unemployed Westerners as extras,”
Derbyshire told the Other Press in an
interview. Derbyshire remembers Lee
being a paragon of perfectionism.

“He wanted to get those fight
scenes exactly right,” Derbyshire said.
“The quantity of standing around
waiting that goes into making a two-
minute fight scene... [| also remember]
watching Bruce filling the tedium
by doing two-finger pushups.”

Derbyshire remembers
Lee as genuine and
does not recall any
hint of snobbery or
arrogance from Lee
while the cameras
were on or off.

“He was like
Burt Reynolds,
who once told
an interviewer,

‘| may not be the world’s
greatest actor, but I’m the
world’s greatest Burt
Reynolds.’ Bruce Lee
was the world’s
greatest Bruce Lee,
the same guy off-
screen as on, so

tar as | could tell.”

Another actor
who worked with
Bruce Lee was John
Saxon. He did not
appear in Return of the
Dragon but later co-
starred with Lee in Enter
the Dragon. Saxon,
now 82, played
the character
of Roper and
has great
memories of
working with Lee.

“From our first
meeting,

we were talking about books,
techniques, and masters we had
studied with,” Saxon said in an interview

    
 
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
  
   

with the Other Press. “His focus was

laser sharp while filming. He had great
presence on and off the screen. He
was a generous man with his humour
and acknowledging people who called
and waved to him on the street.”
Saxon, when asked what the
biggest misconception was about
Lee, replied, “You mean like he was
human? [He had] emotional and
physical concerns like everyone else.”
In May 2017, Return of the Dragon
got the royal

treatment when the film was
released on Blu-ray as a special
Collector's Edition. Some of the
special features include a new 4K
scan and restoration, new Japanese
opening and closing credits, an
alternate final fight music cue, a
trailer gallery and audio commentary
with Asian Film Expert, Mike Leeder.

 

In addition, the disc contains
interviews with Sammo Hung, Simon
Yam and Wong Jing and another
feature called, “Kung Fu? Jon Benn
Remembers ‘Return Of The Dragon.”
As the 45th anniversary of the
release of the film Return of the Dragon
approaches, Bruce Lee’s popularity
has not diminished. He is a global icon
recognized all over the world and his
tilms are being rediscovered by each
passing generation. His philosophy
of martial arts called Jeet Kune Do
is revered and practiced by many
martial arts schools. UFC president,
Dana White, said Bruce Lee is
the “father of mixed martial
arts.” Rapper LL Cool J says
Lee had a big influence
on him wanting to
become an actor.
Former NBA star,
Kobe Bryant,
has stated Lee’s
philosophies
of Jeet Kune
Do inspired
“Mamba
Mentality.”
Lee
was also
influential
in making
the martial
arts genre
popular in
Hollywood
tilms and he
helped open
the doors for
later Hollywood
action stars
such as Jean-
Claude Van
Damme, Steven
Seagal, and
Chuck Norris.
Bruce Lee achieved so
much in his short 32 years on earth
and perhaps John Saxon says it best
as to why Lee’s life story continues to
be inspiring to so many people today:
“Bruce was a goal setter. His legacy
was that he had set a goal for himself
[and he ultimately achieved it].”