Bruce Lee would've sucked as Caine - Kung Fu (1972) Discussion

[–] vindcomic 16 years ago

I loved Bruce Lee, he is the best martial artist that ever made it to Hollywood.
He´s movies were very good, because of he was a master in Kung Fu.
But Bruce Lee was not a very good actor in my personal opinion.
Some people say that Bruce should have done the show Kung Fu, I disagree.
The show Kung Fu is named Kung Fu, but it´s not about Kung Fu.
It´s about the spiritual philosophy behind life in general, nearly very episode is packed with many wise sayings.
I don´t think Bruce Lee could have done what David Carradine did.
David Carradine is an actor, he was the nearly perfect as Kwai Chang Caine.
The only thing he missed was a bit more Kung Fu experience, some of the fighting scenes look kind of fake.
I love the show, I watch one episode every night before I go to bed, I have seen every episode at least 5 times.

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[–] P_R_I_N_S 16 years ago

bruce lee studied philosophy so he would be more capable if you ask me.

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[–] vindcomic 16 years ago

Would have been, you mean?

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[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] WWu777 16 years ago

Yeah Bruce Lee studied philosophy but he didn't have a philosophical face. He was quick tempered (in real life and on screen) and does not look like a priest or monk like the character in Kung Fu is. Carradine had that look though.

Bruce Lee could have been good in a parallel series as a Chinese immigrant in the Old West, but not as a Shaolin Monk, more like just a Chinese action fighter running around the Old West.

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[–] raiden1969 16 years ago

So cast a white guy instead of an Asian to play a chinese guy instead of a chinese guy. Racism at it's finest. Carradine sucks as a fighter and this series is boring as hell. Goodbye fanboy morons.

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[–] Jalea 16 years ago

Bruce Lee originally pitched the idea of an Asian in the West called The Warrrior, which Warner Bros would redo into Kung Fu [1972]. They did not think the American audience was ready for an Asian as a leading man on TV. And, to add insult to injury, they did not give Bruce Lee credit for originating the idea.

I remember a well know Bruce Lee interview where he spoke about his philospy on Martial Arts. I think he would have been great in the role of Caine. I wonder what the series would have been like if Bruce Lee was allowed to play and develop the character. Obviously we will never know. However, I think it is in poor taste to say the Bruce Lee was not capable of playing a character that was his idea in the first place.

Martial Arts movies in the 1970s was not about showing a range of emotions, it was about fighting -- period. Just like the acting style in silent movies did not translate into talking picures, the acting in Martial Arts movies did not necessarily translate into the style of American Cinema of the 1970s. It is wrong to cross compares acting styles in such different genres.

I really enjoyed the series and thought David Carridine did a great job as Caine by the way. But, I think that Bruce Lee would have done a great job as well, if he had been given the chance.

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[–] ZoneFighter 14 years ago

No cast an American to play a half-American, half-Chinese guy. No racism at all.

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[–] Slew_Foot 13 years ago

As previously discussed ad nauseum, there is no such thing as a 'half-American'. You're either a citizen of the US, or you're not.

Now, half-white, half-Chinese...that's another story.

But 'American' is not synonymous with 'white'.

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[–] Littlebitsofgaming 16 years ago

If the original Bruce Lee concept (The Warrior) would have gone ahead with Bruce in the lead role...that character would NOT have been Caine anyway.

The main character would have been vastly different and tailored to Bruce Lee.

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he is God.

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[–] ex0 15 years ago

Caine? Who the *beep* needs Caine, when just Bruce being who he really was in real life, was already way more cool and more of a role model than Caine or Carradine will ever be.

Bruce as a person is already more of a character than any fictional character, and his ability and feats were also superhuman. Bruce don't need to act(although he can too), but i believe that if Bruce was natural and being true to himself, that was when he would have shined. Too bad he lived in the wrong time and died too early. He could have been EVEN BIGGER than he was/is.

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[–] rwsmith29456 14 years ago

Lee is a great fighter but Carradine was able to convey more emotions, thoughts, humility etc. In short, he's a better actor.

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[–] Prismark10 14 years ago

Carradine was great but Lee would had brought something different to the table.

Its that man again!!

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[–] Zhan_Zhuang 14 years ago

Carradine may have been a better actor to some but unlike Lee he studied drama and went to acting school, Lee in contrast learned from movie to movie. Lee as others have already noted would have made the role his own.

As a young martial artist growing up I always found the action very hokey in 'Kung Fu' and as a result I never liked it. Looking back now it looks even worse because Carradine never even studied martial arts until the series was cancelled and it really shows! Kung Fu was key to the show I am sure Lee would have made this a classic show if it had ended up as originally intended as 'The Warrior'.

"Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." - Laozi

The Shadow Warrior

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[–] bsteward-2 13 years ago

I believe Bruce Lee would have appeared too aggressive for the part of a Shaolin priest... Caine's role was very humble and nonviolent, until it was time to defend himself and even then he never went further than he needed, to stop the attacker..

Bill Steward

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