The Dragon Lives Again (1977)

The Dragon Lives Again isn't just about the most bizarre manifestation of 'Brucesploitation', it is also one of the most bizarre films you are ever likely to see, regardless of genre.  Just a brief synopsis of the plot gives some idea of its strangeness: After Bruce Lee dies, he finds himself in the Underworld, where he has to fight Dracula, James Bond and The Man With No Name, amongst other pop culture icons.  Coming relatively late in the 'Brucesploitatiom' cycle - which had moved from films made utilising unused footage of Lee, biographies to 'Bruce Lee' films starring lookalikes - The Dragon Lives Again is as much a parody of the whole 'Brucesploitation' phenomena as it is a contribution to it.  The tone is set at the outset, with some of the denizens of the Underworld complaining that the still comatose new arrival 'doesn't even look like Bruce Lee', only to be told thar 'people's faces change after they die'.  A sure comment on the fact that many of the faux Bruce Lee's bore barely a passing resemblance to the original.  While he is still comatose, much is made of the size of Lee's (Bruce Leong) weapon, which is concealed beneath his shroud and turns out to be his trademark nun-chuck. Indeed, much is made of the Kung Fu legend's sexual prowess and promiscuity, with Bruce himself lamenting that it is the fact that he cheated on his wife which has lead to him winding up in the Underworld, awaiting judgement by the Gods, who will determine if he goes to heaven or hell.

The film continually chips away at the 'Legend' of Bruce Lee, portraying him as sufficiently egotistical to, initially, refuse to believe that he could be dead, while his arrogance and over-confidence causing him to take a severe beating when he unwisely takes on an undead gang of thugs early in the film.  Even his Kung Fu school, where he taught pupils like Steve McQueen and James Garner is parodied: in the Underworld he finds himself schooling the likes of Popeye, Cain from the Kung Fu Tv series, (finally played by a Chinese actor) and the One Armed Swordsman.  Now, the presence of all these pop culture icons brings us to the film's other aspect: as well as parodying the 'Brucesploitation' phenomena, it also seems to be trying to make some broader point about the nature of fame and the idolisation of pop culture figures to the point that they become, in effect, mythical figures.  Quite how and why fictional figures such as Popeye, James Bond, The Man With No Name, (some sources refer to him as actually being Clint Eastwood, but while played in the manner of Eastwood, he is clearly meant to represent this one specific, not to mention iconic, Eastwood character), Dracula and The Exorcist find themselves in the Underworld, when they were never actually alive and therefore couldn't have actually died, isn't clear.

I strongly suspect that something has been lost in translation with regard to this strand of the film, (a perennial problem when watching dubbed versions of foreign language films - one can never be sure just how accurate the translation actually is).  My best guess here is that they represent cultural icons which have passed out of popularity and therefore, figuratively, 'died'.  (The Man With No Name, for instance, had been discarded by Eastwood in favour of other characters, Dracula had been cinematically exhausted by the seventies, Jame Bond's future was uncertain at the time, with Man With the Golden Gun having performed only moderately at the box office, Kung Fu had been cancelled, Popeye was very much seen as a relic of the forties, while The Exorcist had suffered a disastrous and much ridiculed sequel, for instance).  Just like the souls of the regular humans, they await their fate in the Underworld: will they be reinvented and revived, or consigned to pop culture history?  This reading of the film would also imply that Lee himself is seen as an 'icon', given legendary status by his idolising fans and, with his death, awaiting fate to decide whether his legend will continue, or whether it will fade.  Consequently, his ascent back to earth at the film's climax, after he has triumphed over his foes, could be read as an analogy for the continuation of his legend via the 'Brucesploitation' phenomena which effectively sought to resurrect him.  Or perhaps I'm over intellectualisng what is, at its heart, an exploitation film.

On the most basic level The Dragon Lives Again is a delirious piece of entertainment, with the sight of Bruce Lee going up against he likes of Dracula and Zaitoichi proving both hugely enjoyable and totally surreal.  Surrealism, in fact, is the hallmark f this production, which turns its cheapness into a virtue by representing the Underworld with the most basic of  sets and locations, (the latter consisting of a cave and a quarry).  The artificiality of the setting (and its resemblance to a film set) is continually emphasised by the lighting and cinematography.  Structurally, the film parodies they typical Hong Kong martial arts movie of the era, with the hero being tested by a series of encounters with ever more powerful foes, triumphing by virtue of his superior skills.  The plot merely exists in order to provide a framework for a series of Kung Fu fights.  In The Dragon Lives Again, even these fights are parodies of he typical fights you would find in a Bruce Lee film (whether genuine or facsimile), with the names of each move flashing up on the screen.  In the fight with the blind Zaitoichi, for example, while the names of Lee's moves are all titles from his films, the former's get ever more ludicrous and nonsensical as the fight progresses.  The fight with Dracula culminates with the vampire's legion of the undead (represented by guys in skeleton costumes) pinning Lee down as the Count approaches for the fatal bite - the caption 'The Third Leg of Bruce' suddenly flahes on the screen as Lee apparently sprouts an extra limb with which to kick the Count in the nether regions.

If you are wondering why Bruce Lee ends up fighting all of these characters, it is that he finds a protection racket being run in the Underworld by the Godfather, who has Dracula, Man With No Name, The Exorcist, Jame Bond, even Emanuelle from the porn movies, as henchmen.  Naturally, out of his innate sense of justice, Bruce goes up against them, first teaching the other denizens of the Underworld how to defend themselves before taking the henchmen on one-by-one after discovering that The Godfather is plotting to overthrow the King of the Underworld and install himself as King.  Having defeated the villains, Bruce then faces the wrath of the King himself, who is intimidated by Lee's Kung Fu prowess and jealous of his reputed sexual prowess (the Queen has already tried to seduce Bruce, resulting in the King sleeping with Emanuelle in a fit pique, unaware that she is trying to assassinate him by inducing a heart attack with her strenuous love making).  The King invokes the help of legendary Chinese folk hero Zhong Kui (portrayed as a foul mouthed old man).  The latter summons up a band of demons (who look like badly wrapped mummies), requiring Lee to enlist the assistance of Cain, the One Armed Swordsman and Popeye (who downs his trademark can of spinach).  Naturally, Lee and his friends emerge triumphant and he forces the King to rule more fairly and send him back to earth.

Like many Hong Kong films of the era, The Dragon Lives Again gleefully disregards any notion of copyright or intellectual property rights, not only misappropriating the images of Popeye, Cain, 007 and other copyrighted characters, but also their theme music.  The portrayals of the various pop culture icons is hugely variable, generally relying upon things like costumes and trademark props to make them identifiable. Bond, for instance, wears a tuxedo and carries a Walther PPK, while Man With No Name has a poncho, wide brimmed hat and constantly chomps on a cigar - Popeye appears in his styilised sailor costume, complete with too small hat perched on his head and corn cob pipe clenched between his teeth.  Others are less identifiable - The Exorcist looks like a generic Catholic priest, while the Godfather, to be frank, looks more like Elvis, (initially, I actually thought that he was meant to be Elvis, which would have been even more surreal).  To add to the surreal nature of proceedings, although Bond and Emannuelle are portrayed by white actors, all the others are played by Chinese performers - believe me, the sight of a Chinese Popeye and a Dracula, complete with cape and fangs, but portrayed by a Chinese guy, is more than a little disconcerting.  The  performances are, to put it mildly, broad, but this is entirely consistent with what is, in effect, a farce.  Bruce Leong, in the lead, while not looking like Lee, has the moves and is suitably charismatic.  Whether you want to see it as a satirical commentary on the 'Brucesploitation' phenomena and the nature of fame generally, or just as an utterly bizarre cinematic experience, The Dragon Lives Again is well worth watching (it has recently turned up on Roku's B-Movie TV). It is possibly the closest you can get to an out of body experience while watching TV.