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Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: New to this Edition (vice the 25th Anniversary Edition)
Review: All-new digital transfer - Before the soundtrack was the only thing that underwent a digital make-over.
30th anniversary documentary "Blood and Steel"
"Bruce Lee: A Warrior's Journey" documentary (includes reconstruction of Lee's intended cut of The Game of Death
"Bruce Lee: The Curse of the Dragon" documentary
Interview gallery - Though this may contain footage previously released.
"Backyard Workout with Bruce Lee" home movie footage
A note on the feature commentary, the commentary may be a new one, as the commentary from the 25th anniversary edition contained both the producer and the screenwriter.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: 5 stars is anything but enough
Review: Enter The Dragon is simply the greatest martial arts movie ever made with the greatest martial artist to ever live. The man who started it all and set a standard that has yet to be topped after 31 years. The man I speak of is none other than the one and only Bruce Lee. With his charismatic personality and superhuman skill, Lee is such an amazement to watch. No wirework, no camera tricks, no CGI, just phenomenal natural martial arts talent. What also makes this 2 disc DVD a gem is that you not only get Enter the Dragon, but also the Warrior's Journey documentary with the lost footage of Game of Death in which Lee, in my opinion, does his best fighting. If you are a fan of martial arts films in any way then do yourself a favor and get this DVD. You cannot go wrong here. Bruce Lee is a true legend who was way ahead of his time and died far too young. However although he may have died young, he still managed to change the world of martial arts and cinema forever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: (re-release?) of an excellent title
Review: I own the previous release (ASIN: 6304981635) which was excellent.
There do not seem to be many differences between the two versions except this being a 2 disc version (the previous release was a DVD18, or dual layer / double sided disc) Or does this one really have an "All-new digital transfer"? Because the previous transfer was very nice already. Anyway, the quality of this movie, and the extra's, are a must-have.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Extra footage?
Review: On the "Blood and Steel" documentary there should be some unseen footage of Lee on the set of enter shot by Anna Capri on super 8mm.This is the only reason to buy this again if you already have the 25th anniversary edition and Warriors Journey DVD.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What is up with this 2-disc edition?
Review: Could someone who buys this please let us know what is in it that is not on the previous special edition DVD????

WB saw fit not to promote this, apparantly. I found no more info on their Warner Video web site than here.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enter the innuendo
Review: Bruce Lee - jeez, what an icon. I remember traveling in the Soviet Union back in the late 80's and saw memorabilia and souvenirs featuring the 'little dragon.' I think it was then I realized the scope of his appeal. I wish they would tell us what the 'extra features' are that warrant an extra disk.

But the movie itself is a classic. How many people were first exposed to the martial arts through this guy's films? I wonder if any of the Green Hornet stuff is available? I've got all his stuff on video tape, but I guess I'll have to get started on a DVD collection. This will be a great beginning.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: James Bond...Kung Fu Style
Review: Although martial arts films have made a bit of a comeback in recent years (thanks to Jackie Chan and Jet Li, among others), for a number of years, the movie was filled with cheap-looking, low quality flicks from Asia. Thirty years ago, however, there was one big name who gave this genre a brief period of prominence: Bruce Lee. Of all his movies, the one that always stands out is Enter the Dragon.

Enter the Dragon is essentially a kung fu version of a James Bond movie. Lee plays Lee, a Shao Lin monk recruited by the government to stop an evil warlord. The warlord himself is straight out of a Bond flick, with his fortress and army, his giant bodyguard and his own deadly artificial hand. Admittedly, his ambitions are smaller than world conquest, but he is focused primarily on drugs and prostitution. John Saxon plays a gambler also on the island who may or may not be a good guy; Saxon, a B-movie actor in essentially a B-movie, is probably the best actor in the bunch.

The movie itself has its problems. Lee fluctuates between stoic and hammy, all sorts of things are either explained too much or too little and there is a muddled sequence of a flashback within a flashback. On the other hand, story, acting and character are not really what matters in this movie; this is primarily a vehicle to show Lee's prowess in fight sequences, and here things work well.

By no means a great movie, Enter the Dragon does succeed on the level it aspires to, and in its own way, it is a major film in its genre. For that reason, it rates (a weak) four stars, and if you like B-movie action, this should be a decent diversion.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is the finest martial-arts movie. Ever.
Review: Every single martial-art movie that came after this one owes a debt to Bruce Lee. Every. Single. One. That I write it so confidently, definitively, speaks of arrogance: how could I purport to say such a thing, in light of the thousands that followed?

My arrogance is merely supreme confidence in my assessment. Bruce Lee would approve.

From the opening fight scene (filmed last) to the final refocus on the bear claw, Bruce Lee's fully-realized vision is pure entertainment. That it happens to be the best martial-arts movie ever filmed is almost frosting.

Enough of the preamble. Let's get down to why I can call up my cousin Jason and we can watch this movie over the phone every time it's on. How we know all the dialogue, get shivers when we see the action... because the fights are incredible.

Even today, these are some of the most realistic fight scenes in cinema. Not the realism in the sense of wrestling with a drunk guy in a parking lot real, or a short road rage exemplar. No, this is karate and kung-fu and kempo going head-on, no wires, no stunt doubles, just Bruce Lee kicking Sammo Hung's ass in the opening scene (that's right, *THAT* Sammo Hung), Bruce Lee wiping out sixty guards, Bruce Lee absolutely dismantling Bob Wall in a tournament.

Oh yeah, Jim Kelly was pretty good, too. <laughing>

Seriously, Jim Kelly *was* pretty good. He moved better than John Saxon, that's for sure. And for all the artifical devices, the silly premises (and there are many), it's a wholly enjoyable movie, and smart, if you can believe that. Bruce Lee's acting ability will impress you, and there are hidden gems all over this flick.

