Enter the Dragon | |
---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Robert Clouse |
Written by | Michael Allin |
Produced by | Fred Weintraub Paul Heller Raymond Chow |
Starring | Bruce Lee John Saxon Ahna Capri Bob Wall Shih Kien Jim Kelly |
Cinematography | Gilbert Hubbs |
Edited by | Kurt Hirschler George Watters Peter Cheung |
Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Golden Harvest (Hong Kong) Warner Bros. (international) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Countries | Hong Kong United States |
Languages | English Cantonese |
Budget | $850,000 |
Box office | US$90 million[1] |
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 martial arts film produced by and starring Bruce Lee.[2] The film, which co-stars John Saxon and Jim Kelly, was directed by Robert Clouse. It would be Bruce Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at age 32. A joint American and Hong Kong production, it premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death and went on to gross US$90 million worldwide,[1] equivalent to US$549 million adjusted for inflation.
Enter the Dragon is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time.[3] In 2004, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4] Among the first films to combine martial arts action with the emerging Blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining both genres.[5] Its themes have also generated scholarly debate about how they reflect the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II.[6]
Plot[]
Lee, a highly proficient Shaolin martial artist and instructor from Hong Kong, is approached by Braithwaite, a British intelligence agent investigating the suspected crime lord Han. Lee is persuaded to attend a high-profile martial arts competition on Han's private island to gather evidence that will prove Han's involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution. Shortly before his departure, Lee also learns that the man responsible for his sisters death, O'Hara, is working as Han's bodyguard on the island. Also fighting in the competition are Roper, an indebted gambling addict, and fellow Vietnam war veteran Williams.
At the end of the first day, Han gives strict orders to the competitors not to leave their rooms. Lee makes contact with undercover operative Mei Ling and sneaks into Han's compound, looking for evidence. He is discovered by several guards but manages to escape. The next morning, Han orders his giant guard Bolo to kill the guards in public for failing their duties. After the execution, Lee faces O'Hara in the competition and ends up killing him. With the day's competition over, Han confronts Williams, who had also left his room the previous night to exercise. Han believes Williams to be the intruder and beats him to death when he refuses to cooperate. Han then reveals his drug operation to Roper, hoping that he will join his organisation. He also implicitly threatens to imprison Roper, along with all the other martial artists who joined Han's tournaments in the past, if Roper refuses. Despite being initially intrigued, Roper refuses after learning of Williams' fate.
Lee sneaks out again that night and manages to send a message to Braithwaite, but he is captured after a prolonged battle with the guards. The next morning, Han arranges for Roper to fight Lee, but Roper refuses. As a punishment, Roper has to fight Bolo instead, whom he manages to overpower and beat after a gruelling encounter. Enraged by the unexpected failure, Han commands his remaining men to kill Lee and Roper. Facing insurmountable odds, they are soon aided by the island's prisoners, who had been freed by Mei Ling. Han escapes and is pursued by Lee, who finally corners him in his museum. After a brutal fight, Han runs away into a hidden mirror room. The mirrors give Han an advantage, but Lee breaks all the room's mirrors to reveal Han's location, and eventually kills him. Lee returns outside to the main battle, which is now over. A bruised and bloodied Roper sits victorious while the military finally arrive to take control of the island.
