not shown on TCM schedule, but my DTV shows....
@7pm (CT)
Fist of Fury (1972)
"... also known as The Chinese Connection,[3] is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after The Big Boss (1971).[3]
Lee, who was also the film's action choreographer, plays Chen Zhen, a student of Huo Yuanjia, who fights to defend the honor of the Chinese in the face of foreign aggression, and to bring to justice those responsible for his master's death....
The film was produced by the Golden Harvest film production company, still in its infancy at the time, and it was Lee's second kung fu film. The film touched on sensitive issues surrounding Japanese colonialism, and featured fairly realistic fight choreography for its time. It differs from other films in the genre for its historical and social references, especially to Japanese imperialism......
in North America, John Gillett of the Monthly Film Bulletin reviewed a 106 minute dubbed version of the film in May 1973.[25] Gillett commented on Bruce Lee stating that he had "somewhat rudimentary and charmless acting style (all curled lips, sinister glances and clenched fists), but he performs his main function-that of keeping the action going through a series of furious karate fights-with considerable aplomb and proves as adept with his feet as with his fists."[25] While finding the story "extremely naive" and that the "anti-Japanese bias is more rather more pronounced" while the fight sequences "are staged with tremendous vigour (and a judicious use of slow-motion)" concluding that "the production values are only moderate, with a rather uneasy fusion of studio interiors and real street locations, and the English dubbing is unusually inept."[25]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an aggregated review score of 83% based on 18 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fist_of_Fury
@9pm (CT)
Way of the Dragon (1972)
"...originally released in the United States as Return of the Dragon) is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film co-produced and directed by Bruce Lee, who also stars in the lead role. This is Lee's only complete directorial film and the last one released during his lifetime. The film co-stars Nora Miao, Robert Wall, Wei Ping-ou and Chuck Norris (playing his debut screen role).
The Way of the Dragon was released in Hong Kong on 30 December 1972, and in the United States in August 1974. The film went on to gross an estimated US$130 million worldwide (equivalent to over $700 million adjusted for inflation), against a tight budget of $130,000, earning a thousand times its budget. It was the highest-grossing Hong Kong film up until Lee's next film Enter the Dragon (1973). ....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_of_the_Dragon
