Enter the Dragon

Plot synopsis:
Lee (Bruce Lee), a highly skilled Shaolin martial artist from Hong Kong is approached by Braithwaite, a British intelligence agent investigating suspected crime lord Han (Shih Kien). Lee is persuaded to attend a high-profile martial arts competition on Han's private island in order to gather evidence that will prove his involvement in drug trafficking and prostitution. Shortly before his departure, Lee also learns that his sister's killer, O'Hara (Robert Wall), is working as Han's bodyguard on the island. Also fighting in the competition are indebted gambling addict Roper (John Saxon) and fellow Vietnam war veteran Williams (Jim Kelly).
At the end of the first day, Han gives strict orders that the competitors do not leave their rooms. Lee makes contact with undercover operative Mei Ling (Betty Chung), and sneaks into Han's compound looking for evidence. He is discovered by several guards, but manages to escape. The next morning, Han has the guards publicly killed by chief guard Bolo (Bolo Yeung) for failing him. After the execution, Lee faces O'Hara in the competition and after an emotional battle ends up killing him. With the day's competition over, Han confronts Williams – who had also left his room the previous night to exercise – about the identity of the intruder, and beats him to death when he refuses to cooperate. Han then reveals the scale of his drug operation to Roper in the hope that he will join his organization. He also implicitly threatens to imprison Roper, along with all the other martial artists who competed in Han's tournament in the past, if Roper refuses. Despite being initially convinced, Roper refuses after learning Williams' fate.
Lee sneaks out again that night and manages to send a message to Braithwaite, but is finally captured after a protracted battle with the guards. The next morning Han arranges for Roper to fight Lee, but Roper refuses. As punishment, he is forced to fight Bolo instead but manages to overpower and kill him after a grueling encounter. Enraged by the unexpected victory, Han commands his remaining men to kill Lee and Roper. Facing insurmountable odds, they are soon aided by the island's prisoners, who had been freed by Mei Ling. Han escapes, pursued by Lee, who finally corners him in a hidden mirror room. The mirrors give Han an advantage, but Lee breaks all the room's mirrors to reveal Han's location, and eventually kills him. Lee returns to the main battle, which is now over. A bruised and bloodied Roper sits victorious while the military finally arrive to take control of the island.

Tags: suspenseful, murder, cult, violence, flashback, good versus evil, revenge

Review:
In the years since his bizarre and tragic death, martial arts legend and master Bruce Lee has become a sort of icon within the Kung-fu movie circuit.The last film that he completed before his death, 1973's "Enter the Dragon," has become not only a masterful showcase for Lee's talents (both fighting and acting), but in the 31 years since its release has become perhaps the definitive martial arts movie of all time.Lee, in his first and last English-speaking performance, stars as a martial arts expert who is recruited by the British government to infiltrate an island fortress, under the cover of being invited to a martial arts tournament, to investigate a possible slavery/drug ring led by a former nemesis of his.
Soon enough, Lee, together with two other martial artists, Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly), go to work kicking a** everywhere until the final showdown with the murderous, one-handed villain Han in the classic "Hall of Mirrors" fight sequence."Enter the Dragon," a joint American-Chinese production, was intended to be Bruce Lee's introduction to Western audiences, but due to his tragic death just weeks before the film's American release, we will never know what he would have been capable of here in the states.
Many of them still hold up very well, especially by 2004's standards, where fight scenes are mostly digitally enhanced or involve "wire" or "Matrix-fu" to make up for lack of actual stunt work; plus one has to remember that this film was made in 1973, in the days before wirework would become dominant in today's martial arts cinema.
But more than anything, this was Bruce Lee's entrée to Americans; many people, including myself, were introduced to martial arts cinema through "Enter the Dragon."There are also several cameos made by future martial arts stars that would eventually reach stardom, most notably Jackie Chan (as a henchman during the "Cavern Fight" sequence who has his neck broken by Lee) and Sammo Hung (as Lee's sparring partner in the opening fight sequence).I could go on and on about what makes this movie immortal, but I feel I should let you see what makes it great.