Cast[]
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- Bruce Lee as Lee
- John Saxon as Roper
- Jim Kelly as Williams[7]
- Ahna Capri as Tania[8]
- Shih Kien as Han (voice dubbed by Keye Luke)[9]
- Robert Wall as O'Hara (as Bob Wall)[10]
- Angela Mao as Su Lin, Lee's sister (as Angela Mao Ying)
- Betty Chung as Mei Ling
- Geoffrey Weeks as Braithwaite
- Bolo Yeung as Bolo (as Yang Sze)
- Peter Archer as Parsons
- Ho Lee Yan as Old Man
- Marlene Clark as Secretary
- Allan Kent as Golfer
- William Keller as L.A. Cop
- Mickey Caruso as L.A. Cop
- Pat E. Johnson as Hood
- Darnell Garcia as Hood
- Mike Bissell as Hood
- Jackie Chan as Han's henchman
- Sammo Hung as Shaolin fighter[11]
- Roy Chiao as Shaolin Abbott
- Paul Heller as Radio Operator
- Lam Ching Ying
- Tony Liu as Tournament fighter
- Alan Chui Chung-San as Tournament fighter
- Yuen Biao as Tournament fighter
- Antone Pagan as Young Shaolin Monk
- Yuen Wah as Tournament fighter
- Hidy Ochiai
- Wei Tung as Lao
- Tadashi Yamashita
- Mars as Guard
- Mang Hoi as Ship's mate
Production[]
Due to the success with his earlier films, Warner Bros began helping Bruce Lee with the film in 1972. They brought in producers Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller.[12]
Writing[]
The screenplay title was originally named Blood and Steel. The story features Asian, White and Black heroic protagonists because the producers wanted a film that would appeal to the widest possible international audiences.[13] The scene in which Lee states that his style is "Fighting Without Fighting" is based upon a famous anecdote involving the 16th century samurai Tsukahara Bokuden.[14][15]
Casting[]
John Saxon is a black belt in Judo and Shotokan Karate,[16] who studied under grandmaster Hidetaka Nishiyama for three years.[17] In negotiations, his agent told the film's producers that if they wanted him they would have to change the story so that the character of Williams would be killed, not Roper. They agreed and the script was changed.[18]
Rockne Tarkington was originally cast in the role of Williams. However, he unexpectedly dropped out days before the production was about to begin in Hong Kong. Producer Fred Weintraub knew that karate world champion, Jim Kelly had a training dojo in Crenshaw, Los Angeles so he hastily arranged a meeting. Weintraub was immediately impressed, and Kelly was cast in the film.[19] The success of Kelly's appearance launched his career as a star: after Enter the Dragon, he signed a three-film deal with Warner Bros[20] and went on to make several martial arts-themed blaxploitation films in the 1970s.[21]
Jackie Chan appears as a guard during the underground lair battle scene and gets his neck snapped by Lee. He also performed several stunts for the film, including the scene where Lee's character quickly climbs a rooftop at night. However, Yuen Wah was Lee's main stunt double for the film.[22]
Sammo Hung appears in a brief fight scene against Lee at the start of the film.
An urban legend surrounding the making of Enter The Dragon claims that actor Bob Wall did not like Bruce Lee and that their fight scenes were not choreographed. However, Wall has denied this stating he and Lee were actually good friends.[23]
Filming[]
The film was shot on location in Hong Kong. All scenes were filmed without sound: dialogue and sound effects were added or dubbed in during post-production. Bruce Lee, after he had been goaded or challenged, fought several real fights with the film's extras and some set intruders during filming.[24] The scenes of Han's Island were filmed at a residence known as Palm Villa near the coastal town of Stanley.[25]
Soundtrack[]
Argentinian musician Lalo Schifrin composed the film's musical score. While Schifrin was widely known at the time for his jazz scores, he also incorporated funk and traditional film score elements into the film's soundtrack.[26] He composed the score by sampling sounds from China, Korea, and Japan. The soundtrack has sold over 500,000 copies, earning a gold record.[5]
Release[]
Box office[]
Enter the Dragon was heavily advertised in the United States before its release. The budget for advertising was over $1,000,000. It was unlike any promotional campaign that had been seen before, and was extremely comprehensive. To advertise the film, the studio offered free Karate classes, produced thousands of illustrated flip books, comic books, posters, photographs, and organised dozens of news releases, interviews, and public appearances for the stars. Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, Time, and Newsweek all wrote stories on the film.[27]
The filmed earned a profit of US$25 million in the United States,[27] against a tight budget of $850,000.[28] It was one of the most successful films of 1973.[27] In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$3,307,536[29]—huge business for the time, but substantially less than Lee's Fist of Fury and Way of the Dragon.
