Lo Wei

Hong Kong director Lo Wei helped make Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li international stars. Lo Wei began his entertainment career as an actor in Chung King during WWII. He next performed in Shanghai until moving to Hong Kong in 1948. During the '50s, Wei became a popular matinee idol. He became a director in 1957, but also continued his acting career. Wei signed with the Shaw Brothers in 1965 and for them directed 17 films, most of which were martial arts films; he moved to the newly created Golden Harvest in 1970 and continued in a similar vein. His involvement with Bruce Lee happened when Wei was hired to replace a recently fired director on The Big Boss (aka Fists of Fury) (1972), the film that made Lee an international star. Wei also directed Lee's second Golden Harvest film, Fist of Fury (aka The Chinese Connection) (1972). While Lo Wei has never been considered one of Hong Kong's greatest directors, he certainly demonstrated a rare gift for finding talent and then giving it free reign to blossom. Lo Wei retired from filmmaking in the early '80s following a contract dispute with Jackie Chan.

~Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide