Movies - Enter the Dragon

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	Movies - Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon (《龍爭虎鬥》 aka. The Deadly Three, originally titled Blood and Steel is a 1973 Warner Brothers martial arts film starring Bruce Lee, John Saxon and Jim Kelly. It is the last completed film Bruce Lee appeared in before his death. He died the month before it was released.

It is considered by many to be the definitive Kung Fu film, and was the first Kumg Fu film to have been made by a Hollywood studio. It has one of the most influential martial arts scenes ever made - the Nunchaku scene.

Although they had acted in films and Peking opera decades before, the Seven Little Fortunes, including Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, had cameo appearances, and appearances as extras. This was arguably instrumental in Jackie Chan's further association with Golden Harvest studios, which later launched his international career.

The finished version of the film was significantly different from the original drafts. Bruce Lee was ultimately successful in using the film as a vehicle for expressing what he saw as the beauty of his culture, rather than just another action movie.

The Warner Brothers Special Edition video includes footage from the only live interview of Bruce Lee, as well as a few minutes of movie footage, philosophical in tone, cut from the original theatrical release.

The film is set in Hong Kong (see Hong Kong in films).

Plot

"Enter the Dragon" follows three international martial artists during their participation in a fighting tournament on an island run by a crimelord called Han. The island is beyond international jurisdiction. Lee (played by Bruce Lee), Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly) each have their own reasons for entering the tournament initially, though they all find themselves at odds with their host, the mysterious Han (played by Kien Shih).

For Lee, an intelligence agency recruits him to investigate Han's operations using his participation in the tournament as cover and since Han forbids firearms on the island, Lee's martial arts skill would be vital in case of trouble. Lee has even more personal reasons for dealing with Han, who left Lee's Shaolin temple in disgrace. Some of Han's thugs were also responsible for the death of Lee's sister.

Roper and Williams are former army buddies who have had to leave the US in a hurry. Gambler Roper is wanted by the mob, black activist Williams is wanted by the cops.

In the course of the tournament, the protagonists discover that Han uses his untouchable island and the tournament as a front to recruit new talent for his drug running operation.

On Set Incidents

Bruce was bitten by a cobra during filming of the scene in which he infiltrates Han's base.

According to Bob Wall and John Saxon, Bruce Lee beat up an actor who was taunting him, but on the Enter The Dragon DVD this incident was played down. Bruce Lee was said to have been challenged by many actors and stunt men in order to prove himself.

Some of the extras were thugs who used their fighting skills to enforce local protection rackets. During a fight, Lee is said to have literally smashed the teeth out of a man's mouth. This led to speculation that his death, soon after the film was completed, was a Triad revenge.

During the fight scene with Bob Wall, Bruce Lee cut himself on glass bottles that weren't sugar glass props.

During the making of Enter The Dragon it is said that Bob Wall never quite got along with Bruce Lee and at the fight on the parade ground (where Oharra smashes the bottles) the attack at Lee was more then just a managed fight. Wall and others however, deny these allegations, stating the whole event was blown out of proportion.

Additional information

In a list of channel four's top 100 movies compiled by critics in the UK, Enter The Dragon charted at No 85.

On the Your Movie Database website it is ranked at 60.

It is often regarded as one of the most influential films of all time, kickstarting the kung fu movie genre during the '70s in the West and establishing Bruce Lee as a popular culture icon.

In October 1973, Enter The Dragon was the box office No. 1 in the United States.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Enter the Dragon ]

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Movies - Enter the Dragon

Plot

On Set Incidents

Additional information

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