In Japan, the film grossed ¥1.642 billion.[30] In India, the movie was released in 1975 and opened to full houses, including a packed 32-week run in Bombay.[31] In France, it was one of the top five highest-grossing films of 1974 (above two other Lee films, Way of the Dragon at No. 8 and Fist of Fury at #12), with 4,444,582 box office admissions.[32] In Germany, it was one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1974, with 1.7 million box office admissions.[33]
Worldwide, the film grossed US$90 million,[1] including US$65 million in international markets outside of the United States.[2] The film's worldwide gross is equivalent to US$549 million when adjusted for inflation.
Critical reception[]
The film was well received by critics and is widely regarded as one of the best films of 1973.[34][35][36][37] Critics have referred to Enter the Dragon as "a low-rent James Bond thriller",[38][39] a "remake of Dr. No" with elements of Fu Manchu.[40] J.C. Maçek III of PopMatters wrote, "Of course the real showcase here is the obvious star here, Bruce Lee, whose performance as an actor and a fighter are the most enhanced by the perfect sound and video transfer. While Kelly was a famous martial artist and a surprisingly good actor and Saxon was a famous actor and a surprisingly good martial artist, Lee proves to be a master of both fields."[41]
Many acclaimed newspapers and magazines reviewed the film. Variety described it as "rich in the atmosphere", the music score as "a strong asset" and the photography as "interesting".[42] Additionally, The New York Times gave the film a rave review. The review stated "The picture is expertly made and well-meshed; it moves like lightning and brims with color. It is also the most savagely murderous and numbing hand-hacker (not a gun in it) you will ever see anywhere."[43]
The film currently holds a 94% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, with 47 reviews counted and an average rating of 7.8/10.[44] In 2004, the film was deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.[45]
The film also ranks No. 474 on Empire magazine's 2008 list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[46]
Censorship and home video[]
Enter the Dragon has remained one of the most popular martial arts films since its premiere and has been released numerous times worldwide on every home video format. For almost three decades, many theatrical and home video versions were censored for violence, especially in the West. Since 2001, the film has been released uncut in the UK and most other territories.[47][48]
Most DVDs and Blu-rays come with a wide range of extra features in the form of documentaries, interviews, etc. In 2013, a second, remastered HD transfer appeared on Blu-ray, billed as the "40th Anniversary Edition".[49][50]
Legacy[]
The film has been parodied and referenced in places such as the 1976 film The Pink Panther Strikes Again, the satirical publication The Onion,[51] the Japanese game-show Takeshi's Castle, and the 1977 John Landis comedy anthology film Kentucky Fried Movie (in its lengthy "A Fistful of Yen" sequence, basically a comedic, note for note remake of Dragon) and also in the film Balls of Fury. It was also parodied on television in That '70s Show during the episode "Jackie Moves On" with regular character Fez taking on the Bruce Lee role. Several clips from the film are comically used during the theatre scene in The Last Dragon.
The little-known 1985 Nintendo arcade game Arm Wrestling contains voice leftovers from the film, as well as their original counterparts.
The Dragon Ball manga and anime franchise was inspired by Enter the Dragon, which Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama was a fan of.[52][53] The title Dragon Ball was also inspired by Enter the Dragon,[52] and the piercing eyes of Goku's Super Saiyan transformation was based on Bruce Lee's paralysing glare.[54]
The popular 1980s martial arts video game Double Dragon features two enemies named Roper and Williams, a reference to the two characters Roper and Williams from Enter the Dragon. The sequel includes opponents named Bolo and Oharra. The popular video game Mortal Kombat borrows multiple plot elements from Enter the Dragon.
In August 2007, the now defunct Warner Independent Pictures announced that television producer Kurt Sutter would be remaking the film as a noir-style thriller entitled Awaken the Dragon with Korean singer-actor Rain starring.[55][56][57] It was announced in September 2014 that Spike Lee would work on the remake. In March 2015, Brett Ratner revealed that he wanted to make the remake.[58][59] In July 2018, David Leitch is in early talks to direct the remake.[60]
Lee's martial arts films were broadly lampooned in the recurring Almost Live! sketch Mind Your Manners with Billy Quan.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon To Be Remade". Rotten Tomatoes. 10 August 2007. https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/bruce-lees-enter-the-dragon-to-be-remade/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Enter the Dragon (1973-08-17)". BoxOffice. Archived from the original on 17 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Top 10 martial arts movies". The Guardian. 6 December 2013. https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/06/top-10-martial-arts-movies.
