How Did Bruce Lee Get an Idea to Have an Iconic 1972 Fight Against Chuck Norris at Colosseum?

Bruce Lee?s?road to becoming a Hollywood superstar required a great deal of the trial and error method. After performing the role of Kato in Green Hornet in the 1960s, Lee’s charm did not work in Hollywood instantly. However, everything changed for Lee when he shot the illegal fighting scene with his friend Chuck Norris on Colosseum in Rome for his superhit film, Way of the Dragon.

Bruce Lee?s plan to shoot Way of the Dragon was his blueprint to get highlighted in the west. In his biography, author Matthew Polly revealed that Lee followed in the footsteps of film director and actor Clint Eastwood who shared the same struggles as Lee.

How Clint Eastwood inspired Bruce Lee ?

American director Clint Eastwood initially worked in TV. Like Bruce Lee, he too wanted to rule the big screen. When nothing worked out for him, he went to Italy and ?made several cheap spaghetti westerns in Italy?. Working in Italian films, Clint was noticed by the American audience. Eventually, it opened doors for him to big Hollywood films.

Taking inspiration from Eastwood?s career decision, Lee returned to Hong Kong just like the former moved to Italy. Undoubtedly, Lee became a huge star with his Hong Kong films like Fist of Furry and The Big Boss. Moreover, Lee was already coming to notice when he was shooting Way of the Dragon. He took a big shot by shooting the iconic fighting scene with Chuck Norris at the Roman amphitheater, Colosseum.

In Lee’s biography, Bruce Lee: A Life, the author mentioned that before Lee, no Chinese director had ever filmed in the West. Lee began looking at European cities, finally settling for Rome. Furthe, the book mentions,?”Kirk Douglas?s Colosseum battle in Spartacus (1960) gave Bruce the idea for a final fight between himself and a Western bad guy. More important, Italy fit with his Eastwood strategy of conquering Hollywood.”

Initially, Lee and his team were not allowed to shoot in the amphitheater. They had to bribe the Roman guards for it. Somehow, Lee?s team managed to capture a few shots of the fighting scenes.

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Although it was not easy to shoot in Colosseum, he eventually made it happen. One must not forget that this was the same film that involved Lee?s entirety of creativity; he wrote the script, directed and co-produced the film, and played the starring role. Besides, the film became a blockbuster and its iconic fighting scene between Lee and Chuck Norris became its biggest highlight.

How did Bruce Lee and his team shoot illegally at Colosseum?

Shooting in the Colosseum seemed like an impossible dream for Lee?s team. In an interview, actor and martial artist Bob Wall revealed that his wife had connections that let the team get inside the amphitheater. Lee took a big risk shooting inside it. Moreover, Lee?s team had to bribe the guards to take the shooting devices inside and film for nearly three weeks.

Moreover, they were asked to behave like tourists to deceive other people about them shooting an actual film. Lee?s team was able to shoot the fight scene within the stipulated time. Eventually, they flew back to Hong Kong to shoot the rest of the film.

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That?s how with great determination and perseverance, Lee made the impossible happen.