功夫巨星李小龍的不老傳奇

On the eve of what would have been Bruce Lee's 70th birthday, the kung-fu star remains the world's most important martial-arts icon and reminders of his legacy flourish.

'Bruce Lee, My Brother,' a film on his childhood years in Hong Kong as told through the memories of his siblings, opens this week in Asia. Early next year, Columbia Pictures will release a film version of Lee's iconic 1960s American television show, 'The Green Hornet,' in which he played crime-fighting sidekick Kato. And 'Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen,' a remake of one of his most famous movies -- 'Fist of Fury' (1972) -- was one of the two opening-night films at the Venice Film Festival in September. Meanwhile, a Broadway musical based on the life of Lee is due next year.

Lee's untimely death more than 37 years ago -- he was born on Nov. 27, 1940, and died July 20, 1973, at the age of 32 -- solidified his place in cinematic history and popular culture, leaving the image of a young, strong and heroic figure etched in the collective memories of action movie fans world-wide
'His influence is immense,' says Sam Ho of the Hong Kong Film Archive, which on Saturday is screening four films Lee made as a child actor in Hong Kong. 'There's something very much primitive about him -- that's part of his appeal.'

Some of that influence can be found in the numerous kung-fu and martial-arts stars that followed: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Mr. Yen, the reigning martial-arts star of today, describes Lee as a major inspiration on his own career. While Mr. Yen's fighting style and screen personality are different from Lee's, he pays homage to his idol in 'Chen Zhen.'

'I tried not to imitate Bruce Lee,' Mr. Yen says of his role in the movie, 'but I tried to preserve the Bruce Lee flavor.'在功夫明星李小龍(Bruce Lee)的70誕辰來臨之際，人們發現他依然是世界最重要的武術偶像，他留給世人的遺產依然豐盛。

本週，《李小龍，我的兄弟》這部影片開始在亞洲上映，該片通過他兄弟們的回憶來講述李小龍在香港度過的童年時光。明年初，哥倫比亞電影公司(Columbia Pictures)翻拍李小龍在上世紀60年代所演美國電視劇《青蜂俠》(The Green Hornet)而成的同名影片將會上映，李小龍在這部電視劇中扮演幫主人公打擊犯罪的助手加藤(Kato)。由李小龍1972年所演影片《精武門》(Fist of Fury)翻拍成的《精武風雲：陳真》(Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen)一片成爲今年威尼斯電影節上的兩部開幕影片之一。與此同時，一部取材於李小龍生平的百老匯音樂劇也將於明年上演。

李小龍37年前去世，他生於1940年11月27日，死於1973年7月20日，離世時年僅32歲。但英年早逝也鞏固了李小龍在電影史和流行文化領域的地位，使全球動作片影迷的集體記憶中留下的永遠是他年青、強健和英雄般的形像。

香港電影資料館(Hong Kong Film Archive)的何思潁(Sam Ho)說，李小龍的影響力是巨大的，香港有一些關於李小龍的非常原始的資料，這是他吸引力的一部分。香港電影資料館本週日將放映四部李小龍當年在香港作爲童星拍攝的影片。

李小龍的一部分影響力可以從繼他之後涌現的大量功夫和武術明星身上看到。成龍(Jackie Chan)、洪金寶(Sammo Hung)、李連杰(Jet Li)、甄子丹(Donnie Yen)、查克•諾里斯(Chuck Norris)和尚格•雲頓(Jean-Claude Van Damme)都是他們中的佼佼者。

當今最紅的功夫片明星甄子丹稱他步入這一行主要是受李小龍的激勵。雖然甄子丹的打鬥方式和屏幕個性都與李小龍不同，但他在《精武風雲：陳真》一片中對自己的偶像李小龍表示了敬意。

甄子丹談到自己在這部影片中的角色時說，我努力不模仿李小龍，但我試圖保留住李小龍的神髓。