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7
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10 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Tragically,
the movie that made him an international superstar
was Bruce Lee's last. With his untimely death,
Enter
The Dragon
stands as the lynchpin of Lee's film legacy. It's
one of the best action flicks of the Seventies
and a bona fide milestone in martial arts cinema.
It hasn't aged well, however, and a lot of the
plot (then as now) just doesn't hold up to even
the slightest scrutiny.
Shaolin monk and kung fu expert
Lee (Bruce Lee) is contacted by British intelligence
in Hong Kong. The Brits suspect that a wealthy
recluse named Han (HK cinema vet Shih Kien) is
trafficking in narcotics and white slavery. Lee
is asked to infiltrate Han's privately-owned island
fortress, going undercover as a contestant in
Han's upcoming martial arts tournament. He's to
gather evidence of illegal activities so the authorities
can mount a raid. (Why exactly Han holds this
elaborate triennial tournament is never really
made clear, nor is there any mention of a prize
for the winner.) Soon thereafter Lee learns that
Han's henchmen were responsible for his sister's
death three years earlier, making him even more
determined to get the goods on Han. As Lee
boards the junk that will take him and the other
contestants to Han's island, we are introduced
to two American characters, Roper (Tenebre's
John Saxon) and Williams (Jim Kelly, karate expert
and non-actor), both of whom know each other from
tours of duty in 'Nam. Brief flashbacks provide
backstories for their entering Han's tournament;
high-stakes gambler Roper is in hiding from Mafia
debt collectors, while the African-American Williams
is on the lam for assaulting two white racist
police officers (in what was really self defense).
The three men form an easy alliance out of mutual
respect, though Lee does not inform the others
about his true purpose.
Han (dubbed by Keye Luke) welcomes
the contestants to his island with an elaborate
feast and the pick of his stable of on-site hookers.
Rather than indulge his libido, Lee uses the cover
of night to scout out the fortress ninja-style.
An intruder is detected, but it is Williams who
is mistakenly blamed. "Bullshit, Mister
Han man!" a defiant Williams retorts
when accused of spying by his sinister host. (Athlete
Jim Kelly is a fine fighter but a poor thespian;
any scene where he has dialog is awkward. In contrast,
veteran actor John Saxon is surprisingly convincing
in his fight scenes; according to the disc's talent
bio, he
attained a brown belt in karate between acting
gigs.) After kicking the asses of a number of
Han's guards, Han himself dispatches Williams
with one of the myriad weapons he can attach to
the stump of his left arm. Later, Roper is approached
by Han with an offer to become his "business"
representative in the U.S., dropping a not so
subtle hint that refusal could be fatal. He is
shown Han's opium operation, along with a dungeon
full of haggard prisoners, men who "no longer
care who they are or where they find themselves."
(So why the heck does Han keep 'em then?)
Meanwhile Lee sneaks out again to gather evidence,
discovering Han's evil secret in the subterranean
bowels of the fortress. He's able to radio a message
to the authorities but sets off an alarm in the
process. An army of Han's guards descends on the
radio room, leading to one of the all-time classic
sequences in martial arts cinema.
Lee singly-handily destroys
a seemingly inexhaustible supply of guards, not
a single one of whom has a pistol. (Why Han would
casually violate the law in every other regard
except gun control — he permits no firearms
on his island — is admittedly perplexing.) Lee
is at the peak of his form, showing off his
astounding grace and prowess in fight sequences
he himself choreographed. Yes, you can
see bad guys milling about uselessly in the background,
instead
of just bum-rushing him, while
Lee methodically dispatches the others one and
two at a time. (The bane, it seems, of all martial
arts flicks.) But Lee is pure artistry in motion;
accompanied by his signature cries and yowls,
this is a kung fu movie master in his most fabled
onscreen moment. Classic stuff.
Fortunately for Han, Lee is
trapped by a set of trick doors just as our villain
seems to finally be running short of guards. With
Roper's refusal to become part of Han's evil empire,
both he and Lee are set to die in combat in the
tournament, pitted against Han's most skilled
and ruthless fighters. But is there really any
doubt that our heroes will kick some serious backside,
Han's included (vs. Lee in the famous "hall
of mirrors" sequence), to win the day? Nah.
Especially with help from those lost souls in
the dungeon — those guys that don't care who they
are or where they find themselves — who suddenly
decide they do care!
Enter
The Dragon
is a real time warp of a movie. The 1970s come
alive in all their bellbottomed glory. (One mafia
thug in Roper's flashback sequence wears a jacket
with a buckle on it the size of a dinner plate.)
It was with this film that Bruce Lee made the
tranquil, passive martial artist — who's a demon
unleashed in combat — into an international screen
icon. Any action fan who hasn't seen Enter
The Dragon
(are there any?) definitely should.
I still want to know why Han kept
all those guys in the dungeon, though. If you've
ever seen The
Kentucky Fried Movie,
you'll never be able to sit through this one with
a straight face again.
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| Warner
Home Video has put together a pleasing package for
both Lee admirers and fans of the movie with its
DVD release. A few minutes of previously unseen
footage has been inserted, a scene where Lee is
questioned by an elder monk on matters of Shaolin
philosophy. Lalo Schifrin's funky score has never
sounded crisper than it does here in 5.1 digital
— you can also listen to it in an isolated music-only
audio track. Brief but informative text articles
are provided covering the history of HK martial
arts films as well as talent bios on Enter
The Dragon's
principal cast. The disc also includes a featurette,
Location: Hong Kong with Enter the Dragon (shot
at the time of production) and a new documentary,
Bruce Lee in His Own Words, a collection
of vintage archival footage and recordings which
will definitely appeal to the serious fan. There
is an audio commentary with the film's producer
and screenwriter as well. It sounded really dry
so I didn't get very far with it. Where's Saxon
and Kelly? 6/06/01 |
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UPDATE
A deluxe 2-disc Special Edition was released by
Warner in May 2004.
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