Ron Van Clief

Ron Van Clief

Born: January 25, 1943
in Brooklyn, New York, USA
Ron "The Black Dragon" Van Clief is a martial arts legend. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1943, he started martial arts training in his early teens. At 5 feet 10 inches and 190 pounds, Van Clief was fast, powerful, and tough. He won 10 New York State Full-Contact Karate Championships. He won multiple Karate Point-Fighting Titles. By the early 1970s he had earned his 10th Degree Black Belt. His karate record was reported to be 110-8. In 1994 at age 51, he launched a comeback on December 16, 1994 fighting former World JuJitsu Lightheavyweight and Ultimate Fighting World Champion Royce Gracie. The Black Dragon landed one good punch, but was taken to the canvas where after a valiant battle was choked into submission, thus ending one of the greatest fighting careers in martial arts history.

Movies for Ron Van Clief...

Enter the Clones of Bruce
Title: Enter the Clones of Bruce
Character: Self
Released: December 22, 2023
Type: Movie
Get ready to play a game of death … and another … and another. The wild documentary Enter the Clones of Bruce dives into the Bruce Lee exploitation craze.
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Snow Black
Title: Snow Black
Character: Jerrod Camden
Released: January 11, 2021
Type: Movie
Sarah Camden, a special operations soldier with PTSD, returns home to bury her mother. She realizes that she has to rid her hometown of gangs, drugs and crooked politicians. Sarah calls in her special ops buddies to clean up the town.
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The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief
Title: The Hanged Man: The Story of Ron Van Clief
Character: Self
Released: August 30, 2020
Type: Movie
The astonishing true story of Ron Van Clief, the first black martial arts movie star, known as "The Black Dragon". His determination to win — despite horrific odds — exacts a heavy toll and his life becomes a roller coaster ride with spectacular highs, devastating lows, and more than a few cliff-hangers.
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That's Brucesploitation! Making Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
Title: That's Brucesploitation! Making Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
Released: May 15, 2020
Type: Movie
This retrospective featurette includes words from filmmaker Jim Markovic, producer Terry Levene, screenwriter Ron Harvey, director Matthew Mallinson, and actors Ron Van Clief and Fred Williamson. Topics include the sordid history of Aquarius Releasing and their other Bruce Lee knock-offs, assembling the film from lukewarm leftovers, shooting new scenes, filming at Madison Square Garden, the "guest stars", script re-writes, Adolph Caesar, creating a fake news station, and more. (Blu-ray.com)
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Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Title: Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks
Character: Self
Released: August 14, 2019
Type: Movie
The fantastic story of how an ancient martial art, Chinese kung fu, conquered the world through the hundreds of films that were produced in Hong Kong over the decades, transformed Western action cinema and inspired the birth of cultural movements such as blaxploitation, hip hop music, parkour and Wakaliwood cinema.
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Hot Lead Hard Fury
Title: Hot Lead Hard Fury
Character: Solomon Link
Released: September 7, 2018
Type: Movie
1977: Industrial ghetto "Steel City" is under siege from organized crime, corruption, and a new synthetic drug called "Voodoo Blue". When news of a drug sting leaks to the wrong people, Detective Cal Beefer becomes a casualty - despite the protection of veteran cop Solomon Link (Ron Van Clief, "Way of the Black Dragon", "Death of Bruce Lee") When big brother Chuck Beefer comes to town, he wants answers! Chuck -once a cop himself- seeks to find the source of the leak and apprehend the killer and leading dealer of voodoo blue, a man named Afro Steele. Beefer delves deep into the seedy underworld of Steel City where he encounters Karate hit men, torturous drug lords, and a team of lovely yet lethal ladies known as the "Sisters of Sin".
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Blazin'
Title: Blazin'
Character: Davis
Released: April 3, 2001
Type: Movie
The daughter of a druglord and the son of the chief of police fall in love in this Romeo & Juliet-esque street drama.
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Colorz of Rage
Title: Colorz of Rage
Character: Diciple
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: Movie
Writer-director Dale Resteghini's indie drama follows a young interracial couple (Resteghini and Nicki Richards) whose recent move to New York from the Boston suburbs lands them in an environment of bigotry and hatred that they're ill-equipped to handle. Hip-hop artist turned actor Redman also stars in this thought-provoking tale.
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Top Fighter
Title: Top Fighter
Character: Himself
Released: June 15, 1995
Type: Movie
Welcome to the world of the martial arts. A voyage for the times of the martial arts cinema, from the beginning in China in the 6th Century A.C. by a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, until the actual time and the influence in the world, with interviews to actors and historians, and a review to the most important movies of all times and to the most famous action movies actors. A magnificent jewel of this genre what nobody wouldn't lose.
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UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
Title: UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors
Character: Himself
Released: December 16, 1994
Type: Movie
UFC 4: Revenge of the Warriors was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on December 16, 1994, at the Expo Center Pavilion in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event was seen live on pay-per-view, and later released on home video.
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Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee
Title: Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee
Character: Himself
Released: December 31, 1993
Type: Movie
Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee exposes the truth behind Lee's death and the cover-up that ensued.
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Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
Title: Fist of Fear, Touch of Death
Character: The Boxer / Ron Van Clief
Released: September 1, 1980
Type: Movie
A television reporter interviews fighters and promoters about Bruce Lee in preparation for a tournament to claim the title of “Successor to the Bruce Lee legacy”. Footage from Bruce Lee's films and interviews are repurposed in pseudo-documentary style.
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Kung Fu Fever
Title: Kung Fu Fever
Character: Black Dragon
Released: February 6, 1979
Type: Movie
A training manual supposed used by Bruce Lee himself has mysteriously disappeared and is highly sought after by good and evil alike.
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Way of the Black Dragon
Title: Way of the Black Dragon
Character: Bill Eaton
Released: December 28, 1978
Type: Movie
Allison Wong gets abducted by a gang of drug smugglers with a nasty sideline business involving white slavery and prostitution. Interpol agent Bill Eaton, honest worker Chen, and Allison's brother join forces to take out the nefarious crime syndicate.
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The Squeeze
Title: The Squeeze
Character: Duke
Released: October 25, 1978
Type: Movie
A retired safe cracker is recruited by a young conman to return to the "business" for a million dollar heist.
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The Super Weapon
Title: The Super Weapon
Character: Himself
Released: May 7, 1976
Type: Movie
A 1970s documentary that highlights various martial arts fighting styles and features African American martial arts master Ron Van Clief aka "Black Dragon."
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Bamboo Trap
Title: Bamboo Trap
Released: December 12, 1975
Type: Movie
The boldest man-trap ever to be set up!
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Black Dragon's Revenge
Title: Black Dragon's Revenge
Character: Black Dragon
Released: November 6, 1975
Type: Movie
Three rival gangs embark on a search for Bruce Lee's handwritten "finger fighting " manual.
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The Black Dragon
Title: The Black Dragon
Character: The Black Dragon
Released: March 2, 1974
Type: Movie
Decent, simple, honest Chinese farmhand and ace martial artist Tai-Lin goes to the Philippines to seek his fortune. He befriends scruffy petty street hoodlum Siao-Mao and gets a job as a dock worker. When Tai-Lin discovers that the people he works for are involved in a crime syndicate that specializes in smuggling opium, he quits his job and joins forces with two fellow martial artists against the evil organization.