Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee in "Fist of Fury."

Bruce Lee film marathon on El Rey

El Rey Network will celebrate Memorial Day weekend with its 2nd annual “Seriouslee Bruce Marathon” featuring five films of martial arts icon Bruce Lee.

The marathon of “Way of the Dragon,” “The Game of Death,” “The Big Boss,” “Fist of Fury” and “Circle of Iron” begins at 6/5 a.m. CT May 28 through 3:45/2:45 a.m. CT June 1.

Below you’ll find descriptions of each film, and the full schedule. Grab your nunchakus and pop corn.

Bruce Lee marathon movies

The Big Boss

1971

In his first major role, Lee plays a young Chinese man staying with family in Thailand. When his cousins begin to disappear from the ice factory where they all work, he discovers it is a cover for a drug ring. He seeks vengeance against the mob boss who ordered his cousins’ murders.

Fist of Fury

1972

Martial arts student Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) fights to defend his Shanghai community against Japanese aggressors—and to avenge the murder of his master.

 

Bruce Lee
Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee fight in “Way of the Dragon.”
Way of the Dragon

1972

An Asian man (Bruce Lee) in Rome uses whirling nunchakus against a mob boss and his thugs who are terrorizing the restaurant belonging to his relatives. He fights a karate champ (Chuck Norris) at the Colosseum. Lee wrote, produced and directed this film.

Circle of Iron

1978

This film is based on a story by Bruce Lee, but he died before it was filmed and does not star in it. In a mystical desert kingdom, young martial arts fighter Cord (Jeff Cooper) loses a contest to determine who will journey to take the powerful Book of All Knowedge from Zetan (Christopher Lee), an evil wizard. Despite his lack of a sponsor, Cord’s rule-breaking nature leads him to try retrieving the book anyway. Help is offered by a mysterious blind man (David Carradine) who gives advice as Cord fights his way through multiple opponents, discovering more about himself as he gets closer to Zetan.

 

Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in “The Game of Death.”
The Game of Death

1978

An actor (Bruce Lee) shot by gangsters fakes his death, has plastic surgery and seeks kung-fu revenge, including against a thug played by NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Lee wrote, directed and starred in the original “Game of Death,” but was unable to finish it before his 1973 death. The plot and characters were changed to create a completely different film using some of the surviving footage of Lee’s original. “The Game of Death” was finished five years after his death by “Enter the Dragon” director Robert Clouse.

 

Marathon schedule

All times CT.

Saturday, May 28

5 a.m. “The Game of Death”
7 a.m. “The Big Boss”
9:15 a.m. “Fist of Fury”
11:45 a.m. “Way of the Dragon”
1:45 p.m. “Circle of Iron”
3:45 p.m. “The Big Boss”
6 p.m. “Fist of Fury”
8 p.m. “Way of the Dragon”
10:15 p.m. “The Big Boss”
12:30 a.m. “Circle of Iron”
2:30 a.m. “Fist of Fury”

Sunday, May 29

5 a.m. “Circle of Iron”
7 a.m. “Fist of Fury”
9:30 a.m. “Way of the Dragon”
11:30 a.m. “The Game of Death”
1:30 p.m. “The Big Boss”
3:45 p.m. “Fist of Fury”
6:15 p.m. “Circle of Iron”
8:15 p.m. “Fist of Fury”
10:45 p.m. “The Game of Death”
12:45 a.m. “Way of the Dragon”
3 a.m. “Circle of Iron”

Monday, May 30

5 a.m. “The Big Boss”
7:15 a.m. “The Game of Death”
9:15 a.m. “Way of the Dragon”
11:15 a.m. “Fist of Fury”
1:45 p.m. “Circle of Iron”
3:45 p.m. “The Game of Death”
5:45 p.m. “Way of the Dragon”
8 p.m. “The Big Boss”
10:15 p.m. “Fist of Fury”
12:45 a.m. “Way of the Dragon”
2:45 a.m. “The Big Boss”