Long held to be the grand-daddy of all martial arts films, Enter the Dragon was recently re- released on DVD with the full treatment  digital restoration, a few short scenes added back in, and interviews with all of the surviving cast, plus some extras about the film and a few interviews with Bruce Lee. Most of you have probably already seen it, as it's thirty years old, but even though the film is almost absurdly steeped in the 70s, it still holds up remarkably well.
Now, however, it is the chief testament to the grace and skill of Bruce Lee, and the only one of his four films that he had any sort of creative control over  and you can see the difference between this and his Hong Kong films easily.Lee does a Tony Danza and plays Mr. Lee, a shao-lin warrior who is recruited by a foreign government (it's assumed to be the English but is never explicitly stated) to infiltrate the island of a megalomaniac martial artist named Han (Kien Shih) who holds tournaments to find the best martial artists in the world.
It gives one pause while watching Enter the Dragon to think of just what Bruce Lee could have accomplished had he lived.I suppose those who don't like martial arts wouldn't care for this film, but I've seen it convert even unbelievers before.
Even though it is more than 25 years since Enter the Dragon was first released, to this day it is still hailed as the landmark of martial arts films.Used primarily as a vehicle for the late, great Bruce Lee this movie has a thin plot, little actual character development and the acting isn't fantastic.....it was never meant to be another Citizen Kane.
There is also the use of traditional Oriental weapons (nunchaku, escrima sticks, etc..), although the British censors in their wisdom have seen fit the cut the nunchaku sequence, and I'm afraid, like any censored movie, it just isn't the same watching when you know you aren't getting the full monty, so to speak.Still, on the whole one of my personal favourites and a must see for any action or seventies film fan.
You don't need any other reason to watch this movie than Bruce Lee, but having John Saxon ('Planet Of Blood', 'Tenebrae') co-star is an added treat, and Jim Kelly is super cool.
Though Saxon does a passable job, his performance is a bit fibrous at times.Worth seeing for the sets and settings alone, this film is driven well by its fast pace, simple but engaging story line, and the sheer talent of Bruce Lee. Of course, there are the usual problems of the martial arts genre - villains whose sense of honor for the most part only applies to life-threatening situations fighting would-be heroes, the lack of any weapons besides fists and unused knives, unnecessary nude scenes - it is very easy to overlook these problems and just enjoy the film.Highly recommended..
Enter the Dragon is the Citizen Kane and Bruce Lee is the Orson Welles of the martial arts film genre.
We can only imagine what his follow up vehicles would have been like.One thing I do know from watching an old black and white interview with Bruce was that he said he had kind of made it his goal in life to show people around the world that there was more to martial arts than just breaking boards and little men kicking big men in the crotch.
They also feature a good array of weapons as well as many unarmed fights Bruce Lee is great as our protagonist; no martial arts actor is as intense as he was.
Enter the Dragon is a joy to watch for any fan of martial arts flicks.The story is about Lee's quest to bring justice to a renegade Shaolin monk (with a fake, removable hand) at a tournament he hosts to recruit people for his criminal organization, but the thin plot is really there only to give Lee lots of guys to fight.
In its style, it somehow resembles funky and incomparably more violent Marial Arts version of the older James Bond films - sexy ladies and eccentric villains come along with stylish and ultra-violent unarmed battle on a beautiful remote island.Kung Fu expert Lee (Bruce Lee) is applied to attend a tournament on a remote island owned by the mysterious Han (Kien Shih).
Needless to say, he had sex appeal and maintained it even when he was in the throes of beating the chi (life force) out of some idiot who believed incorrectly that he could whoop Lee in a fight.Enter The Dragon was a film which, I believe, showcased every ounce of Bruce's talents (including his use of English for the first time in his films!) I suggest you check out the movie today and enjoy a wonderful talent..
This is, without doubt the greatest Martial Arts film ever to grace the silver screen.It stars the legendary Bruce Lee, who mysteriously died a month before the movie went on general release.
His death arguably had a lot to do with the success of the movie, but you can't take anything away from the awesome action sequences and incredibly choreographed combat scenes.The general cinema going public tend to take these films with a pinch of salt, as they traditionally contain poor performances, silly effects and ridiculous plots.
Enter the Dragon is the final movie that martial arts great Bruce Lee filmed and is a fast-paced, no-nonsense action film about him joining a competition sponsored by renegade Shaolin artist Han (Kien Shih).