- ↑ FLANIGAN, b. p. (1 January 1974). "KUNG FU KRAZY: or The Invasion of the 'Chop Suey Easterns'". Cinéaste 6 (3): 8–11. JSTOR 42683410.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fu, Poshek. "UI Press | Edited by Poshek Fu | China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema". www.press.uillinois.edu. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Kato, M. T. (1 January 2005). "Burning Asia: Bruce Lee's Kinetic Narrative of Decolonization". Modern Chinese Literature and Culture 17 (1): 62–99. JSTOR 41490933.
- ↑ Ryfle, Steve (10 January 2010). "DVD set is devoted to '70s martial arts star Jim Kelly". Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20180715233633/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/10/entertainment/la-ca-secondlook10-2010jan10/2. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ↑ "Car Accident Claims Ahna Capri". Inside Kung Fu. Archived from the original on 11 March 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110311115341/http://www.insidekung-fu.com/content/view/212/37. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ↑ "Lee's Dragon co-star dies at 96". BBC. 5 June 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8085659.stm. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- ↑ "Bob Wall Interview: "Pulling No Punches"". Black Belt. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220214509/http://www.blackbeltmag.com/archives/564. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ↑ "A King of Kung Fu Films Savors Work and Honors". The New York Times. 2 July 2010. https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/movies/02sammo.html. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ↑ Kim, Hyung-chan (1999). Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 179. ISBN 9780313289026. https://archive.org/details/distinguishedasi00kimh/page/179.
- ↑ Locke, Brian (2009). Racial Stigma on the Hollywood Screen from World War II to the Present: The Orientalist Buddy Film. Springer. p. 71. ISBN 9780230101678.
- ↑ Brockett, Kip (12 August 2007). "Bruce Lee Said What? 'Finding the Truth in Bruce Lee's Writings'". Martialdirect.com.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Bully Busters Art of Fighting without Fighting". Nineblue.com. 12 August 2007. Archived from the original on 11 January 2008.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Inc, Active Interest Media (1 August 1973). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 3 January 2018 – via Google Books.
{{cite web}}
: ; last - ↑ "New Bruce Lee Film on its way to American movie theatres". Black Belt magazine 11 (4): 11–12. April 1973.
- ↑ Walker, David , Andrew J. Rausch, Chris Watson (2009). Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak. Scarecrow Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780810867062.
- ↑ Horn, John (1 July 2013), "Jim Kelly, 'Enter the Dragon' star, dies at 67", Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-jim-kelly-enter-the-dragon-star-dies-20130701,0,852055.story, retrieved 19 August 2015
- ↑ Clary, David (May 1992) (in en). Black Belt Magazine. Active Interest Media, Inc.. pp. 18–21. https://books.google.com/books?id=-c8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q=black%20belt%20may%201992%20p%2018.
- ↑ Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak, 2009. pps.129–130
- ↑ Boutwell, Malcolm (7 July 2015). "THOSE AMAZING BRUCE LEE FILM STUNTS". ringtalk.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Bona, JJ (10 January 2011). "Bob Wall Interview". Cityonfire. cityonfire.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Thomas, Bruce (2008). Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit. Pan Macmillan. p. 300. ISBN 9780283070662.
- ↑ "Enter the Dragon Movie Shooting Locations". filmapia.com. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Guarisco, Donald. "Lalo Schifrin: Enter the Dragon [Music from the Motion Picture] – Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Peirano, Pierre-François (22 April 2013). "The Multiple Facets of Enter the Dragon (Robert Clouse, 1973)". InMedia. The French Journal of Media and Media Representations in the English-Speaking World (3). ISSN 2259-4728. http://inmedia.revues.org/613.
