{{Short description|1980 Hong Kong film by Joseph Kong and Nam Gi-nam}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}} {{Use Hong Kong English|date=July 2014}} {{Infobox film | name = The Clones of Bruce Lee<br />神威三猛龍 | director = Joseph Kong<br />Nam Gi-Nam | writer = Kuang-Hsin Wu | producer = Cheung Chung-Lung<br />Han Sang-Hoon<br />Dick Randall | starring = [[Dragon Lee (actor)|Dragon Lee]]<br /> [[Bruce Le]]<br />Bruce Lai<br />Bruce Thai<br />[[Bolo Yeung]]<br />[[Jon T. Benn]]<br />Chiang Tao | studio = Dae Yang Films Co., Ltd<br />Film Line Enterprises | distributor = Newport Releasing (U.S.)<br />Ambassador Film Distributors (Canada) | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1980|8|14|Netherlands|1981|5|23|South Korea}} | runtime = 81 minutes | country = [[Hong Kong]]<br />[[Philippines]]<br />[[Thailand]] | language = [[Cantonese]] }}
'''''The Clones of Bruce Lee''''' ({{zh|神威三猛龍}}; {{literal translation|''Godly Powerful Three Furious Dragons''}}; {{Korean|hangul=사형삼걸|hanja=蛇形三傑|lit=''Snake Shaped Three Elites''}}; Taiwanese: 複製人李小龍：三龍怒火; also known in English as ''Death Penalty on Three Robots'')<ref name="WorthDjeng">{{cite AV media notes |last1 = Worth |first1 = Michael |author-link1 = Michael Worth |last2 = Djeng |first2 = Frank |date = 25 June 2024 |title = Audio commentary |work = The Clones of Bruce Lee |publisher = [[Severin Films]] |at = 0:09:33 |quote = The Chinese title: 神威三猛龍, literally means: ''Godly Powerful Three Furious Dragon[s]''. It also has the alternate English title of ''Death Penalty on Three Robots'' ... the Korean title 사형삼걸 literally means ''Snake Shaped Three Elites''}}</ref> is a 1980 [[Bruceploitation]] [[martial arts film]] capitalizing on the death of actor and martial arts star [[Bruce Lee]] in 1973.
The film gathers together several of the many Lee imitators who sprang up after the icon's death (including [[Dragon Lee (actor)|Dragon Lee]], [[Bruce Le]] and Bruce Lai), alongside performers from the real Lee's films and other veterans of the Hong Kong movie industry. It has been called "The Mount Rushmore of [[Bruceploitation]] films".
==Synopsis== On July 20, 1973 (immediately after the death of [[Bruce Lee]] in Hong Kong), Colonel Colin of the Special Branch of Investigations asks Professor Lucas, a brilliant scientist, to take samples of the late master's brain tissue. Using these samples, Lucas creates three perfect clones of Lee: Bruce Lee #1, Bruce Lee #2, and Bruce Lee #3. They are trained in martial arts by Bolo Yeung and Chiang Tao. The mission of the clones is to fight crime in Southeast Asia.
Bruce Lee #1 goes undercover as an actor for a corrupt, gold-smuggling producer who plans to have him die on camera. Meanwhile, the other two clones go to Thailand where they meet up with Chuck Lee Sing, a local SBI agent who is not a clone but who also resembles Bruce Lee. They have been assigned to kill Dr. Ngai, a mad scientist who is plotting to take over the world with his army of bronze automatons: men whose skin turns to metal when they are injected with Ngai's special formula.
The clones successfully complete their missions and return to Hong Kong. But Professor Lucas, disgruntled because he feels he was not properly rewarded by the SBI for creating the clones, pits them against one another. The professor's female assistants stop the three clones from fighting amongst themselves, and Lucas sends out a small army of men to dispatch the clones. By the end of the film, Bruce Lee #3 has been killed—but so have all of Professor Lucas's henchmen (including the two kung-fu instructors, both defeated by Bruce Lee 1). Bruce Lee #2 finishes off Lucas's personal bodyguard and the professor is arrested.