Don't take my word for it. Rent it. Buy it. Order a pizza and have your buddies over. And just remember: boards don't hit back.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Vewy good, no need to twy again
Review: The premise of this film makes no sense whatsoever. There's this drug kingpin(or kungpin)and his personal domain, a secluded island of martial arts warriors. There are no guns on the island because it's against the law, yet there are likely to be narcotic manufacturing plants. Why would some guy who goes out of his way to traffick in narcotics follow the letter of the law in not supplying his men with arms?
Because you say Bruce Lee wouldn't be able to beat up a 100 guys and get away with it with all that feeewing. True enough, I guess. The action sequences are very good when Bruce Lee's on screen. Unfortunately, most of his opponents look like skin-n-bones Chinese peasants who have just survived a great famine. At least feed them before you beat them, for Chrissakes. And, it wouldn't hurt if the Avon Lady visited most of the ladies in this movie, either.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Enter the 70s
Review: A milestone in the history of chop-socky, Enter the Dragon made quite a splash on its release in 1973 as a fast-moving, hard-hitting martial arts thriller. It is still well-regarded today in some circles (vide infra), although it has a little less zip than today's hyperkinetic, ultra-glossy and meticulously choreographed onscreen thrill rides. The movie opens with a demonstration fight scene between Bruce Lee and a rather tubby and unmenacing Sammo Hung. After this prelim it settles into about an hour of mostly action-free exposition and set-up. One of the most notable features of old 70s movies is their slow pace. Today somebody says "I'm leaving" and next shot, they're in their car. Or in LA. Back then, they'd get off the couch, walk to the door, open it, leave, close it from the outside, close the screen door, go down the walk to their car, fish for their keys, etc, etc. Of course, back in the day, if you weren't watching a movie you were probably on your front porch whittling, or at a pinochle party, so folks probably figured that pace was plenty fast enough. Anyway, BL gets filled in by our man on HM's secret service, Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks - in his only screen role). The historically-minded may recall that in the 1970s Hong Kong was actually controlled by Britain, hard as that may be to imagine now. Characters like Braithwaite are even harder to imagine. If they weren't preserved on film we'd have trouble believing they ever existed. The man is actually a gem. Even the name is excellent. Braithwaite. Whatever happened to those old names? Carruthers. Protheroe. Montague-Smythe. Why don't we see these names in movies anymore? Anyway, to continue - there's a bad guy, Mr Han, and he's holding a martial arts tournament and BL has to enter and blah blah. The rubber ducky is that Mr Han's lustful flunkies killed BL's sister, as shown in a flashback sequence most notable for its bad choreography, where the hapless sister has to fall and make several pointless detours for the sole purpose of allowing her bumbling pursuers to catch up. Trapped at last she chooses death over dishonour at the hands of a fearsome New Zealander (Bob Wall).
The various martial arts contenders finally assemble, and a white-bread bunch they are, too. Jim Kelly is actually the worst, that is the nicest, of the lot. If he put on a blonde wig you'd think he was Doris Day. They sail off to meet evil Mr Han (Shih Kien), a classic Bond villain - a forty-something turtlenecked playboy with a taste for the finer things in life and his own private island, complete with subterranean power plant, chemical labs and dungeon, as well as a retinue of nubile bodyguards and a totally supercilious attitude which is ultimately stripped aside to reveal a rat-like viciousness. Also, he's missing a hand, which means he can conveniently slot into his wrist any standard vacuum cleaner attachment, or, should the need arise, stabbing blades.
After a bit of intrigue and snooping around the island we finally - finally! - get down to brass tacks, with BL decisively kicking incompetent hench-bottom in numbers. The action sequences are pretty decent. But what really marks them out is how amazing BL looks without a shirt. And with little slash marks even better. That's the payoff for being a martial arts pro. This is not something that even today's modern iron-pumping method stars can easily imitate. Six months with a personal trainer are not going to make you look like this. BL at the tournament and the brawl at the end. None of it is very violent. These guys sometimes stomp on each other, but all you actually see is the winner from the midsection up. You see him jump up and land. Then for extra brutality he makes a twisting motion, which presumably deforms the broken body of his opponent into an irretrievable wreck. I jump on you, see? Then I twist. You're finished. The other thing that makes the fight scenes truly memorable are BL's battle squeaks of "Wuuuuuuuuuuu...ahhhh!" which sound kind of like Curly Howard being dubbed into Chinese. Or Jim Carey imitating Bruce Lee. This is one part of BL's legacy that does not seem to have survived in current martial arts films. That and the psychotic grimaces he makes after every blow. In the end general mayhem erupts and BL sets off after Han, finally cornering him in the hall of mirrors. Presumably a circus setting for the finale would have been too much of a plot stretch, to say nothing of the extra production costs it would have incurred.
The other entertaining aspect of the film are the priceless little period details that remind us fondly of a bygone time. Like the giant golf-cart phone (and the restrained comedy of the golf course shakedown scene is excellent, by the way); or Kelly's massive headphones, not to mention his huge wing collars and his burgundy suit; or Braithwaite's dinner-plate sized glasses.
Overall, a historic martial arts document and a precious reminder of BL's star quality. A must for martial arts fans and cultists. General viewers may find it just a teensy bit slow. Another fine movie, however, which fans may wish to check out is the entertaining Game of Death, which, incidentally, has the added bonus of accounting for the origin of Uma Thurman's jumpsuit in Quentin Tarantino's recent masterpiece Kill Bill.


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