{"id":13896,"date":"2025-11-23T15:58:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T07:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13896"},"modified":"2025-11-23T15:58:58","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T07:58:58","slug":"how-bruce-lee-hit-the-big-time-in-1972-and-other-hong-kong-cinema-highlights-that-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13896","title":{"rendered":"How Bruce Lee hit the big time in 1972 and other Hong Kong cinema highlights that year"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The year 1972 was when Bruce Lee<\/span> rose to superstardom in Hong Kong. The Post\u2019s roving reporter Jean Chan covered Lee\u2019s rise \u2013 and much more \u2013 in her film column.<\/div>\n
Chan\u2019s articles throw light on the state of the local industry in the early 1970s. Business was booming, and Hong Kong had become a hub for the Asian film industry, with Taiwanese stars being especially popular. Martial arts films dominated, but other genres remained popular.<\/p>\n
A challenger to Bruce Lee on the rise?<\/h3>\n
In early 1972, Lee\u2019s star was ascending after the success of The Big Boss<\/em><\/span> the previous year. Audiences had been impressed by Golden Harvest\u2019s new discovery, and rival studios were taking note.<\/div>\n
\u201cFilmmakers are avidly searching for new young actors with a knowledge of Chinese martial arts as they rush to turn out films to cash in on the success of The Big Boss,<\/em>\u201d noted Chan.<\/p>\n
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<\/div>Bruce Lee in a still from The Big Boss (1971). Photo: Criterion Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Chan proposed a new Shaw Brothers discovery, the \u201chandsome\u201d 19-year-old Meng Fei, who had his first starring role in The King of Boxers<\/em>, as a challenger to Lee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Bruce](\"https:\/\/img.i-scmp.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto\/sites\/default\/files\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2025\/11\/19\/c4de9195-7988-4fd0-a17f-a029546f3136_0d2a0e31.jpg\" "\\"Bruce")
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