AI revives the Dragon: Bruce Lee's legacy gets high-tech makeover

AI is coming for Bruce Lee, whether fans of the legendary San Francisco-born martial arts icon like it or not.
The China Film Foundation is launching two artificial intelligence -driven projects as part of the Kung Fu Film Heritage Project, including the restoration of classic martial arts films starring Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and many others. Also in the works is what it calls the world's first fully AI-produced animated feature film.
Lee's Hong Kong films 'The Big Boss' (1969) and 'Fist of Fury' (1972), Chan's 'Drunken Master' (1978) and Li's 'Once Upon a Time in China' (1991) are among the 100 movies scheduled for restoration. As reported by Variety, China Film Foundation chair Zhang Qilin said at the Shanghai International Film Festival on Wednesday, June 18, that AI will be used to enhance image, sound and production quality while preserving the storytelling and aesthetic.
'From Bruce Lee to Jackie Chan, from 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' to 'Wolf Warrior,' these films have shown the world the vitality and spirit of the Chinese people,' Zhang said. 'They are our cinematic calling cards to the world.'
The Shanghai festival also featured the world premiere of 'A Better Tomorrow: Cyber Border,' a futuristic animated reboot of John Woo's action classic 'A Better Tomorrow' (1986), made completely with AI.
'This entire animated feature was made by just 30 people,' producer Zhang Qing said. 'AI has collapsed the barrier between creativity and execution. The production cycle has gone from years to months.'
But the use of AI for restorations can raise troubling creative issues. Lee, who died in 1973 at age 32 of a cerebral edema, and director Lo Wei, who died in 1996 at 77, are not around to guide the technicians who would use those AI tools. Many film purists argue that part of the charm of historic movies is their retro look. And that 'enhancing' the production quality can be viewed as an attempt to make an older film look like a modern film. George Lucas did this with the original 'Star Wars' trilogy to mixed reactions. Lucas, however, is the creator of those classic films.
Zhang Qilin and Tian Ming, the chair of Canxing Media, which is partnering with China Film Foundation on the project, insisted this is about preservation and not alteration.
'AI is the brush, but creativity is the soul,' Ming said. 'Classic kung fu films embody China's spiritual backbone.'
The Lee films are slated to be among the first 10 to be restored.

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