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THE ART OF BRUCE-PLOITATION: A LOW BUDGET LOOK-ALIKE CRAZE

The art and legacy of the high-octane blend of jaw-dropping action, gravity-defying stunts, and enough Bruce Lee look-alikes to start a full-blown martial arts army.

In the wake of Bruce Lee's untimely death in 1973, a new genre of martial arts film emerged: Bruceploitation. Created as a cashew by studios to capitalize on intense interest in the star, and the, sadly, small amount of titles he headlined, these low-budget films were made with questionable execution and starred actors who bore a passing resemblance to Lee, and titles riffing on Lee’s box office successes, often with dubious stretches of the imagination (The Pig Boss (1972), Enter the Game of Death (1978)). The genre reached its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but evolved into a cult favorite among fans of martial arts cinema thanks to some actually competent action.

A typical sample of Bruceploitation films included such whimiscal titles as Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger (1974) starring Bruce Li, Bruce Lee Fights Back From the Grave (1976) sporting a resurrected Bruce Lee thanks to a bolt of lightning striking his grave and Bruce the Super Hero (1978) starring Bruce Le.

Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave (1976)

The Bruceploitation genre was born out of a desire to capitalize on Lee's immense popularity. In the years following his death, Lee's films continued to be released in theaters and on home video, creating a new generation of fans who missed Lee's work first time around, and yearned for a dose of what might have been had his career trajectory continued upward, as ;promised with his western breakthrough Enter The Dragon (1973). The nature of Lee’s death, sometimes attributed to a curse, found it’s way into the Bruceploitation genre by way of films like Exit the Dragon, Enter the Tiger in which Lee asks Bruce Li to replace him after his death.

A curious and specific subgenera, like many exploitation era productions, several Bruceploitation films are considered to be cult classics, beloved for their camp value and over-the-top action sequences and a bittersweet reminder of where Bruce Lee’s star was headed. Certainly not in the realm of high art, or in the same league of production level as the Shaw Brothers films, they remain immensely entertaining as cheap cash grabs of the era, and fodder for a night of B Movie madness.

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THE ART OF ALTERNATIVE MOVIE POSTERS

Art that has morphed from worshiping movies loved by fans into a frenzied cottage industry of sorts highlighting renditions of classic movie posters and titles held with reverence by their creators.

Fan art has morphed into a frenzied cottage industry of sorts for fan made renditions of classic movie posters and titles held with a degree of reverence. Often found prominently ion the aisles of Comic Cons, galleries like New York’s Bottleneck Gallery or Los Angeles’ Hero Complex have brought the work of independent artists and their brand of movie worship to their walls, often inspiring frantic bids for limited runs.

With many modern movie posters being rather banal Photoshop assemblies that can be altered as their stars fame increases or fades, and even worse - made to fit into streaming service thumbnails, artists have filled thr void of true art not seen since the heyday of VHS, many times creating poster art far, far better than what the studio has rushed out. Many will creatively zero in on a singular thematic element, idea or scene, to center the design.

We’ve collected but a small taste below of some of our favorites including the likes of Vance Kelly Dave Perillo, Alistair Little, Andy Fairhurst, Agustin R Michel and Micael Espinha with more to come in the following weeks as we deep dive into this highly collectible genre of movie art.