==Cast== * [[Dragon Lee (actor)|Dragon Lee]] as Bruce Lee 1 * [[Bruce Le]] as Bruce Lee 2 * [[Bruce Lai]] as Bruce Lee 3<ref name="WorthDjeng2">{{cite AV media notes |last1 = Worth |first1 = Michael |author-link1 = Michael Worth |last2 = Djeng |first2 = Frank |date = 25 June 2024 |title = Audio commentary |work = The Clones of Bruce Lee |publisher = [[Severin Films]] |at = 0:10:52 |quote = The main person I want to talk about is Bruce Lai, uh, you know, which is actually Francis Kwok. In many of the film's websites, or information online, they often associate Bruce Lai with the Korean actor Chang Il-do [...] [who used] Bruce Lai as a stage name. But if you look at the Korean poster you'll notice it's a little bit different. [...] in the Korean poster for this film it has Chinese word 'Kwok Si-Chi' on it. [It doesn't have] Chang Il-do [on the poster].}}</ref> * [[Jon T. Benn]] as Professor Lucas * Andy Hannah as Colonel Colin * Bruce Thai as Chuck Lee Sing * [[Bolo Yeung]] * Chiang Tao
==Reaction== On the website [http://www.kungfucinema.com/ Kung Fu Cinema], Mark Pollard sums up much of the appeal of the film, writing:<blockquote>"''Clones of Bruce Lee'' is the ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]'' of Hong Kong cinema. It's the very definition of bad filmmaking and sleazy exploitation. Expect to witness mad scientists bent on world domination, death rays, bronzemen, and naked women frolicking on the beach. Despite some decent kung fu action, particularly with Bolo, it's so bad you'll laugh or turn it off."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/clonesofbrucelee.htm |title=Clones of Bruce Lee (1977) |website=www.kungfucinema.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031205053610/http://kungfucinema.com/reviews/clonesofbrucelee.htm |archive-date=2003-12-05}}</ref></blockquote>
A review on the website [http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/index.html The Bad Movie Report] finds it less enjoyable:<blockquote>"Although the Lee-alikes are in superb shape, and certainly know their Lee chops, there is a deadening sameness about the fight scenes that eventually robs the movie of all joy; this flick is, after all, 95% fight scenes. I've always preferred the swordplay-oriented kung fu movies- the more weapons, and the more bizarre, the better. Let's face it, the numerous styles notwithstanding (and there are several on display), there are only so many ways to aim a blow at your opponent and only so many ways to block that blow. Without a good fight coordinator, like Lee himself, Jimmy Wang Yu, Samo Hung or a host of others, after forty-five minutes of the same fight over and over, each subsequent fight becomes the kinetic equivalent of white noise: your mind more or less goes on vacation."<ref>[http://www.stomptokyo.com/badmoviereport/reviews/C/clones_brucelee.html review on the badmoviereport]</ref></blockquote>
==Production notes== ''The Clones of Bruce Lee'' contains the only fight scene between [[Bruce Le]] and [[Dragon Lee (actor)|Dragon Lee]].
[[Jon T. Benn]], who plays Professor Lucas and is familiar to Bruce Lee fans as the mob boss from ''[[Way of the Dragon]]'', later appeared as an American businessman in [[Jet Li]]'s film ''[[Fearless (2006 film)|Fearless]]''.
This film is one of several appearances in the [[Bruceploitation]] subgenre for [[Bolo Yeung]], who won fame for his portrayal of the muscular villain Bolo in Bruce Lee's ''[[Enter The Dragon]]''.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075859/ IMDb entry] * [http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/movie.asp?id=587 HK cinemagic entry] * [http://www.clonesofbrucelee.co.uk Clones of Bruce Lee] – The Ultimate Guide To Bruce Lee Exploitation Cinema * {{HKMDB title | id=10150 }} * [http://www.kmdb.or.kr/eng/md_basic.asp?nation=K&p_dataid=03511 The Clones of Bruce Lee] at [[Korean Movie Database]] * [http://korewood.blog92.fc2.com/blog-entry-185.html The Clones of Bruce Lee] at Korean Powerhouse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clones of Bruce Lee, The}} [[Category:1980 films]] [[Category:1980 martial arts films]] [[Category:Hong Kong martial arts films]] [[Category:1980 Cantonese-language films]] [[Category:Bruceploitation films]] [[Category:Films about cloning]] [[Category:Kung fu films]] [[Category:Mad scientist films]] [[Category:1980 Hong Kong films]]