Normally, when it comes to fans debating about who would win in a fictional fight between two people in a film, the talk centers around superheroes and other completely unrealistic characters. However, most recently, the biggest “who would win in a fight?” debate revolved around Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and a scene depicting a tussle between Cliff Booth and Bruce Lee.
The scene, more so than even the ridiculous ending, has been the most controversial aspect of the filmmaker’s latest over the last few weeks. It all started with Lee’s daughter being upset with Tarantino over the depiction of her father and then fans jumping aboard the anger train. But now, speaking at a recent press conference (via IndieWire), Tarantino wants to put to bed any controversy and set the record straight about how he depicts Lee in his film.
“Bruce Lee was kind of an arrogant guy,” Tarantino said. “The way he was talking, I didn’t just make a lot of that up. I heard him say things like that to that effect. If people are saying, ‘Well he never said he could beat up Mohammad Ali,’ well yeah he did. Alright? Not only did he say that but his wife, Linda Lee, said that in her first biography I ever read. She absolutely said that.”
While the arrogance is the driving factor about what upset Shannon Lee, there was also an issue with how Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth character was able to compete with Bruce Lee in a fight, even though it resulted in a draw (though Tarantino’s original plan was much, much different). Many argued that Lee was used as a prop to pump up Pitt’s character and his legacy was damaged in the process.
“Could Cliff beat up Bruce Lee? Brad would not be able to beat up Bruce Lee, but Cliff maybe could,” the filmmaker said. “If you ask me the question, ‘Who would win in a fight: Bruce Lee or Dracula?’ It’s the same question. It’s a fictional character.”
He continued, “If I say Cliff can beat Bruce Lee up, he’s a fictional character so he could beat Bruce Lee up. The reality of the situation is this: Cliff is a Green Beret. He has killed many men in WWII in hand to hand combat. What Bruce Lee is talking about in the whole thing is that he admires warriors. He admires combat, and boxing is a closer approximation of combat as a sport. Cliff is not part of the sport that is like combat, he is a warrior. He is a combat person.”
This appears to be the last word on the subject, as talk of the controversy has died down in the weeks since ‘Once Upon a Time’ hit theaters. Hopefully, for fans of Lee and Tarantino, they can find the explanation from the filmmaker satisfactory. Oh wait, it’s the Internet. Nevermind. Keep arguing, y’all!