The Big Boss

Lee had been a child star in Hong Kong movies of the 1950s; this crudely made but highly enjoyable revenge drama marked his return to Hong Kong (after his failure to escape stereotyped bit-parts in the US) and launched a worldwide fashion for 'kung fu' movies. Cheng (Lee) arrives in Thailand to join relatives working in an ice-packing plant. When he learns that the place is a front for heroin smuggling, he reveals his martial prowess and takes on the villainous boss (Han Yingjie, also the film's martial arts choreographer) in a frighteningly intense duel to the death. The mix of authentic martial arts skills, cartoon-like violence, righteous anger and filial piety (Cheng never forgets his promises to dear old mum, back in Hong Kong) struck a chord with audiences everywhere in a way rarely seen since the heyday of the James Dean cult, making Lee a global star overnight.