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The co-op bookstore for avid readers
These Fists Break Bricks: How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World
When a major Hollywood studio released Five Fingers of Death to thrill-seeking Times Square moviegoers on March 21, 1973, only a handful of Black and Asian American audience members knew the difference between an Iron Fist and an Eagle's Claw. That changed overnight as kung fu movies kicked off a craze that would earn millions at the box office, send TV ratings soaring, sell hundreds of thousands of video tapes, influence the birth of hip hop, reshape the style of action we see in movies today, and introduce America to some of the biggest non-white stars to ever hit motion picture screens.
This lavishly illustrated book tells the bone-blasting, spine-shattering story of how these films of fury -- spawned in anti-colonial protests on the streets of Hong Kong -- came to America and raised hell for 15 years before greed, infomercials, and racist fearmongering shut them down.
You'll meet Japanese judo coaches battling American wrestlers in backwoods MMA bouts at county fairs, black teenagers with razor sharp kung fu skills heading to Hong Kong to star in movies shot super fast so they can make it back to the States in time to start 10th grade, and Puerto Rican karate coaches making their way in this world with nothing but their own two fists.
It's about an 11-year-old boy who not only created the first fan edit but somehow turned it into a worldwide moneymaker, CIA agents secretly funding a karate movie, the New York Times fabricating a fear campaign about black "karate gangs" out to kill white people, the history of black martial arts in America ("Why does judo or karate suddenly get so ominous because black men study it?," wondered Malcolm X), the death of Bruce Lee and the onslaught of imitators that followed, and how a fight that started in Japanese internment camps during World War II ended in a ninja movie some 40 years later.
It's a battle for recognition and respect that started a long, long time ago and continues today in movies like The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Black Panther and here, for the first time, is the full uncensored story.
This lavishly illustrated book tells the bone-blasting, spine-shattering story of how these films of fury -- spawned in anti-colonial protests on the streets of Hong Kong -- came to America and raised hell for 15 years before greed, infomercials, and racist fearmongering shut them down.
You'll meet Japanese judo coaches battling American wrestlers in backwoods MMA bouts at county fairs, black teenagers with razor sharp kung fu skills heading to Hong Kong to star in movies shot super fast so they can make it back to the States in time to start 10th grade, and Puerto Rican karate coaches making their way in this world with nothing but their own two fists.
It's about an 11-year-old boy who not only created the first fan edit but somehow turned it into a worldwide moneymaker, CIA agents secretly funding a karate movie, the New York Times fabricating a fear campaign about black "karate gangs" out to kill white people, the history of black martial arts in America ("Why does judo or karate suddenly get so ominous because black men study it?," wondered Malcolm X), the death of Bruce Lee and the onslaught of imitators that followed, and how a fight that started in Japanese internment camps during World War II ended in a ninja movie some 40 years later.
It's a battle for recognition and respect that started a long, long time ago and continues today in movies like The Matrix, Kill Bill, and Black Panther and here, for the first time, is the full uncensored story.
Book Details
- Publisher: Mondo Books
- Publish Date: Jan 3rd, 2022
- Pages: 432
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 12.05in - 9.06in - 0.94in - 3.60lb
- EAN: 9781736891605
- Categories: • Film - Genres - General• Film - History & Criticism
About the Author
Hendrix, Grady: - Grady Hendrix is an award-winning New York Times bestselling author and one of the founders of the New York Asian Film Festival. He's covered the Asian film industry for Variety, Sight & Sound, and Film Comment, among others. He lives in NYC.
Poggiali, Chris: - "Chris Poggiali is a librarian, writer and film historian who edited the fanzine Temple of Schlock from 1987 - 1991, and brought it back as a blog in 2008. He has written about film for numerous magazines, websites, and DVDs/Blu-rays."
Praise for this book
As featured in Entertainment Weekly, Polygon, and Collider
Gift Guide Mentions: The New York Times, Rizzoli Bookstore, GeekDad, The Playlist, and SlashFilm
Gift Guide Mentions: The New York Times, Rizzoli Bookstore, GeekDad, The Playlist, and SlashFilm
"These Fists Break Bricks is a total blast! Impeccably researched, it's perfect for both the Tarantino-level fanatic or a newbie who has only seen Enter the Dragon." - Larry Karaszewski, screenwriter (Ed Wood, Dolemite Is My Name)
"These Fists Break Bricks is that rare combination of a fun read combined with true scholarship, complemented by an amazing collection of images..." - C. Courtney Joyner, screenwriter (Class of 1999, From a Whisper to a Scream)
"These Fists Break Bricks is a bone-crushing blast!" - Steven Puchalski, Shock Cinema Magazine
"This is no schlock-by-numbers quickie film book. Hendrix and Poggiali are twin ninjas of celluloid..." - Donald Guarisco, Schlockmania!
"Chris Poggiali and Grady Hendrix really have a special thing in These Fists Break Bricks, and I can't wait to suggest it to others." - Book Squad Goals
"This intelligent, witty, respectful virtual encyclopedia is as fun as the subject it covers. Marvelously designed and written by two experts, it is the book all kung fu movie fans have been waiting for." -- Danny Peary, author and film critic (Cult Movies 1-3, Cult Movie Stars)
"A fascinating and amazingly complete tome..." -- Larry Hama, writer/artist (G.I. Joe, Wolverine)
"...funny, fascinating, and encyclopedic..." -- The Playlist
"...a fascinating overview of martial arts movies..." -- SlashFilm
"...a fascinating overview of martial arts movies..." -- SlashFilm
"Full of great illos and facts about the producers, directors, stars, distributors, theaters, and the endless retitles and rip-offs. This book is excellent." -Michael J. Weldon, author/editor (The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film, Psychotronic Video)
"This book oughta be called KungFuPedia -- you can just look at the pictures and increase your martial-arts movie knowledge by a thousand percent. If you don't own it, you deserve to be whopped on the right side of your face by Billy Jack's right foot." -Joe Bob Briggs
"This book oughta be called KungFuPedia -- you can just look at the pictures and increase your martial-arts movie knowledge by a thousand percent. If you don't own it, you deserve to be whopped on the right side of your face by Billy Jack's right foot." -Joe Bob Briggs