubbed. Point # 3 was for the footage taken from the "Samurai" film which amused me with its utter lack of convincing effects combined with some otherwise intense and gory fight scenes. Point # 4 was for this film's sheer audaciousness as it preposterously tries to tie itself and a straightforward karate match at Madison Square Garden to the enduring legacy left behind by Bruce Lee succeeding in making me laugh and shake my head in utter amazement at this ludicrous presentation unfolded before my eyes.

I think this is meant to be a farce. But it isnt. It is just rotting horse manure masquerading as a movie. The DVD cover makes you think that Bruce Lee stars in this movie and there are actual Bruce Lee fight scenes. There's nothing of the sort. Somebody should sue the guys who brought this out. It is blatantly false advertising. Is Bruce Lee's estate listening?

When you look at the cover of this dvd there's a giant pic of Lee on it.

So you'll think this is going to be a great martial arts flick, but its not.

You don't even see him fighting!!!! They talk about a great karate championship, but the only thing you see is the finale and they don't do karate they are BOXING! Everything here is a lie, they even try to let you think that Lee's great grandfather was a famous samurai...this movie has nothing to do with martial arts, avoid it at all costs! if you see it in a store, hide the box so no one can buy it, this is total crap!!!!

This movie is no tribute to Bruce Lee whatsoever. It's not even a martial arts film. It's not even a "film". It's bad. There is not plot,no decent acting, just cutting and pasting from other movies and some people "saying" Bruce Lee might be killed by some 'touch of death' and a reporter hanging out at a karate contest (that you only get to see from a distance). You shouldn't watch this film. It's not even cult. The only reason they made this movie was to be able to print Bruce Lee on the cover and because they were hoping it would sell. Anyone could have made a Bruce Lee-tribute that's better than this "thing". Don't see it. Don't buy it. Don't give it to people you like.

I can't remember why I got this, it was in a pack with 4 other atrocious Bruce Lee-sploit movies. They were all pretty bad (except the one where they do his biography) but this was the worst. The announcer at the start does a pretty good job of letting you know this will be a crappy movie right off the bat. I doubt that acting like his was acceptable even in the 70s. I hope you read this BEFORE renting, borrowing, or stealing this movie, because after I watched this my VCR broke and I am sure it was in protest of me playing this movie in it. If you already got it, don't watch it, try to get your money back NOW (even if you stole it, they should pay you for removing it off their hands) If you have watched this already, I hope it was on someone elses VCR, or maybe you can have the store you got it from refund you for the movie and your machine.

Ok. I rented this movie last night with my friends thinking that it would be a good kung fu movie starring Bruce Lee (that's what it said on the cover). Bruce isn't even in this movie, except for a few clips that were poorly dubbed. There is this one part that shows the life of the young Bruce Lee. It uses some great 1950's jive. My personal favorite was "superstious mumbo jumbo". Oh yeah, I am still wondering why the Chinese people were named Jack, and Sue...

The fight scenes were not just okay.. they were pure cheese. I think they were the inspiration for the Power Rangers. They were totally unrealistic and they made me nausiated trying to follow the close up camera angles that were off center.

My favorite part of the film (there were actually about 6 of them spliced together) came in the first unrelated fight scene flashback when Bruce's great-grandfather dodges arrows from 4 bowmen, picks the arrows up and in one throw kills all 4 bowmen. There are so many outrageously cheesy parts to this film I can't name them all in 1,000 words!!

When watching this movie I have to suggest a few things:

1. See this with at least one or two friends. Seeing it alone is dangerous, and you will probably try to break something.

2. Watch this movie all the way through. My friends and were laughing so hard at some parts we were teary eyed.

3. Don't try to drink anything while seeing the fight scenes, I almost choked during one.

4. Watch the end credits where it says the names of all the people in the movie. Notice were it says "featuring:" and then gives the names of the members of the gang at the end (none of them were actually mentioned during the "film"). My favorite is Ron Harvey as "Jasper Milktoast".

5. When finished with this movie go back to the bad fights scenes and play them in slow motion. Pay careful attention to the guys in the background running around aimlessly. They almost stole the show!

I know this is a long review, but there's so much to be said about it. Even though this movie is probably the worst film I have ever seen, it is one of the funniest. If you want a good laugh and have a few hours to waste, please see this POS movie! It's craptacular!

