Bruce Lee Special Edition, An Inside Look at The Way of the Dragon

Author: Steve Kerridge, Foreword by Shannon Lee
Publisher: Hate Media

Bruce Lee – Special Edition “An Inside Look at The Way of the Dragon” is a close up, behind the scenes photo diary of Bruce’s 1972 directorial debut. The author gives us a privileged insight into the happenings on set during the making of the movie with lots of great photographs, some previously unseen, making their first appearance in this offering from Steve Kerridge.

The book is a real collector’s item and when you see the countless beautiful photographs on offer here between the covers you will be glad you added this to your collection! The book is also endorsed with a foreword by Bruce’s daughter, Shannon Lee whose rubber stamp of authenticity should be enough to convince you of the workmanship and blessings upon this publication.

Steve Kerridge’s book takes an insightful look at the making of Bruce Lee’s “The Way of The Dragon” (1972). The book provides an in depth photographic journey following Bruce and other key figures such as Chuck Norris and Bob Wall through the movie’s production, in Rome, focussing on the infamous coliseum fight scene. Much of the filming was shot without a permit and under the impending threat of people who dared to think themselves brave enough to challenge the martial arts world’s most notorious gladiator!

We are shown, for the very first time, what happened when Bruce takes upon himself the mantle of producer, star, writer and director for a film where he becomes the real life big boss of his very own movie set. See Hong Kong’s favourite son for yourself on the very crest of his kung-fu tidal wave with the world at his feet, at the pinnacle of his popularity.

This is a highly collectable book, filled cover to cover with plenty of never seen before photographs from the Lee family archive. You will also discover extracts from the script and action scenes which have been handwritten and amended by Bruce. The book also contains extracts from interviews with Lee and his co-stars on the film. It’s always refreshing to find out what really happened and gain a human perspective on what the actors were really like and what their day-to-day lives were about!

Lee of course, looks supercool throughout, whether he’s acting, training or just being an iconic MacDaddy in a pair of flares and a floral vest. Who’s going to tell him otherwise?

The production and print quality is really nice, it has clearly been put together with lots of care and this really shines through. This book contains just the right balance of writing and photographs to make your coffee table the centre of attention or your bookshelf a veritable Valhalla for years to come.

Summary

Taking a fresh look at the making of The Way of the Dragon, Steve Kerridge has managed to collect and present some really worthwhile material here. This book will be a hit with fans because of its unique focus on the one film that Bruce managed to produce, write and of course star in. This book without question, belongs in your collection. Beautifully presented and jam-packed with a ton of refreshing photographs, this will be hailed as a gem by all who are fortunate to see and read it.

With such high quality production and great new content, Bruce Lee – “An Inside Look at The Way of The Dragon” by Steve Kerridge makes the perfect gift for Bruce Lee admirers and fanatics everywhere!!

Favourite Quotes

“My father understood very well what resonated with Chinese audiences. Way directly exposed the difficulty many Chinese had, my father included, with travelling overseas – the language problems and the vast differences between western and eastern cultures. Because of this sensitivity to these themes (not to mention the dynamic fight scenes), Way of the Dragon remains the favourite of my father’s films among Chinese audiences today.” – Foreword by Shannon Lee: – Page 11

“I think the training method of Chinese Martial arts today is a bit like teaching someone to swim on dry land. They practice forms, stances and two men set combat moves, but when you fight against a living man, I am afraid many of the beautiful forms and stances are soon forgotten. Do you honestly think you can swim in the sea by being trained to do so on dry land?…Does the term “sailor” represent that he can swim?… Well, my idea is, if you want to learn to swim you need to throw yourself into the water.” – Bruce Lee: – Page 110

“Yes, that day Bruce Lee killed me in the Roman Coliseum was hectic”, recalled Chuck Norris. “The busy filming schedule for the most celebrated fight scene in celluloid took over three full days of shooting. We were working mostly five or six hours without a break, starting at 9am through till late evening.” – Page 124

“When I was employed as assistant director on The Way of the Dragon, I must admit I felt nervous.” Recalled Yao Chang. “I knew this was Bruce’s directing debut and to be honest wasn’t sure I would get along good enough for such a demanding project. One day I went back to the office and he told me to take it easy, “We’ll make a good film” he told me, shook my hand and smiled. From then on, we locked ourselves together and started to work on the script.” –Page 131

 Book Rating: 10/10

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Mike Heanue

Mike or simply Drill-bit to his close friends has been hooked on Martial Arts ever since Mr Miyagi made it ok for men to wax. A lifelong Martial Arts practitioner and now Kung Fu Instructor, Mikes punchy reviews take an unusual stance on what you thought you knew!!! If you don't know you better axe somebody!!!

5 Comments
  1. I’m not really one for buying books too much, but this review makes me want to get this book. It looks like a great read and full of nice pictures too.

  2. Great review! This book looks very cool indeed. The coliseum scene with Chuck Norris is probably my favourite scene of any Bruce Lee movie!

  3. This is two books in one stop fooling people tao publishing did this already with two volumes.

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