The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong co-production, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's primitive Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take centre stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed and ruthless determination. -- Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
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The Legendary Bruce Lee. Unknown in 1971. Two years later an international cult hero and more than twenty years on still remembered as the star of the biggest martial arts epic ever filmed - ""Enter The Dragon."" ""Enter The Dragon"" takes Lee into the island fortress of a warlord of crime Han who carries on his opium smuggling and prostitution activities under the disguise of a martial arts academy. Determined to avenge the death of his sister Lee penetrates Han's Stronghold and en
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One of the most successful martial arts movies of all time, if not the best, Enter the Dragon (filmed in 1973) was Bruce Lee's last completed film and the first significant meeting of Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema. But it wasn't an entirely harmonious marriage, with on-set communication breakdowns and rows resulting in some poor scripting, editing and overdubbing. Lee plays a Shaolin fighter recruited by British intelligence to spy on renegade Shaolin master and crime overlord Han (Shih Kien) by entering the martial arts tournament held on Han's fortress island. If the plot sounds a touch contrived, it is. Han's fluffy white cat, clawed hand and ruthless megalomania suggest nothing so much as a classic Bond villain, and the plot has holes you could pilot a large Junk through (Lee's discovery that his sister committed suicide rather than submit herself to Han's men is particularly weak). Nonetheless, Lee is utterly compelling. At the height of his skills, he choreographed, directed and performed fight scenes which are among the most gripping ever filmed, including the classic underground scene which, in this uncut version, contains Lee's incredible (and previously deleted) nun-chuck display. John Saxon and karate champion Jim Kelly ably support him as fellow contestants, with the massive Yang Sze playing Bolo, Han's lieutenant. Despite being cheesy and overblown, Enter the Dragon is a highly entertaining and accessible Kung Fu film and a showcase for Bruce Lee's considerable skills. --Duncan Thomson
Produced and directed by Walt Missingham who in 1983 became the first non-Chinese to practice Kung Fu at the Shaolin Temple this authoritative and informative programme uses rarely seen archive footage to trace both the history of martial arts and the phenomenal impact Bruce Lee had on this culture. Narrated by Lee's daughter Shannon Lee Keasler.
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