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Enter the Dragon (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Enter the Dragon (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Bruce Lives!
Review: Enter the Dragon is simply the greatest martial arts movie ever made.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Dragon still rules...
Review: Shortly after completing work on his fourth film, Enter the Dragon, legendary martial artist and actor, Bruce Lee died unexpectedly in his sleep. Immensely popular in Asia, Lee believed that his new film, backed by Warner Brothers, would be his crossover vehicle into the mainstream American film market. Released after his death, Enter the Dragon achieved worldwide acclaim, and Bruce Lee was elevated to almost mythical status by his legion of fans across the world.

Of course what distinguishes this film is the fight scenes. Choreographed by Lee, most of the fights are short and sweet. If you get hit, you get hurt. Lee had said that most of his real life fights were usually just seconds long. This blitzkrieg style of fighting, is a totally different from what was common practice. Making a clear case, for the effectiveness of concentrated and focused action. And the action is spread around among all the actors. Lee does not "hog" the fight scenes, letting the anticipation build, making his scenes really special. "The battle with the guards was magnificent", to quote Han. The final contest with Han in the room of mirrors may not be completely logical, but it is visually stimulating, and an interesting technical achievement.

The special edition 25th anniversary DVD includes a few additional scenes that were cut from the original release. They provide a little more background about Han, the Shaolin renegade. Not crucial, but nice to know. Among the extras, is a short documentary featuring Bruce Lee interviews, a featurette about the making of the film, as well as a series of short clips of the recollections of Lee's widow. Very informative stuff. Finally, if you read through the notes about the history of martial arts films, you will note that the actor Lee fights with in the film's opening sequence, is none other than Sammo Hung. Nice backflips, Sammo!

What else Bruce Lee could have gone on to do on screen, we will never really know. Enter the Dragon is a classic in the genre, and should be part of the collection of any martial arts fan. This is a film that can be watched and enjoyed again and again.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 5 Star Movie, 4 Star DvD
Review: Enter the Dragon is a 5-star martial arts movie, period. It combines the best aspects of its genre in its period and sets a standard for future martial arts pictures to come. It is surprisingly well directed, a point which is often overlooked, with wonderful pacing and visual composition, and a wry wit.

HOWEVER, this DvD does not present the movie as it should be presented. Added in are two scenes which siginificantly detract from the smooth flow of the film. They are cheesy stereotypical kung fu movie tropes; the first is a ridiculous conversation between Bruce and his game-show-host voiced master, which clumsily foreshadows the second added scene, a horrible voice-over flashback during the final showdown. These scenes were cut for a REASON, and unfortunately Lee's widow Linda Lee demonstrated a complete lack of cinematic knowledge by pressuring the producers to put these scenes back in.

What keeps this DvD from being a 5 star product is the inability to play the movie without these additional scenes.

That said, it is still an excellent DvD to own, with some wonderful extra footage of the Master in action.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: one of the greatest martial art films ever
Review: I loved Enter the Dragon. Its definetely one of the greatest martial art films of all time and its also my favorite Bruce Lee movie so far. If you like martial art films, you will definetely like this one, with out a doubt.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A true epic
Review: Bruce Lee was an undisputed Guru in martial arts. To see his expertise on the screen at his best is no less than a treat. This movie displays much of Bruce's talent, philosophy, and style. Produced by a hollywood producer so the quality is shown which makes the movie all the better. An excellent story, excellent production, and the best martial arts in history. This dvd also contains a plethora of goodies including short but sweet footage of bruce working out in his backyard. You see brandon Lee and hear his wife. There's also an introduction with Linda Lee, bruces x-wife made for this video. And there is a nice long production consisting mostly of Bruce's one and only broadcasted interview where the master himself gives insight into his unorthadox style and amazing philosphy. Not to mention the (maybe lacking) documentary by the producers themselves as a commentary during the film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Movie that started it all
Review: This movie started Kung Fu ( martial arts ) mania in the US. That pretty much says it all. Still one of the seminal martial arts movies ever. A classic you must have in your collection.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hands down, the best English language martial arts film.
Review: It is amazing how well this film has held up over the years. The 25th Anniversary widescreen release on DVD has so many special features that they alone are worth the purchase price. Behind-the-scenes documentaries, interviews, and commentaries are joined by theatrical trailers, production notes and more. The restoration of key scenes has been handled well, and the remastered soundtrack (in Dolby Digital 5.1) makes this the only copy of the movie you will want to keep in your collection. Highly Recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Yippee Ki Ai!
Review: If you're a martial arts movie fan and you haven't seen Enter the Dragon, there's no excuse for you. This is the Hollywood granddaddy of 'em all, and not just because of Bruce Lee. Admittedly, Bruce Lee supplies the best fight scenes in the film (the one featuring ex-model John Saxon is very disappointing. Brutish Bolo is touted as the big boss fighter throughout the movie, and when he doesn't actually fight Lee, it's a definite let-down.). The film also has cameo performances from some very big name performers before they became internationally-known: Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung are the three I noticed. Unfortunately, they are not listed in the credits.

