These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World

These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World - Hardcover

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These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World
  • These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World
These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World - Hardcover

These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World - Hardcover

by Grady Hendrix , Chris Poggiali
$40.00
$40.00

Book Overview

From New York Times bestselling author Grady Hendrix and film historian Chris Poggiali comes the full story of how kung fu movies came to--and conquered--America in this revised and expanded edition.

When a Hollywood studio released Five Fingers of Death to thrill-seeking Times Square moviegoers in 1973, only a handful of Black and Asian audience members knew the difference between an Iron Fist and an Eagle's Claw. That changed overnight as Five Fingers kicked off a kung fu craze that would earn millions at the box office, send TV ratings soaring, influence the birth of hip hop, reshape the style of action we see in movies today, and introduce America to some of the biggest Asian stars to ever hit motion picture screens.

These Fists Break Bricks offers a lavishly illustrated exploration of how these high-kicking, brick-breaking movies came to America and raised hell until greed, infomercials, and racist fearmongering shut them down. For the first time, the full--and wild--story is told, including how CIA agents secretly funded karate movies and how The New York Times fabricated a fear campaign about Black "karate gangs," as well as the history of Black martial arts in America and the onslaught of Bruce Lee imitators after his death.

With a foreword by RZA of the Wu Tang Clan and brand new material on superstars like Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, and Donnie Yen, plus spotlights on unsung performers, film poster artists, and money-laundering film distributors, this revised and expanded edition is a master class in kung fu cinema history.
ISBN9780762489480
Author Grady Hendrix , Chris Poggiali
PublisherRunning Press Adult
GenreArts and Sports
FormatHardcover
PublishedJuly 2025
LanguageENG- English
Pages384
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Nonfiction Performing Arts Sports & Recreation

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More by Grady Hendrix

These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World

These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World - Hardcover

These Fists Break Bricks (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Kung Fu Movies Swept America and Changed the World - Hardcover

By Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggiali

About Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix is a New York Times bestselling novelist and screenwriter who owns too many paperbacks and not enough shelves. He's the author of How to Sell a Haunted House, The Final Girl Support Group, The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, and many more, including Paperbacks from Hell, a history of the horror paperback boom of the seventies and eighties that won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Nonfiction. (All the paperbacks are for "research" and he needs them.) His books have sold over three million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages. He lives in New York City and will die there, too, probably crushed to death beneath piles of those paperbacks.

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