Commemorating Bruce Lee’s 82nd birthday!
2:00pm
THE WAY OF THE DRAGON
Hong Kong, 1972
Director: Bruce Lee
The only complete film written and directed by Bruce Lee, The Way of the Dragon begins as a Chinese immigrant saga in Rome in the familiar locus of a restaurant – one where the owner and workers are trying to fend off extortionist bullying from mafia thugs – and ends up in a gladiatorial showdown in the Roman Colosseum. The finale is a kung fu duel for the ages. Lumbering Chuck Norris goes up against Lee’s trickster arsenal of squalling calls and float-like-a-butterfly footwork, before meeting the full force of Lee’s unleashed fist strikes and kicks, as stunning in the beauty of their rapid-fire execution as in their lethal power. The fight against the White Man comes away with chest hair no less.
Digital video, in Mandarin with English subtitles, 99 min.
3:45pm
Panel Discussion: Of Chinese American Immigration and Restaurants
(60 min.)
Spinning off the precipitating plot point of The Way of the Dragon, a roundtable of chefs and labor historians will discuss how the restaurant business became a defining feature of Chinese immigration to the US in the 20th century and how Chinese American restauranting has evolved in the present. Panelists to be announced.
2:00pm – Movie Screening Begins
3:40pm – Movie Screening Ends
3:45pm – Panel Discussion: Of Chinese American Immigration and Restaurants
6:00pm – Event Ends
The Chinese Historical Society of America in San Francisco is the oldest organization in the country dedicated to the presentation and preservation of Chinese American history. Since 1963, CHSA has strived to be a responsible steward of the remarkable narrative of the Chinese American community through education, exhibitions, and programming.
A big thank you to our partners the Bruce Lee Foundation, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, and Center for Asian American Media.