Bullet Points: Bruce Lee in New Guinea
Of all the Bruceploitation films I have covered on the site, 1978’s Bruce Lee in New Guinea is probably the most divisive among fans that I’ve encountered thus far.
The negative feelings about the film start with the title. Now there are plenty of movies from the Bruceploitation sub-genre that feature Bruce Lee’s name, but all of those films at least make an attempt to link their film with the iconic superstar. Bruce Lee in New Guinea has absolutely nothing to do with Bruce Lee’s life or any of Bruce Lee’s movies and it appears the producers simply slapped Bruce Lee’s name on the title.
I don’t think anyone would argue that Bruce Li in New Guinea would have been a more appropriate title, but what some see as a negative for Bruce Lee in New Guinea, others see as a positive… How many times can you tell the story of Bruce Lee’s life? How many times can you rehash the storylines from Game of Death or Fist of Fury? The producers of Bruce Lee in New Guinea realized that at some point you have to move on…
- The Premise: Anthropologist Wan Li (Bruce Li, Dynamo) joins his friend Chin Sang (Larry Lee, Black Belt Karate) on an expedition to a small island near New Guinea… Chin Sang is hoping to study the snake style martial arts that are practiced on the island, while Wan Li wants to learn about the natives, their culture and the different sects they are divided into. Wan Li and Chin Sang hire a pair of cross eyed guides (who provide the film with some comic relief) and the expedition begins…
- We’re Off To See The Wizard: Along the way Wan Li and Chin Sang learn that The Devil Sect has taken over the island by force. The Devil Sect is led by The Great Wizard (Chan Sing, The Tattoo Connection) and he is basically king bully… he spends his time showing off his superior fighting skills while his minions (including Bolo Yeung) kiss his ass. When he’s not doing that, he is hanging out in his hut surrounded by a bevy of naked women that he enjoys tickling with a big feather. When he’s not doing either of those things, The Great Wizard is expressing his disappointment to his son Sunpa, since Sunpa has not been able to get Princess Ankawa (Dana, Edge of Fury) to accept his marriage proposal. For those of you not in the know, Princess Ankawa is the daughter of the old snake chief, the same old snake chief that The Great Wizard killed in order to assume control of the island and the precious Snake Pearl that the natives worship.
- Nobody Beats The Wiz: Wan Li and Chin Sang get everything they had hoped for and more when they run into members of The Devil Sect and the encounter turns into a battle royal! At one point during the melee, Wan Li and Chin Sang are separated… Chin Sang ends up returning to China after a few days of not knowing what had happened to his friend. But what had happened was… Wan Li had a one on one encounter with The Great Wizard that nearly killed Wan Li! Wan Li was able to hold his own against the highly skilled Great Wizard, but when the Wiz decided to cheat and used his venom filled ring on Wan Li, Wan Li found himself on death’s door… that is until Princess Ankawa came to the rescue. Ankawa nursed Wan Li back to health and the two ended up falling in love… but when The Great Wizard eventually found out that Wan Li did not die after their encounter, he goes to finish the job he started. At that point, Princess Ankawa pleads with The Great Wizard to spare Wan Li’s life and she’ll do whatever The Great Wizard wants her to do… even marry his son, Sunpa. The Great Wizard agrees but only if Wan Li goes back home to China. I would like to point out, that Wan Li had been stuck on the island for nearly a year and his friends and family back home were fearing the worst.
- Sleepless in New Guinea: When Wan Li finally gets back home, he is not the same man he was before his trip. He tells his homeboy Chin Sang what happened to him on the island and how he is in love with Princess Ankawa. Chin Sang knows his friend must return to the island and he promises to be right there at his side. But first… the two men have to prepare themselves for The Great Wizard so we get ourselves a training montage. Meanwhile on the island, Princess Ankana has given birth to Wan Li’s love child and is hoping that Wan Li returns before she is going to be forced by The Great Wizard to marry Sunpa. As if all that is not enough, some evil Americans have shown up on the island looking to steal the valuable Snake Pearl… all we need at this point is for Wan Li to return to the island and spark this powder keg!
Bruce Lee in New Guinea does not feature Bruce Lee and it doesn’t even take place in New Guinea, but once some of the more outrageous elements of the movie show up on screen, you really won’t be worried too much about those important details. Instead, you will find yourself enjoying what is quite possibly the most bizarre movie in Bruce Li’s filmography.
Word to the wise… if you like your Bruceploitation films to feature characters taking the Lord’s name in vain and calling each other bastards, people dying in a deadly snake pit and ample amounts of female nudity (I am talking six skinny dipping ladies frolicking in the ocean level of nudity), you want to be sure to find an uncut version of the film.
Cutting out that R rated stuff from a movie makes about as much sense as me cutting out the Bonus Bullet Points of a review….
- One Question: Did the Great Wizard get his skull mask from Silver Shamrock Novelties?
- Favorite Quote #1: “Princess, you’re a slut!”
- Fan Theory: Princess Ankawa has a rather unique bodyguard in the form of an ape (or in this case a guy in an ape suit). I can’t help but think that after playing a fighter with ape like characteristics in The Dragon, The Hero, that Bolo Yeung pulled some double duty in Bruce Lee in New Guinea and was the guy in the ape suit.
- Favorite Quote #2: “That Chan Pao is a treacherous bastard!”
- If You Ever: …wanted to see some of the least special special effects in movie history, check out the scene where Sunpa puts a spell on Princess Ankana’s baby. What the hell movie?!?!