Bruce Lee is great to watch, not just as a supreme martial artist but also for the anatomy lesson he provides. Lee is all bone, sinew, and muscle, and his skin almost seems to be an afterthought. There's not a shred of fat on his frame, and it is easy to see which muscles come into play for various movements.

The film is filled with vintage 70s cheese, from the over-the-top cool cat performance of Jim Kelly and his afro, to the funky wakka-wakka guitar music. Every punch and every kick, even if it doesn't actually hit anything, is accompanied by a swooshing or smacking sound effect. It's as though every strike breaks the sound barrier. And when contact is actually made, enormous thwacking sounds accompany it. I may only be a yellow belt in karate, but something tells me if my arm really made that smacking sound every time I punched, there must be something horribly wrong with my joints.

I found the panoramic scenes of karateka training to be very interesting. It looks like a complete hodgepodge of styles. I also noticed an awful lot of white belts, considering the setting is an elite invitational tournament. I thought the white belts would be there as practice targets for the masters, but the movie just didn't shape up that way. Instead, it was the hapless guards who got to be the punching bags. Something tells me all the students from all the martial arts schools in the Hong Kong area were herded onto the set as extras. I saw a lot of sloppy strikes during the punching drills, and many of the white belts didn't appear able to tie their belts properly. I saw more than one belt tied like a big floppy shoe lace, and a couple with one end poking straight up toward the wearers' chests.

The version of the film I saw includes a behind-the-scenes short and an interview with Bruce Lee, featuring some home video footage and some of Lee's philosophies on martial arts. I enjoyed watching Lee teach his infant son how to do kicks, but could have done without the syrupy aggrandizing of Lee's wife.

As with most martial arts films, don't watch this expecting much in the way of plot. Watch it for Lee. He really is awe-inspiring.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brucie Baby
Review: This Movie is the best martial arts movie of all time. i suggest everyonr buys this cuz its a classic, i mean every one in the worlds seen this movie. I would say this is the best bruce lee movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: GREAT DVD BUT THE FILM IS FLAWED. IT HURTS ME TO SAY!
Review: You know , I am a big Bruce Lee fan and I understand the significance of this film in the martial arts movie genre but there are a few things about this film that irks me.

Number 1 : Who can believe that John Saxon is worthy enough to stand next to Bruce Lee and Jim Kelly in a kung fu film as a martial artist. Lee and Kelly would have been fine without the addition of a guy like John Saxon. Nobody gave a farfignoogen about John Saxon in this film.

Number 2 : Bolo vs John Saxon? And John Saxon wins? Give me a break! Bruce Lee should have been the one fighting Bolo. Bolo kept looking at Lee like he wanted to fight him and you felt that the story was leading to a showdown between Bruce Lee and the massive Bolo. But no. They mess up a potentially memorable fight scene by letting Saxon fight Bolo. Lee vs Bolo would have been astronomically better than Saxon vs Bolo. Who ever made the decision to let Saxon fight Bolo , when it seemed that Bolo was going to fight Lee , should be tossed in one of the acid pools like "Williams" was.

Number 3 : .... This seems to be a pattern in Hollywood especially in the 70's and 80's ; the lead white guy has a black buddy so that the audience can see what a cool guy this white guy is. Then the black buddy gets tragically killed somehow at some point in the film. If you were honestly asked , before seeing E.T.D. , who would be dead by the end of the movie between Bruce Lee , Jim Kelly , and John Saxon's characters based on kung fu skills would you have ever guessed Jim Kelly? No. I don't think so.

Number 4 : This is a big one. As much as I hated to say it , this film is NOT the greatest kung fu film ever made. The opening scene , the scene with Bob Wall fighting Bruce , Bruce's cavern fight scene , and Lee vs Han are the classic highlights of this film and these scenes are diamonds in the ruff. But the film , outside of these scenes , is rather mediocre , cheesy , and exploitive(BLAXplotive is more like it). E.T.D. is missing that overall energetic edge that was in Lee's previous kung fu films despite , or because of , the fact it is a Hollywood film. Overall , it feels like a watered down kung fu film. I'm sorry kung fu fans but I had to say it and it hurts me to say.

The DVD extras are terrific. It features the 1973 documentary of Enter The Dragon , feature length commentary by producer Paul Heller , an interview and introduction by Linda Lee Caldwell , home video of Bruce doing backyard training(priceless footage) and my very favorite extra , a short film called "Bruce Lee : In His Own Words".

ENTER THE DRAGON isn't the best Bruce Lee film but the film and DVD are a must to have for all Bruce Lee fans when you consider that ENTER THE DRAGON is actually the last movie he filmed. And because of the DVD extras and the films significance I give it 5 stars.


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