- ↑ Variety says the film earned $4.25 million in North American rentals in 1973. See "Big Rental Films of 1973", Variety, 9 January 1974 p 19
- ↑ "Enter The Dragon (1973)". IMDb. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 『キネマ旬報ベスト・テン85回全史 1924–2011』(キネマ旬報社、2012年)322頁
- ↑ Khalid Mohamed (15 September 1979). "Bruce Lee storms Bombay once again with Return of the Dragon". India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19790915-bruce-lee-storms-bombay-once-again-with-return-of-the-dragon-822544-2014-02-21. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
- ↑ "Charts – LES ENTREES EN FRANCE". JP's Box-Office. 1974. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Charts – LES ENTREES EN ALLEMAGNE". JP's Box-Office. 1974. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Staff, Variety (31 July 1973). "Review: 'Enter the Dragon'".
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "The Greatest Films of 1973". AMC Filmsite.org. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "The Best Movies of 1973 by Rank". Films101.com. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Most Popular Feature Films Released in 1973". IMDb. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Enter the Dragon, TV Guide Movie Review. TV Guide. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
- ↑ The Fourth Virgin Film Guide by James Pallot and the editors of Cinebooks, published by Virgin Books, 1995
- ↑ Hong Kong Action Cinema by Bey Logan, published by Titan Books, 1995
- ↑ Maçek III, J.C. (21 June 2013). "Tournament of Death, Tour de Force: 'Enter the Dragon: 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-Ray'". PopMatters.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Review: 'Enter the Dragon'". Variety. 31 July 1973. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Thompson, Howard (18 August 1973). "Movie Review - - 'Enter Dragon,' Hollywood Style:The Cast". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Enter the Dragon Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Enter the Dragon: Award Wins and Nominations". IMDb. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "BBFC Case Studies: Enter the Dragon (1973)". bbfc.co.uk. British Board of Film Classification.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Enter the Dragon: Bruce Lee vs the BBFC". Melonfarmers.co.uk. MelonFarmers.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Enter the Dragon (1973) DVD comparison". DVDCompare.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Enter the Dragon (1973) Blu-ray comparison". DVDCompare.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ "Rumsfeld Hosts No-Holds-Barred Martial Arts Tournament at Remote Island Fortress". 17 March 2004. Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ 52.0 52.1 "Akira Toriyama × Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru". TV Anime Guide: Dragon Ball Z Son Goku Densetsu. Shueisha. 2003. ISBN 4088735463. https://www.kanzenshuu.com/translations/son-goku-densetsu-toriyama-x-nakatsuru/.
- ↑ The Dragon Ball Z Legend: The Quest Continues. DH Publishing Inc. 2004. p. 7. ISBN 9780972312493. https://books.google.com/books?id=hEeDFD3KItgC&pg=PA7.
- ↑ "Comic Legends: Why Did Goku's Hair Turn Blonde?". Comic Book Resources. 1 January 2018. https://www.cbr.com/goku-dragon-ball-blonde/. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
- ↑ Fleming, Michael (9 August 2007). "Warners to remake 'Enter the Dragon'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117969988.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
- ↑ CS (5 August 2009). "Will Rain Awaken the Dragon ?". ComingSoon.net.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Rich, Kathy (13 November 2009). "Exclusive: Rain Confirms He's Still Considering Enter The Dragon Remake". Cinema Blend.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Sternberger, Chad (16 September 2014). "SPIKE LEE TO REMAKE ENTER THE DRAGON". The Studio Exec.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ mrbeaks (21 March 2015). "Brett Ratner Is Trying To Remake ENTER THE DRAGON". Ain't It Cool News.
{{cite web}}
: - ↑ Mike Fleming, Jr (23 July 2018). "Remake Of Bruce Lee's 'Enter The Dragon' Has 'Deadpool 2's David Leitch in Talks". Deadline. https://deadline.com/2018/07/enter-the-dragon-bruce-lee-remake-david-leitch-deadpool-2-john-wick-warner-bros-1202431792/.
External links[]
- Enter the Dragon at the Internet Movie Database
- Template:Hkmdb title
- Enter the Dragon at AllRovi
- Enter the Dragon at Box Office Mojo
- Enter the Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes
Template:Robert Clouse