Of course the special attention was on main actor Bruce Lee and his great Martial Arts-performances make you forget all those video-lamers like Marc Dacasos, Don "The Dragon" Wilson and even Jean-Claude Van Damme easily!
I also liked the supporting cast including Jim Kelly, Bolo Yeung ("Bloodsport"), villain Kien Shih (Great Blofeld-parody!) and especially the appearance of John Saxon ("Tenebre", "From Dusk Till Dawn"), who´s probably the greatest B-movie actor alive!
One of the great classics of the action genre, Enter The Dragon is set apart by Bruce Lee's charisma, Lalo Schifrin's wonderful, funky score as well as great costumes, sets and fight sequences.
Right because it has influenced countless followers in the martial-arts/kung-fu genre, and can be counted on as holding some of the finest, slickest (not slick in the sense of Jackie Chan's amazing stunts or the artsy-fartsy slickness of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) fight scenes ever filmed.
To sum the review up, I do agree with the argument that Enter the Dragon tends to be over-rated (many say this is the greatest martial arts film ever and say it without seeing the countless films that have come out of Chinese cinema), but as a star in the genre Bruce Lee helped to popularize, he proves here that HE and his philosophies & techniques ("there is no technique" he states early on) will endure for decades and generations to come..
And you have offended the Shaolin temple."Enter the Dragon isn't what I call a masterpiece of film making or anything near outstanding when it comes to it's characters, acting or story line, but honestly, who comes to see a Bruce Lee movie expecting that?
Counted amongst the greatest examples of its genre, notable for being the final film appearance of the incomparable Bruce Lee and equally admirable for offering a wonderful insight into the Chinese culture, the contribution this classic has made in bringing martial arts into world cinema remains unsurpassed to this day.Set in Hong Kong, Enter the Dragon tells the story of Lee, a gifted Shaolin martial artist who is invited to take part in a martial arts tournament that is being hosted on an isolated island by an excommunicated Shaolin disciple.
The plot is simplistic itself, following three characters Lee (Bruce Lee), Roper (John Saxon), and Williams (Jim Kelly) all attending a martial arts tournament on a secluded island for different reasons.
Don't worry too much pony-tailed readers, I still view Bruce Lee as an icon who broke new ground and ushered in the era which saw Jackie and Jet find success, and he was also a man with amazing charisma and screen presence, but black and white films were amazing to people once too, then time passed and we realised that Big Bird was actually yellow.Regardless Enter the Dragon will still go down in history as Bruce's masterwork.In the opening scenes Bruce consults with his master who it must be said is a total martial arts film cliché complete with wispy glued on beard and a bad dub that uses phrases even the Wu-Tang would find too corny to sample.
Even though the fight is choreographed in a far more fluid and realistic manner when compared with the older kung-fu movies there is still the sense that attackers are counting down for their shot as Bruce dispatches them, the brilliantly executed chaos of some of Jackie's better works are non-existent here.The film moves towards the climactic showdown and as soon as we learn that Mr Han has a metal hand it is always going to come down to him and Lee going one on one.
It's always been difficult for me to agree on which of Bruce Lee's films has the best fight action, but there's very little doubt in my mind as to the one I find the most enjoyable: Enter The Dragon, with its James Bond style plot, superb cast, quotable dialogue, impossibly cool soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin, and memorable comic-book villain, is pure cult perfection and a film that I don't think I'll ever grow tired of.Bruce plays Lee, a martial artist who agrees to take part in a tournament in order to avenge his sister, whose death was caused by henchmen of crime-lord Han, owner of the fortified island where the contest is taking place.
Aided by fellow combatant Roper (John Saxon) and pretty secret agent Su Lin (Angela Mao), Lee successfully destroys the evil empire, but not before taking care of his sister's killers, hordes of nameless guards, formidable muscle-man Bolo, and finally, razor-handed head villain Han himself.Any film that opens with a fight between Bruce Lee and HK legend Sammo Hung is going to be great, but chuck in cool cat Saxon, his bad-ass bro' with a 'fro Jim Kelly, unforgettable bad guy Bolo Yeung, a classic Bruce nunchaku scene, and a tense finalé that is like the showdown from The Man With The Golden Gun, but better and with fists, and what you have is a legendary piece of martial arts cinema so packed with testosterone that some say simply watching it makes you perform better in bed.And I've seen it loads of times!.
