The Big Boss
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Short description
The Big Boss follows Cheng Chiu On, a young man from mainland China who travels to Thailand to live with his cousins and take a job at an ice factory. He has promised his family that he will stay out of trouble and keep his fists to himself. When several of his relatives go missing after crossing paths with the factory's management, Cheng begins to ask questions that the owners would rather leave unanswered. The pressure of the disappearances, and the resistance he meets, pushes him to abandon his vow and confront those running the operation.
The film was directed by Lo Wei, who also wrote the screenplay, and produced by Raymond Chow Man-Wai for Orange Sky Golden Harvest. It was Lo Wei's third directorial credit in the chronological record of his work, arriving after Summons to Death and Madam Slender Plum, and preceding Fist of Fury. Bruce Lee stars as Cheng Chiu On, heading a credited cast of twenty-three that includes Maria Yi, James Tien Chuen, Marilyn Bautista, Han Ying-Chieh and Tony Liu. Made in Hong Kong and Thailand, it runs 99 minutes.
Audience response has been durable rather than unanimous. On IMDb it holds 6.9/10 from roughly 32,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.1/10 from about 870 votes. A film critics' rating of 6/10 from 17 reviews places professional assessment slightly below the general audience scores. The relatively modest critic figure alongside a large and steady viewer tally reflects a film valued more as a star-making action vehicle than as a polished production.
What's left behind the scenes
- Bruce Lee was initially assigned a supporting role, and James Tien was supposed to play the protagonist. However, after the first few scenes, the director changed his mind and gave Bruce the leading role.
- During filming, Bruce Lee sprained his ankle after an unsuccessful landing and began to limp, so he was filmed in close-up for some scenes. Bruce also experienced a recurrence of back pain due to an old injury, and he needed painkiller injections after each fight scene.
- The mansion of the main villain in the film was and still is a Thai mausoleum.
- The Thai brothel in the film was actually a real establishment. The actresses involved in the relevant scenes were genuine prostitutes who were paid by Golden Harvest film company more for their participation in the filming than they earned in a day serving clients.
- The film is based on the true story of a man named Zheng Chao'an, who lived at the beginning of the 20th century. A commemorative statue in his honor was erected in Bangkok 80 years ago.
- If you look closely, during the second fight, at the factory where Bruce Lee fights the boss's son, you can spot Mithun Chakraborty.
- The original title of the film translates to "Fists of Fury of Zheng Zheng" in Russian, but the title was changed when the film was released in the American market.
- Filming took place in Thailand from July 23 to August 18, 1971.
- The original title of the film translates to 'Fists of Fury by Cheng Zhen.' The film was initially intended for American release under the title 'Fists of Fury,' but this could have caused confusion with Bruce Lee’s subsequent film 'Fist of Fury.' Therefore, the title was first changed to 'Iron Hand,' and then to 'Chinese Connection,' echoing the highly popular film 'The French Connection' released in the same year.
- The complete director's cut of 'The Big Boss' has a runtime of 115 minutes. Following the film’s successful release in 1972, a number of particularly violent scenes were cut due to new censorship rules prohibiting excessive brutality in martial arts films, and many of these scenes have not survived to this day. Changes in the shortened version: The factory murder scene was significantly reduced: scenes in which the organs of the first two brothers are removed with a handsaw were deleted. The scene where all the parts of one brother's skull are torn out was also completely removed. The scene of the boy's murder was slightly shortened. The scene in which Zheng dispatches one of the bandits with a handsaw was shortened. In the shortened version, the film is spliced at this point and only shows him falling with the saw in his head. In the director’s cut, the viewer has a full opportunity to clearly see the saw plunging into the unfortunate man’s skull, cutting him in half and getting stuck halfway. When Brother Hsu fought with Xiao Remfan, the son of Sha Mifen, the latter ripped Hsu’s frontal artery, which sprayed him with a jet of blood. A scene was cut after the night fight in the club, where one bandit throws coals at Hsu and Zheng, after which they jump over the wall to escape the fire. Hsu then tells everything to A-Kun, but the latter is not surprised. A scene was deleted where Zheng buys shrimp from Nora Miao, and where Sister Xiaomei sees off the uncle and gives him tea. After this, only Zheng says goodbye to the uncle. The resulting version, which has survived to this day, has a runtime of 102 minutes.
- Upon the film's release in the United States, it was heavily cut in terms of brutality and violence: in particular, the scene of the Big Boss’s murder was shortened, where he dies only after Zheng stabs him in the chest. The full version of the murder scene with the knife, present in the Hong Kong version, allowing a clear view of the Boss from all angles and how Cheng pierces him with his fingers, and especially the moment blood flows from under his shirt, was immediately removed in order for the film to receive an 'R' rating, instead of the 'X' rating initially given by the MPAA. Thus, this is the only Bruce Lee film that was censored in the country of production due to scenes of violence.
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