Skip to main content

The Dragon Lives Again: Distributing ‘Bruceploitation’ via Home Entertainment

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Cult Media
  • 551 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter considers exploitation filmmaking as an industrial, economic concept. The focus of our study is an exploitation film industry known as ‘Bruceploitation’. Achieving momentum in the 1970s and early 1980s, this industry mainly comprised independent producers that sought to posthumously exploit the stardom of Bruce Lee by producing films featuring look-a-likes of the late martial artist and actor. Through this research, we have discovered that Bruceploitation provides an insight not only into the political, economic and cultural implications of satisfying demand for Bruce Lee films following his untimely death in 1973, but more importantly, the ongoing significance of exploitation as an economic model of film production and distribution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Baltruschat, D. (2013). ‘Co-productions, Global Markets and New Media Ecologies’. In Palacio, M. and Türschmann, T. (Eds.) Transnational Cinema in Europe. Berlin: Lit Verlag, pp. 11–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benebau, V and Dusollier, S. (2007). ‘Draw me a public domain’. In Torremans, P. (Ed.) Copyright Law: A Handbook of Contemporary Research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 161–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, P. (2010). Theorizing Bruce Lee: Film-fantasy-fighting-philosophy. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewster, F., Fenton, H. and Morris, M. (2005). Shock Horror! Surrey: FAB Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, S. (2011). The Oriental Obscene: Violence and Racial Fantasies in the Vietnam Era. North Carolina: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Church, D. (2011). ‘From Exhibition to Genre: The Case of Grind-House Films’. Cinema Journal, 50(4), pp. 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, T. (2002). Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donovan, B.W. (2008). The Asian Influence on Hollywood Action Films. North Carolina: McFarland and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gast, P. (1982). ‘The Selling of Bruce Le to American TV’. Martial Arts Movies, 2(2), pp. 18–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, B. (2008). ‘Bruce Lee after Bruce Lee: A life in conjectures’, Journal of Chinese Cinemas, 2(2), pp. 123–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, L. (2008). Kung Fu Cult Masters. London: Wallflower.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C. (2010). Here Come the Kung Fu Clones. Essex: Woowums Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kerekes, D. and Slater, D. (2000). See No Evil: Banned Films and Video Controversy. Manchester: Headpress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kimmel, M. and Aronson, A. (2004). Men and masculinities. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence, N. (2008). Blaxploitation Films of the 1970s. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mosco, V. (2009). The Political Economy of Communication. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roche, D. (2015). ‘Exploiting Exploitation Cinema: an Introduction’, Transatlantica, 2. Available from: http://transatlantica.revues.org/7846.

  • Schaefer, E. (1999). Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films, 1919–1959 North Carolina: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segal, S. (1982). ‘From the American Kung-Fu Film Industry Comes An Entrepreneurial Superstar…The Saga of Serafim Karalexis’. Martial Arts Movies, 2(9), pp. 38–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shipka, D. (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980. North Carolina: McFarland and Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, M. (2007). Hong Kong goes international: The case of Golden Harvest. In Marchetti, G. and Kam, T.S. (Eds.), Hong Kong Film, Hollywood and the New Global Cinema. London: Routledge, pp. 167–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wingrove, N. and Morris, M. (2009). Art of the Nasty. Surrey: FAB Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oliver Carter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Carter, O., Barber, S. (2017). The Dragon Lives Again: Distributing ‘Bruceploitation’ via Home Entertainment. In: Wroot, J., Willis, A. (eds) Cult Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63679-5_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics