Bruce Lee Set Us Free
NOT JUST MOVIE STAR
IN my house, Bruce Lee is a god.
The love interest has a sort of shrine with his four movies (yes, he only made four) in VHS and DVD versions, an action figure and -- oh, yes -- the signed 8x10 glossy (which I think is a fake) in his den.
Once upon a time, I actually thought Bruce Lee was a human -- but I soon found out differently. It's a guy thing.
On Sunday night, History Channel will present a fantastically detailed special on what, at first, sounds insane, but is nonetheless true: "How Bruce Lee Changed the World." It's something untold millions of Bruce Lee fans have known for four decades.
So how did a martial arts guy, who died at age 32, change the world?
Lee, you'll learn, changed not only cinema -- remember, he produced the first martial arts movies without special effects and turned himself into the first ever Asian superstar -- but music, arts, fitness, martial arts, body building and, oh yes, philosophy.
Lee also invented mixed martial arts -- which is now a multi-multi million dollar industry. (The last pay-per-view Mixed Martial Arts Championship earned $50 million!)
His philosophy of form is gospel to millions of martial artists who say it's not just a way of fighting but a way of living.
An innovative body builder, Lee went for definition over bulk, an unknown thing then.
Understanding the ties between movement and music, he hired Lalo Schifrin (composer of the "Mission Impossible" theme, among others) to integrate urban beats with Asian melodies, overlaid with rock and disco beats, for "Enter The Dragon." That movie was released one month after Lee's death and won an Oscar for the music.
He was even a nutritional innovator.
Says one pal from those days, "He'd put raw beef, seven eggs and milk in a blender and gulp that thing down! We were terrified!" Today there are nutritional drinks based on his ideas.
The guy might not have been a god exactly, but he sure was a genius. Don't miss it.
"How Bruce Lee Changed the World" Sunday night at 8 on History
by New York Post
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