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Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enter The Dragon All Time Classic!
Review: Enter the Dragon (ETD) was the last completed film of legendary martial arts expert Bruce Lee. It was Lee's dream to achieve international success and it is of extreme irony that he did not live to see all his dreams fulfilled. At least he left behind his legacy which includes ETD. Lee (character has the same name) is sent on a mission by a British organization of "information gathers" to infiltrate Han's (Shih Kien)island at an international tournament that is held every three years. Lee shares screen time with Williams (Jim Kelly middleweight karate champion) and Roper (John Saxon). The film was the first U.S.-Hong Kong co-production and was intended to introduce Lee to an international market.

While the film borrows heavily from Dr. No of the James Bond series it is Lee that separates this film from the mundane. Lee's screen presence is undeniable only surpassed by his phenomenal ability as a martial artist. His battle with the guards in the under ground dungeon is "extraordinary" as Han so aptly observes. Lee's mega watt glare is also a site to behold particularly when he stares down an unsuspecting henchman who dare's to question why Lee is not in the provided uniform. ETD is directed by Bob Clouse who actually does a good job freeing up the surroundings so that Lee has plenty of room to strut his stuff. All of the fight sequences were staged and expertly executed under the direction of Lee. A testament to this is that 30 years after it's initial release ETD can still hold it's own next to the more special effects driven features like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" or "Kiss of the Dragon."

In the climatic scene of ETD Lee exacts revenge on Han in spectacular fashion. I recommend this DVD without reservation it is simply a true classic in every sense of the word!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A work of art, great for athletes and/or scholars!!
Review: I first saw this on a movie channel on TV after I got my wisdom teeth pulled. I thought it was the pain medication the doctor gave me, but after a second viewing a couple weeks later, I realized this movie is great. Bruce Lee gets in his great words of wisdom right off the bat, and that alone is enough to sustain the rest of the plot. "Don't concentrate on the finger, you will lose all that heavenly glory". Sorry I don't have anything deeper to write this review with, but you just have to to watch it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent
Review: I have watched this movie so many times that I stopped counting. First time was at the age of 15, but I still enjoy watching it today (being a 'grown up'). One of my favorites. It is not as sophisticated as today's movies, I admit, but definitively a classic and a must for any martial arts enthusiastic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enter the Dragon: A Genre Defining Film
Review: When ENTER THE DRAGON was first released in 1973, viewers tended to see it mostly as a flashy breakthrough vehicle for martial arts star Bruce Lee. It was certainly that, but thirty years later one can also see that it was a genre defining film in much the same way that Marlon Brando was to motorcycle movies in THE WILD ONE. Before Lee starred in ENTER THE DRAGON, the martial arts film studios was mostly run by the Shaw brothers from Hong Kong. Even Bruce Lee in his earlier THE CHINESE CONNECTION and FISTS OF FURY was limited to the then prevailing "rock 'em sock 'em" kind of filmmaking. ENTER THE DRAGON, directed by Robert Clouse, changed all that.

The primary difference between this film and its predecessors was Lee's insistance that the bulk of the fight scenes avoid the bloody disembowelments and castrations that were then a staple of the genre. Instead, Lee wisely used his screen persona, his sexuality, and his ultra-fast reflexes to force the viewer to see violence in a context more closely related to traditional Shaolin Kung Fu techniques. The plot, of course, was simply a vehicle upon which to hang Lee's consummate blend of philosophy with rapid-fire punch and kick routines. Lee is a free-lance government agent sent to an off-shore Hong Kong island run by the evil Han (Shih Kien), who runs a heroin plant under the guise of a martial arts tournament. The plot focus is on whether Lee can break this heroin ring before Han's numerous minions overpower Lee. The interest, however, is set squarely on Lee's fighting ability. Sharing the spotlight is a set of notable secondary characters. John Saxon is Roper, a karate gambler who agrees to help only because he might get his gambling debts reduced. Jim Kelly is Williams, one of the first super-cool 'blaxploitation' action stars who can drop a verbal putdown as quickly as a roundhouse kick. Then there is Yang Tse as Bolo, a muscular Chinese bad guy who personifies the evil henchman.

Even today, the martial arts scenes stand out as extraordinary, mostly because of the skills of Lee matched against either a single highly trained fighter or a legion of lackeys who serve only as Lee's human punching bags. At the movie's start, Lee is matched against a rather roly-poly fighter (Sammo Hung), who decades later shot to stardom in a television martial arts cop show. Lee handles Sammo effortlessly. Of more interest is his later tournament match with real-life karateka Bob Wall, who plays Oharra, one of Han's bodyguards. During the filming, Wall and Lee developed an intense mutual dislike, fueled primaily over an hand injury Lee suffered when Wall mishandled a broken bottle. Lee was quite sure this was no accident, and the intensity that he shows when he dispatches Wall is quite real. Further, when Lee applies the coupe de grace to Wall, the look on Lee's face shows an almost sexual climax intensity that emphasizes the new direction that he was taking martial arts films. Then there is the mirror-room conclusion battle with Han. The multi-images of both Lee and Han are incredibly riveting as the viewer cannot distinguish the man from the image.

