Enter The Dragon

''Enter the Dragon'' ( zh, t=龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien and Jim Kelly. ''Enter the Dragon'' was Bruce Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on 20 July 1973 at the age of 32. An American-Hong Kong co-production, the film was premiered in Los Angeles on 19 August 1973, one month after Lee's death.

''Enter the Dragon'' was estimated to have grossed over worldwide (equivalent to an estimated adjusted for inflation ) against a budget of $850,000. It is the most successful martial arts film ever and is widely regarded as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. 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". Among the first films to combine martial arts action with spy film elements and the emerging blaxploitation genre, its success led to a series of similar productions combining the martial arts and blaxploitation genres. The film's themes have generated scholarly debate about the changes taking place within post-colonial Asian societies following the end of World War II.

''Enter the Dragon'' is also considered one of the most influential action films of all time, with its success contributing to mainstream worldwide interest in the martial arts as well as inspiring numerous fictional works, including action films, television shows, action games, comic books, manga and anime.

Plot

Lee, a martial artist and instructor from Shaolin temple, Hong Kong, is approached by British intelligence agent Braithwaite, who asks for his help in an undercover mission to investigate suspected crime lord Han, who was one of the students in Shaolin temple. Lee is persuaded to attend a high-profile martial arts tournament on Han's private island to gather evidence that will prove Han's involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution.

Since Han's island is only partly in their jurisdiction, they are unable to conduct any formal investigations. Han does not allow firearms on the island to prevent assassination attempts and raids from international authorities. He runs a martial arts school as cover for his illegal operations and holds the tournament to recruit martial artists to expand his illegal business. Lee agrees to help Braithwaite, believing his efforts will also redeem the honor of the Shaolin temple that was tarnished by Han. Shortly before his departure, Lee also learns that Han's bodyguard O'Hara is responsible for the death of his sister Su Lin.

Lee arrives on Han's island and receives a warm reception. Joining him are other competitors, including Roper, an American playboy and gambler, who is indebted and on the run from the mob, and Williams, an African-American activist, who is on the run after defending himself against two racist police officers in Los Angeles. Roper and Williams are former Karate brothers and fellow Vietnam veterans, who also have a betting scam going: one will underperform until the other can get a bet on the outcome at good odds. Roper and Williams win their first fights easily.

The rules of Han's tournament are simple: competitors compete in one-on-one matches against each other, the opponent, who gets knocked to the ground loses each round. Any weapons are strictly prohibited in the fighting arena. At the end of the first day, the competitors are all offered girls of their choice by Han's assistant Tania. Williams chooses several women, while Roper cunningly chooses Tania as a mutual attraction grows between them. Lee chooses a girl, which he saw in Han's entourage, who is Mei Ling, a covert agent whom Braithwaite had placed on the island to gather intelligence. However, Mei Ling has been unable to escape Han's strict observation never to leave their rooms.

That night, Lee begins to stealthily search and infiltrate the island for evidence and finds a secret entrance to an underground compound base where drugs are being manufactured and tested on unwitting prisoners. Lee runs into Han's guards, but manages to take them down and flee before they can identify him. Lee is seen by Williams, who is outside for some fresh air and practice, despite strict rules against being outside after night. The next morning, Han warns the competitors about wandering out of their rooms at night. Han punishes his guards for their inability to fulfill their duties by leaving them to be killed by Bolo, Han's musclebound enforcer and chief bodyguard. After the execution, the competition resumes as Lee is called to his first match, which is against O'Hara.

During the fight, Han warns O'Hara to step down as Lee keeps outclassing him in a humiliating fashion. Lee kills O'Hara with a stomp after he tries to attack him with a pair of half-shattered glass bottles, thus avenging Su Lin's death. An embarrassed Han abruptly ends the day's competition after stating that O'Hara's treachery has disgraced them. Later, Han summons Williams in his office and accuses him of attacking the guards the previous night. Williams denies this and wants to leave the island, so Han brutally beats him to death with his iron prosthetic left hand.

Han takes Roper on a tour of his underground base and invites him to be his representative for his illegal operations in the United States. Han also implicitly threatens to imprison Roper with other martial artists who joined Han's tournaments in the past. Roper reluctantly accepts after Han drops the brutalized corpse of Williams into a pit of acid, hinting that Roper will face the same fate if he refuses to cooperate. The same night, Lee infiltrates the underground base again to gather sufficient evidence to warrant Han's arrest and manages to send a message to Braithwaite. After a prolonged battle with Han's guards, Lee is eventually lured into a door trap to get imprisoned and captured.

The next morning, Han commands Roper to fight Lee, but Roper refuses and Han has him fight Bolo. Roper manages to overpower and beat Bolo after a gruelling battle. Han orders all his men to kill Lee and Roper. Despite facing insurmountable odds, the island's prisoners, released by Mei Ling, and the other invited martial artists aid Lee and Roper in defeating Han's guards. Amid the chaos, Han attempts to fight his way out to escape, only to have Lee pursue and corner him in his museum, where Han retrieves a bladed-talon replacement for his hand to prepare for a brutal fight. Han retreats into a room full of mirrors, which proves disorientating for Lee until Lee keeps remembers his lessons at the Shaolin Temple and smashes all the mirrors to spoil Han's illusions. Lee kicks Han, who gets impaled on his own spear that was halfway harpooned through a wall.

Lee returns to Roper and they exchange a weary thumbs-up as the military finally arrives to take control of the island.

Cast

* Bruce Lee as Lee
* John Saxon as Roper
* Jim Kelly as Williams
* Ahna Capri as Tania, Han's secretary
* Shih Kien as Han (voice dubbed by Keye Luke)
* Bob Wall as O'Hara, Han's bodyguard
* Angela Mao Ying as Su-lin, Lee's sister
* Betty Chung as Mei-ling, an undercover operative
* Geoffrey Weeks as Braithwaite, a British Intelligence agent
* Yang Sze as Bolo, Han's enforcer
* Peter Archer as Parsons, an arrogant New Zealand martial artist and Williams' opponent
* Tony Liu as Liu, Roper's opponent

* Sammo Hung as Lee's opponent (credited as Sammo Hung Kam-po)
* Jackie Chan (uncredited) as a minor henchman
* Yuen Wah (uncredited) as a tournament fighter
* Yuen Biao (uncredited) as a tournament fighter
* Roy Chiao (uncredited) as the Shaolin abbot
* Pat E. Johnson (uncredited) as a thug on golf course

Production

Due to the success of his earlier films, Warner Bros. began helping Bruce Lee with the film in 1972. They brought in producers Fred Weintraub and Paul Heller. The film was produced on a tight production budget of $850,000. Fighting sequences were staged by Bruce Lee.

Writing

The screenplay title was originally named ''Blood and Steel''. The story features heroic protagonists who are Asian, White, and Black, as the producers wanted a film that would appeal to the widest possible international audience. 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.

Casting

Rod Taylor was first choice for playing the down-on-his-luck martial artist Roper. Director Robert Clouse had already worked with Taylor in the 1970 film '' Darker than Amber''. However, Taylor was dropped after Bruce Lee deemed him to be too tall for the role. John Saxon, who was a black belt in Judo and Shotokan Karate (he studied under grandmaster Hidetaka Nishiyama

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases