Coming four years after its original release, the Revised and Expanded Edition of These Fists Break Bricks is a fascinating historical document. Not solely focused on movies, the story Hendrix & Poggiali present is a tapestry “about politics and poverty, martial arts mysteries and black histories,” as revealed in the Introduction. It’s a story so vast it is filled with “facts…hotly contested by people far deeper in these scenes than [the authors]’ll ever be,” which is why they acknowledge “the book isn’t the final word, it’s a starting position.”
Buy These Fists Break BricksThese Fists opens with an overview of how martial arts made their way to and spread across the United States. Credit for being the first to emigrate is given to Professor Yamashita, who was “brought over to America [from Japan] in 1902 to coach the sheltered son of a Seattle businessman” in judo until President Teddy Roosevelt appointed him the White House judo instructor. More teachers followed. Individuals and police departments acquired their services, but then World War II upended matters with the interment of the Japanese.
The book segues into the changes taking place in Hong Kong during the ’60s, from the types of productions made by the Shaw Brothers to the upheaval in the streets caused by protests against working conditions and police brutality that led to martial law. In fact, the latter influenced the former, resulting in The One-Armed Swordman, starring Jimmy Wong as “a young, male, pissed-off working-class hero.”
The book opens by declaring “in March 1973, the world changed.” It later singles out screenings of Five Fingers of Death at New York City’s State Theater as the pivotal moment. The box-office was so incredible, various distributors rushed to Hong Kong to get films to show. This part of the story in These Fists reads like an international thriller.
In 1973, Bruce Lee became, and remains, cinema’s most identifiable martial artist, so naturally, the book covers his rise to fame and the shock waves that followed. Footage of Bruce Lee at a karate tournament in Long Beach made its way to producer William Dozier, which eventually led to a costarring role as Kato in The Green Hornet. Lee grew frustrated with Hollywood (he almost starred in the TV series Kung Fu) and returned to Hong Kong to make movies, starting with The Big Boss. When those movies made their way to America thanks to producer Raymond Chow, it did not unnoticed by Hollywood and a deal was made for Enter the Dragon, whose success Lee missed because he died a month before it premiered.
Many stars who go onto become icons, like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe, do so by dying at a young age. In addition to that, Lee’s fame was contributed to by an industry that didn’t want to let him go. The “Bruceploitation!” chapter showcases the movies released after his death, documentaries and biopics, films that use footage of Lee inserted into them, alleged sequels, and finally, films starring actors with similar sound-naming, such as Bruce Le, Bruce Lei, Bruce Lai, Bruce Li, Bruce Ly, etc.
The movie industry is ever-evolving, and These Fists spotlights the various changes and stars of the genre, such as Sonny Chiba and Chuck Norris, working its way through the ’80s when these movies receded from theaters and television. It ends with a bit of an epilogue about how they continue to leave a mark.
These Fists Break Bricks is a compelling account of kung fu movies along with the people and events associated with them. It’s a book one reads with a notepad beside them to log movie titles to a watch list and serves as a good resource, although I wish there was an index to help look things up.
