WILLIAM LEE is a New York born, black filmmaker. Black producers say his films arent black enough, white film execs have repeatedly told him black films dont sell. Lee walks a tightrope, lives on the razors edge, puts exploitative commercial elements into his scripts, but doesnt lose his integrity or his vision. His films put good and bad into simple black and white, and the two juxtaposing forces meet and beat each other senseless. William Lees art is imbued with his complete immersion in Bruce Lee and Asian cinema in his early teens. But that doesnt paint the whole picture of Mister Lee. Lee is undefined by simple clichs. His influences are Fritz Lang , Akita Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock.
William Lee makes feature films, without any financial backing. The results are expectedly uneven. Its hard to create totally realistic explosions and special effects on a budget that wouldnt even buy a cheap imported car. However, in an unprecedented fashion, every year like clockwork, Lee delivers two hours of film that titillate, repulse and intrigue audiences. Some dont know what to make of the madness, but when its over, people know they have been through the grinder. During showings of Lees most recent film, DARK TARGET, some people were so dismayed by the use of language and violence, they left the theater before it ended. One scholar called Lee the Black Tarantino.
But dont ever get it twisted: somewhere in between the action, the sex, the violence, the soul of a pro black nationalist thrivesall the while demanding accountability from black folk. His characters demand that black people stand upright, face their own flaws, and criticize their own shortcomingsamong them sagging pants, juvenile delinquency, political ignorance and tired excuses for black people not working together. Lee is a dichotomy who insists his contradictions are not contradictory. All, we assume, part of being a black Zen Buddhist. Yes, the river Lee runs deep, and its more than just film making. Its art and life meeting on a dimly lit street to drive its point home: William Lee will not be defined by his color, but will never forget the duty he has to make sure his skin color is never taken for granted. Now thats one hell of a mission.