First off the movie is an obvious comedy that knows it is being funny. It IS a funny movie that is a comment on all the fake Bruce Lee movies being done at the time. The violence is comic to start with. Scenes like the eyeballs are played for laughs. Making Lee's voice fem was an obvious joke too, as was his "Samururi" background. The black and white footage IS Bruce as a child actor. Redubbed to be satirically biographical it cuts between the old film and the 70s B Samurai movie in a direct parody of "The Real Bruce Lee". The skits are meant to be funny as are the would be attackers. Their are some real martial arts in the film by excellent practitioners and the point of the whole movie is that you should be yourself. The message is use Bruce to inspire you but be your own self in martial arts and in acting. I liked this very much it's fun cheese that doesn't take itself seriously.

What a hoot! No one could watch this without falling off the chair laughing! There are scenes of one guy supposedly plucking out eyeballs! Talk about huge amount of ridiculous stereotypes with confusion between one fighter and Harry Belafonte by the hotel.

There are scenes from lots of old kung fu type movies as well as an early Bruce Lee movie. There are also some terribly dubbed Bruce Lee interviews with poor voice acting.

There is no plot, just a poorly threaded 'broadcast' by an actor who wouldn't even put his real name on the part! (Or too unimaginative to come up with a name for the part! You have to laugh while watching this one or you are taking life all together too serious!

Check out my review of this movie on http://superfunadventuretime.com/2009/04/27/fist-of- fear-touch-of-death/

Here is a little of what you'll see: The film represents the ultimate in Bruceploitation (films following the formula Bruce Lee + anything = $$), the premise for which is a documentary, featuring Adolph Caesar, investigating the world martial arts championships and who will be the successor to Bruce Lee's non-existent title of king of kung fu. It opens with Adolph Caesar interviewing Aaron "Mr. Karate" Banks telling of how he thinks Bruce Lee was killed by the touch of death or "vibrating palm" a technique in which you "touch a particular part of the body to reverse or change the normal bodily functions" resulting in death in 3-4 weeks. Seriously, this is what he says. I couldn't make this up in that I am a reasonable and sensible human being. Thus setting the tone for the remaining 87 minutes of terror.

Check it out and leave a comment.

When it comes to bad movies, some are just plain bad, and some are so bad that they're good. Sometimes they are so bad that they become "good" but quickly become bad again because they're so stupid, and very few become good again because they're so terrible. This movie, however, doesn't make it back up the hill. Although this seems like a well-intended tribute to Bruce Lee, it's inaccurate to the core. I personally found some of this misleading info to be funny at first, only because I couldn't believe that someone could be so stupid, but the rest of the movie just dragged on and got boring and annoying. I was never able to watch this whole movie in one sitting. Although as a Bruce Lee fan, I wasn't offended (since I knew the truth), I just kept thinking to myself as I was watching and hoping it'd get better "Oh my gosh... the writers need to be shot."

This really is the worst movie ever. Not only that, but the cover deceives you into thinking it is a Bruce Lee movie! It is cheesy, with fake conversations. For example, there is an interview with Bruce Lee in which they ask him questions and then he answers, but it is so obvious that Bruce Lee is not sitting in on the interview. Instead, they took footage of him speaking, asked a question, then cut to the footage of him talking. I don't know how this material ever got approved by Bruce Lee's family. It is a disgrace.

There isn't much to say that hasn't already been said about "Fist of Fear, Touch of Death". Take a screenwriter who has never written for any production before (or since for that matter) and has no knowledge of the subject whatever, several B-list or lower celebrities who need a paycheck, a few of the worst actors ever to grace a screen, unrelated and unwatchable stock footage then give the entire mess over to an apparently blind and deaf editor with some sort of palsy and call it a "Documentary". Calling this pile of garbage a "Documentary" is like trying to sell a small child's mud pies in a gourmet bakery.

I must call special attention to the first fight scene in the movie. Bill Louie pulls an opponent's eyes out and "in a dazzling piece of showmanship" tosses them to the crowd. It's just one gut-bustingly funny moment in a movie full of them. Also of note is Hollywood Browde. In slightly more than 60 seconds on screen, she manages to pull of the worst bit of acting I've seen in a lifetime of watching and enjoying bad movies. She should receive a "Razzie Lifetime Achievement Award" based solely on this performance.

There aren't words in the language to describe this thing. Film schools should show this as an example of everything one could do wrong while making a movie. You can't fully appreciate the depths of bad this movie aspires to until you have seen it. And you should. As a "Documentary" it's horrible but as a comedy, well, as a comedy it's GOLD, friends. Pure gold.

Before you reed this comment i want you to know that when I saw this movie I found it so disgusting I could not watch the whole movie.

I've been a martial arts fan ever since I saw what Bruce Lee was capable of in a two-hour documentary on the Discovery Channel. Very unfortunately this was one of the first movies I saw about him. Though "Goodbye Bruce Lee" isn't too good either, at least it doesn't put violate his reputation as "The king of Kung Fu".

If you reed this comment before you are about to watch the movie, let me warn you that if you want Bruce Lee, go get yourself "Enter The Dragon" instead.

Outside of NYC's Madison Square Garden, Adolph Caesar is told by karate expert Aaron Banks that Bruce Lee was killed by a Touch of Death. Adolph is covering the World Karate Championship inside the Garden and Bruce Lee's successor could be anoited. He is joined by Fred Williamson who is constantly being mistaken for Harry Belafonte. Using old film scenes, Adolph recount Bruce Lee's life.

There are so many things wrong with this movie. It borders on being disrespectful to the dead. That's saying alot with so many Bruceploitation films floating around taking advantage of his name. This one has multiple issues. First, Bruce's dubbed voice sound foreign to the man. It sounds wrong when the man actually spoke perfect english. They obviously needed the dubbing to change some of the dialogue but they could have used a better impersonator. Second, the disrespect comes from the Touch of Death. If the movie insists on doing a conspiracy theory about his cause of death, the movie should probably drop the faux documentary production and stay solidly in fiction territory. Third, there is a constant confusion between Japanese and Chinese. While Bruce competed against other fighting styles, he was never dismissive of their cultures and he certainly never confused them. It's insulting to say the least. Lastly, the middle of the film uses scenes from other movie to portray Bruce Lee's early years and his family origins. It is a complete failure of confusion. Again there is bad dubbing. I don't follow the chaotic filmmaking. The only positive is seeing footage of a young Bruce Lee although having another guy play Bruce playing Green Hornet's Kato is a meta mind bend. I'm guessing that they couldn't license any Green Hornet footage. Despite the chaos and the incompetence, these are people who are actual friends and fans of Bruce. That is its only saving grace. They may be bad at making movies but their admiration of Bruce is never in doubt.

This utterly ridiculous film is about the martial arts legacy of Bruce Lee. There really isn't a story and the script comes across like the writing of a 13 year old fan-boy. Very little of what is conveyed in this film is truthful. For a much better treatment of the legend of Lee, see Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey.

Somehow, Matthew Malinson got a few action stars and martial artists to participate in this mess and was able to secure clips from a REAL martial arts film which were recycled into a silly ancestor-worship theme which supposedly inspired Lee. Adolph Caesar plays an annoyingly monotonous MC at a Madison Square Garden event which is supposed to result in a decision for the question - 'who will be the next Bruce Lee?'. As ridiculous as this may sound, it was a common theme for martial arts films of the middle to late '70s. Again, anybody interested in the reasons why should see A Warrior's Journey, not this film.

Scenes from the Bruce Lee Crown Event are spliced in with nearly random interview clips and poor re-enactments of Lee's completely fictionalized early life and some of his theatrical work.

Avoid.

Everything in the is movie is a 100% true about Bruce lee. Finally we have a film that tells of his; voyage to America with just the clothes on his back, his great grand fathers swordsmen ship, confrontation with the people that know him best, his journey through the early stages of KARATE, death from the touch of death. This movies also finally shows us the real successor to Bruce lee (through a KARATE match).

I advice any Bruce lee fan to get this movie immediately. It really shows you how great of a man Bruce lee was. Since Adolf Caesar really founded Bruce lee (and he was immediately famous) its no wonder that he is as big as he was. I mean, there's no way that Bruce would have died of natural causes, it had to be....the touch of death.

A tournament is held to find the successor of Bruce Lee, while the the tournament is being held we learn that Bruce Lee's great grandfather was a Samurai (Despite the obvious fact that Samurai are Japanese and Bruce Lee is Chinese) and the movie amounts to an amateurish cut and paste job that will be looked at with scorn for even fans of Bruceploitation. The biggest surprise about this travesty is the quite good cast it has, in that we have Fred Williamson (Say what you will but he's got charisma), Adolph Caesar and uh, Bruce Lee clips. It's hard to even qualify this as a movie because everything about it feels so incompetently made. The samurai clips have some moments (Well if you're an old school fan like me.) but I can always try and locate that movie (Which I most likely won't do for a long time.) and the fake interviews, fake stories and indeed the shameless promotion of Bill Louie as Kato, all make this a true labor of badness. The Bruce Lee clips are worthless since he does no fighting in them (I mean seriously if you're going to steal clips steal from Fist Of Fury) and basically it's all one cut and paste mess with very little worth or value. It's not even hilarious just painful to watch, although the music in the beginning of the credits (When it flashes the title credit) is hilarious.

1/2* out of 4-(Awful)