Bruce Lee ‘never before seen’ footage to be unveiled by Hong Kong actor and lifelong fan Stephen Au, on 50th anniversary of martial artist’s death

Hong Kong actor Stephen Au will show the ‘only copy’ of some lost Lee scenes, among other memorabilia, in Vancouver, to mark 50 years since the star died
Au, who is a karate black belt, explains how ‘Superman’ Lee inspired him to get into martial arts, and why Enter the Dragon is his favourite Bruce Lee film

Asian cinema: Hong Kong film

Bernice Chanin Vancouver

Published: 6:15pm, 18 Jul 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

Actor Stephen Au Kam-tong vividly remembers the morning of July 21, 1973.

“I was still sleeping and I was woken up by my eldest sister,” the 60-year-old actor recalls in a video call in Vancouver, Canada.

“She said, ‘Sai lo, sai lo [little brother] look! Bruce Lee is dead!’ I can still remember her voice was shivering. She couldn’t believe that. Nobody could believe that.”

His sister then showed him the newspaper and the headline read: “The sudden death of Bruce Lee”.

Au is a Hong Kong actor and a well-known fan of Bruce Lee. Photo: Stephen Au Kam-tong

“These five Chinese characters [that made up the headline] just shocked me into silence for minutes,” Au says. “I couldn’t believe that. To me, he was not merely a hero, but a Superman in real life. Who could believe he passed away so suddenly.”

It was 50 years ago, on July 20, 1973, that Lee died from the swelling of his brain after an allergic reaction to headache medication. The Chinese-American martial artist was only 32 years old.

But Lee continues to be a source of inspiration and fascination, and Au has grown to appreciate his childhood hero even more.

Over the years, he has avidly collected memorabilia of the late star acquired from places like Japan and what was Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and eBay, and has written books about Lee. He is currently writing another one.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Lee’s death, Au will give two talks on the martial artist at Vancouver’s Chinatown Storytelling Centre on July 20.

Lee’s funeral was held in Kowloon, Hong Kong, in 1973. Photo: SCMP

Bruce Lee fans bid farewell to the movie icon at his funeral in 1973. Photo: SCMP

He will also show some of his collectibles, including boxing gloves Lee designed that can also be used for grappling and finger jabs, and some never-before-seen footage from the making of his last film, Game of Death (1973) – which featured American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

When pressed for more details about the footage, Au divulges only that he had film stills from the movie, and in the early 2000s, through his connections in the film industry, he managed to get the unseen footage, which was transferred onto DVD.

“I guess the one and only copy is in my hands,” he says proudly.

What killed Bruce Lee? 4 leading theories advanced after his death 50 years ago

Enter the Dragon is Au’s all time favourite Lee film, though he says most Hongkongers prefer his second film, Fist of Fury, “for some patriotic reason”.

“But to me [Enter the Dragon] is a combination of a James Bond movie with kung fu,” he says. “He has a furious anger, and the way in which Bruce Lee fights in the movie is just stunning.”

Au, who is a black belt in karate, says Lee inspired him to be a martial artist and learn a variety of fighting techniques including Muay Thai, taekwondo, kung fu and jiu-jitsu.

Bruce Lee in a still from “Enter the Dragon”.

Bruce Lee in a still from “Fist of Fury”. Photo: Hong Kong Film Archive

Au was eight years old when he saw Lee’s film The Big Boss in 1971. He wanted to be like Lee, and asked his mother if he could learn kung fu.

But at the time kung fu schools were associated with triad organised crime societies and his mother disapproved.

“So I just did it myself at home. I bought a punching bag and copied Bruce Lee’s movements,” says Au, who later learned Thai boxing from his brother, eight years his senior.

Au holds boxing gloves Bruce Lee designed that can also be used for grappling and finger jabs. Photo: Stephen Au Kam-tong

He appreciates Lee’s own style, jeet kune do – a combination of various martial arts as a form of expression.

“The word MMA – mixed martial arts – is very popular nowadays. It wasn’t invented by Bruce Lee, of course, but through his demonstration and his martial arts education … [that] we should express ourselves freely in combative form. That’s the original concept of mixed martial arts,” Au says.

“You should not compare boxing with judo. You should not compare it to Chinese kung fu. There are hundreds of different styles of Chinese kung fu. You should not compare Chinese kung fu with karate, or taekwondo, Muay Thai, etc. You should use all of them whenever possible in practical combat.”

The actors who’ve played Bruce Lee: Jason Scott Lee, Bruce Li and more

Au is currently taking a short break before resuming filming in Hong Kong for the second season of Warriors Within – a series about karate – for Hong Kong TV network ViuTV.

When he reflects from the moment his 10-year-old self found out Lee had died to the present day, the actor can’t believe how 50 years have passed so quickly.

“Time flies in half a century. Who can believe that? I couldn’t believe that. But I’m so glad that after 50 years, people around the world still remember Bruce Lee,” Au says.

“The name Bruce Lee has become an international icon of Hong Kong and Chinese [people]. He will always be remembered, respected and popular in various cultures.”

Post