Produced by the Golden Harvest movie company and directed by Lo Wei (Luo Wei), this is one of the most remarkable of Bruce Lee's films. It elevates both the visual appreciation of the martial arts in the movie and the screenplay writing of martial arts movies, so it is indeed an influential movie in the development of the Hong Kong movie industry. Kung fu, the martial arts, in this movie, no longer is merely portrayed as one of the elements of the action scenes, but also becomes a way to the appreciate the beauty of the male physical form. The large amount of aggressive fighting scenes in this movie impressed the audience as well as the media. As a result, the image of the half-dressed body of Bruce Lee became the "logo" of Chinese kung fu movies, which in themselves are a representation of a part of the Chinese heritage. Foreigners had the impression that Bruce Lee equals "Chinese kung fu".

      The story is set in a concession district in Shanghai in the 20s. Chen Jhen (played by Bruce Lee) comes back from Tianjin to attend the funeral of his master, Huo Yuanjia, founder of the martial arts institute, Jingwu Men. He, the senior disciple of Jingwu Men, is suspicious of his master's death and decides to investigate. Before long, a Japanese martial arts school insults Jingwu Men by sending them a bian, a horizontal board, inscribed with Dongya Bingfu, "The Sickling of East Asia." Regardless of the warnings from his elder fellow disciples, Chen beat the group of the Japanese who carried over the bian board. Then the head of the Japanese school comes and orders the Jingwu Men to yield Chen Jhen in three days.

      Coincidentally Chen Jhen found out that his master was poisoned by both the chief and the steward of the institute, and the principle conspirators were the Japanese. So without notifying the others in Jingwu Men, he called on the Japanese school and consequently a series of vengeance matches were fought. Although he defeated the Japanese rivals and then Russian boxers, the constables came for him. He refused to surrender, so he was shot dead. The ending scene, in which he is jumping into the air with the Jingwu Men institute as the background confronting the gunfire, creates his unforgettable screen image as a tragic hero.