The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of Hong Kong Action Cinema in the U.S.

In the world of Hong Kong cinema, many films and their stars earned a reputation not only in their native country of Hong Kong, but they would go on to gain a following in other places such as the United States, the United Kingdom, as well as Europe and Japan. Popular actors such as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Alexander Fu Sheng, and Gordon Liu earned reputations all over the world with their expertise kung fu skills while actors such as Andy Lau and director Johnnie To's dramatic work has been well established all over the world.

It took one man to begin the rise of Hong Kong cinema's popularity in the United States during the 1970's, and his name was Bruce Lee. A former child actor and martial arts expert, Lee would break ground when he became the first Asian star to headline a Hollywood film, with Enter the Dragon, which was released three weeks after Lee's tragic death in 1973. Despite Warner Brothers releasing the Shaw Brothers classic King Boxer as Five Fingers of Death a year earlier, it was Lee who is credited with making the genre very popular during this era.

When the film became a success, distribution companies from World Northal to National General began to bring the best and the worst of the kung fu genre to America, where most notably in Times Square in New York City, would be seen in triple features at times. Of course, these films would have the same basis in terms of plot. Whether it is a kung fu expert protecting his village or a kung fu expert seeking revenge for the death of a loved one, it didn't matter to fans as they flocked to enjoy some of the top names in kung fu film history.

The popularity of the kung fu films would even influence the action scenes in the blaxploitation films, which was also popular by 1974. The inclusion of martial arts fight scenes in films such as Cleopatra Jones (1974) and Dolemite (1975) would be influenced by kung fu films. Jim Kelly, who co-starred in Enter the Dragon, broke out as the lead actor in Black Belt Jones (1974) while New York-born martial artist Ron Van Clief would go to Hong Kong, where he starred in a series of films as "The Black Dragon".