What marks ENTER THE DRAGON as the genre-defining film that it was is that it combines all the right big scenes of group and individual combat with memorable quips of philosophy. When Lee corners Han in the hall of mirrors and warns him: "You have insulted your family and the Shaolin temple," Lee sends a note to Han and to future generations of martial arts directors that the violence of evil deeds must be clearly articulated by the hero for an audience to connect on a visceral level. ENTER THE DRAGON does this better than any other martial arts movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THE DEFINITIVE MARTIAL ARTS CLASSIC
Review: THE BEST BRUCE LEE MOVIE TO GRACE THE SCREEN, EVER. A MAN ENTERS A STRANGE TOURNAMENT ON AN ISLAND IN SEARCH OF THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS SISTER. THE BEST MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE EVER. PERIOD. MUCH OF THE MARTIAL ARTS MOVIES THAT CAME AFTER THIS TRYED TO EITHER COPY IT OR BE BETTER THAN IT. AND NONE OF THEM SUCCEEDED. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER GIVE A MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE 5 STARS. OH, AND BE SURE TO LOOK FOR CAMEOS BY SAMO HUNG AND JACKIE CHAN. NOTHING SHORT OF A MASTERPIECE. AND HOW DID THIS MOVIE GET AN R-RATING? THIS WOULD BE LEE'S FINAL FILM HE WOULD LIVE TO COMPLETE. RETURN WAS MADE BEFORE ENTER.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Enter The Great Bruce Lee!
Review: The movie that brought martial arts and Bruce Lee into mainstream moviemaking and from which all others are measured
against. ENTER THE DRAGON is a fun adventure movie with drama, humor, and action. The film is cross section of a James
Bond plot with martial arts, and a pinch of blaxploitation thrown into the mix (also explored in the James Bond film LIVE AND
LET DIE). Lee plays a martial arts instructor whose sister is killed by a narcotics gang. The gang leader,Mr.Han (Shih Kien)
operates on a secluded island guarded by an army of martial arts experts, and puts on martial arts tournaments. Lee enters one
of the contests in order to infiltrate and bring down the ring, and Mr. Han. While there he befriends fellow contestants Roper
and Williams who are unaware of Lee's or Mr. Han's intentions. They too get caught up in the mayhem. Good performances all
around including John Saxon as Roper (A NIGHTMARE ON ELMSTREET, BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS) and Jim
Kelly as Williams. Of course, there's Bruce Lee (as Lee).. showing he has charisma and great screen presence.
Note: Classic line(s):
Mr. Han to Williams - "...it is defeat you must prepare for!"
Williams - "I won't waste my time with it! When it comes, I won't even notice!"
Mr. Han - "Oh! How so?"
Williams - "I'll be too busy LOOKING GOOD!"

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fast Kicking, Hard Hitting Classic
Review: This film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin is carried and by the weight of the late action star Bruce Lee. The plot is simple, go to an island for a martial arts tournament ran by the evil Mr. Han, get evidence of his illeagal exploits, and the government can arrest Han; however, from the very beggining of this mission, one knows a battle between the evil Mr. Han (Shek Kien) and Lee (Bruce Lee)is inevitable.

Warner Brothers was feeling the market for Bruce Lee in America, because his Hong Kong productions were so succesful (long story), and the addition of John Saxon (a Brown belt in Karate)and the very modest budget (by US standards) demonstrates their trepidation. Bruce Lee, however, explodes on screen and becomes aone man show 9after all, I have never heard someone say, lets watcvh Enter the Dragon to see John Saxon kick tail).

Saxon plays Roper, a man on the run from lone sharks. Jim Kelly, a newcomer and US point karate champion, plays Williams, looking for a "win." Both of them notice something is wrong and win Han kills Williams, Roper sides with Lee. The fight scenes are dated by todays standards, but this is proff that progress isn't always a good reolution. The fighting in this moving is much more captivating and hardcore. No phony flying stunts and wire tricks here, instead, the fights though not completely realistics, demonstrate a much more mature attitude in film fighting - with faster kicks and hard punches.

This movie was an instant hit on an international level (ironically, it did not do well as bruce's other movies in Hong Kong). Bruce's fight in the cavern is especially great!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: BRUCE LEE IS NOT DEAD!!!
Review: With movies like preserved, Bruce Lee will never be dead. The Martial Arts battles (coreographed by Bruce himself) are all excellent, particular the final battle involving mirrors. It also features other Martial Arts warriors like Bolo Yeung (credited as Yang Sze), Bob Wall, Jim Kelly, and John Saxon, although most of them know better than to challenge Bruce to a fight. It's not half bad even for those looking for a story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bruce Lee is NOT dead!!!
Review: Trust me, with movies like this one kept alive and well, Bruce lee will live on forever. The plot Bruce Lee playing a martial arts master (who is also named Lee)with a deadly mission to fulfill. He has been recruited to enter a martial arts tournament on the the island of Han (Shih Kien)who is suspected of being a drug runner. Lee must confirm if the nefarious rumors are true, and is quite willing to do so, being that he has a personal vendetta with Han's bodyguard O'harra (Robert Wall, credited as Bob Wall).This is absolutely the way to to go for Bruce: after this movie, he clearly wouldv'e conquered what was then the notoriously anti-asian hollywood. The flick has exceptionally cool action and the coreography of the fights (by Lee himself) is especially well done. This even has on of the most memorable showdown's in kung fu movie history, an almost surreal battle involving mirrors. Bruce Lee was the master, and while today's kung fu stars are outstandingly skilled in their own right (Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Van Damme, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, etc.) it is impossible to dislike Bruce's films. Watch this and you'll find out why. Tolerate no imitations.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bruce Lee at his finest
Review: Bruce Lee is totally awesome. This movie has has everything from him applying his Jeet Kune Do philosophy to different occurrences in the movie all the way too those high pitched shouts while crushing his enemies with such ease and grace. There are even several espionage scenes that end up in mind blowing fights. This movie never lost my interest for a minute, and from this movie I learned of who this mighty Bruce Lee was and why he was the best of the best. Every moment just draws you in more and more. Without a doubt in my mind this is the greatest martial arts movie ever made!


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