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsAt the end of the '60's and start of the '70's,thanks to the phenomenal Bruce Lee,campy kung fu adventure escapades were the things of the time.Today,their relevance of all the animal like screaming and Shaolon music themes still echoes fluently in any Jet Li/Jackie Chan film,as anyone who watches the current MTV ''Video Clash'' thing will understand.Enter The Dragon possesses a timeless feel to it,a film of all time classic status.While many will complain that the plot is poor,what in fact is the truth is that since then,more kung fu/action films of a similar nature have been produced,and so looking back today it seems kind of lame and predictable.But for the time,when kung fu films were in the birth of their origin,this film was truly revolutionary.If not,why has it spawned so many imitations?Lee is truly the greatest martial artist of all time to appear on celliloid.A seemingly indestructable enclosed mountain of a guy,nothing can go by him and not admit defeat.His grace and precision during contact movement is truly something to behold.This is most apparent in the final showdown with Shih Kien.Along with the theme tune of Shaft,this is quite probably one of the most memorable and deservedly so of the early '70's actioners.*****.
This film has the best martial arts action in the history of cinema.Bruce Lee is amazing in this movie, and there are even a couple of those famous "close-up" shots of his face after obliterating an opponent with some fantastic move or another, along with that howl of his that just kind of tapers off very slowly along with the slow-motion action of the sequence.
I'm not totally sure it's him, but it sure looks like him.Overall, if you are a Bruce Lee fan, or a martial arts fan, or just adore fabulous action sequences, be sure and get this movie.
Bruce Lee may have been on the martial arts scene for several years and he already made his mark in with a string of impressive movies in Hong Kong.
Whilst I admire the likes of Donny Yen Jet Li and Jackie Chan there simply is no one that comes close to the charisma and presence that Bruce Lee had.There is no greater testament to that than right here in what most martial arts fans regard as one of if not the greatest martial arts film of all time.The fight scenes are very well choreographed and there is enough action to keep this movie flowing.Storyline wise there is nothing new here but considering this was made in 1973 there have been quite a few movies since that have gone down a similar path.The supporting cast are good and they compliment Bruce quite well.The last half an hour though is all about Bruce and to watch this genius at work is worth every cent.It is a shame that Bruce died so young as it would have been interesting to see just what this great artist would have had in store for us..
Bruce Lee's abilities are featured, including his feral fighting mannerisms and sounds.Like other martial arts films, ETD has numerous elements that can remind us of a James Bond movie--the villain dressed in black, his cat, his island fortress, etc.
1st watched 12/21/2013 -- 7 out of 10(Dir-Robert Clouse): Well done martial arts film that shows everyone why Bruce Lee was such an icon in this genre.
Lee and allies Roper (John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly) infiltrate Han's island, where most of the film's action takes place.The plot is really secondary to the presence of Bruce Lee and an ensemble of fighting sequences that are well choreographed, but redundant.
There are comparable films and fighters today, of course, but none to equal the martial arts spirit of Bruce Lee.For those who are new to Bruce Lee, I would recommend seeing all of his early movies made in China before Enter the Dragon.
Let me start off by saying that Enter the Dragon is a great film for anyone interested in a pure tournament fighter's story as well as anyone who wants to see Bruce Lee in his American-made master piece.
Even if you are not big on Bruce Lee or martial arts in general, you owe it to yourself to check this movie out for the sheer genuineness of a tournament fighting flick with a good story..
Enter the Dragon was my first exposure to the work of Bruce Lee. I must say that he was a true Martial Arts genius and master, and I plan to check out some of his other films.
Enter The Dragon is a movie that contains not only a handful of unique and genius fighting scenes but also a great deal of master lee's philosophy and way of thinking.
Miraculously, the fight scenes were not sped up, but slowed down, because of Lee's sheer speed.Lastly, Enter THe Dragon set standards for martial arts films every where, standards not realized until the 1990s.PS Watch out for Jackie Chan in this film, he is one of the henchmen, and his kneck was broken by Bruce himself..