I paste here below an interesting article I recently found on internet about the sadly gone Robert Clouse.
"The premier American auteur of kung-fu and martial arts movies, Robert Clouse is primarily remembered today for his two collaborations with Asian superstar Bruce Lee: both of which helped seal Lee’s legacy after his tragic death. Clouse also worked with action stars including Joe Don Baker, Jackie Chan, and even Yul Brynner: though most of his post-Lee movies were attempts to cash in on past glories and the director’s style, including lots of sudden zooms and slow motion, seems hopelessly dated today.
Still, many of Clouse’s action/adventures had an enormous influence on the genre’s progression over the past few decades.
Born almost completely deaf, he would have his assistants describe whether dialogue was spoken well or not, Clouse had a strong visual sense which helped him find recognition as a still photographer in the early 1960s. He directed a series of short projects which earned him a couple of Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe, before establishing his high octane style with Dreams Of Glass (1970). His follow up, Darker Than Amber, was a fast paced and exciting piece of escapism which helped establish Clouse’s reputation as a filmmaker: though it was the legendary Enter The Dragon (1973), made after the director had spent a few years on undistinguished TV programs, that stands as his crowning accomplishment. The first and last American vehicle for martial arts star Bruce Lee, who died before the film was released to monumental success, its nominal plot had the karate master entering a tournament to stop a ruthless drug smuggling ring.Following the actor’s death, Clouse would spent the remainder of his career attempting to follow up his initial blockbuster: he cast Lee’s African American co-star Jim Kelly as Black Belt Jones (1974), a black martial artist who similarly tries to stop a ruthless gang of thugs. That cult sensation temporarily made Kelly into a star, with exciting action sequences to balance out Clouse’s now-dated camera tricks and use of slow motion, though both Jim and Bob Clouse would have worked together once again in Golden Needles: another thriller about karate and heroin dealers.
His cache as a kung fu master starting to wane, Clouse would have more success with straightforward action movies like The Ultimate Warrior (1975): in which Brynner was cast as a futuristic vigilante who tracks those who killed members of his family. Cheesy at times to be sure, but Yul was as intense as ever and the story would have a surprising influence over subsequent, superior action movies from George Miller. The Pack (1977) was your typical story about a group of mad dogs that escape from a laboratory, with environmental themes thrown in with the usual thrills, while The Amsterdam Kill was an interesting late vehicle for the Golden Age superstar Robert Mitchum. Desperate for another hit, Clouse next pulled together footage of Lee from before the actor’s death to complete his long anticipated project, Game of Death (1978). The story, about a martial artist/movie star who fakes his own death to take on some bad guys, contained enough wishful thinking to make the patch job a success among fans of the legend: though the use of stand-ins and Clouse’s already-dated (but yet efficient) zooming make it an inferior final bow.
After The London Connection (1979), the director worked with Jackie Chan: who had acted as an extra in his previous success Enter the dragon and was now considered the clown prince of chop socky flicks. Their collaboration, The Big Brawl (1980), has often been considered one of Chan’s best American movies: combining the director’s fast paced style with Jackie’s tongue in cheek variation on martial arts. It’s success would keep Clouse working for the next decade, when he would continue to crank out popular B-movies.
Puctures like Force Five (1981) and Deadly Eyes (1982) offer good entertainment.
Gymkata (1985) was an interesting diversion. Perhaps the only movie ever made that attempts to combine martial arts with gymnastics, the film wasn’t exactly a success but has maintained a steady cult following over the years and indicated that Clouse was still an idiosyncratic talent.
His last commercial success of note was China O’Brien (1990), which starred Cynthia Rothrock as an LA cop who goes after a gang of bad guys. The director’s first movie to feature a female kung-fu master, it gained a reputation thanks to Rothrock’s karate skills and sexy physique: the success of Clouse’s movie was substantial enough that he subsequently made a sequel, China O’Brien Two (1991).
The director’s last movie was Ironheart (1992), a martial arts direct-to-video starring Bolo Yeung. After that Clouse retired from direction.
He died of kidney failure in 1997 and has never really received the recognition he deserves as a superior director of escapist entertainment.
The films of Robert Clouse have certainly dated, but his influence is still apparent in modern action movies and video games and many of his inventive films maintain fervent cult followings".
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